Month: December 2021

problems

life coach – An advisor who helps people with problems, decisions, and goal attainment in daily life. More…

empathy, sympathy – Empathy denotes a deep emotional understanding of another’s feelings or problems, while sympathy is more general and can apply to small annoyances or setbacks. More…

gravity – Comes from Latin gravitas, from gravis, “heavy, important”—and it can apply to situations and problems as well as to people. More…

insoluble – Can be applied to problems that cannot be solved as well as substances that will not dissolve in liquids. More…

Ladouvane

Ladouvane, or the Singing to Rings, is a Bulgarian fertility ritual. Traditionally, young girls drop their rings, together with oats and barley (symbols of fertility), into a cauldron of spring water. The rings are tied with a red thread to a bunch of ivy, crane’s bill, basil, or some other perennial plant. Ritual dances are performed around the cauldron, and the girls’ fortunes are told. In western Bulgaria, the Central Balkan Range, and along the Danube River, Ladouvane is observed on New Year’s Eve. In the rest of the country, it is observed on Midsummer Day. Discuss

The Mongolian Death Worm

The terrifyingly named Mongolian death worm is a creature purported to live in China’s Gobi Desert. Though its existence is widely debated, it is described as a bright red worm with a wide body that is 2 to 5 feet (0.6 to 1.5 m) long and is said to resemble a cow’s intestine. Mongolian locals claim that the worm can emit an electrical shock and spew acid that kills humans on contact and corrodes anything it touches. How did the Western world find out about the Mongolian death worm in 1926? Discuss

painter

paysagist – A painter of landscapes. More…

pointillist – A painter who creates separate dots of pure color instead of mixed pigments; the pronunciation is PWAHN-tuhl-ist. More…

pictorial – First meant “pertaining to a painter or painting,” as it derives from Latin pictor, “painter.” More…

picturesque – Based on Italian pittore, “painter,” its original meaning was “in the style of a painter.” More…

Rizal Day

A national holiday in the Philippines, Rizal Day commemorates the execution of the national hero, Dr. José Rizal, on this day in 1896. Flags fly at half-staff throughout the country, and special rites are led by the president at the 500-foot Rizal Monument in Manila. Writing from Europe and denouncing the corrupt ruling of the Philippines by Spanish friars, Rizal became known as a leader of the Philippine reform movement. He had no direct role in the nationalist insurrection, but he was arrested, tried for sedition, and executed by a firing squad. Discuss

Horsepower Indeed

Early streetcars had horsepower, literally; they were drawn by horses or mules and called “horsecars.” By the late 1880s, there were 415 street railway companies in the US. However, horses could only work for about four hours a day and needed to be groomed, fed, and housed—and they left behind tremendous amounts of waste. These issues, coupled with the introduction of the overhead trolley system in 1887, spelled the end of the horsecar era. Where was the last functional horsecar in the US? Discuss