My friends have a blog which outlines strange, interesting and funny news from the Former Soviet Union, Central Asia and Russia. This is the most recent posting.
No kidding. Now, I've studied that region for...well, it's going on nigh 12 years now. And I never knew there was really a region of the RF called Khakassia. Is that, like, the butt of a pair of khaki pants? I mean, honestly! I'm seeing sand. LOTS of sand. Something like this. Or perhaps this. Or maybe this even.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Monday, April 9, 2007
Easter
Well, Happy Easter to all of you who celebrate, also Happy Passover, Happy Ostara, and if there's some equivalent other holiday, Happy whatever.
My mother really enjoys Easter, and she is completely enabled by all of the adults in our family who still love to run around like little 'uns and find plastic eggs filled with candy. Every year the Egg Hunt gets bigger and funnier-each person gets one special egg with their name on it and more candy inside. This is the cause of much hilarity as for the past two years people have-in their zeal to collect as many eggs as possible-grabbed other people's eggs. Fortunately it's all in good fun...even if my aunt DOES get so into the whole thing that she brings comfortable shoes to change into in order to be more competitive.
It's also a guarantee for a good meal, as my mother gets everything all set up for a huge feast, always involving a ham that seems to be bigger than any one pig could produce :D This year my sister also chipped in with these phyllo-wrapped asparagus spears that were FABULOUS. Even if they probably did constitute most of my calories for the day :D It's Easter, after all, and the celebrations always include more food than is probably good for you...so I figure, enjoy! It only happens once a year, and as we get older it seems to be more and more fun for all of us to get together and celebrate in that manner.
It was a shame, however, that my other sister (whose birthday it was) wasn't able to be with us, but from what I hear she and her husband also had a wonderful holiday. I can't wait for the pictures from kayak-point to start appearing on her blog :D
Happy Birthday and Happy Easter!
My mother really enjoys Easter, and she is completely enabled by all of the adults in our family who still love to run around like little 'uns and find plastic eggs filled with candy. Every year the Egg Hunt gets bigger and funnier-each person gets one special egg with their name on it and more candy inside. This is the cause of much hilarity as for the past two years people have-in their zeal to collect as many eggs as possible-grabbed other people's eggs. Fortunately it's all in good fun...even if my aunt DOES get so into the whole thing that she brings comfortable shoes to change into in order to be more competitive.
It's also a guarantee for a good meal, as my mother gets everything all set up for a huge feast, always involving a ham that seems to be bigger than any one pig could produce :D This year my sister also chipped in with these phyllo-wrapped asparagus spears that were FABULOUS. Even if they probably did constitute most of my calories for the day :D It's Easter, after all, and the celebrations always include more food than is probably good for you...so I figure, enjoy! It only happens once a year, and as we get older it seems to be more and more fun for all of us to get together and celebrate in that manner.
It was a shame, however, that my other sister (whose birthday it was) wasn't able to be with us, but from what I hear she and her husband also had a wonderful holiday. I can't wait for the pictures from kayak-point to start appearing on her blog :D
Happy Birthday and Happy Easter!
Thursday, April 5, 2007
Best Laugh I've had in a While
tickle me elmo
Legend has is it that a new employee was hired at the Tickle Me Elmo factory and she duly reported for her first day's induction training, prior to being allocated a job on the production line. At 08:45 the next day the personnel manager received a visit from an excited assembly line foreman who was not best pleased about the performance of the new recruit. The foreman explained that she was far too slow, and that she was causing the entire line to back-up, delaying the whole production schedule. The personnel manager asked to see what was happening, so both men proceeded to the factory floor. On arrival they saw that the line was indeed badly backed-up - there were hundreds of Tickle Me Elmos strewn all over the factory floor, and they were still piling up. Virtually buried in a mountain of toys sat the new employee earnestly focused on her work. She had a roll of red plush fabric and a bag of marbles. The two men watched amazed as she cut a little piece of fabric, wrapped it around a pair of marbles and carefully began sewing the little package between Elmo's legs. The personnel manager began to laugh, and it was some while before he could compose himself, at which he approached the trainee. "I'm sorry," he said to her, not able to disguise his amusement, "but I think you misunderstood the instructions I gave you yesterday.... Your job is to give Elmo two test tickles."
This was found on this website :D
Legend has is it that a new employee was hired at the Tickle Me Elmo factory and she duly reported for her first day's induction training, prior to being allocated a job on the production line. At 08:45 the next day the personnel manager received a visit from an excited assembly line foreman who was not best pleased about the performance of the new recruit. The foreman explained that she was far too slow, and that she was causing the entire line to back-up, delaying the whole production schedule. The personnel manager asked to see what was happening, so both men proceeded to the factory floor. On arrival they saw that the line was indeed badly backed-up - there were hundreds of Tickle Me Elmos strewn all over the factory floor, and they were still piling up. Virtually buried in a mountain of toys sat the new employee earnestly focused on her work. She had a roll of red plush fabric and a bag of marbles. The two men watched amazed as she cut a little piece of fabric, wrapped it around a pair of marbles and carefully began sewing the little package between Elmo's legs. The personnel manager began to laugh, and it was some while before he could compose himself, at which he approached the trainee. "I'm sorry," he said to her, not able to disguise his amusement, "but I think you misunderstood the instructions I gave you yesterday.... Your job is to give Elmo two test tickles."
This was found on this website :D
Hee!
Моя сестра решила вчера, что очень круто писать её "блог" в каком-то азбуке морзе , и ещё по-ипсум лорум. Я, поетому, решила писать свой "блог" по-русски . :D
Я люблю языков, и мне нравиться, что она тоже думает, что лингвистика-интересна :D
Я люблю языков, и мне нравиться, что она тоже думает, что лингвистика-интересна :D
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
Fun Facts
So, I was reading the instructions to the wine kit (yah, I know, reading instructions is for GIRLS...but I am a girl :D), and it mentioned that a person over 21 can legally make up to 100 gallons of wine, beer, or mead in one year for personal consumption, as long as they do not sell it.
I'm not sure about you, but I'm pretty sure that 100 gallons already constitutes alcoholism, and a HELUVA lot of free time to be making this stuff. That's about 2 gallons a week, or almost 2 bottles of wine every day.
It also states on the outside of the box that the kit is meant only for persons over the age of 21. See, I don't think that they can prevent a person under 21 from buying the kit, technically, since it does not contain alcohol...but it gives explicit instructions and precisely measured ingredients and equipment to MAKE alcohol, which could be a problem.
Hmmmmm. I wonder what the cashier at BB& Beyond would do if a 12 yo kid tried to buy this thing.
I'm not sure about you, but I'm pretty sure that 100 gallons already constitutes alcoholism, and a HELUVA lot of free time to be making this stuff. That's about 2 gallons a week, or almost 2 bottles of wine every day.
It also states on the outside of the box that the kit is meant only for persons over the age of 21. See, I don't think that they can prevent a person under 21 from buying the kit, technically, since it does not contain alcohol...but it gives explicit instructions and precisely measured ingredients and equipment to MAKE alcohol, which could be a problem.
Hmmmmm. I wonder what the cashier at BB& Beyond would do if a 12 yo kid tried to buy this thing.
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
On Comments
I realize that other people are most likely reading this blog. I respectfully request that if you have a comment, please post it here, not elsewhere.
Hee Hee!
The fiance and I went to FINALLY do our registries, after spending the night at my friend's aunt's house on Saturday out of depression over the Gtown loss....and some Shiraz...and some games of pool, and some poker (which I lost badly, reference Shiraz above)...yeah. We had lots of fun after we got over the loss, though, which is a plus :D
Anyway, back to the subject. We did two registries, which took most of the day. While we were scanning china patterns at Bed Bath & Beyond, we noticed a box on one of the discount shelves: a mini winemaking kit, just big enough to make four bottles of Merlot. Weeeell....since we live in an apartment, we haven't really ever done the making of wine thing before (for the uninitiated, it kinda takes up space), but this was a tiny kit, and it was on SALE...so now we have grape juice happily fermenting on the kitchen counter.
As a second experiment, I also took organic grape, black cherry and blueberry juices and mixed them and added some of the yeast to that as well. I actually think that one is going to turn out to be tastier, but we shall see.
One of these days we'll have a backyard...or, rather, we'll have a vineyard where there was once a backyard :D
Anyway, back to the subject. We did two registries, which took most of the day. While we were scanning china patterns at Bed Bath & Beyond, we noticed a box on one of the discount shelves: a mini winemaking kit, just big enough to make four bottles of Merlot. Weeeell....since we live in an apartment, we haven't really ever done the making of wine thing before (for the uninitiated, it kinda takes up space), but this was a tiny kit, and it was on SALE...so now we have grape juice happily fermenting on the kitchen counter.
As a second experiment, I also took organic grape, black cherry and blueberry juices and mixed them and added some of the yeast to that as well. I actually think that one is going to turn out to be tastier, but we shall see.
One of these days we'll have a backyard...or, rather, we'll have a vineyard where there was once a backyard :D
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