My Blog by my_high_IQ | English, baby! Blogs

The power of colors

my_high_IQ — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 12:16:57 GMT

The power of colors

No no no I have to disappoint you from the very outset. This blog is not a philosophical reflection about how diverse and colorful our world is or any report on modern research revealing the influence colors have on our lives. Nothing like that. This is just another boring and may be absolutely unnecessary english lesson. (hope you didn’t forget, we are on englishbaby!!)

Well … there are a large number of expressions in english language involving different colors.

Let’s start from the ‘blue’ :

True blue –loyal

Feeling blue - down–hearted, feeling unhappy

Bolt from the blue – an unexpected event

Once in a blue moon- rarely or seldom

Singing the blues –acting or feeling sad

Out of the blue – completely unexpected

Black and blue – be badly bruised

Scream blue murder – make a lot of fuss; shout loudly and emotionally in protest

The boys in blue – the uniformed police

A blue-eyed boy – a young man admired because he is successful

Blue in the face – being very emotional, exited

Make the air blue – to swear, curse

To drink till all's blue – to be utterly drunk

Red, green, black and white are coming next….

If you can add any ‘blue’ , you are welcome !!

untitled

my_high_IQ — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 17:44:35 GMT

untitled

"Talent is God-given; be humble.
Fame is man-given; be grateful.
Conceit is self-given; be careful"
-John Wooden

Animal farm

my_high_IQ — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 11:08:31 GMT

Animal farm

it's a fiction written in 1945 by G. Orwell an english writer. He actually titled it as a fary-tale.it's a short, easily readable story (he wittingly used simple language for that he wanted it to be translated into different languages) with valuable lessons about how political and governmental organizations often work. Orwell wrote it as a parable about the Russian Revolution, as an example of how a revolutionary government could be worse than its monarchist predecessor, but it also could apply to many political organizations, labor unions, and the like. The key lesson is that the organization's bosses often manipulate the organization for their own benefit, and end up being as bad, if not worse, than the real or imaginary evils from which they are protecting their followers. actually it is an allegory in which animals are embodiment of humans.

here you can read it:

http://www.readprint.com/work-1250/Animal-Farm-George-Orwell

some extracts from the book:

Man is the only creature that consumes without producing. He does not give milk, he does not lay eggs, he is too weak to pull the plough, he cannot run fast enough to catch rabbits. Yet he is lord of all the animals.

and:

ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL
BUT SOME ANIMALS ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS

here is the main character :)

thoughtful...

my_high_IQ — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 11:02:51 GMT

thoughtful...

"Count your blessings instead of your crosses,
Count your gains instead of your losses.
Count your joys instead of your woes,
Count your friends instead of your foes.
Count your smiles instead of your tears,
Count your courage instead of your fears.
Count your full years instead of your lean,
Count your kind deeds instead of your mean.
Count your health instead of your wealth,
Love your neighbour as much as yourself"

-Irish Toast

by force of habit...

my_high_IQ — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 20:36:14 GMT

by force of habit...

Habit, what is it? If you refer to the dictionary you will find interpretations like these:

...a tendency or aptitude acquired by custom or frequent repetition…

Or:

…an acquired behavior pattern regularly followed until it has become almost involuntary…

It is considered that habits can be bad or good. Personally I have a huge amount of bad habits.One of them is doubting whether I locked the door(be it car door or front door)almost everytime I leave home.And at the same time I always know it for sure that if I go back to check it, the door will be locked as every normal door is supposed to be. But I also know that this uncomfortable and obtrusive feeling is not going to leave me until I’m distracted with smth else or any other of my habits comes into effect:)

Another one of that huge my-bad-habits-list is acting as if I’m a robot. I can do my daily chore taking no notice of what I’m actually doing. Sometimes it leads to quite curious incidents.

Yesterday I was driving my routine way home which I’ve been driving for 5 years and if my car had an automatic-pilot (like in airplanes) I could turn it on and take a nap. But not yesterday. Yesterday I was stopped by the DYP(abbreviation for the state vehicle police here in Azerbaijan) -what the hell?! I didn’t break the rules!! (of course I didn’t tell it aloud, I do have some bad habits but I’m not crack! not yet!)-can I have your documents? -what’s the matter? - I asked angrily almost ready to burst with indignation.-You’ve violated the traffic rule, there is a road sign over there which doesn’t allow you to turn to the right.-he sounded friendly, that alone was very queerly.

Well, in short, there really was a new sign which of course I had not noticed due to being in a robot-like condition. And I had to pay fine (By the way, this is a good way to make money, the only thing you need is one road sign, install it at night when all decent and respectable citizens are deep asleep, and in the morning, there you are, reap your harvest! Because I know I’m not the only one who has that being-like-robot-habit!!)

Ironic

my_high_IQ — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 18:48:43 GMT

Ironic

Here are the lyrics for ''Ironic'' by Alanis Morissette with some explanations:

An old man turned ninety-eight
He won the lottery and died the next day
It's a black fly in your Chardonnay
It's a death row pardon two minutes too late
And isn't it ironic... don't you think

It's like rain on your wedding day
It's a free ride when you've already paid
It's the good advice that you just didn't take
And who would've thought... it figures

Mr. Play It Safe was afraid to fly
He packed his suitcase and kissed his kids goodbye
He waited his whole damn life to take that flight
And as the plane crashed down he thought
"Well isn't this nice..."
And isn't it ironic... don't you think

It's like rain on your wedding day
It's a free ride when you've already paid
It's the good advice that you just didn't take
And who would've thought... it figures

Well life has a funny way of sneaking up on you
When you think everything's okay and everything's going right
And life has a funny way of helping you out when
You think everything's gone wrong and everything blows up
In your face

A traffic jam when you're already late
A no-smoking sign on your cigarette break
It's like ten thousand spoons when all you need is a knife
It's meeting the man of my dreams
And then meeting his beautiful wife
And isn't it ironic...don't you think
A little too ironic...and, yeah, I really do think...

It's like rain on your wedding day
It's a free ride when you've already paid
It's the good advice that you just didn't take
Who would've thought... it figures

Life has a funny way of sneaking up on you
Life has a funny, funny way of helping you out
Helping you out

Now,some clarifications for the phrases in bold:

crashed down: to fall with a very loud noise

sneaking up: to move towards someone or somthing very quietly so that they do not see or hear you until you reach them

helping out: to aid someone, especially in a difficult situation

blows up in your face: if a plan, a deal or a situation goes very wrong and causes you harm or embarrassment

and some more:

To turn ____ (an age...98 for example) When you get older you turn that age. For example my birthday is on the 22nd of November and this year I will turn 26.

Death row is when you are sentenced to die. If you recieve the death penalty you are then waiting to die...on dealth row. So in the song, a dealth row pardon is when you are excused and no longer need to die.

Who is Mr. Play it Safe? When someone calls you Mr. or Mrs. Play it safe, it means that you are very causious and don't like to take risks.

A funny way Here funny refers to something that is strange or weird. So if you have a funny way of cooking something...it means that your way is different or strange.

A Traffic Jam: This is when traffic is moving very slowly...if it is moving at all. You usually get stuck in traffic jams.(oh how I hate it :)

jokes for the chess-lovers

my_high_IQ — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 19:00:17 GMT

jokes for the chess-lovers

*****A chess master died - after a few days, a friend of his heard a voice; it was him!
"What's it like, where you are now," he asked.
"What do you want to hear first, the good news or the bad news."
"Tell me the good news first."
"Well, it's really heaven here. There are tournaments and blitz sessions going on all the time and Morphy, Alekhine, Lasker, Tal, Capablanca, Botvinnik, they're all here, and you can play them."
"Fantastic!" the friend said, "and what is the bad news?"
"You have Black against Capablanca on Saturday."

*****
"So I was having dinner with Garry Kasporov - Problem was, we had a checkered tablecloth and it took him two hours to pass the salt!"

*****

Riddle..

my_high_IQ — Wed, 06 May 2009 20:11:22 GMT

Riddle..

There is a man whose name is Jack. Three persons are talking about him:

First one says: ''Jack has more than 1000 books.''

Second one says: ''I know that Jack has less than 1000 books.''

Third one: ''I'm sure that Jack has 1 book at least.''

Now,considering that only one of these statements is true, tell me please, how many books does Jack have?

Do not forget to live...

my_high_IQ — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 19:11:45 GMT

Do not forget to live...

First I was dying to finish school and start university

And then i was dying to finish university and start working

And then I was dying to marry and have children

And then I was dying for my children to grow old enough for school so i could return to work

And then I was dying to retire

And now I'm dying....and suddenly I realize I forgot to live...

(Anonymous writer)

Baku is burning....

my_high_IQ — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 17:19:28 GMT

Baku is burning....

The biggest holiday in Azerbaijan is Novruz. (you may also come across several other spellings: nowrooz,nowruz,noruz,no ruz…)

This spring event has its roots as a pre-Islam New Year celebration. Novruz is the favourite holiday in Azerbaijan. It has a remarkable endurance and survival capacity, being of non Islamic origin it managed to retain its importance after the Arab conquest and in this century survived Soviet attempts to destroy it.

Novruz is a celebration of the spring Equinox (which marks the new year) . Novruz is a time of renewal and symbolizes rebirth, awakening, cleanliness and newness.

Several things are used to symbolize the occasion, sprouted wheat is a favourite. This is grown in a small vase and placed in a prominent place in the house, such as a table center (the vase with the wheat is called 'semeni')

On the last Wednsday before Novruz people light bonfires and jump over them, as in similar Spring festivities in Europe. Tradition holds that the living are visited by the spirits of their ancestors on the last days of the year. Children symbolically reenact the visits. They jump over bonfires and run through the streets, banging on pots and pans with spoons and knocking on doors to ask for treats.

The menu varies from a great deal from region to region, but for Novruz abundant meals are prepared and ritually seven objects are laid on the tables. Children enjoy this holiday very much, since they get present from their elders, often in the form of money.

The most pleasant aspect : a full week of vacation for entire country

Happy Novruz for everyone !

An Unfinished Story by O.Henry

my_high_IQ — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 19:37:11 GMT

An Unfinished Story by O.Henry

............

A fly cop--an angel policeman--flew over to me and took me by the
left wing. Near at hand was a group of very prosperous-looking
spirits arraigned for judgment.

"Do you belong with that bunch?" the policeman asked.

"Who are they?" was my answer.

.............

"Why," said he, "they are the men who hired working-girls, and paid
'em five or six dollars a week to live on. Are you one of the
bunch?"

"Not on your immortality," said I. "I'm only the fellow that set
fire to an orphan asylum, and murdered a blind man for his pennies."