A salute to all those who are learning a language!

It's interesting to me that people are really only recognized for things after they've accomplished whatever it is they're recognized for. Since being recognized for one's work is a real boost to self esteem, I think people should also be recognized when they're in the midst of something and they're working hard. So today, I'm recognizing my roommate as she is here for the summer from Spain to learn English. She's working really hard to learn and even though I think her English is really good she always works harder to learn more. I admire this spirit because I think learning a new language is especially difficult. To be understood and to get around in a new country takes a lot of effort and I think it's really cool that my roommate (like so many people who are here to learn English) is willing to put herself out there, make mistakes and learn and do it all with a smile. Personally, I think I may be a bad influence as I keep trying to get her to speak some Spanish with me so I can learn something too. Most of the time we do speak in English  though, so I don't feel too bad about it. Anyway, to get to my point, I want to say hooray for Maria, and for all the people that are here to learn a new language, I salute you!

Oh to be a sunshine!

I was walking around Harvard Square today and I saw this window with its lovely sign painted on it.  I also liked the store in general because of its Curious George theme since monkeys  make me feel happy too. After seeing the monkey and the sign in the window I had this compulsion to take a picture of it all and post it here just so I can look at it on a regular basis just to remind myself of how nice it is to be cheery!

Maggie goes for a walk

I swore to myself today I was going to the gym and then I lost my nerve. I thought a walk seemed slightly less intimidating so I decided to take a walk and ended up taking a rather long one.(Well at least by my standards.) I walked about 3 miles. Ok, Ok, I know people run 3 miles or more on a daily basis but hey, I still think it's quite a good walk. I'm glad I went today because the weather was nice. I walked through Boston Common, down Newbury St. (shopping district) and down Commonwealth Avenue to my apartment. It took a bit longer than I estimated because I stopped on the Common to listen to some street musicians, watch a group of Morris Dancers dance a jig (Morris Dancers I'll have you know, are English folk dancers who dance with bells on their legs and sometimes holding swords or flags. I think they're fun!) I just think even though public transport is faster, it's amazing how much more there is to see when I take a walk. Therefore I'm really glad I live in a walkable city!

Even George Washington was/is apparently a sports fan

I don't really know if George Washington played/liked sports. He probably was a good hunter and may have done a fair bit of wrestling, but apparently his statue likes hockey! I really admire the person who ingeniously got the jersey on the Founding Father.  Even though one of  Washington's nicknames was "Town Destroyer" I'm guessing he didn't put up much of a struggle this time! GO BRUINS!

Make way for the everlasting (well 45-day lasting but who really cares) Twinkie!

Twinkies are coming back next week! Apparently, they last even longer now-45 days! If you're into science, according to the article I read about the Twinkie's resurrection, the sweet treat's long shelf life is due to the fact that they're made out of about 36 different preservatives with names like sodium stearoyl lactylate. (Personally, sodium stearoyl lactylate sounds like an alien substance out of a comic book to me but I guess if it helps keep Twinkies fresh for 45 days it serves a purpose!) I don't know quite why I'm so excited about Twinkies coming back as I have to admit that I've never had a Twinkie in my life. (Yes, I'm serious.)  I'm now considering doing a little experiment of my own by rushing out next week and buying a Twinkie and then waiting 44 days to see if it's still good! (I have this theory that on the 45th day it'll spontaneously rot as all the preservatives will of course stop working on cue.)   Although it might take some willpower to wait 45 days I'm going to exercise all my powers of restraint and be strong! To anyone interested, I'll keep you posted as to whether Twinkies truly last at least as long as the manufacturers claim or if it's all a big lie put out by advertisers to  make people like me buy them to see how long they really last! Stay tuned!

Picture from: Larry D. Moore CC BY-SA 3.0.http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hostess_twinkies.jpg

To read an article about the everlasting Twinkie; http://www.wbur.org/npr/200465360/the-science-of-twinkies-how-do-they-last-so-long.

Classical music is classically beautiful

I always liked classical music and I think that started when I was very young. In my early years my parents tried to instill in me that the only thing on the radio was classical music and NPR -National Public Radio, for those who don't know. For the most part classical music was something I enjoyed listening to along with my parents. As I grew older and realized that pop music and rock music existed also, my tastes changed a bit but I still enjoy listening to Beethoven and Chopin now and then. It gives me peace when I'm feeling in need of a little relaxation. It gets me that great musicians like Beethoven are still remembered today, over 150 years after they died. Heck, even spell check recognizes their names! (That of course means they're really famous-after all, if you have an unusually spelled last name and spell check doesn't try to correct it, then of course you've really made it!) In all seriousness now, to me the fact that these musicians are still remembered and the music they created is loved by so many, reenforces the idea that music, like love, transcends time and still remains beautiful.  I heard this beautiful piece of music today by Beethoven which got me thinking about all the things I've written about in this post. The piece is called "Piano Concerto No. 5 in E flat "Emperor" 73 - Adagio Un Poco Mosso. I thought I'd share it with everyone (see the clip below) as I felt it was too beautiful not to share! My favorite part of it starts at about one minute 30 seconds into the clip. Enjoy and be at peace!

The secret to living longer? Maybe the secret is just being nice!

Today I read about a woman named Susannah Mushatt Jones who has lived to be 114 years old and is still going strong. She is the second oldest person in the US and the oldest New Yorker. Her "secret" is that took care of children her whole life, ate a simple diet and stayed out of trouble (e.g. no wild partying!) What struck me about the article I read about her was something her niece said about the fact that she felt her aunt had lived so long in part because she treated everyone right. The article also had quotes from others who had lived to be in their 90s or older. All the messages really emphasized the importance of taking care of oneself and of others as the "key" and all of the messages were really insightful in general about how to live a good life.  The message I got from it was that if everyone took care of each other and stayed out of trouble then the secret to longevity would just be old news!