From "Ti amo" (Italian) to "nenu ninnu premisthunnanu" (Telugu, of course -- a Dravidian language predominantly spoken in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and Yanam, where it's the official language), this is a neat web page with the written words anglicized for 35 tongues.
A Facebook post regarding shoveling snow from yesterday's huge storm:
WHAT GOES AROUND, COMES AROUND:
I watched, yesterday afternoon, with some concern but with some inward laughs, too, as a pickup with a plow marauded around our neighborhood pummeling curbs and recently shoveled sidewalks with a cascade of wettish snow. My neighbor a few houses up, who I do not know, had a few choice words for the plower, which I will not share with my FB friends, complaining that the extra snow deposited on his pristine sidewalk had clogged his snow blower.
I was smug and untouched by the indiscriminate plow, until, I returned to shoveling my walk and did not see the return of the marauder. My driveway, moments earlier cleared of slushy snow, was covered again. *&^*%# ...
Sometimes a simple "Hi" can make your day. As I prepared my coffee after my workout -- styrofoam cup, creamer and sugar -- a young girl (about 8 years of age) came up to get a cup and said, without compunction, "Hi", to me, and I responded in kind. Later, when I took a plum from a bin at the front desk (absolutely delicious by the way), she wished me a "Happy Valentine's Day".
When I returned from the locker with my wallet, keys and iPhone, I asked an older man, sitting with her, whether he was her grandfather. He said, "Yes", and I commented how friendly his granddaughter was and how her gestures made my day. She proceeded to walk up to me and give me a hug. She gave me a hug. Extraordinary. Her name was Madison. What a delight to encounter such an open and loving girl in our litigious, predator-conscious world.
It's a full moon tonight. The walk was lovely, a little over a mile but that black ice can be tricky and disastrous. A few times, inadvertently, I hit a spot and the Nike would slip in the opposing direction and I envisioned a plummet to the asphalt with leash in one hand and dog potty plastic in the other. Not pretty, but the night sky was. I forgot what star was partnering with the moon tonight but it was to last most the evening. Wish I knew more about the stars and our universe. (Pondered a question tonight as I walked ... do a lot of thinking when I walk, thank goodness no music or radio station to detract like the many at the "Y" ... Just how did they figure out the speed of light? ... and then the debate between Bill Nye and Ken Ham, all thirteen letters of them, and how reality staring you in the face can be obstructed by suffocating dogma and myth).
My JibJab videos went to their digital addresses today. One to Katia in Florida, another to Lindsay in Nashville, one here of mom & me doing a Brazilian dance, and the same Silent Film skit held the faces of Doug and Norma Virginia, which I sent to Johns Creek. He had not received it when I spoke to him by phone shortly after. Hopefully, he got it. There a lot of fun and so easy to do. The people who write the code for these websites are absolute wizards. They make it child's play.
In remarkable serendipity on the radio station WHYY, which continues to fundraise due to all the catastrophic weather events in the Philly area, Terri Gross, 63; Dave Davies, 61; and Marty Moss-Coane, 65; all were born on Valentine's Day. They got together to, you guessed it, fundraise this evening during a rebroadcast of Fresh Air interview with Robert Redford.
