Most people get the hang of deodorant. They get it because they don't want to smell bad. People start smelling bad somewhere around 11-14 years of age when their bodies begin to make significant physical changes and hormones are released to begin that awkward stage of life called puberty. We who have survived puberty probably remember how life suddenly stopped being simple and how your body started doing ridiculous things without asking you first.
One of the first socially impactful changes is odor... Thanks mother nature, what the heck is that about? Anyway, some of you may be in this difficult time and just so you know, if you can smell yourself it means everyone in a 20 foot radius can smell you too because you are less sensitive to your own scent due to olfactory fatigue. This is when your nose smells the same thing for a while and stops caring that it is smelling that thing so it doesn't bother telling your brain anymore. That or your brain gets really tired of your nose telling it the same thing over and over so it just ignores the nose every time it says the same thing. This can be a problem when you are making the transition into awkwardness because you've never had to worry about smelling weird before, so you may not have even known what deodorant is! Well, deodorant can be found at every grocery store, every convenience store, and most other stores really. Go find a stick that smells pleasant (Boys, don't go for the musk scents unless you are over 6 feet tall and ride a horse, Girls, I trust your judgement) and buy it. Now a little advice since no one seems to tell you these things: don't just swipe the stick over your arm pits once, it wears off in like 20 minutes, just in time for you to be sitting in class after gym next to the prettiest girl/cutest boy in school. Apply around 5-7 passes so it doesn't wear off in an hour.
Ok, I'm going to stop there for a sec. I am only going to write to the boys from now on because, let's face it, 99% of girls figure this stuff out. Maybe it's because moms actually tell their girls stuff about life, or they have nicer friends, but dads just look at their boys and say, "Good luck son." Maybe this is because they just barely survived this period themselves and no one told them what to do either. Maybe they blocked it from their memories and can't really tell you what you're supposed to do. Regardless, boys seem to be the least aware of what is going on and seem to think that if they ignore it, no one else will notice.
Wrong.
Now, back to to point. Wear deodorant! And if you want, you can ask an adult about perfume/cologne.
Adults, try perfume/cologne in addition to deodorant, especially if you are single and don't know why. If you are doing this for the first time take a friend (of the same gender if that is more comfortable, opposite if you're braver) with you to the store and ask them what smells good on you. If you go to a nicer store they often have trained professionals that can help you find a really great scent for you. The right scent (and not TOO MUCH of it) can really turn heads, but it needs to work with your body chemistry. That's why you ask the pros or take a friend. Often people just choose a fragrance they think is nice or cool or popular, but it reacts poorly with their chemistry and the scent can be altered, and sometimes it even becomes unpleasant. Again, this is a good reason to ask someone, especially a professional, so you avoid getting something that makes a bad impression. And seriously, don't use too much! It's overwhelming and very off-putting when someone walks by and suffocates everyone around them with too much perfume or cologne.
Good luck everyone, keep your eyes open, and notice the world around you.
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Monday, December 17, 2012
Saturday, December 15, 2012
Anyways, Irregardless, Unthaw
These are misuses of the words: Anyway, Regardless, and Thaw
They are generally accepted, and show up in dictionaries so technically they are usable in your vocabulary, but they just sound sloppy. Also, they are considered to be non-standard versions of the original words.
"Anyway" is used either at the end of a phrase to replace "regardless", "in any case", etc., or the middle or start of a sentence to resume a main idea or thread. There is only one, so pluralizing it is unnecessary.
In the word "irregardless" you have two negative elements which would cancel each other out ir- and -less. This changes the technical meaning of the word regardless from "without regard" (regard-less) to "not without regard" or "With regard". The words irregular, irresponsible, irrelevant, irreparable, and irreplaceable use only the one element ir- and have no second negative element so their meanings are appropriately reversed.
To un- anything means to reverse it, do the opposite, or mean the opposite of the word being modified. This is one of the simplest and most common modifications we use in the English language which I suppose is why this one is a pet peeve of mine. I feel like it should be obvious that using un- before a word means the opposite of the word. Freezing something, then unfreezing it, or thawing it is normal. Freezing something and then UNthawing it would mean that you left it in the freezer and did nothing. I know SO many people that say it, and it has been adopted to mean thaw, but it makes no sense why un- in this case should suddenly not have the effect that it does on every other occasion. North America is the only region of the world that uses unthaw to mean thaw. I guess everyone else figured it out already.
Anyways-
Irregardless-
Definition of unthaw verb
They are generally accepted, and show up in dictionaries so technically they are usable in your vocabulary, but they just sound sloppy. Also, they are considered to be non-standard versions of the original words.
"Anyway" is used either at the end of a phrase to replace "regardless", "in any case", etc., or the middle or start of a sentence to resume a main idea or thread. There is only one, so pluralizing it is unnecessary.
In the word "irregardless" you have two negative elements which would cancel each other out ir- and -less. This changes the technical meaning of the word regardless from "without regard" (regard-less) to "not without regard" or "With regard". The words irregular, irresponsible, irrelevant, irreparable, and irreplaceable use only the one element ir- and have no second negative element so their meanings are appropriately reversed.
To un- anything means to reverse it, do the opposite, or mean the opposite of the word being modified. This is one of the simplest and most common modifications we use in the English language which I suppose is why this one is a pet peeve of mine. I feel like it should be obvious that using un- before a word means the opposite of the word. Freezing something, then unfreezing it, or thawing it is normal. Freezing something and then UNthawing it would mean that you left it in the freezer and did nothing. I know SO many people that say it, and it has been adopted to mean thaw, but it makes no sense why un- in this case should suddenly not have the effect that it does on every other occasion. North America is the only region of the world that uses unthaw to mean thaw. I guess everyone else figured it out already.
Anyways-
anyways (ˈɛnɪˌweɪz) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_t63MTaoxRLOoU_SrO3oMQrEw4ns1rPc4doh8VsM83G68aClmQPisKyUlPtXWe8IELVZAc2TI4vFypQiHqVEnS0afn11RdJs1wsUahda0u5q84tt4KNOjjGJJtiEULDLCOIpb4hFJtLNuyJFfHDm-M=s0-d) | |
| — adv | |
| ( US ), ( Canadian ) a nonstandard word for anyway | |
Irregardless-
ir·re·gard·less
[ir-i-gahrd-lis] Show IPA
Usage note
Irregardless is considered nonstandard because of the two negative elements ir- and -less. It was probably formed on the analogy of such words as irrespective, irrelevant, and irreparable. Those who use it,including on occasion educated speakers, may do so from a desire to add emphasis.
Irregardless is considered nonstandard because of the two negative elements ir- and -less. It was probably formed on the analogy of such words as irrespective, irrelevant, and irreparable. Those who use it,including on occasion educated speakers, may do so from a desire to add emphasis.
Word Origin & History
irregardless
an erroneous word that, etymologically, means the exact opposite of what it is used to express, attested in non-standard writing from at least 1870s (e.g. "Portsmouth Times," Portsmouth, Ohio, U.S.A., April 11, 1874: "We supported the six successful candidates for Council in the face of a strong opposition. We were led to do so because we believed every man of them would do his whole duty, irregardless of party, and the columns of this paper for one year has [sic] told what is needed."); probably a blend of irrespective and regardless. Perhaps inspired by the double negative used as an emphatic.
unthaw Pronunciation: /ʌnˈθɔː/
Logically, the verb unthaw should mean ‘freeze’, but in North America it means exactly the same as thaw (as inthe warm weather helped unthaw the rail lines); because of the risk of confusion it is not part of standard usage. Unthawed as an adjective always means ‘still frozen’, but it is best avoided because many contexts may be ambiguous, such asuse frozen (unthawed) blueberries
Thursday, December 13, 2012
The Sun is a Star
I knew this forever ago because as a kid I loved science programs on TV. I'm pretty sure that we all went to school but some of us weren't listening in 8th grade science I guess because sometimes I hear this one in public places.
I don't know what it is about facts about the physical world and the local celestial bodies, but the majority of the sudden realizations I've witnessed are from girls. I'm not saying that girls aren't as smart as boys, because a lot of the time it seems to be the other way around, but paying attention to the physical world seems to be a guy thing.
I was in a bookstore, perusing the merchandise, when I heard this conversation:
Boy: "Oh, dude, I love books like this! Check it out, it has like everything in the solar system. Hey, [Ashley], come check this out."
[Ashley]: "Huh, that's pretty cool I guess."
Boy: "Well, yeah. I mean look at how cool this is, this is showing how many Earths it would take to equal the mass of the Sun. Crazy right? And the Sun isn't even that big of a star really. Not like Betelgeuse, that's a big one."
[Ashley]: "What are you talking about? The Sun isn't a star... it's a sun."
Boy: "Hahaha, um, that's the same thing."
[Ashley]: "No! Why don't we call it the "Star" then?"
Boy: "Because that wouldn't make any sense... And I think, like, people didn't use to know that the sun was a star because science wasn't that good a long time ago. Then somebody found out that stars are just like our sun, just really far away and stuff."
[Ashley]: "Well,... they should have named it better."
I just chuckled to myself that somehow if people named things better we would somehow have no need to learn things for ourselves or something.
However, I know in some cultures science is second to religious teachings and traditions. I'm religious, but I have never seen any problems with science and religion complimenting each other. This article for instance has to do with how faith and secular knowledge conflicted to make accepting the Sun as a star difficult.
Don't worry though, the Sun IS a star, and that's ok.
Comment with your realizations, and don't forget to subscribe/follow.
Keep realizing things! Good luck out there.
image from here
I don't know what it is about facts about the physical world and the local celestial bodies, but the majority of the sudden realizations I've witnessed are from girls. I'm not saying that girls aren't as smart as boys, because a lot of the time it seems to be the other way around, but paying attention to the physical world seems to be a guy thing.
I was in a bookstore, perusing the merchandise, when I heard this conversation:
Boy: "Oh, dude, I love books like this! Check it out, it has like everything in the solar system. Hey, [Ashley], come check this out."
[Ashley]: "Huh, that's pretty cool I guess."
Boy: "Well, yeah. I mean look at how cool this is, this is showing how many Earths it would take to equal the mass of the Sun. Crazy right? And the Sun isn't even that big of a star really. Not like Betelgeuse, that's a big one."
[Ashley]: "What are you talking about? The Sun isn't a star... it's a sun."
Boy: "Hahaha, um, that's the same thing."
[Ashley]: "No! Why don't we call it the "Star" then?"
Boy: "Because that wouldn't make any sense... And I think, like, people didn't use to know that the sun was a star because science wasn't that good a long time ago. Then somebody found out that stars are just like our sun, just really far away and stuff."
[Ashley]: "Well,... they should have named it better."
I just chuckled to myself that somehow if people named things better we would somehow have no need to learn things for ourselves or something.
However, I know in some cultures science is second to religious teachings and traditions. I'm religious, but I have never seen any problems with science and religion complimenting each other. This article for instance has to do with how faith and secular knowledge conflicted to make accepting the Sun as a star difficult.
Don't worry though, the Sun IS a star, and that's ok.
Comment with your realizations, and don't forget to subscribe/follow.
Keep realizing things! Good luck out there.
image from here
Pigs Are So Versitile
Just so you know, pork, ham, and bacon all come from the same animal: the pig.
Yeah I know! Crazy.
Good luck out there.
Click the follow button to stay up to date with your Realizations.
Yeah I know! Crazy.
Good luck out there.
Click the follow button to stay up to date with your Realizations.
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Ollie Ollie Oxen Free
Did you know that this is not correct? Or rather that the saying we all grew up with is complete nonsense which most likely evolved to its current iterations because children are notorious for altering words and phrases they don't fully comprehend with words and phrases they do? Well, I suppose for kids, who cares right? Anyway, I was surprised to learn this as a teenager because it had always been said this way in every game of hide and go seek I'd ever been in. The other one I remember hearing a couple of times was, "Calling olly oxen free," which didn't make much sense either.
I learned this from my mom who told me one day: "The phrase is actually 'All the other Outs in free'."
Huh.. how about that? that makes sense after all, I mean, everyone else who is still out can now come in for free without getting tagged or anything so we can start a new round. That's what ollie ollie oxen free meant, but the phrase made no sense. We never played with anyone named Ollie, and oxen had never been an integral part of my day to day activities so "all the other outs in free" was welcome knowledge to me.
There are many other iterations of the current phrase like, "Ally ally ocean free" for one, and they don't make sense for the most part. There are several theories as to the origin of the saying and they all say something else, but I will hold that "ollie ollie oxen free" is complete nonsense having evolved from children hearing whatever the original saying was and not understanding the words.
If you don't believe me, I'll now send you on a journey so you too can know the history and variations for yourself.
Wikipedia
English Forums
Well, there you go. Now you can be the smart one at the party. Good luck.
If you have ever realized something in an "Aha!" moment, or been embarrassed at a gathering when someone told you how something REALLY was, let us know in the comments so we can all help each other come to these realizations.
Thanks!
Shinobi Jim
I learned this from my mom who told me one day: "The phrase is actually 'All the other Outs in free'."
Huh.. how about that? that makes sense after all, I mean, everyone else who is still out can now come in for free without getting tagged or anything so we can start a new round. That's what ollie ollie oxen free meant, but the phrase made no sense. We never played with anyone named Ollie, and oxen had never been an integral part of my day to day activities so "all the other outs in free" was welcome knowledge to me.
There are many other iterations of the current phrase like, "Ally ally ocean free" for one, and they don't make sense for the most part. There are several theories as to the origin of the saying and they all say something else, but I will hold that "ollie ollie oxen free" is complete nonsense having evolved from children hearing whatever the original saying was and not understanding the words.
If you don't believe me, I'll now send you on a journey so you too can know the history and variations for yourself.
Wikipedia
English Forums
Well, there you go. Now you can be the smart one at the party. Good luck.
If you have ever realized something in an "Aha!" moment, or been embarrassed at a gathering when someone told you how something REALLY was, let us know in the comments so we can all help each other come to these realizations.
Thanks!
Shinobi Jim
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