http://www.usachatnow.com/community/blog/category/education/ Blog categories... http://www.usachatnow.com/community/Sweet_Melissa/blog/a-poem-worth-sharing/ by Kit McCallum

I sometimes find I'm drifting
Through this life without effect;
I often wonder if I'm truly
Worth what I've been blessed.

I...]]> by Kit McCallum

I sometimes find I'm drifting
Through this life without effect;
I often wonder if I'm truly
Worth what I've been blessed.

I search through days that have been hard,
To try to understand,
The many trials that I have known,
The life that I have had.

You see me in my daily grind,
So confident and strong;
Yet when I am alone, I question
Just where I belong.

I often try too hard I find,
To analyze and guess,
To scrutinize, investigate
My life I will confess.

For somewhere deeper, there must be
Some meaning to this life,
Some way to make a difference,
Give a reason for this strife.

Is there some hidden meaning?
Some agenda to be found?
A greater purpose waiting
If I care to hang around?

It teases and it taunts me,
Always slightly out of sight;
A hazy vision out of reach,
Where darkness hides the light.

I struggle to bring clarity
To what awaits me there,
And yet this weak illusion
Always fades before my stare.

It seems the harder that I try,
To focus through the haze,
Just serves to add more questions,
Through my endless, tired gaze.

Perhaps I'm trying just too hard,
To understand it all,
For can we ever truly know
Just what we have in store?

Each incident, each moment passed,
Just adds upon the next,
But in the end, will I find truth ...
Or will I be perplexed?

Perhaps I make it harder
Than it has to be sometimes,
But will my searching bring to me
My meaning over time?

Or will it leave me broken,
And confused as I feel now,
While questions bring no solitude,
To this, my wrinkled brow.]]> http://www.usachatnow.com/community/Sweet_Melissa/blog/a-poem-worth-sharing/ Thu, 29 Mar 2012 19:43:17 +0000 Melissa http://www.usachatnow.com/community/Katie46/blog/roping-a-deer/ This story was written by someone I went to school with... the funny thing is I can actually see him doing this .. whether or not its true..only he ca...
Roping a Deer.... by Greg Mitchell

I had this idea that I was going to rope a deer, put it in a stall, feed it up on corn for a couple of weeks,
then kill it and eat it. The first step in this adventure was getting a deer. I figured that, since they

congregate at my cattle feeder and do not seem to have much fear of me when we are there (a bold one will
sometimes come right up and sniff at the bags of feed while I am in the back of the truck not 4 feet away),
it should not be difficult to rope one, get up to it and toss a bag over its head (to calm it down) then
hog tie it and transport it home.

I filled the cattle feeder then hid down at the end with my rope. The cattle, having seen the roping thing
before, stayed well back. They were not having any of it. After about 20 minutes, my deer showed up — 3 of them.
I picked out a likely looking one, stepped out from the end of the feeder, and threw my rope. The deer just
stood there and stared at me. I wrapped the rope around my waist and twisted the end so I would have a good hold.
The deer still just stood and stared at me, but you could tell it was mildly concerned about the whole rope
situation. I took a step towards it...it took a step away. I put a little tension on the rope and then received
an education.

The first thing that I learned is that, while a deer may just stand there looking at you funny while you rope it,
they are spurred to action when you start pulling on that rope. That deer EXPLODED.

The second thing I learned is that pound for pound, a deer is a LOT stronger than a cow or a colt. A cow or a colt
in that weight range I could fight down with a rope and with some dignity. A deer— no chance. That thing ran and
bucked and twisted and pulled. There was no controlling it and certainly no getting close to it. As it jerked me
off my feet and started dragging me across the ground, it occurred to me that having a deer on a rope was not near
ly as good an idea as I had originally imagined. The only upside is that they do not have as much stamina as many
other animals. A brief 10 minutes later, it was tired and not nearly as quick to jerk me off my feet and drag me
when I managed to get up. It took me a few minutes to realize this, since I was mostly blinded by the blood
flowing out of the big gash in my head.

At that point, I had lost my taste for corn-fed venison. I just wanted to get that devil creature off the end of
that rope. I figured if I just let it go with the rope hanging around its neck, it would likely die slowly and
painfully somewhere. At the time, there was no love at all between me and that deer. At that moment, I hated the
thing, and I would venture a guess that the feeling was mutual. Despite the gash in my head and the several large
knots where I had cleverly arrested the deer's momentum by bracing my head against various large rocks as it
dragged me across the ground, I could still think clearly enough to recognize that there was a small chance that
I shared some tiny amount of responsibility for the situation we were in, so I didn't want the deer to have it
suffer a slow death, so I managed to get it lined back up in between my truck and the feeder - a little trap I
had set beforehand ... kind of like a squeeze chute. I got it to back in there and I started moving up so I
could get my rope back.

Did you know that deer bite? They do! I never in a million years would have thought that a deer would bite
somebody, so I was very surprised when I reached up there to grab that rope and the deer grabbed hold of my wrist.
Now, when a deer bites you, it is not like being bit by a horse where they just bite you and then let go. A deer
bites you and shakes its head — almost like a pit bull. They bite HARD and it hurts.

The proper thing to do when a deer bites you is probably to freeze and draw back slowly. I tried screaming and
shaking instead. My method was ineffective. It seems like the deer was biting and shaking for several minutes,
but it was likely only several seconds. I, being smarter than a deer (though you may be questioning that claim by now)
tricked it. While I kept it busy tearing the bejesus out of my right arm, I reached up with my left hand and pulled that rope loose.

That was when I got my final lesson in deer behavior for the day. Deer will strike at you with their front feet.
They rear right up on their back feet and strike right about head and shoulder level, and their hooves are surprisingly sharp.
I learned a long time ago that, when an animal — like a horse — strikes at you with their hooves and you can't get away easily,
the best thing to do is try to make a loud noise and make an aggressive move towards the animal. This will usually cause them to back
down a bit so you can escape. This was not a horse. This was a deer, so obviously, such trickery would not work. In the course of a millisecond,
I devised a different strategy. I screamed like a woman and tried to turn and run.

The reason I had always been told NOT to try to turn and run from a horse that paws at you is that there is a good chance that it will hit you in the back of the head. Deer may not be so different from horses after all, besides being twice as strong and 3 times as evil, because the second I turned to run, it hit me right in the back of the head and knocked me down. Now, when a deer paws at you and knocks you down, it does not immediately leave. I suspect it does not recognize that the danger has passed. What they do instead is paw your back and jump up and down on you while you are lying there crying like a little girl and covering your head. I finally managed to crawl under the truck and the deer went away.

So now I know why when people go deer hunting they bring a rifle with a scope so that they can be somewhat equal to the Prey.]]> http://www.usachatnow.com/community/Katie46/blog/roping-a-deer/ Sun, 25 Sep 2011 18:25:33 +0000 Katie http://www.usachatnow.com/community/John_Alone/blog/history-of-the-english-language-part-4/ Late Modern English (1800-Present)
The main difference between Early Modern English and Late Modern English is vocabulary. Late Modern English has man...]]> Late Modern English (1800-Present)
The main difference between Early Modern English and Late Modern English is vocabulary. Late Modern English has many more words, arising from two principal factors: firstly, the Industrial Revolution and technology created a need for new words; secondly, the British Empire at its height covered one quarter of the earth's surface (‘the sun never sets on the British Empire’). The consequence was a further adoption of foreign words from many countries into the English language.
Varieties of English
From around 1600, the English colonization of North America resulted in the creation of a distinct American variety of English. Some English pronunciations and words "froze" when they reached America. In some ways, American English is more like the English of Shakespeare than modern British English is. Some expressions that the British call "Americanisms" are in fact original British expressions that were preserved in the colonies while lost for a time in Britain (for example trash for rubbish, loan as a verb instead of lend, and fall for autumn; another example, frame-up, was re-imported into Britain through Hollywood gangster movies).

Spanish also had an influence on American English (and subsequently British English), with words like canyon, ranch, stampede and vigilante being examples of Spanish words that entered English through the settlement of the American West. French words (through Louisiana) and West African words (through the slave trade) also influenced American English (and so, to an extent, British English).

Today, American English is particularly influential, due to the USA's global presence and dominance in cinema, television, popular music, trade and technology (including the exploitation of a British invention, the internet and the world wide web). But there are many other varieties of English around the world, including for example Australian English, New Zealand English, Canadian English, South African English, Indian English and Caribbean English.]]> http://www.usachatnow.com/community/John_Alone/blog/history-of-the-english-language-part-4/ Sun, 11 Sep 2011 21:50:41 +0000 John_Alone http://www.usachatnow.com/community/John_Alone/blog/history-of-the-english-language-part-3/ Middle English (1100-1500)
In 1066 William the Conqueror, the Duke of Normandy (part of modern France) and a blood relative to the English kings, inva...]]> Middle English (1100-1500)
In 1066 William the Conqueror, the Duke of Normandy (part of modern France) and a blood relative to the English kings, invaded and conquered England. The invasion of 1066 is generally thought of as French, and that was certainly true in linguistic terms, although their roots and self-image went back to the Vikings. Nonetheless, the new conquerors (called the Normans) brought with them a kind of French, which became the language of the Royal Court, the ruling and business classes for several centuries to follow. For a period there was a kind of linguistic class division, where the lower classes spoke English and the upper classes spoke French. The developing richness of the English language benefited from the many French words that were subsequently added and became ‘adopted’ words in the vocabulary of England.

By the late 1300’s, early 1400’s, on the back of a growing literary merchant (or middle) class, the literate world was increasingly an English world. The facility to speak and understand French (and therefore to read and write it) was in marked decline before the end of the 14th century; even for official and formal business. By the middle half of the 14th century English was dominant, with carefully records of the earliest known property deed drawn up in English (1376), Will (1387) and Henry IV’s speech to Parliament (1399) as evidence. The reasons for this quite revolution are complex, but among them may be the patriotism generated by the long war with France. The triumph of the written English language was assured.

Before that happened, one major problem had to be faced: that of regional dialects. Only then could the full potential of the English written and spoken tongue be realised. At this time quaint Cornish, wilfully foreign Welsh, and the unintelligibilities of the Yorkshire dialect could not be fully absorbed into common English. What evolved was based on the emergence of London as the settled capital, York as a subsidiary administrative centre (based on the Minister) and Bristol as the second commercial city. Each had an evolving dialect that inevitably became compre-hensible to the others and gradually fused in a standardised English. This dialect was predominantly midland English, later more commonly known as middle English, which became the victor largely because of the industrious and substantial migration of Midlanders to London in the 14th and 15th Centuries. part hich . known or language. Middle English became the preferred language of the great poet Geoffrey Chaucer (c1340-1400), who had serious misgivings as to whether his writings would be understood across England. However, it would still be difficult for native English speakers to understand today.

Half a century later William Caxton could be more optimistic in that his printed editions could be comprehensible across England’s shire Counties by using common English, not over rude, nor curious. The greater ease of understanding, in both speech and writing, that had developed meanwhile was crucial to the effectiveness of communication, the common expression of opinion, and the forging of a sense of nationhood. By the end of the Middle Ages, English had become ‘the language, not of the conquered, but of a conquering people’ – from kings, noblemen, gentlemen, and townsmen alike.]]> http://www.usachatnow.com/community/John_Alone/blog/history-of-the-english-language-part-3/ Sun, 11 Sep 2011 21:32:46 +0000 John_Alone http://www.usachatnow.com/community/John_Alone/blog/english-slang-for-non-english-people/ Adam and Eve - Rhyming Slang for 'believe'
aggro - short for aggravation or violence amber fluid : be...]]> Adam and Eve - Rhyming Slang for 'believe'
aggro - short for aggravation or violence amber fluid : beer
anorak - geek, nerd. apples and pears - Rhyming Slang for 'stairs'.
armpit: dirty, unappealing place. arse / ass [slightly offensive] (1): backside.
arse / ass (2): an unworthy person. arse about/arsing about - to fool around
arse-about-face: something that is in a mess or crooked
arseholed: very drunk arvo : afternoon Aussie : Australian
awesome: great and impressive.
backhander (1): a payment given, normally in a secretive fashion.
backhander (2): hit someone. ball (1): a fun time.
ball [slightly offensive] (2): a testicle. ballistic - to go mad with rage
bang [slightly offensive](1): to make love bang (2): a powerful effect.
banged up - to be put in prison. bangers - another name for sausages.
barbie : barbecue, grill. barf (1): vomit. barmy - a foolish person, mad.
barney - row, violent argument. beans: money. beast [offensive] - an ugly woman.
beat: tired. beemer: a BMW. bent (1): a 'gay man' bent (2): 'stolen'.
biggie: something important. biker: a motorcycle rider. bikkie : biscuit
bimbo - a young woman considered sexually attractive but of limited intelligence.
bird - woman/girl/girlfriend bitch [offensive] (1): a very unpleasant woman.
bitch [offensive] (2): complain. bitchy [slightly offensive]: moody.
bitzer : mongrel dog (bits of this and bits of that!). bladdered - very drunk
blag - a robbery bloke – man blotto - 'very drunk'
blue (1) - XXX; dirty, hot, steamy, pornographic blue (2): domestic fight or row.
bluey - pornographic film boat race - Rhyming Slang for 'face'. bod: body.
bonkers; go bonkers: crazy. bonzer : great. booboo: a mistake.
bovver - trouble, usually fighting. booze: alcohol. boozer (1): a pub
boozer (2): someone who likes alcohol.
Brahms and Liszt - Rhyming Slang for 'pissed' (drunk).
brass monkeys - cold weather bread: money. brew (1): tea or coffee.
brew (2): beer. brill - short for 'brilliant'. bull: bullshit; lie.
bullshit [offensive]: lie; dishonesty. bugger - a mild form of abuse or an exclamation.
bunk-off - to be absent without permission bunk-up - to make love.
bushed: extremely tired. butt: the buttocks, bottom.
cabbage - someone who is a bit slow or stupid cakehole - mouth..
catch some rays: get some sunshine. char / cha - tea.
cheesy: cheap; lacking in good taste. chicken: coward. chook : a chicken
chuck up: vomit
chuck a sickie : take the day off sick from work when you're perfectly healthy.
ciggy - slang for cigarette. cock and bull story - a rubbish story, nonsense.
(to) cop it - to die, to get into trouble. cool: excellent; superb.
cooler, the: gaol; jail; prison
couch potato: a person who watches too much television.
cozzie : swimming costume cranky : in a bad mood, angry.
crap [slightly offensive] (1): something worthless. crap [offensive] (2): excrement.
crap [slightly offensive] (3): falsehoods and lies.
crikey - an expression of astonishment. crust - money / wage. cushy - easy.
dead cert - something that is definite. deck: to hit someone.
dicey: unpredictable; risky. dickhead [slightly offensive] - an idiot, fool.
dill : an idiot. ding-dong - argument or fight. dipstick - idiot, fool.
dirt: extremely bad person. dirty: offensive; pornographic.
div/divvy - stupid or slow person. doodle - something thats easy / no problem.
dodgy - dubious person or thing. dog [offensive] - an ugly girl.
done over - beaten up dope - a slow or stupid person.
doobry - a nonsensical word used when you forget the name of something
dorky: strange; peculiar. dosh - money.
dosser - down-and-out, tramp. down under : Australia and New Zealand.
Drongo : a dope, stupid person. dude: a male.
dump [slightly offensive] - to defecate. dyke [offensive] - lesbian.
dynamite: powerful; excellent. dinosaur: something out of date or old fashioned.
earbashing : nagging, non-stop chatter. evil: great; excellent.
eyeball: to stare long and hard at someone or something.
eyepopper: something or someone visibly astounding.
fab: fabulous. face-off: confrontation. fag [offensive] (1): homosexual
fag (2): cigarette family jewels - Rhyming Slang for testicles.
far out - splendid. fart [offensive] (1): an escape of gas from the bowels.
fart [slightly offensive] (2): an unpleasant person fat head - an idiot or dull person.
fender-bender: small accident. filth [offensive] - the police.
fit - sexually attractive. five finger discount - shoplifting. flaky: unpredictable.
flashback: sudden memory. flick (1): film; movie.
flick (2): to give something or somebody the flick is to get rid of it or him/her
floating : intoxicated floozie - a mistress or girlfriend. flommox - confuse
flutter - a bet (on horse racing or football) footie - Abbreviated form for football.
for crying out loud ! - a expression of frustration or anger.
forty winks - a short sleep or nap. fox: attractive, alluring person.
freebie: something that does not cost money. French kiss : kissing with the tongue.
full monty - 'the whole lot', everything. full-on - powerful, with maximum effort.
funny farm - mental hospital or institution. funny money - counterfeit money.
gaff - house or flat. gander - to look at.
geek: an unattractive person who works too hard. get it: to understand something.
glitch: flaw. gobshite [offensive] - someone who talks rubbish all the time.
go bananas: go slightly mad. good onya : good for you, well done
goof (1): make a mistake. goof (2): a silly and foolish person. goof off: waste time.
goof up: make a mistake. goofy: silly. Gordon Bennet - an exclamation.
grand: one thousand dollars. grass: marijuana.
greaser - slang name for a 1950's style man. grog : alcohol, beer. grub: food.
grubby: not clean. grungy: unclean and stinky. gut: a person's stomach; belly.
guts: courage. gyno - gynaecologist hacked off - fed up, annoyed.
hairy: difficult; dangerous. ham-fisted - clumsy. hammered - drunk.
handcuffs: an engagement ring or wedding ring hang a left: make a left turn.
hang a right: make a right turn. headcase – mad hep: sensible; informed.
her ('er) indoors - wife, girlfriend. hickey: a love bite on the skin.
hip: sensible; informed. hole in the wall - a cashpoint machine or bankomat.
hoo-ha - trouble; commotion. hooker: prostitute.
horny: in the mood for sex, sexually stimulated;. hot (1): sexy.
hot (2):popular. hottie : hot water bottle huff - bad mood.
humungous: really big.
hump (1) - to have sex. hump (2) - bad mood. hyper: overly excited.
icky: unpleasant. I.D.: identification. iffy - dubious, doubtful.
I'm outta here: I'm leaving; I'm departing. in: fashionable.
ivories: teeth. jack around: waste time. jam (1): trouble.
jam (2): improvise (musically). jamming, to be : going well. jammy - lucky.
jerk: stupid or annoying person. jock: someone good at sports.
K : a thousand. keep your hair on - "keep calm". kick back: relax and enjoy.
kick the bucket: die. kip - sleep. knackered - exhausted. knees up - party.
knock: condemn, criticise. knockout: beautiful woman; handsome man.
knock back : refusal (noun), refuse (transitive verb) kook: peculiar person.
kraut [slightly offensive] - German laid back: relaxed; calm. lairy - loud, brash.
lame: incompetent. legless - very drunk. limp wristed - a gay man.
lip: cheeky talk. loaded - someone with a lot of money. loo : toilet
loser: a bungling and worthless person. lost the plot - crazy/mad.
love handles: excess fat around the waist.
luvverly jubberly - wonderful, great, all is well. make waves: cause problems.
malarkey - nonsense. mate – friend max, to the : maximum. mega: big.
megabucks: a large amount of money. mellow: relaxed.
mickey-mouse: unimportant; time-wasting.
minger [offensive] - an unattractive person (usually female).
mongrel : despicable person
moonie [offensive!] - to show one's bottom (arse) to unsuspecting onlookers.
moose [offensive] - an ugly girl. mozzie : mosquito mug : a gullible person.
naff - something which is cheap and nasty. naff off - a milder version off fu*k off.
nancy (nancy boy) - a homosexual. nark - a police informer.
narked - to be annoyed. neat: cool; great. nick - to steal. nipper - a small child.
no-hoper - somebody who'll never do well nosh - food.
not cricket - not normal or correct.
not all there - someone who is stupid, not bright intellectually
not half! - cetainly, for sure.
not the full quid - someone who is stupid, not bright intellectually.
nuke (1): nuclear weapon. nuke (2): destroy; delete.
nuke (3): cook something in the microwave oven. nut (1): odd or crazy person.
nut (2): someone passionate about something. nutter - crazy person.
nuts [slightly offensive]: testicles. nutty - eccentric.
off your face - to be very drunk. out of your tree - crazy, drunk or stoned.
pad: someone's home. pants (1) - an exclamation of frustration.
pants (2) - bad or rubbish. party: celebrate.
party animal: someone that loves parties. paws: hands. peanuts: very little money.
pee: to urinate. pickled: drunk. pig out: eat too much.
pigs ear: to make a mistake with something. piss [slightly offensive] - to urinate.
pissed - drunk. pissed (off): angry; upset.
piss-head - a habitual drinker or alcoholic. piss-up - a big drinking session.
plank - an idiot. plastered: drunk. plonker - an idiot pad: someone's home.
plonk (1) : cheap wine plonk (2): sit down - as in "plonk your arse down there".
poop [offensive]: defecation; shit. poop out: get tired and quit.
postie : postman pot: marijuana. prezzy : present, gift
pro - someone who's good at something; professional. psycho: crazy person.
puke: vomit. pumped (up): excited. queer [slightly offensive] - a homosexual.
rabbit - talk. racket (1): noise. racket (2): an occupation.
racket (3): something that's dishonest or deceptive. rat: a despicable person.
rat-arsed - drunk. rear (end): buttocks. (a) riot - something or someone very funny.
rip off (1): stealing. rip off (2): fraud. ripper : great, fantastic
rocking: great; excellent. roll up - a hand rolled cigarette. rosie lee - tea
rubbish: nonsense; not true. ruck - a fight. rug - wig, toupee. rug rat: a child.
rum - odd, strange. runs, the: diarrhoea. scoff: to eat.
screw up: to make a mistake. screw-up: a person who makes a mistake.
scum (offensive] - a despicable individual. shades - sunglasses.
shag [slightly offensive] - to make love. shagged-out - to feel tired.
shed-load - a huge amount. shite - milder variation of the word shit.
shitfaced [slightly offensive] - very drunk.
shithead [slightly offensive]: a stupid, impolite person. skint - to have no money
skosh - a little bit. slapper [offensive] - a loose or easy woman.
smeghead - an idiot. snog - to kiss snookered: cheated, stuck.
solid (1): really good; cool. solid (2): consecutive. specs: eyeglasses.
split: to leave. spunk [offensive] (1): semen spunk (2): spirit.
spunk (3): an attractive man. stoned: drunk from drugs or alcohol.
stunner - a very good looking woman. street smart: knowledgeable about city life.
strewth : exclamation (I'll be) stuffed : expression of surprise
suck: to be bad and unacceptable. sunnies : sunglasses
swagman : tramp sweet - excellent, cool. ta - thanks.
tacky - something of poor taste or style. tanked (up) - to get very drunk.
tea leaf - Rhyming Slang for thief. telly - television.
thick as shit [offensive]- very stupid.
thick as two short planks [offensive] - very stupid.
thingo : Wadjamacallit, thingummy, whatsit, something you don't know the name of!
thou: thousand. threads: clothing. ticker (1): the heart. ticker (2): a watch.
tiddly - slightly drunk. toss-pot [slightly offensive] - idiot. totally: really; completely.
to the max: maximum. troll - an ugly girl. (the) trots - diarrhoea.
trouble and strife - Rhyming Slang for 'wife'. trout [offensive] - unattractive woman
turkey (1): failure; flop. turkey (2): dumb person.
turn-off: something that repulses a person. umpteen: many; countless.
up for it - to be willing to have a good time. up the duff - to be pregnant.
Uncle Tom Cobley and all - a phrase meaning 'everyone'.
uptight: nervous; anxious. veg out : relax in front of the TV (like a vegetable)
wad: a lot of money. wanker - an idiot or an unpleasant person. wasted: killed.
weed (1): marijuana. weed (2): someone who is weak. wheels: car; motorcycle.
whiz: someone who shows a special talent for something. wicked - excellent, cool.
wimp: weak; feeble. wimpy: weak. wind up - to tease. winks: sleep.
wuss : coward x-rated - pornographic. yabber : talk (a lot) Yank: an American.
yob - a horrible or uncouth young man. zeds - sleep.
zero - an unimportant person. zilch - nothing zip (1) -nothing.
zip (2) - energy; vigor. zip it - shut up. zit: pimple; acne.]]> http://www.usachatnow.com/community/John_Alone/blog/english-slang-for-non-english-people/ Sun, 11 Sep 2011 19:56:45 +0000 John_Alone http://www.usachatnow.com/community/John_Alone/blog/english-is-a-crazy-language/
Let's face it -- English is a crazy language. There is no egg in eggplant nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in...]]>
Let's face it -- English is a crazy language. There is no egg in eggplant nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple. English muffins weren't invented in England or French fries in France. Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads, which aren't sweet, are meat.
We take English for granted. But if we explore its paradoxes, we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.
And why is it that writers write but fingers don't fing, grocers don't groce and hammers don't ham? If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn't the plural of booth beeth? One goose, 2 geese. So one moose, 2 meese? One index, 2 indices? Doesn't it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend, that you comb through annals of history but not a single annal? If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it?
If teachers taught, why didn't preacher praught? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat? If you wrote a letter, perhaps you would bote your tongue?
Sometimes I think all the English speakers should be committed to anasylum for the verbally insane. In what language do people recite at aplay and play at a recital? Ship by truck and send cargo by ship? Have noses that run and feet that smell? Park on driveways and drive on parkways?
How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and wise guy are opposites? How can overlook and oversee be opposites, while quite a lot and quite a few are alike? How can the weather be hot as hell one day and cold as hell another?
Have you noticed that we talk about certain things only when they are absent? Have you ever seen a horseful carriage or a strapful gown? Met a sung hero or experienced requited love? Have you ever run into someone who was combobulated, gruntled, ruly or peccable?
You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out and in which an alarm clock goes off by going on.
English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of the human race (which, of course, isn't a race at all). That is why, when the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible. And why, when I wind up my watch, I start it, but when I wind up this essay, I end it?]]> http://www.usachatnow.com/community/John_Alone/blog/english-is-a-crazy-language/ Sun, 11 Sep 2011 19:54:38 +0000 John_Alone http://www.usachatnow.com/community/John_Alone/blog/druid-magic-2/ Protecting with Wards
The words reward, warden, steward, warn, wardrobe, warrant, wary and beware all come from the same Old English root "ward," tha...]]> Protecting with Wards
The words reward, warden, steward, warn, wardrobe, warrant, wary and beware all come from the same Old English root "ward," that meant to guard, protect, or watch out for. "Setting the wards" is a magical technique for guarding and protecting an area or a person. We know that the Druids protected places from unwanted attention. The Roman poet Lucan wrote of a grove never violated over the ages, which people did not use for worship but left fallow for the gods. Guarding people and places is within our ability today and setting wards is one way to do it.
Stand outside the envisioned area to be protected and imagine a square around it. Begin in the front left corner; you'll be designating the corners as black-white-black-white. Call the first corner "black" and allow the polarity of blackness to be there. With strong intention, start some energy at that corner in order to ward off anything unwanted. Turn towards the next "white" corner and move your intention and protective energy here. Complete the third and fourth corners all the way back to the starting point. Two corners opposite each other will be black and two will be white; this will foster a dynamic tension between them. You have set a parameter and called in the balance of light and dark to work for you. Complete safety requires three-dimentional protection and this necessitates moving into the spheres of Above and Below. Envision the protected area extending down into the earth and up into the sky.
The next part of setting wards requires you to shift from sending out energy to receiving an image. Concentrate on the space or person that you are protecting and let an image come to you that arises naturally. You will simply be the conduit for the already existing spirit of the place or guardian of the person. Let the image emerge and move until it covers the entire space, above, below, and all around. The power that has chosen to be guardian knows what to do. In your mind, see and say clearly what the protective image is. You can leave now, in total confidence that the wards are set and the space or person is protected.
Shape Shifting (Fith-Fath)Fith-fath (fee-fawh) is a Scots Gaelic term meaning "deer aspect" or taking on the appearance of a deer. There are numerous Celtic stories of people being changed into deer or other life forms. However, it is possible to share with you other ways of shape shifting that are Druidic, magical and far more usable.
When you learn to shapeshift, the purpose is to become like something else, so like it that you are almost it. For example, Welsh Mystic Shapes call on the practitioner to work with the animal he/she feels closest to. On this path you are called upon to examine your interests, pursuits and personal tendencies as these will assist you in identifying whether you want to work with animals of the sea, sky or land. Once you have selected the element that attunes closely to you think deeply about specific animals. Visualize them, visit animal refuges, wildlife sanctuaries, aquariums, and the like. Hike in the wilderness and sleep out to experience which animals come to you. Make representations of your chosen animal to help you shift into that reality. These separate realities all exist simultaneously and it is up to us to find the veil or crack between the worlds.
When you have found your animal presence, perhaps through the quality of an element or lucid imagery, be ready to slip across realities and into its form at any time. Remember, this form is an ageless presence: it may have been on earth far longer than humans, and its intelligence is of the primal order of the world. Entering the form of an animal places you within a primal order where nothing is fixed and transformation becomes possible. It puts energy at your disposal for creativity and action.
Other forms of shape shifting involve talking with nature, masks, guises, costumes and teleportation, the latter of which requires a change in perception and consciousness as well as the "intention" to be elsewhere. Talk with a rock, a plant or a tree at least once a week. They have heard and seen everything and have much to teach you about patience, reliability and age old wisdom.
The Druid EggPliny the Elder, a Roman scientific writer, mentions the Druid Egg in his Historia Naturalis ("Natural History," XXIX.52). He described it as a small talisman called a "serpent's egg" that gave an unfair advantage to a Gaelic Vocontian chief who carried one during a legal battle. Pliny wrote that the Druid Egg was the size of a small apple with a pocket shell made of something like cartilage.
For our purposes, the Druid Egg is a smooth round, oval, or, yes, egg-shaped stone that can be conveniently fit in a pocket. It may be of any material including glass, and of any color. Be alert and sensitive as you look for a stone that signals to you. The Druid Egg is a tool used for developing single-mindedness. Stones are good at waiting, at not leaping into the future, therefore they can help you to stay in the present. Learn to focus your gaze and awareness on the egg until distractions die away. You will soon understand why this is known to be a tool for empowerment as it will assist you to become centered and ready to concentrate on any matter at hand.

We must acknowledge that there are boundaries to the physical senses that make it very difficult to perceive beyond them. This is at once a great blessing and a great limitation for humans. The blessing of the body is that it provides the Self with a wonderful vehicle of experience. The body as a vehicle for the Self is an amazingly refined organism that has evolved over eons and is perfectly suited to the nature of this world . . . and the nature of this world includes much that is hidden. Like an unpolished gem it awaits the knowledgeable and respectful stroke of the initiate to release its beauty and splendor.
As a great Irish story points out, incarnation in the human body is a wonderful gift for us to enjoy.]]> http://www.usachatnow.com/community/John_Alone/blog/druid-magic-2/ Sun, 11 Sep 2011 19:49:28 +0000 John_Alone http://www.usachatnow.com/community/maglight/blog/bubble-bath/ There is nothing I enjoy more than soaking in a nice hot bubble bath. Most ladies know how impossible it is to shave your legs standing up in the show... The bubble bath is just what the name implies. Perfect for shaving all your lady bits, slip your hair up and slap on a facial mask. Hell grab a beer and make it an experience.
The medical bath is for that time of the month. The heat soaks away your cramps, and you can’t get out till the water turns pink. Bubbles are not a must but it makes the pink water more tolerable. You need two Midol and a bottle of water.
The recovery bath is all about hydration. You drank too much the night before, and you may or may not have stomach contents in your hair. Still too drunk to stand up in the shower you hop into the recovery bath. You might need to abstain from any sort of shaving activities at this point depending on the level of inebriation. Let me stress again this bath is not for hygiene but recovery from a night of debauchery. You are going to need a giant bottle of water and Gatorade, Advil, and some salty snacks.
The sexy bath is when you need to wash a particular part of your body really thoroughly. You have to get your dirty body clean, freak. Bubbles are required, and candles are recommended. You will need a hand towel, a lady porn novel, and a relaxing beverage. If you have waterproof accessories who is anybody to judge you? Get your freak on girl!
Some possible complications that may arise during bath time can be easily remedied.
• What if the water gets cold? Are you prune-y? Do your lady parts ache yet? No??? You aren’t done. Let half the water out and refill.
• I like to shower with my partner, any tips? Yes, don’t. But if you must make sure you use less water, vigorous activity will lead to major splashing.
• What if the phone rings? Well I know from experience that callers can hear the water splashing. If you make the decision to answer the phone in the tub, you need to make it clear they just interrupted you from reaching your orgasm.
• What if I need to pee? No go. Hold it. This isn’t the shower, nasty!
• What if your dog wants to get in the bubble bath with you? Let them, it’s too damn cute.
• What if I accidently fart? This is tricky. You have to decide if you are too disgusted with your own fart water to continue. This might be an occurrence that is devastating to your bath time experience.
So the next time your kids or husband annoy the shit out of you, hop on into the bathtub and DARE someone to interrupt.]]> http://www.usachatnow.com/community/maglight/blog/bubble-bath/ Sun, 11 Sep 2011 04:19:36 +0000 MAGS http://www.usachatnow.com/community/John_Alone/blog/druid-magic/ Many people today think that hardly anything is known about the spiritual traditions of our Druid ancestors and believe that the knowledge of them is ... The reality is that there is so much information about Druidry, and there are so many new developments in Druidry, as a living spirituality, that we need guides to help us follow this ancient but ever-new tradition.
Because Druidry was transmitted mostly by oral tradition, it was effectively destroyed by its Roman and Christian opponents although a few traces have come down to us from Druid hands. There are three main sources of evidence for the reconstruction of Druidry: Celtic stories of Wales, Ireland and Scotland that have survived in folklore and literature although written down centuries after the era they purport to describe; Greek and Roman classical writings, many of which were biased in their views; and material evidence retrieved by archaeology.
The value of the Druidic Tradition is measured by how it helps us to live our lives now without attempting to recreate the past in historically unobtainable detail. Modern Druids choose to lie in the stream of spiritual tradition that, like the Celtic wells of inspiration and plenty, is always pouring forth its abundance.
You are the magician and can only perform true magic from the place of the Self! When you know who you are, where you come from and why you are here, you can activate your magic. Druid Magic works with our eternal Self, the part of us that knows all that there is. Druid Magic comes from a true understanding of the powers of the eternal Self, our divine being that incarnates in many lives. The important thing to keep in mind here is that the miracle is before us right now! From the eternal Self it is possible to bring about every manifestation in its rightful time and place, and when the Self is awake, wisdom, perspective, judgment, inspiration, and skill will be present to accomplish magic.
A miracle is, by definition, something that could not happen according to the normal function of the universe or laws of physics. It must therefore happen according to some supernatural means or by some secret law. In contrast, Druid Magic works according to the natural means and laws available to everyone. We define magic as actions, thoughts, intentions, and energies that cause transformation through a knowledge of all aspects of nature. It is miraculous in a deeper sense. It accomplishes things according to the ordinary way the universe functions; it observes nature, dances and works with it, rather than attempting to do things out of natural order.
To the Druid, the primal order is found in nature, including parts we do not fully understand. It is this quest to understand life in a greater way that is the impetus for walking the spiritual path; and one will have these experiences directly because of the Druid emphasis on getting inside all other existences such as the tree and animal realms, and journeying to the Otherworlds.
Ethics is one of the central components of modern Druid Magic, which is always used for positive purposes that harm no one; and as one practices this magic the connection between power and responsibility increases. Whenever you choose to use the power of the eternal Self for magic, work toward an outcome that is beneficial for all concerned.]]> http://www.usachatnow.com/community/John_Alone/blog/druid-magic/ Sat, 10 Sep 2011 23:54:54 +0000 John_Alone http://www.usachatnow.com/community/illusions/blog/community/ I have spent a substantial amount of time perhaps too much time, contemplating the current social structure. For over 10 years I have observed the cha... http://www.usachatnow.com/community/illusions/blog/community/ Sat, 10 Sep 2011 03:11:47 +0000 illusions http://www.usachatnow.com/community/Sweet_Paradise/blog/deepak-chopra/ Right so you find time to feed yourself and to wash yourself but somehow looking after your mind doesn't seem to as essential? Yea we all have days wh...]]> Right so you find time to feed yourself and to wash yourself but somehow looking after your mind doesn't seem to as essential? Yea we all have days where we just don't have time to breathe but seriously the mind is just as important.

Theres so many statistics on mental health problems like 1 in 4 of us will suffer from a mental health disorder this year, depression being the most common. If your a woman your more like to suffer from depression and males are the ones with high suicide rates. So its not a problem that cant affect you. You don't know when it could happen to you. You are not immune from a mental health disorder and you cant just go to the doctor to get a vaccination to prevent you from getting one. Anyway I am no doctor but I know taking care of the mind is important like my mom says the mind is a thread and can snap at any moment. So basically I have been interested in the mind for a long time and came across the work of Deepak Chopra.
He is an indian american writer. He writes about spirituality and that sorta stuff but I like his work because he is against the use of medicines. Not in a way that you should never use medicine but that there are some doctors out there who just prescribe pills so easily to a person with a mental problem when there are other ways to deal with it first. He is all about positive psychology. You can learn how to train your mind with your thoughts. Ever have a day where you constantly find yourself complaining for no reason? Ever have a day where everyone just gets on your nerves? Its all the tension we build up inside ourselves and the suddenly we take it out on other people. I don't buy into the whole positive thinking as much as I used to because I replaced it with something else but I would recommend Deepak Chopra to those of you who want to start thinking more positively about life. Its the things we think that create us in a way.
Sometimes its useful to search for relaxing music on YouTube, just relaxing music to help you zone out for 10 mins. Its those 10 mins of your day that you begin to appreciate and begin to look forward to since everything else around us seems to be so stressful. I really do think the mind is an amazing thing and something we cant ever understand completely but we can try and learn to train it so that we can live with it. We know when our bodies are hungry, we know when our heart is in love so why shouldnt we know what our minds need?
]]> http://www.usachatnow.com/community/Sweet_Paradise/blog/deepak-chopra/ Wed, 19 Jan 2011 17:22:00 +0000 Sweet_Paradise http://www.usachatnow.com/community/Sweet_Paradise/blog/college-life/ Actually its reall...]]> Actually its really weird coming into the chat room these days coz its like soooo different. Not necessarily in a good or bad way but I used to spend a lot of time here talking to the same people and I duno it feels weird when the group of people you used to talk to are gone, not exactly gone but I duno how to explain it ha.
I suppose everyone has their time where they come and go here. Since I started college I havent had much time to be here but I am definitely going to keep writing blogs!
Anyway college life is great , as I talked about in a previous blog its all about change. Actually its really odd settling into a change as big as this. Like a new schedule, a new place, new friends and a new study programme. Its been taking me a while to adjust to it. Yet it is easy to see how people say the friends you meet in college will be the friends for the rest of your life because already some of my old friends have drifted away and thats been really shakening. Just them being at a different college makes it hard for us to all meet up I guess thats something you just have to accept in life. Its really eye opening meeting new people too though and learning about new things.
Until next time
Amira...]]> http://www.usachatnow.com/community/Sweet_Paradise/blog/college-life/ Fri, 22 Oct 2010 22:57:27 +0000 Sweet_Paradise http://www.usachatnow.com/community/RodeoCowboy/blog/usachatnow/ I just wanted to take the time to write a quick blog... I believe some Chatters don't realize how good of a Social Network UsaChatNow is until they le...]]> I just wanted to take the time to write a quick blog... I believe some Chatters don't realize how good of a Social Network UsaChatNow is until they leave. Chatters leave for different reasons but when you sit and think about it... those reasons are so minuscule too the big picture. UsaChat has been around for 9 years and is growing every year! Other social networking sites try, but never succeed the success that this site has, and will have. I myself, left and thought i could make a site and make it bigger than Usa, sure i had users, sure i had a nice chat and a decent community, but never in the year that i had my site did i come close to the traffic and success this site has. I left the chat that started it all for me, a place where i met friends, which then became like a second family, and most importantly left a site where the owner had ambition in making the site better every chance he gets. I'm glad to be back, glad to help Tears out again, because i now know owning a site like this... isn't always easy, but he does it like its nothing. hope too see you all in chat!]]> http://www.usachatnow.com/community/RodeoCowboy/blog/usachatnow/ Tue, 27 Jul 2010 23:39:29 +0000 Shane Dixon http://www.usachatnow.com/community/Sweet_Paradise/blog/the-right-to-bear-arms/ Ok so what I found interesting is that in the chat room when I talked about this topic Americans were so adament on having guns and a lot refused to s...]]> Ok so what I found interesting is that in the chat room when I talked about this topic Americans were so adament on having guns and a lot refused to see another point of view so I just wanted to write a blog about this whole debate on the right to bear arms.

In my opinion a society without guns is easier to control than a society with guns. Now I come from Ireland and our police force dont even carry arms except for a few undercover detectives which amounts to about 3,000. I think if the police were to have guns then of course people are going to want guns so I like it the way it is. And of course there are some people who always find ways to get guns like those involved in drug crime who just do not care about the law. Most people however do not hold any arms in their home. I also disagree with Irish farmers having guns - they have them to shoot foxes because in the countryside the foxes eat their chickens or something but anyway I don't think they should interfere with nature. Anyway if a gun was in my house I would feel less safe and maybe you can't understand that but that is just the way it goes here.

Don't get me wrong I know most of you will say you want to protect yourselves from criminals with guns but do you really not think your gun laws need to be polished up a bit. I read that 18 year olds could buy a gun? Yet you have to be 21 to gamble? And like is it compulsory to get some gun training ?

Anyway I am just trying to understand this - every country has their own culture I just find it interesting at how much Americans feel having a gun is a right..anyone have any comments?]]> http://www.usachatnow.com/community/Sweet_Paradise/blog/the-right-to-bear-arms/ Mon, 28 Jun 2010 12:50:18 +0000 Sweet_Paradise http://www.usachatnow.com/community/Sweet_Paradise/blog/do-not-depend-on-others/ Do not depend on others to bring you happiness , make your own happiness.

Lately I have been really interested in how the mind works, the whole psych...]]> Do not depend on others to bring you happiness , make your own happiness.

Lately I have been really interested in how the mind works, the whole psychology of it and the controlling of it. Actually it gets very confusing when you get into it and its really deep so its not an adventure for the light hearted. Do you believe we have control over our mind? At least in what we think or has it all been inscribed in our DNA? Well it's just a matter of opinion I personally like to think we have control over our mind and at least that way I control my life in so far as I can.

I didn't know myself until I released all the negativity in my life. I had to change the people I was around , the negative people who brought me down. It is strange how the mind works and how we can become so normal with negativity. We spend so much time around it we dont even realise it is there until we decide we want some change.

Choose your own thoughts, get rid of people and things that do not bring you happiness and do not be afraid to let go. This is so true, seriously. I thought I couldn't do things for so long but when I got rid of the fear and believed in myself things changed so much for the better. When you want happiness part of the process is releasing the people and things in your life that dont make you happy rather than doing that first and presume happiness will follow. The more you dwell on what you don't want the more you create. Rather than I dont wana be unhappy , I want to be happy is the way to go.

Interestingly enough, think about it, whether we choose to believe we have control over our own mind, is up to us ironically.

=)]]> http://www.usachatnow.com/community/Sweet_Paradise/blog/do-not-depend-on-others/ Thu, 03 Jun 2010 17:28:36 +0000 Sweet_Paradise