I Know What They Mean, But Don’t Ask Me To Spell ‘Em

January 21, 2014May 6, 2021 / Ally Bean / 19 Comments

Here’s a vocabulary test that I took. It told me that…

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√ To me, this seems like a heck of a lot of words for one person to know. The information about the test said that: “Most native English adult speakers who have taken the test fall in the range 20,000–35,000 words.” So I’m well within the bounds of normal.

√ On this test there were words that I’ve never seen before. This made me happy. I enjoy the idea that even at my advanced age there are new words to learn. Once a geek, always a geek.

√ I was never a good speller and this test brought home that fact to me. I knew the words when I saw them but realized that without my spellchecker this blog would be filled with more ~~little~~ monosyllabic words than ~~big~~ polysyllabic words.

2 Movies, 2 Books & 1 Clever Backside Of A Truck

August 7, 2013May 6, 2021 / Ally Bean / 10 Comments

As part of my attempt to live a more balanced life in 2013, I have given myself the assignment to watch 2 movies and to read 2 books each month. Here is my July report minus 1 movie. Keep in mind that I get fidgety watching movies, so I consider it an accomplishment that I watched one movie during this hot month. Let’s just say that I owe you 1 movie and leave it at that.

2 Movies 1 Movie

Emma – Pretty + predictable. I chose this movie because in college I never read Emma by Jane Austen and because I knew that Clueless was based on it. Set in rural England in the early 1800s, Emma, played by Gwyneth Paltrow, is a single woman who lives with her widowed father. She believes herself to be a good matchmaker, but in reality she is not. Confusion ensues. For a costume drama this movie was well done– not too tedious, not too pompous. Recommended if you need a Jane Austen fix and there isn’t enough time in your life to read one of her books.

2 Books

The Witch of Little Italy – Charming + unique. This novel, written by Suzanne Palmieri, is a perfect summer read. A college-aged girl, Eleanor, finds herself unexpectedly pregnant and decides to go live with her grandmother & great aunts in the family home in the Bronx. While living there, Eleanor uncovers and solves decades-old family mysteries as well as going through her own personal transformation. The writing is smooth, the characters are well-rounded and the plot is more-or-less believable. Recommended if you want a bit of mystery + a tad of magic.

The Book of Tea – In this book, first published in 1906, Kakuzo Okakura explains the history of tea in Japan and the proper way to make it. He also expounds upon tea as a metaphor for life. I enjoyed this short book [treatise?] enough to read it twice. Recommended if you like Asian history, tea and philosophy. [Free on Kindle]

1 Clever Backside Of A Truck

Am I the last person to understand what is going on with these REFLECTING QUALITY stickers that are on the backside of many 18-wheel trucks? [Example photo here.] It came to me as we were driving down the interstate in my small coupe directly behind one of these trucks.

I realized that I could see myself & Zen-Den reflected in the mirror-like finish on the back of the truck. And it occurred to me that we were the quality that was being reflected. That the sticker had nothing to do with the items within the truck, instead it was telling me something nice about us. I find this all very clever now that I understand it.

2 Movies, 2 Books & 1 New Name

July 11, 2013May 6, 2021 / Ally Bean / 15 Comments

As part of my attempt to live a more balanced life in 2013, I have given myself the assignment to watch 2 movies and to read 2 books each month. Here is my June report.

2 Movies

Life Happens – Smart + funny. In this comedy, Krysten Ritter, Kate Bosworth & Rachel Bilson star as three very different 20-something women who share a house in a hipster part of L.A. One of the roommates becomes pregnant and after the baby is born all three women try to continue to live their lives as before. Witty dialogue. Fascinating sets. Charming ending. Recommended if you enjoy laughing at the ups & downs of relationships, careers and motherhood.

Brother Rat – Wordy + dated. Set at the Virginia Military Institute, this uneven 1938 movie is a black-and-white classic. Three cadets try to keep one cadet’s marriage secret from just about everybody. Hijinks/whining/confusion ensues. The movie is best known for 2 facts: 1) it is Eddie Albert’s first role in a movie; & 2) Ronald Reagan and Jane Wyman met while filming this. Half-heartedly recommended if you are curious about early films and stuck at home on a rainy day.

2 Books

Beautiful Ruins – Wonderful + memorable. This novel by Jess Walter is one of the best that I’ve read in years. Set primarily in Italy and Hollywood, it is a decades long love story between an Italian innkeeper and an American actress. It is alternately amusing, insightful, satirical and heartbreaking. The writing is smooth, the plot is flawless and the ending is just as it needs to be. Highly recommended to anyone who likes to read fiction.

The Year the Music Changed – Clever + sweet. This story is about a brilliant & lonely 14-year-old girl who sends a fan letter to a then unknown country singer named Elvis Presley. He writes back and they become pen pals telling each other their secrets and triumphs. Diane Thomas, the author of this book, does a marvelous job of weaving facts about Elvis into a warm, captivating story of self-awareness and the power of friendship. Recommended if you like coming-of-age stories and music history.

1 New Name

I cannot resist silly, pointless, time-wasting name generators. They call to me. I’m curious. I NEED to know. So when I found the Old West Name Generator, I knew that I had to find out what my name would have been if I had been born between 1860 to 1890.

And here is what I discovered. Back then you would have known me as:

Lily Jessamine Roush.

Pretty name, huh?

You Say Kadigan, I Say Menopause

July 9, 2013May 6, 2021 / Ally Bean / 12 Comments

HERE is something that I learned & maybe you will find it interesting, too.

There is a word to describe the linguistic phenomenon when a person uses a generic placeholder word for a specific word because that person cannot remember the specific word. This placeholder word is called a KADIGAN. More here & here.

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TO WIT, I will first tell you a sentence filled with kadigans; it is the sort of sentence that a menopausal woman might say.

Charming example sentence filled with kadigans:

Sunshine, I’d love to buy you that gewgaw with the gobbledygook on it, but out here in Podunk, USA, they don’t take credit cards and I don’t have my thingamadoodle to get money from the ATM.

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THEN I will interpret what I said, translating said sentence into pre-menopausal speak.

Charming example sentence devoid of kadigans:

Susan, I’d love to buy you that piece of jewelry with the monogram engraved on it, but out here in this small town, they don’t take credit cards and I don’t have my bank card to get money from the ATM.

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AND THAT, my gentle readers, is what kadigans are all about. They are the ability to keep speaking, as if you know what you’re saying, even when you are experiencing your own personal summer & cannot for the life of you remember that word you need to use right now… so you fill-in the blank as best you can.