Language Apps

Full disclosure, I have only tried a few language apps.  Aka Duolingo and Mango.  I have also done in person instruction for several.  I am a terrible dabbler.  But there are so many.  I say having learned parts of six.  

So, I've been learning Hawaiian on Duolingo since it was added in Beta, which at this point is about two years ago.  I have learned a lot of words.  I have googled a few things.  Hawaiian is a verb subject object language (as opposed to subject verb object or all the other variations). I figured out some things. 

I had previously used Duolingo to brush up on languages I had previously done in person instruction for. It works very well for that.  Now the benefit of the immersion approach that Duolingo is essentially doing is that you figure things out for yourself.  If a language has a word or character that essentially means this is possessive now, you will eventually figure that out if you are familiar with languages that do that.  Similarly you might deduce on your own, okay, that word just appears to go in front of proper nouns.  Also duolingo has an owl that cheers you on if that is a thing that you are into.  

Mango stops to explain things to you.  Not a lot of things so far.  Mango also introduces you to words and then asks you to know them rather than giving you a phrase and expecting you to magically figure out what it means.  (Yes, I know you can press on the word in Duolingo.)  Mango then does review cards and asks you to self report whether you got it right or not.  Which would be very easy to cheat on.  

I am using the free version of Duolingo and the free version of Mango right now for Hawaiian.  I am theoretically much farther along in Duolingo, but the difference in lesson progression means I am learning things in each that help me with the other.  

The DC library card - and perhaps yours to - also has access to Mango subscription, Hawaiian just turns out to be one of the free languages so I haven't tested that part of it.  

Bookmate

I think I promised a while back to talk about this, and now I've been asked twice about mine, so here we go. I have this thing called a Bookmate. It has pockets, so you slide the back cover into one of the pockets and then strap your book in. The Bookmate is designed so that it folds up around your book for travel, and then when you are ready to read it sproings open and lays flat. The clear strap lays across the pages, holding the book open so that you can read. When you need to turn the page you fold the book up partially, flip the page, and then pop it back flat.
I use it so that I can read while holding on to the bar on the bus. Or read and knit. Or read and eat. Sure, I can read with the book balanced in one hand, too. But this is a little easier. And I can put the book down without losing my place (or trying to find something to balance it on. It also has a bookmark attached, which is so far the only bookmark I have never lost.
It doesn't break the spine in most cases - I had one book that it did, but likely that book had a wimpy spine.
I got the regular one first. Loved it. Now I have the larger one that fits trade size paperbacks. I gave one to a friend so she could read while nursing. I just love mine. I don't use it every single time I read, but I use it more often than I don't. Great investment. It's also acts as a book cover, so if you want to be discrete about what you are reading - whether because it is a racy cover or a political one, it helps with that too. Without making you look ten years old.

My Phone Lost Weight

This is so silly. When I bought my phone, it came with a little phone case - just a vinyl jobbie that offered some protective covering for the keys and screen and had a clip attached. I feel silly clipping my phone to my person, but sometimes, it didn't fit in my pocket or my outfit didn't have pockets, so I would clip it on. Generally my phone lives in my purse, so the clip got used maybe four times. And - particularly in warmer weather, I want to move to a smaller purse. And yet, my phone took up so much space. I started looking covetously at other people's phones. The skinny ones. One friend has a wristlet purse she can fit her ID, keys and phone into. My phone wouldn't fit. (My keys wouldn't either, but I am working on that.)
My last phone had a case where the clip came off. This one - no. And so, I started looking at phone deals. And then I decided to take the case off. (I know - radical.) And - I love my phone again. It has honestly lost about two thirds of its depth. I feel a little silly for not having tried this sooner. Yeah, now I risky mint dust or whatever in the phone. But it fits in my little purse. With keys and wallet. Oh - it's so cool.

My Flag Boy...

I am reading No Good Deeds by Laura Lippman at the moment and in one part, one of the characters starts (in her head) singing snippets of "Jock-a-mo". So, therefore, I have had it stuck in my head all day. I remember for some sort of talent show in middle school acting out verses of the song with some friends, but do not currently recall much of it. (Interestingly, I still recall the entire melody to my high school song, and some of the words. Just something I discovered in another wandering conversation this weekend.)
So, back to "Jock-a-mo", which Wikipedia tells me was also called "Iko Iko" in some iterations. I started wondering what the rest of the words were, and did "iko iko" mean something or were they just nonsense words. And so, clearly, I looked it up. What did I do before the innertubes? Apparently the story is of two parades colliding - so that's what the flag boys were doing! And there is some French Creole and some Indian chants thrown in there.
This link lists a number of variations on the lyrics, the song has been much covered, and while it was written in the sixties, has already evolved quite a bit. Just thought I'd share the fruits of my "research".

No, I'm not Getting Commission for This

But I love the Tide to Go! Yes, I know. It's shameless of me. But let's say you're - not a slob - but have been known to spill on your silk pants at lunch. And while you work a desk job, if this is not taken care of, you will forget about the stain and walk nonchalantly around for the rest of the day, not remembering to hunch, or tie a shirt, or do whatever else is necessary to not proclaim to the world, "I am a messy eater!" Enter the Tide to Go.
You have seen the ads. And here's the thing, it pretty much works like that. Okay - not entirely. It doesn't dry with super fast speed, the way it does in the ads. But if, for example your lunch today was a pot pie. And you dropped some glop on your pants. (I love pot pies, but that stuff binding the filling, it's not really gravy, it's not really sauce, it's glop). The very pants you just washed last night. Right smack in the middle of your thigh. So, you pull out your TtG (which interestingly does not smell like Tide to me, but hey, it works). Apply*, rub, and wait. And now it's gone. So cool!

*(Singing optional.)