Thursday report

I believe that I can stop running scared in the Spanish class. OTOH, there’s an awful lot of Spanish to learn, and I feel that I had better hop to it. The main thing now is to build vocabulary, so I’m learning every word I come across, and gradually working my way through the list of 250 most useful words in Teach Yourself to Learn a Language.

Still, I was much more relaxed today than last class day. For one thing, I woke up at a good time (6:00 a.m.) instead of a bad time (4:00 a.m.). For another, I found parking and took care to remember the exact path back to the car. And, in general, I was more relaxed. I realized that the real work in the course will be done outside of class.

I’m very eager to get on to the verbs, and la profesora showed us the coolest thing—and I have to admit that paper dictionaries are dead. Take a look at this Spanish definition of the English word “master.” The first meaning given is the noun, and the second is the verb. Note the little superscript “conj.==>“next to the verb “llegar” in the definition. Click it and ¡he aquí! you see the verb conjugated completely.

AND I just discovered that the site has a Spanish-language dictionary (i.e., not Spanish-English). That’s wonderful because in Polyglot: How I Learn Languages Kató Lomb suggests moving to a dictionary in the target language as soon as possible, so when you learn new vocabulary it is learned in Spanish rather than as a translation of an English word (for much the same reason that the photo-based flashcards are so desirable).

I did make the Greek-themed GOPM: it’s done and out of the oven and I am being overcome by the alluring aroma.

More Right-wing insanity: Texas blackouts

The GOP today lives in a fantasy world more or less untouched by reality: entire conspiracies are imagined and held in spite of obvious evidence to the contrary. Reason has been abandoned in the service of political enthusiasm. Very strange.

Read here about the silly conspiracy Right-wingers in Texas have dreamed up and now hold as incontrovertible fact.

Palin can dish it out, but she can’t take it

Sarah Palin is famous for her over-the-top rhetoric and her full-throated attacks on anyone whose position fails to agree with hers (whatever her position is—it’s generally not clear except in the most general terms, such as “Crackpot conservative good, everything else bad.” But she does like to live on the attack, including the sniper sights placed on locations where Democrats were running. And she insists (with words) that her attack-dog rhetoric has no influence on the various acts of violence that have occurred.

That’s her words. Her actions:

Former Alaska governor and Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin was scheduled to speak at an event for a Colorado nonprofit group May 2, but the event was canceled the day after it was announced due to “an onslaught of personal attacks” against Palin.

Palin was to speak at the Patriots & Warriors Gala at the Infinity Park Event Center in Glendale, Colo., which was billed as an awards banquet and fundraiser for military families in need and for a grief camp for children who had lost loved ones in combat.

But the event, sponsored by the Sharon K. Pacheco Foundation, was canceled Saturday, a day after it had been announced to the media. A press release posted on the sponsoring organization’s Facebook page reads, “Due to an onslaught of personal attacks against Gov. Palin and others associated with her appearance, it is with deep sadness and disappointment that, in the best interest of all, we cancel the event for safety concerns.”

The press release goes on to say that no direct threats were made against Palin, nor were any made against members of the organization’s staff, but in light of the shooting rampage in Arizona last month, the negative rhetoric “raises concern for her safety and the safety of others despite the call for civility in America.”

“The organization deeply respects Sarah Palin,” reads the release, “and appreciates her willingness to come and honor our military. The organization plans to host the event at some point in the future, featuring another speaker.”

Continue reading.

Cops having to obey the law? That can’t be good.

Good post by Ed Brayton on police displeasure at having to obey the law. See, they’re police, for God’s sake—the law doesn’t apply to them.

En la biblioteca

I’m at the MPC library, using their Wi-Fi with my new MacBook Pro, feeling very au courant. My current vocabulary is falling into place, but many more words remain to be learned.

I have to say that the MacBook is pretty slick. TYD was right.

The two-lather shave

Bruce Everiss had the idea for the three-razor shave: using the best razor for each pass (e.g., first Slant Bar, then Fat Boy, then Super Speed). So here’s the two-lather shave. But it’s really just to answer a question from a commenter: what is the fragrance of Floris JF and Floris Elite?

Alas, I still can’t analyze the fragrance—I have no trained ability along those lines—but I was able to tell that (a) I prefer Elite to JF by a small margin, and (b) they both make a terrific lather. But from the Floris London site, I glean, first:

The mellow woody notes [of the Elite fragrance] are enlivened with a cool citrus twist of bergamot, lemon and orange punctuated with the green resinous notes of cedar leaf and spicy juniper berry. Lavender and fir balsam with a touch of bay are key to the character of the heart and are reinforced by the woody notes of patchouli and vetiver. Mossy notes then play a leading role as the fragrance evolves with amber, musks and a hint of leather in the base.

Top Notes: bergamot, cedar leaf, grapefruit, juniper berry, lemon, petitgrain
Heart Notes: bay, fir balsam, lavender
Base Notes: amber, cedarwood, leather, moss, musk, patchouli, vetiver

And, segundo:

JF begins with an invigorating burst of bergamot, lemon, lime and mandarin in combination with an intensely aromatic blend with armoise, coriander and clary sage. Juniper berry, cypress and petitgrain at the heart give the fragrance its unmistakable masculine character which is underscored by amber, cedarwood and a mossy, musky base.

Top Notes: bergamot, coriander, green, herbal, lemon, lime, mandarin
Heart Notes: cypress, jasmine, petitgrain
Base Notes: amber, cedarwood, moss, musk

Hope that helps. The iKon delivered its usual comfortable and flawless shave, a splash of JF, and I’m studying Spanish now before class.