Friday, March 29, 2013

Good Friday

... It's Good Friday today. Good Friday is the Friday before Easter and it is a statutory holiday in North America. The Monday after Easter is called Easter Monday, and it is not a statutory holiday, but government workers get the day off.

 Black cats are considered bad luck according to superstition. At Halloween there are often pictures of black cats.

Thursday, March 28, 2013

fawn

... 'fawn' (noun) means a baby deer.

 
'to fawn' (verb) means: to be insincerely friendly, for example, a fawning speech means that someone is praising someone, but they really don't like the person.

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

snow drifts


'snow drifts' are when the winds blows snow into piles, which can be bigger than they look.

'drifting snow' is when the wind blows snow around; this can make it hard to drive.



Wednesday, March 13, 2013

touch base

'touch base' is a slang expression often used in business.
It means to talk to someone for a short period of time, usually to find out what they're feeling.
for example: "Touch base with Sandy, she has a problem with her computer."
This expression comes from baseball, when a batter runs to first base, and then stands there for a short time talking to the first baseman, before running to second base.
I lost my camera somewhere, so here's some old photos from a year ago.





Sunday, March 10, 2013

Spring Forward

Daylight Savings Time starts in Canada today.

Toronto is now 13 hours behind Japan. It is morning in Canada, but evening in Japan.


Thursday, March 7, 2013

nuke

'nuke' is slang for 'nuclear'.
it is also a slang verb meaning: to heat in the microwave
for example: nuke the coffee
---
these are pix that I took at Hiroshima.
The A-Bomb Dome was directly under the bomb, and remained standing.
All other buildings in the city were knocked down sideways by the blast wave.
The copper plates on the dome of the roof were melted, but the iron framework remained.
Even an iron spiral staircase on the left was only partially melted.




Wednesday, March 6, 2013

chocoholic

'alcoholic' is a real word meaning: (noun) a person who is addicted to alcohol, or (adjective) related to alcohol addiction.

'chocoholic' is a slang word meaning: addicted to chocolate. You can take any word and add '-oholic' to the end, for example, a 'shopoholic' is someone who is addicted to shopping.



By the way, the word 'alcohol' is very difficult to spell. It comes from the Arabic word: al co hol

Sunday, March 3, 2013

leprecaun

'leprecaun' is an imaginary little man from Irish legends.
He usually wears a little green hat and green clothes.
In March there is an Irish holiday, Saint Patrick's Day.
People usually wear green and drink beer on Saint Patrick's Day.

Friday, March 1, 2013

still life

'still life' is an expression in art.
It means: a painting or photo of something that is not moving, i.e., not people or animals, usually flowers or fruit.