Topics

631

Music Discussion / Where do I find strings for the classic guitar?

« on: September 26, 2011, 05:27:05 PM »

I've been told the strings are nylon. But I'm not sure where to find them.

I have two guitars: an acoustic that was given to me and a classic that I bought for $40.00. Both are new-looking. I just need strings for the classic guitar. The other one already has the 6 regular, metal strings.

632

International News / World human rights committee finally approves and agrees on one motto.

« on: September 26, 2011, 12:15:43 AM »

Very well-done. of the 15,000 submissions, this one stood out and got selected:



More here:

http://www.mail.com/cinema-for-peace/714052-human-rights-logo-unveiled-york.html#.7518-stage-set1-undef

633

Hmong News / Hmong populations by U.S. states: 2010 Census Bureau Reports

« on: August 26, 2011, 01:48:47 AM »

http://hmong.org/page33422626.aspx

As usual, Minnesota comes in between California and Wisconsin as the state with the largest number of Hmong. California tops at 91, 224 and Wisconsin's population is 49,240--about 16,000 short of Minnesota's mostly Twin Cities-based inhabitants of 66, 181.

Of course,  there is at least one Hmong in every state, with Vermont having the lowest count of one (1).

Readers should keep in mind that Census Bureau counts are not entirely accurate, although they likely indicate the minimum number of Hmong in these states.

Reports from a few other states are not yet available. The Census Bureau is still working hard on tabulating their numbers. But the rest of these states are here:

Alabama:  122

Alaska: 3,534

Arkansas:1,732

California:  91,224


Colorado:  3,859


CT:  225


Delaware: 3

DC (aka Washington, DC): 26

FL:  1,208

GA:3,623

HI:  87

Idaho: 44

Illinois:  651

Indiana:  218

Iowa:  534

Kentucky:  71

Louisiana:  49

Maine:  7

Maryland:  76

MA: 1,080

MI:  5,924

MN:  66,181

Missouri:  1,329

Montana:  253

Nebraska:  188

New Hampshire:  27

Nevada:  254

NJ: 83

NY: 296

OK: 3,369

North Carolina: 10,864

Ohio:  589

Oregon:2,920

Pennsylvania:  1,021

South Carolina: 1,218

SD:  94 (not on Census records but 95 after these results had been posted)

Texas:  920

Vermont:  1 (Everyone is asking : "Who is that?")

Virginia:  188

Washington:  2,404

West Virginia:  5

Wisconsin:  49,240

Wyoming:  8


Source: http://2010.census.gov/2010census/data/

634

Online Journal / Let's categorize things

« on: July 12, 2011, 06:01:23 PM »

Under each category, let's list a few things related or that belong to it:

Tall skyscrapers:

Sears Tower
Twin Towers


Rodents:

Beaver
Squirrel
Red Squirrel

Cars:

Corolla
Ford Focus


Office equipments:

Pencil
Pencil sharpener
Highlighter
Pen
Shredder

Feel free to add a few categories and their items. Add some more to what I have listed, too. Thanks.

635

Online Journal / Share your journals

« on: July 10, 2011, 08:40:29 PM »

The journal is much like the diary with one exception: it's prepared to be made public.

So, the topic can be anything about the writer's personal experiences or observations on certain things. Things such as bankings, dates, visits, one's view of a town or village, a school's conditions, and so forth are appropriate.

The journal is not a very formal form of writing. Therefore, one can use informal language or even slangs.  Experts say the audience is just a close friend. The writer, therefore, writes like he or she is speaking to a friend, not to a professor or the hiring committee at a fortune 500 company.

The idea is to tell the reader(s) about one's particular experience. It's what the experts call re-creating the experience. That just means reciting the experience in words with specific details so that the reader can see or understand what the writer experienced.

Journal writers must understand that the journal is not a mode of fiction, however. So, keep it real. Talk only about things that have actually happened. No flashbacks. No imagination.  The writer can say how he or she feels about the experience but that's the most the writer can diverge from true facts.

There are many things to write about. There is no right or wrong topic. The rules that you need to know have already been given to you as stated above "on your voyage to Earth."  And, in this fortress of solitude, we shall try to share with one another our experiences. So, my readers, write!

636

Funeral Rituals & Customs / Good for modern funeral song

« on: March 10, 2011, 11:31:56 PM »

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hl_-eN-_STo

637

Books & Magazines / Romantic poem

« on: December 30, 2010, 09:15:46 PM »

Do you find this poem to be a romantic poem? What makes you think so? What makes you think not?

------------------------------------------------------------------
Lines Written in Early Spring

William Wordsworth (1798)


I heard a thousand blended notes,
While in a grove I sate reclined,
In that sweet mood when pleasant thoughts
Bring sad thoughts to the mind.

To her fair works did Nature link
The human soul that through me ran;
And much it grieved my heart to think
What man has made of man.

Through primrose tufts, in that green bower,
The periwinkle trailed its wreaths;
And ’tis my faith that every flower
Enjoys the air it breathes.

The birds around me hopped and played,
Their thoughts I cannot measure:--
But the least motion which they made
It seemed a thrill of pleasure.

The budding twigs spread out their fan,
To catch the breezy air;
And I must think, do all I can,
That there was pleasure there.

If this belief from heaven be sent,
If such be Nature’s holy plan,
Have I not reason to lament
What man has made of man?

638

Books & Magazines / Austen's Emma Discussions

« on: November 21, 2010, 03:10:51 PM »

All right, group, let's start our discussions on Chapter 1 of this book: Emma, by Jane Austen.

There are many questions to answer. You may ask members any question you would like. You may tell everyone how you feel about the chapter, etc.

Things to think about to help you discuss this chapter are: what happened in this chapter? What do we know about or of Emma, the character, at this stage of the book?  How many characters are we meeting in this chapter?  What is the relationship between Emma and Ms. Weston like? What is the relationship between Emma and her father like?  Do you see any cultural aspects of  Emma's time in this novel? If so, what are they?

Those of you who know more about Jane Austen, the author, feel free to also discuss what she may be thinking about Emma--e.g. does she like Emma, does she not like Emma as seen in this chapter? What makes you say what you believe to be the case?  What do we know about Emma's community in this chapter? What is each character like--all the ones we have encountered in this chapter, that is? Etc.

639

Funeral Rituals & Customs / Hmong spiritual belief

« on: July 29, 2010, 07:10:27 PM »

All right. The Hmong were an animistic group of people, and so we have come to believe in the existence of spirits.  We may not have proof one way or another. Sometimes it's even troubling that some people actually believe something we cannot see or hear.   But we all agree that, whether in America or abroad, we Hmong still believe in that today.  

There are skeptics, of course. But others are true believers.  For example, the majority of Hmong believe in the existence of the tsog--one that comes a night to sit on its victims and they struggle but they cannot move and no one else can hear them yell, no matter how hard they scream. Things of the sort.  Tell me true stories that have made you or your friends, relatives or close ones believe in the existence of spirits.

An example:  I haven't personally witnessed anyone practicing one. But one very common belief is the finger-blood vow made between two lovers to ensure their romance is permanent.  Whether always true or not, the result is believed that the two will never part upon death. Hence, when one has died, that dead person's spirit comes back to take the life of the living counterpart so that they would "go" together.

I take it that the Hmong general take this blood vow to hold water.