In honour of Canada Day, just passed:
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In honour of Canada Day, just passed: If you are viewing this post via email, click here to watch the video.
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Time again for my weekly contribution to the Scattered Life Collective. Current time: 10:05 p.m. Thursday Out the window: We had some pretty intense rain and wind storms over the weekend all across the Canadian Prairies. Several communities had to declare states of emergency due to flooding, and thousands of acres of farmland are underwater. Here in Winnipeg, where two major rivers converge, we are protected by a floodway, but a lot of trees suffered damage from the wind. Luckily all that we experienced around here was my patio umbrella flipping over my second-floor deck and landing in the garden below it. On the menu: I'm headed to IKEA some time soon to pick up one of these so I can make my own popsicles. And I miiiight just pick up some cinnamon buns, too. You know, while I'm there and all. Reading: Another random pick from the library: The Happy Numbers of Julius Miles, by Jim Keeble. This one is told from the point of view of a transsexual man who likes to play Cupid. His target is Julius Miles, a mathematical genius who is "hefty of frame, awkward with the opposite sex and struggling to bring his existence into balance." I'm about 60 pages in and I'm enjoying the writing style. The author is not afraid of long sentences. Here is a favourite : Julius finds himself staring down at her lips that form a near-perfect zero, the last number to be adopted into the modern numerical system because human beings find it easier to accept the concept of presence rather than absence, even though personally I have found that absence is often the predominant force in our lives. Watching: A documentary called Design is One, a profile of the iconic design team of Lella and Massimo Vignelli. "If you can't find it, design it," is the motto of this collaborative couple, who have designed everything from logos to furniture to jewellery to the signage for the New York City subway system. If you're a design geek like me, you'll enjoy this movie. Otherwise, it will probably be a bit of a snooze. Although it is visually appealing, I actually enjoyed the interviews with the couple the most - they both have a youthful exuberance about them that makes you feel as excited about their work as they are. Massimo says "Everything that surrounds us, all the time, has been designed by somebody, and most of the time, badly. So we felt a tremendous compulsion about changing that situation." Listening:
Elusive Youth, by London girl-boy duo Elephant. This is a fresh, fun tune - perfect as the soundtrack to a trip to the beach. Learning: This week's Words of the Day:
Out and About:
That's all for this week. Sarah It's official. Around here, Wednesdays aren't just Wednesdays any more. They're Words Days. My Wednesday posts are now devoted to all things wordy - grammar, etymology, writing, the works. If it involves language, I'll be talking about it here. ***** GRAMMAR LESSON #1: "IT'S VS. ITS"
The rule: The easiest way to get this one right is to remember that the apostrophe in "it's" is there in place of a letter or letters. If you're saying "it is," the apostrophe replaces the "i." If you're saying "it has," it replaces the "h" and the "a." So if you mean to say either "it is" or "it has," use "it's." If not, use "its." Some examples:
Bonus points:
So there you have it. My first attempt to prove that grammar doesn't need to be a four-letter word. How'd I do? Let me know in the comments. And if there's anything you'd like to see in a future Words Day Wednesday, let me know that, too. Sarah |