Conglomeration
1. My throat hurts. And not because I’m sick. Because I’m trying to learn French (the tapes I bought start first with pronunciation) and I’m not so great at the “R” sound. It’s sort of a cross between a gargle and a rolled R. Any suggestions?
2. I’m very much behind on the amount of reading I wanted to have done by the middle of March. I’ve only read about 100 pages of Irving’s The Sketchbook (which contains “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” and “Rip Van Winkle”) and had hoped to read more Hawthorne and Whitman’s Leaves of Grass.
3. I went out for a lovely French meal tonight for the end-of-term meal with participants of the STAR seminar. I’m thankful for a husband who a) is happy for me to do these sorts of things and b) can cook for himself when I’m not around.
4. I’m wondering how people find time to be so deeply involved in so many different things. I’m thinking how can I be reading up on ethical consumerism, theology, the church, my own PhD research and think about looking for a part-time job.
5. Yep, a part-time job. No waitressing. No clothes-selling. That leaves the possibility of working in a small gift shop or bookstore. I’ve dealt with folding clothes and serving food - no more of that. The fact is we need money to buy food and so, I shall have to go back to boring retail-land if I can’t drum up more editing or another research position.
6. Sally brought over my iPod shuffle from the States. I used it today. It’s great - the quality, the ease, the size. I feel cooler wearing it.
7. Bryce was telling me about a lecture he listened to on empiricism (very interesting, make him tell you about it) and there was the question if you can remember, imagine, or otherwise experience in your mind your senses. Such as, can you hear ‘Twinkle, Twinkle’ in your head? Can you smell petrol in your head? Can you taste your favourite dessert in your head? Can you feel the texture of cotton in your head? Can you visualise your family in your head? I think this is a very interesting thought. Which of your 5 senses (if any) can you experience in your mind?
Now, I’m going to bed - au revior!
March 15th, 2005 at 2:59 am
I’m so proud of you for learning French. Let me know if I can help you in any way - Note re: spelling - it’s au revoir ( voir is the verb “to see” , thus, to see again. I will have to think about the senses and the brain question. I know that the emotions tied in with the senses, such as smell, are often tied into memory. Interesting thoughts. Could you use snother delivery from Tesco? Thinking of you both in my prayers…when is a good time to chat?
March 15th, 2005 at 4:50 pm
For the French “r,” try 1) pressing your tongue against the back of your bottom front teeth and 2) making the same sort of guttural sound you get with the English “h.” For words like “très,” form your mouth and your tongue like you’re going to say the “t” and proceed to make a somewhat disconcerting guttural noise that sounds like you’re trying to cough up something. That should get you pretty close to the actual pronunciation.
In all seriousness, here’s something that might help you.
March 15th, 2005 at 4:51 pm
Er…here: http://french.about.com/library/pronunciation/bl-pronunciation-r.htm
(By the way, I love the message about not posting twice so fast…”Slow down, cowboy.” Haha.)
March 15th, 2005 at 5:01 pm
Hello! I could hear “Twinkle, Twinkle” in my head but didn’t have as easy a time conjuring the smell, taste, or texture of something. Visualizing my family also worked, but surprisingly not as well as hearing the music. Interesting exercise!
March 15th, 2005 at 6:48 pm
It is an interesting exercise. I have no ability to smell anything in my mind. I can do the other senses, some better than others.
March 15th, 2005 at 7:00 pm
Thanks Laura for those links; it was really helpful as the About guide mentioned to think of it like the ‘ch’ in ‘loch’ - which I hear all the time here! (also good not to think of it as an R!)