trinacriabob

battlefield

bloodhound

@ Paolino: that's among one of the tougher combos...it makes me think that, only in 2003 did I learn that a masculine noun that starts with an "s" is not preceded by "il." Incorrect: il scontrino Correct: lo scontrino (a cash register receipt) I wouldn't expect any non-native speaker to master the subtleties you listed above even within a bachelor's program in Italian. The rules are mindboggling. @ Rob: Latin American Spanish is actually the correct Spanish. That's what you are taught in college, without the stupid-ass Castilian "theta"/lisp. I guess someone in Spain was paying me a compliment when they said: "Usted habla un Espanol correcto, que no es el Castellano." At least I took it as a compliment. Still scramble por and para every now and then...thinking that por is "for" and para is "directional/toward." I took French in H.S. and loved it. I still do. And I have NO problems with the French and get along extremely well with the Quebecois. That's why I go to Eastern Canada every couple of years and, since it's essentially a French speaking area of North America, I blend in very well. If I could survive in the bitter cold, I wouldn't mind living there. In autumn, I feel like I'm at home there. Growing up in L.A., I never took Spanish to help me interact with the locals. What the hell for? They need to learn English. I took it because I knew that I always wanted to go to Spain and Argentina, both of which I've been to and like immensely.

Birthday greetings!

devil's advocate

correct

Alcatraz

Escape (from L.A.)

gone fishin'

court order

Right, from 1100 to 1300, more or less, the French (Normans) held the island and helped shape the Sicilian dialect and the way many Sicilians look. The Spaniards hung out there from around 1600 to 1800, and we have some relatives whose last names end in "ez." Other Franco-Sicilian comparisons: Italian: comprare, Sicilian: accatare, French: acheter Italian: armadio, Sicilian: muarra, French: armoire Italian: bagnato, Sicilian (town specific): mogghiu, French: mouillee More interesting is that virtually all Sicilian pronouns and prepositions resemble Portuguese, though they never held the island: Italian: la macchina or il ristorante, Sicilian: a macchina or u ristorante, Portuguese: "a" and "o" are among their articles Italian: della Spagna or dell'inverno, Sicilian: da Spagna or do 'nverno, Portuguese: "da" and "do" are common prepositions Italian: nella primavera or nello specchio, Sicilian: na primavera or no specchio, Portuguese: "na" and "no" are common prepositions Most kids who grew up in homes where dialects were spoken, as you know, immediately knew 2 different languages. You spoke the dialect around people you knew but could NEVER speak it when traveling to a large city or when in an official place, like a government office, or you would be considered low-life. Still, the dialects are very entertaining, with the Neopolitan being the most irritating (in my mind).

merge

truck scale

podiatrist

I had to think through these contextually, which seemed to help. The first pair: I always think of a domanda as a specific, pointed question, whereas I think questione is more of an issue or topic that warrants discussion The second pair: This is tougher, but I think of spedire as actually standing there at the counter in the post office, whereas mandare could be broader, such as sending regards (ho mandato i miei saluti) or including something within something else (ti ho mandato un assegno con la lettera) The third pair: I think of differente as holding up 2, or 3 items, under scrutiny, whereas I think diverse is a broadbrush description of pluralism (diverse popoli hanno emigrato a Montreal) or comparing 2 or 3 items from a broad sample (tre macchine diverse che produce la General Motors utilizzano il 3800). Thank God it's only 9 cents a minute to Italy. I keep up my Italian by talking to my cousins every couple of weeks and my Sicilian by talking to my melodramatic Mom.

socks

cobbler

This sort of reminds me of the sign they post in ski areas: * those that go out of designated ski areas are liable for the cost of the search and rescue * But this is on a much grander scale, affecting traffic at D.I.A., a critical U.S. airport. The kid's dad is a real knuckle-head, that's for sure.

apple

Happy birthday!

professor

a white 2010 LaCrosse base (CX?) on a major 6-lane boulevard... beautiful engine note as it pulled away from the light... regardless, so damn happy to have mine, at a bargain basement price...

Boa noite, ocnblu Ah esquici que eu moro em California ... e que voce mora na Pennsylvania ... tres horas mais em frente ... entao Bom dia, ocnblu Ok, back to pictures...

me (feeling 'eh' this weekend)

Happy birthday!