I haven't tried this out yet (but I'm going to). I got this from the "Ask Marc Saltzman" column in the Costco Connection magazine.
If you're looking for a free downloadable dictionary/thesaurus that works with most programs, try www.wordweb.info/free
You hold down the control key and right click with your mouse on the word in question and a small window pops up with dictionary and thesaurus info, including Wikipedia links (which are not there when you use the program off line). The software is 7.4 MB and contains 150,000 root words and 120,000 synonym sets, and is available in several country versions.
Showing posts with label media. Show all posts
Showing posts with label media. Show all posts
Jul 30, 2009
Jun 16, 2009
Rambling About Reading, Writing, and the Internet
This has become more of my blogroll page than I blog I actually post to. I log in, and then scroll down to the bottom right (where I have other blogs I read) and then I start surfing (do people still use that term?).
I'm finding lately that I'm able to focus more when I read, after struggling with my attention span in recent years (not sure why it's getting better - maybe the fish oil I've been taking?). I was an absolutely voracious reader as a kid, devouring entire books (well above my grade level) in one sitting. As an adult, however, I have trouble finishing a newspaper column.
I blame "The Google Effect". Hey why not? It makes sense. Good enough theory for me. It beats blaming pregnancy related brain loss (that's just depressing ;)
The upside of spending so much time on the net is that I'll be web savvy when my kids get here. They're already on-line, but in a very controlled and kid friendly environment. When they start to branch out into older kid stuff, I'll be the mom who's one step ahead.
I burst out laughing last night at a TV ad for www.bing.com - the new search engine: the ad showed a couple of women talking, one of them spewing gibberish because she was all Googled out. I found it hilarious, but my husband (being a non-net trades guy) was lost. I guess there's hope for my Google-affected brain yet ;)
I'm finding lately that I'm able to focus more when I read, after struggling with my attention span in recent years (not sure why it's getting better - maybe the fish oil I've been taking?). I was an absolutely voracious reader as a kid, devouring entire books (well above my grade level) in one sitting. As an adult, however, I have trouble finishing a newspaper column.
I blame "The Google Effect". Hey why not? It makes sense. Good enough theory for me. It beats blaming pregnancy related brain loss (that's just depressing ;)
The upside of spending so much time on the net is that I'll be web savvy when my kids get here. They're already on-line, but in a very controlled and kid friendly environment. When they start to branch out into older kid stuff, I'll be the mom who's one step ahead.
I burst out laughing last night at a TV ad for www.bing.com - the new search engine: the ad showed a couple of women talking, one of them spewing gibberish because she was all Googled out. I found it hilarious, but my husband (being a non-net trades guy) was lost. I guess there's hope for my Google-affected brain yet ;)
Apr 6, 2009
Outdoor Pajamas
Would you wear your pajamas outside? I don't mean to step on your front porch to get the paper, either. Would you wear them to the cinema or supermarket?
Apparently doing so, in the warmer spring weather, has traditionally been seen as a sign of affluence in Shanghai. Slippers are replaced by flip flops, loafers or even high heels as outdoor footwear to go with the PJ's. The prevailing theory as to how this originated is that it shows off one's social strata. If you have pajamas to sleep in, as opposed to old clothes, you are seen as being more affluent.
There is growing resistance to this practice, as many Chinese are embarrassed by it, even calling it uncivilized, and "visual pollution." There are many who want the practice stopped in time for the 2010 Shanghai Expo.
I came across this story in today's Vancouver Sun (can't find a link to it though). One day maybe I'll travel the world, but meanwhile those of us who can't have the media as a window to it :)
Apparently doing so, in the warmer spring weather, has traditionally been seen as a sign of affluence in Shanghai. Slippers are replaced by flip flops, loafers or even high heels as outdoor footwear to go with the PJ's. The prevailing theory as to how this originated is that it shows off one's social strata. If you have pajamas to sleep in, as opposed to old clothes, you are seen as being more affluent.
There is growing resistance to this practice, as many Chinese are embarrassed by it, even calling it uncivilized, and "visual pollution." There are many who want the practice stopped in time for the 2010 Shanghai Expo.
I came across this story in today's Vancouver Sun (can't find a link to it though). One day maybe I'll travel the world, but meanwhile those of us who can't have the media as a window to it :)
Mar 14, 2009
Slumdog Shame
I don't know about you, but I find this a bit disturbing.
According to this Vancouver Sun article, the child actors who starred in the Oscar winning film Slumdog Millionaire (a film which has already made $45 million showcasing poverty in India) have returned to their own lives of poverty.
Rubina Ali (who played Latika in the film) was paid a mere $1,000 to act in the film and has now returned to life in a hut that she shares with her parents, brother and sister. Azhauddin Ismail (who played Salim) was paid $3,500, and now lives with his family under a plastic sheet by railway tracks.
The film's producer has supposedly arranged for $50 per month to be given to the children for food and books, and has told their parents about a trust fund that has been set up for their future, but has not given them any details supporting this.
Assuming this is true, you would think that a film that has generated that much success could provide better for its young stars, rather than getting away with what appears to be the bare minimum of compensation for their contribution.
Hopefully there really is a trust fund, and now that the media has gotten wind of the kids' scant remuneration, the monthly book and food allowance will increase...
According to this Vancouver Sun article, the child actors who starred in the Oscar winning film Slumdog Millionaire (a film which has already made $45 million showcasing poverty in India) have returned to their own lives of poverty.
Rubina Ali (who played Latika in the film) was paid a mere $1,000 to act in the film and has now returned to life in a hut that she shares with her parents, brother and sister. Azhauddin Ismail (who played Salim) was paid $3,500, and now lives with his family under a plastic sheet by railway tracks.
The film's producer has supposedly arranged for $50 per month to be given to the children for food and books, and has told their parents about a trust fund that has been set up for their future, but has not given them any details supporting this.
Assuming this is true, you would think that a film that has generated that much success could provide better for its young stars, rather than getting away with what appears to be the bare minimum of compensation for their contribution.
Hopefully there really is a trust fund, and now that the media has gotten wind of the kids' scant remuneration, the monthly book and food allowance will increase...
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