What makes a word "real"?

English is a language spoken all over the world. It is spoken even by millions of people whose mother language is anotherone. That's maybe one reason why English is a language with such a fast and big evolution. Yes, it's true. English is changing everyday and it has changed all history long. There are everyday new words, expressions and pronunciations and it happens withou us noticing about it. Some of this new vocabulary is produced by joining different words. Some other words are originated when you use prefixes understood in other contexts in a new but logical way.
 These sort of words are called SLANG. Some people believe they're quite harmful for the language.
However, Slang language is becoming very useful nowadays. Everybody uses these kind of words like hangry, adorkable, YOLO, LOL...
Slang language helps us create new concepts and ideas, but there's a lot of slang vocabular in English language. How can we know if a slang word is real and usable? Maybe, you'll be told something like:"If the word isn't in the dicionary, it doesnt exist" How can dicionary editors know every single word in English if it's changing everyday? The question is what makes a word real?
Well, probably the truthis that a word becomes real as soon as aome people can use it and understand it. Personally, I think English is a very rich language and very functional because thanks to this phenomenon we call slang and some other tools which help us originate new words, we can communicate new ideas and concepts which other languages cannot. That's why, thanks to these language mechanisms we can originate neologisms wich doesn't sound in uch a technical way and can be understood by everyone.
This is my message: I encourage you to use the language in the most fascinating way you can without worrying about the rules. English is a language you can play with, not a scienc wich establishes some new rules. We’re human. We love to play with words in creative ways. And in the process, we change the language.

Here, you can hear a speech given by Anne Curzan speaking about this phenomenon.

Shakespeare’s Novel Neologisms We Still Use

In honor of William Shakespeare, I’d like to share some words popularized by the Bard himself. Shakespeare died on April 23rd and was baptized on April 26th; his actual birth date remains unknown.We hesitate to definitively say that Shakespeare coined the following terms. While that may be the case, it’s hard to know for sure that the list below contains terms invented by the beloved playwright. These words may have been in conversational usage when he committed them to the page, or they may have previously appeared in the writings of his less-prominent contemporaries. Whether or not these words are Shakespeare coinages, the plays of Shakespeare indubitably brought many novel words and phrases to the universal consciousness of English speakers worldwide. The continued popularity of Shakespeare’s writing keeps 16th- and 17th-century words alive that might have otherwise faded into obscurity.

bedazzle: to impress forcefully, especially so as to make oblivious to faults or shortcomings: Audiences were bedazzled by her charm.
foul-mouthed: sth using obscene, profane, or scurrilous language; given to filthy or abusive speech.
bedroom: (Noun:) a room furnished and used for sleeping.
(adjective):concerned mainly with love affairs or sex: The movie is a typical bedroom comedy.
(adjective): Sexually inviting; amorous: bedroom eyes.
swagger: to walk or strut with a defiant or insolent air.
well-bred: well brought up; properly trained and educated: a well-bred boy.
champion: a person who has defeated all opponents in a competition or series of competitions, so as to hold first place: the heavyweight boxing champion.
droplet: a little drop.
pageantry: pageants collectively//spectacular display; pomp: the pageantry of a coronation.(SYN: spectacle, ceremony, show. )
inaudible: not audible; incapable of being heard.
eyeball: the ball or globe of the eye.

Swimming with monsters

Cristina Mittermeier duck-dives deep under a large wave to avoid getting tossed around by the immense energy generated by the ocean. Makaha Beach, West Oahu, Hawaii

As an experienced ice diver with hundreds of immersions in challenging conditions, what surprised me most about swimming in the Hawaiian big waves was not the raw power of the water—water that crashes with enough force to toss you around helplessly, like a rag doll, limbs flailing, leaving you with your head spinning, disoriented, wondering which way is up. It was also not the fear of the jagged reef, waiting to shred you, only a few feet below the surface; or the real possibility of being taken “over the falls” and slammed on the bottom with such force, that broken bones and the likelihood of drowning become all too real. The most surprising thing was how incredibly beautiful and peaceful it is to dive under those big waves…if you first learn how to do it right. Looking up from underneath a wave is like looking through a moving painting—an undulating, shifting kaleidoscope of blue hues.

I admit that initially, the sounds and sights of those big waves were humbling and even scary but I knew I had to face them if I was to make powerful and striking images. Standing on the beach, staring at the large faces of the waves rise up on the reef and slam with such force that it actually made the ground shake, I couldn’t help but wonder just how to safely swim out into the surf to make beautiful, creative images that would help tell the story of the Hawaiian people and their connection to the sea. The thought of swimming into these waves made me feel nervous and humbled.

A surfer bails out of a huge Pipeline wave on the North Shore of Oahu, avoiding a certain beating.

Just when I was about to talk myself out of doing this assignment, I met a real Hawaiian legend and master waterman who taught me what I needed to know not just to survive, but to truly enjoy the power of the sea. My teacher, Brian Keaulana, a big wave surfing champion, Hollywood stunt actor and director, and the son of “Buffalo” Keaulana, a pure blood Hawaiian who to this day is considered by many to be the best body surfer in history and was the first lifeguard in Makaha, took me by the hand and patiently shared with me his love and passion for the sea.

Children are taught how to understand and enjoy the powerful surf on Oahu’s beaches from a very young age. Makaha Beach, West Oahu, Hawaii

Brian’s knowledge goes back to his childhood and years of tutelage by his father, whose most important lesson is not to fear the ocean, but to understand and respect it. Over a lifetime of being in the water, Brian has developed many techniques and innovations to save lives. He was the first to use a jet ski as a water safety tool; he developed an ocean risk-management program and underwater defense training that is taught to everyone, from the best surfers to Navy Seals, police and firefighters—and to every kid in his home beach of Makaha. Perhaps his biggest contribution is the expertise he shares, often for free, with lifeguards locally and worldwide. It is not an exaggeration to say that thanks to Brian, tens of thousands of lives have been saved.

As I watched Hawaiian parents toss their very young children, as young as two and three years old, into the waves at Makaha Beach, Brian talked to me patiently about how to read the currents, how to predict where the waves would break, how to understand the rip tide, and most importantly, how to use the power of the sea to my advantage. Conditions change day-to-day and hour-to-hour. Brian taught me that in Hawaii, it is not if, but when you will get-dragged out to sea by the powerful rip tides, so knowing how to rescue yourself is a matter of life and death. Knowledge is power and the most important lesson is to not panic.

On a day when the waves were particularly scary he asked, “How long can you hold your breath for? If every breaking wave lasts 10 seconds with 12 seconds in between and you can hold your breath for a whole minute, that means you can survive a set of two or three waves. Don’t panic, swim to the bottom, where the energy of the wave is less and look up for a place where light pierces the foam cloud. That is where you swim to the surface.”

His advice and his constant teachings proved incredibly useful on many, many occasions and as the weeks went by and my fitness and confidence levels increased, swimming out into the waves became a fun, spirit-lifting journey and I was finally able to concentrate on making pictures and not just surviving.

Ha’a Keaulana, daughter of waterman, Brian Keaulana and granddaughter of legendary surfer, Buffalo Keaulana, is herself an accomplished “water woman”, bathing suit model, and photographer. She is truly at home in the blue waters of her home beach in Makaha.

In early winter, the big surf finally arrived at Makaha. These are the famous North waves that wrap around Oahu and rise up on the west side, sometimes as high as 40 feet. This is what we had been waiting for.

On the last week of the assignment I went down to the beach with Cristina. We looked at those big waves and smiled because we knew we were ready. What we didn’t know is that this would be a magical day for photography. We jumped in the water and noticed right away that the water was very clear. As local surfers and paddle boarders raced towards us, we duck-dived to the bottom and let the large waves dissipate their energy in a massive and beautiful foam cloud above us.

During one particularly large wave, I dove to the bottom and looked over my shoulder. There was Cristina in perfect position arched back, looking up at surface, counting the seconds, looking up for that window through the foam pile to get to the surface. I took the photograph to record a moment but it turned out to be one of my favorite images in the coverage. It showed both the beauty and the power of the sea.

The images speak for themselves and the lessons, which will last a lifetime and will serve us well on future assignments, are the real reward of this story.

Paul Nicklen and Cristina Mittermeier, his partner and assistant, spent several months photographing indigenous Hawaiian surf culture for an upcoming story inNational Geographic magazine. Nicklen spoke to Proof previously about his experience getting to know the community, which you can read here. You can also hear about his passion for photography in his video interview, here.

Why is curiosity so important?

Albert Einstein: The important thing is not to stop questioning… Never lose a holy curiosity.

Curiosity is an important trait of a genius. I don’t think you can find an intellectual giant who is not a curious person. Thomas Edison, Leonardo da Vinci, Albert Einstein, Richard Feynman, they are all curious characters. Richard Feynman was especially known for his adventures which came from his curiosity.

But why is curiosity so important? Here are four reasons:

It makes your mind active instead of passive
Curious people always ask questions and search for answers in their minds. Their minds are always active. Since the mind is like a muscle which becomes stronger through continual exercise, the mental exercise caused by curiosity makes your mind stronger and stronger.


It makes your mind observant of new ideas
When you are curious about something, your mind expects and anticipates new ideas related to it. When the ideas come they will soon be recognized. Without curiosity, the ideas may pass right in front of you and yet you miss them because your mind is not prepared to recognize them. Just think, how many great ideas may have lost due to lack of curiosity?

It opens up new worlds and possibilities
By being curious you will be able to see new worlds and possibilities which are normally not visible. They are hidden behind the surface of normal life, and it takes a curious mind to look beneath the surface and discover these new worlds and possibilities.

It brings excitement into your life
The life of curious people is far from boring. It’s neither dull nor routine. There are always new things that attract their attention, there are always new ‘toys’ to play with. Instead of being bored, curious people have an adventurous life.

Now, knowing the importance of curiosity, here are some tips to develop it:

1. Keep an open mind
This is essential if you are to have a curious mind. Be open to learn, unlearn, and relearn. Some things you know and believe might be wrong, and you should be prepared to accept this possibility and change your mind.

2. Don’t take things as granted
If you just accept the world as it is without trying to dig deeper, you will certainly lose the ‘holy curiosity’. Never take things as granted. Try to dig deeper beneath the surface of what is around you.

3. Ask questions relentlessly
A sure way to dig deeper beneath the surface is asking questions: What is that? Why is it made that way? When was it made? Who invented it? Wheredoes it come from? How does it work? What, why, when, who, where, and howare the best friends of curious people.

4. Don’t label something as boring
Whenever you label something as boring, you close one more door of possibilities. Curious people are unlikely to call something as boring. Instead, they always see it as a door to an exciting new world. Even if they don’t yet have time to explore it, they will leave the door open to be visited another time.

5. See learning as something fun
If you see learning as a burden, there’s no way you will want to dig deeper into anything. That will just make the burden heavier. But if you think of learning as something fun, you will naturally want to dig deeper. So look at life through the glasses of fun and excitement and enjoy the learning process..

6. Read diverse kinds of reading
Don’t spend too much time on just one world; take a look at another worlds. It will introduce you to the possibilities and excitement of the other worlds which may spark your interest to explore them further. One easy way to do this is through reading diverse kinds of reading. Try to pick a book or magazine on a new subject and let it feed your mind with the excitement of a new world.

Skimo words for snow

The skimo tribes, are not usally keen on the idea of being called skimo. Instead of this, they prefer the word Inuit because in their own language, skimo means cannibal. No matter what name are they called by, the inuit language has shown its increadible variety of vocabulay in many ocasions. Take the word igloo as an example. It is an Inuit word adapted to not only English but several other languages as well.
As you may have proably found out, the inuit language is a language which has a lot of technical words about extremely cold weather conditions. Therefore, the inuit language has about 50 WORDS refering to "snow"!!!
I found an article on The Washington Post which talks about this amazing fact:

There really are 50 Eskimo words for “snow”

Nicholas Roemmelt:  The Sami people, who live in the northern tips of Scandinavia and Russia, have as many as 1,000 words for “reindeer.”

Anthropologist Franz Boas didn’t mean to spark a century-long argument. Traveling through the icy wastes of Baffin Island in northern Canada during the 1880s, Boas simply wanted to study the life of the local Inuit people, joining their sleigh rides, trading caribou skins and learning their folklore. As he wrote proudly to his fiancée, “I am now truly like an Eskimo. . . . I scarcely eat any European foodstuffs any longer but am living entirely on seal meat.” He was particularly intrigued by their language, noting the elaborate terms used to describe the frozen landscape: “aqilokoq” for “softly falling snow” and “piegnartoq” for “the snow [that is] good for driving sled,” to name just two.

Mentioning his observations in the introduction to his 1911 book “Handbook of American Indian Languages,” he ignited the claim that Eskimos have dozens, or even hundreds, of words for snow. Although the idea continues to capture public imagination, most linguists considered it an urban legend, born of sloppy scholarship and journalistic exaggeration. Some have even gone as far as to name it the Great Eskimo Vocabulary Hoax. The latest evidence, however, suggests that Boas was right all along.

This debate has rumbled on partly because of a grammatical peculiarity of the Eskimo family of languages. Boas studied Inuit, one of the two main branches; the other is Yupik. Each has spawned many dialects, but uniting the family is a feature known as polysynthesis, which allows speakers to encode a huge amount of information in one word by plugging various suffixes onto a base word.

For example, a single term might encompass a whole sentence in English: In Siberian Yupik, the base “angyagh” (boat) becomes “angyaghllangyugtuqlu” to mean “what’s more, he wants a bigger boat.” This makes compiling dictionaries particularly difficult: Do two terms that use the same base but a different ending really represent two common idioms within a language, or is the difference simply a speaker’s descriptive flourish? Both are possible, and vocabulary lists could quickly snowball if an outsider were to confuse the two — a criticism often leveled at Boas and his disciples.

Yet Igor Krupnik, an anthropologist at the Smithsonian Arctic Studies Center in Washington, believes that Boas was careful to include only words representing meaningful distinctions. Taking the same care with their own work, Krupnik and others charted the vocabulary of about 10 Inuit and Yupik dialects and concluded that they indeed have many more words for snow than English does.

Central Siberian Yupik has 40 such terms, while the Inuit dialect spoken in Canada’s Nunavik region has at least 53, including “matsaaruti,” for wet snow that can be used to ice a sleigh’s runners, and “pukak,” for the crystalline powder snow that looks like salt.

For many of these dialects, the vocabulary associated with sea ice is even richer. In the Inupiaq dialect of Wales, Alaska, Krupnik documented about 70 terms for ice that mark such distinctions as: “utuqaq,” ice that lasts year after year; “siguliaksraq,” the patchwork layer of crystals that forms as the sea begins to freeze; and “auniq,” ice that is filled with holes, like Swiss cheese.

It is not just the Eskimo languages that have colorful terms to describe their frosty surroundings: The Sami people, who live in the northern tips of Scandinavia and Russia, use at least 180 words related to snow and ice, according to Ole Henrik Magga, a linguist in Norway. (Unlike Inuit dialects, Sami ones are not polysynthetic, making it easier to distinguish words.)

Many words for reindeer, too

The Sami also have as many as 1,000 words for reindeer. These refer to such things as the reindeer’s fitness (“leami” means a short, fat female reindeer), personality (“njirru” is an unmanageable female) and the shape of its antlers (“snarri” is a reindeer whose antlers are short and branched). There is even a Sami word to describe a bull with a single, very large testicle: “busat.”

This kind of linguistic exuberance should come as no surprise, experts say, since languages evolve to suit the ideas and needs that are most crucial to the lives of their speakers. “These people need to know whether ice is fit to walk on or whether you will sink through it,” says linguist Willem de Reuse at the University of North Texas. “It’s a matter of life or death.”

“All languages find a way to say what they need to say,” says Matthew Sturm, a geophysicist with the Army Corps of Engineers in Alaska. For Sturm, it is the expertise these words contain that is of most interest, rather than the squabble about the number of terms. “These are real words that mean real things,” he says.

Sturm is particularly admiring of Inuit knowledge of the processes that lead to different snow and ice formations, mentioning one elder who “knew as much about snow as I knew after 30 years as a scientist.” In Sturm’s opinion, documenting this knowledge is far more important than finding out exactly how many words for snow there are.

Others also recognize the urgency of this work. As many indigenous people turn away from their traditional lifestyle, the expertise encapsulated in their vocabulary is fading. That is why researchers such as Krupnik are trying to compile and present their dictionaries to the local communities, as lasting records of their heritage.

“Boas only recorded a small fragment of the words available,” Krupnik says. In the intervening century, much has been lost. “At his time there would have been many more terms than there are today.”

By David Robson | New Scientist, Published: January 14, 2013

The perfect allegorie for love

- What is love for you?

- How would you represent it? 

Whether you thought the questions were difficult, don't worry. It looks like Katy Perry, the Californian singer has finally made up an idea which has been her inspiration to her videoclip: Unconditionally. As you could have easily predicted, the singer talks about a relationship where one of the lovers (the singer herself) promises to love the other on unconditionally. Are you wondering if id this a true feeling? Well, we never know, but her idea of love looks very realistic although, actually, it's hard to get it at the beginning!

Now, have a look at the lyrics:

Oh no, did I get too close?

Oh, did I almost see what's really on the inside?

All your insecurities

All the dirty laundry

Never made me blink one time

Unconditional, unconditionally

I will love you unconditionally

There is no fear now

Let go and just be free

I will love you unconditionally

Come just as you are to me

Don't need apologies

Know that you are worthy

I'll take your bad days with your good

Walk through the storm I would

I do it all because I love you, I love you

Unconditional, unconditionally

I will love you unconditionally

There is no fear now

Let go and just be free

I will love you unconditionally

So open up your heart and just let it begin

Open up your heart and just let it begin

Open up your heart and just let it begin

Open up your heart

Acceptance is the key to be

To be truly free

Will you do the same for me?

Unconditional, unconditionally

I will love you unconditionally

And there is no fear now

Let go and just be free

'Cause I will love you unconditionally (oh yeah)

I will love you (unconditionally)

I will love you

I will love you unconditionally

Did you understand it all? Probably not. Anyway, here you have a news article from MTV which can help us clear up our minds.

Katy Perry cited "Dangerous Liaisons" and "Anna Karenina" as two of the inspirations for her dreamy "Unconditionally" video, which she premiered during "MTV First: Katy Perry 'Unconditionally'" on Tuesday.

But, those movies are just jumping-off points for the video. MTV News chatted with director Brent Bonacorso, who dished on what he wanted to capture in the video.

"When she sings this song she doesn't sing it lightly. This love that she speaks of is like a force of nature, epic storm and a tempest, and that's definitely something I wanted to capture," he said, adding that he wanted to capture a "more mysterious, elegant and sophisticated world to live in... less about a time period and more about creating an impression and a feeling."

That "feeling" is expressed using various unforgettable images, including a car crash and setting a bed on fire. But, what does it all mean? Well, he revealed all.

'Unconditionally' Video Expresses Power Of Love And Beauty

Crash Into Love

At one point, Katy gets hits by a car, a visual metaphor for the power of true love. "One of the key images that I think was pivotal in the video and just a very important concept to me. I once described the experience of falling in love like being hit by a car; suddenly your world is just so violently and dramatically changed. It hits you out of the blue," Bonacorso explained. "I shared this with Katy and she really loved that concept and really identified with it immediately, that she felt the same way."

Sex On Fire?

Fire and snow are two elements that play important roles in the video. And no image is as arresting as seeing a bed get lit on fire in the middle of a party. "And then we talked about how love can burn you like an inferno, like it's this fire inside you that you just have to let out," he said. "And, so she was really identifying with these concepts, and I think perhaps from her own experiences, she felt that those worked for her world and her experiences."

Flower Power

Not only does Katy get hit by a car, but she's surrounded by a tornado of colorful flowers. Those two images are related to one another, Bonacorso notes.

"It's a symbol of just joy that kind of joy in love, that explosion of color, explosion of wonderful things. The car crash and the kind of flower crash happen simultaneously," he said. "And the car crash obviously represents the sudden almost violent nature of love when it really gets its hooks into you and really changes your world. And then the flowers kind of represent that joyous and wonderful, yet still forceful impact of that love when it enters your life. And so we're kind of playing around with these two crashes. How beautiful and soft, but still spectacular that could be."

Is This A Dream?

Katy exists in two places, alone in the snow and also surrounded by dancers in a fancy ballroom. Those places are more psychological than physical.

He explained, "And the idea there is if you go along with non-narrative way of approaching this particular video, of using these metaphorical allegories to give this impression of love. Also, each world represents a different part of the subconscious."

Wise As An Owl

Katy befriends an owl in the video. And this winged pal plays a significant part in the story.

"Symbolically, again, using these dream-like allegories and there was quite a bit of thought put into this... but I wanted to create in the mind of the viewer this impression of unconditional love and the owl is just an undeniably powerful symbol of something strong, something free and something powerful," he said. "She lets it go into the world and that literally letting this force within her go wild. That's an important part of love is that you have to let it go. I believe there might be an old saying about that."

Sweet songs and strong coffee

 There’s a dreamy atmosphere to Adjuntas, a coffee town in the Valley of the Sleeping Giant high in the mountains of Puerto Rico. A deep love of the land and its customs runs through this place, where people say their families have lived ‘since forever’ and formal good manners rule daily life. You smell it in the surrounding streets, where food is cooked at roadside barbecues. You see it in the graceful horses paraded through town on holidays and you feel it in the large, elegant square, with its fountains and stone benches. Several decades ago, this love of the land motivated the local people to oppose a massive mining operation. The mountains surrounding Adjuntas are rich with gold, silver, copper and zinc and the Puerto Rican government had reserved about 80 square kilometres for mineral exploitation. People fought to protect the land despite the promise of jobs and money. They were saved by growing coffee and selling it throughout Puerto Rico. The profits helped the group to persuade the government to transform the mining zone into a national park, El Bosque del Pueblo, which is now protected by law. Opened in 1998, the park runs a reforestation programme allowing young and old to plant trees where land has been excavated. ‘Learning to manage the forest has been a kind of reincarnation for us,’ said Tinti Deya, a local resident. ‘It’s another world where we’re like children doing everything for the first time, except in our case we’re grandmothers.’ Grandmothers are everywhere in Adjuntas and they’re all respectfully addressed as Dofia. Lala Echevarria, an 85-yearold great-great-grandmother, was born on the oldest street in town, where she still lives in a small, immaculate home. Dofia Lala grew up before electricity and running water, and remembers when the first car arrived in Adjuntas. ‘As a child, I used to spend all my time carrying water, finding firewood, looking after the chickens and the cows,’ she said. ‘There were sixteen of us. We would wash our clothes in the river and we used to cook on an open fire. At meal times, we kids would sit on the floor to eat.’ Dofia Lala was working as a maid when she met and married the love of her life, Mariano the mechanic. They had thirteen children and shared 44 years before he died in 1983. She shows me the dozens of photographs of four generations of descendants that now fill her tiny home. Traditions in Adjuntas go back centuries to the mountains of ancestral islands such as Mallorca, Tenerife and Corsica. People play the old songs in the countryside and in little shops, like Lauro Yepez’s place where men meet to swap stories and have a drink. When I was there, troubadour Tato Ramos appeared and began to sing in a centuries-old flamenco style. Word spread fast. The shop filled with working-class men clapping, tapping and nodding to the music. Ramos improvised songs about growing coffee, welcoming visitors and ignoring parental advice, all topics requested by shop customers. ‘This is a forgotten art,’ said Yepez. ‘People give him a topic and he composes the song, in proper rhyme, on the spot.’ Later, I played the recording I’d made for my 88-year-old Spanish father, who has Alzheimer’s disease. His dark brown eyes twinkled with recognition. He nodded his head, smiled, and said, ‘Oh yes, this I remember, this I remember ...’

What colour is Tuesday?

My name is Mark. I’m Canadian and I have synesthesia. It’s not a disease (although I think it  sounds like one) and it doesn’t really have any serious  effects on my day-to-day life, but it is a strange  condition. Synesthesia happens when two or more of  your senses get mixed up. So in my case, for example,  I taste words. My sense of taste works even when I’m  not eating anything, but when I hear or read certain  words. For me, the word ‘box’ tastes of eggs. That’s  just one example, of course. I’m reading one of the  Sherlock Holmes stories at the moment and ‘Sherlock’  is another ‘egg’ word! It’s a bit too much sometimes. There are quite a few famous people with synesthesia:  artists like David Hockney and Kandinsky, and musicians  like Stevie Wonder and Liszt. Unfortunately for me I only  share my synesthesia with them, not any great artistic  skills. I read that Kandinsky’s synesthesia mixed colour,  hearing, touch and smell. To be honest, I don’t think I’d  like that. It seems very complicated.  My sister is synesthetic too and she sees words in  colour. So when she sees the word ‘Tuesday’ or just  thinks of the word ‘Tuesday’, she gets the feeling of  ‘brown’. Actually that kind of synesthesia, where the days  of the week are coloured, is the most common type. I  read somewhere that synesthesia is connected to the  way our brains develop language and that there’s a link  between sounds and shapes. I don’t understand the  idea very well, but it sounds fascinating.

New York before

Of all the visitors to New York City in recent years, one of the most surprising was a beaver which showed up one morning in 2007. Nobody knows exactly where the beaver came from and ecologist Eric Sanderson explains that, although beavers used to be common in the area in the 17th century, there haven’t been any for more than 200 years. For Sanderson, the beaver’s appearance was symbolic. For ten years, he’s been leading a project to visualise what the area used to look like before the city transformed it. As Sanderson says, ‘There are views in this city where you cannot see, except for a person, another living thing. Not a tree or a plant. How did a place become like that?’ In fact, long before the skyscrapers came to dominate the view, this place was a pristine wilderness where animals like beavers, bears and turkeys would roam freely through forests, marshes and grassland. Its ecology was as diverse as Yellowstone or Yosemite today. There used to be sandy beaches along the coasts and 90 kilometres of fresh-water streams. Sanderson’s project resulted in a 3-D computer model of the area. You can pick any spot in modern New York and see what used to be there. Take Fifth Avenue, for example. A family called Murray used to have a farm here and in 1782 (during the American War of Independence) the British troops landed near here. Legend has it that Mrs Murray offered the British officers tea while George Washington’s troops slipped past them, down what is now Broadway. ‘I’d like every New Yorker to know that they live in a place with amazing natural potential – even if you have to look a little harder to see it,’ says Sanderson.

You can see Sanderson's speech in TEDtalk here

Hurricane EARL?

Nobody can tell you how serious Hurricane Earl might be, but we can tell you why Earl has that name. (A pretty friendly name for such a potential disaster.)

Briefly, here’s how the monikers for storms are picked. The world is roughly divided into six major basins where storm activity occurs. Each basin has an organization that comes up with lists of names a few years in advance. The basins don’t all follow the same rules for coming up with the names. In one basin, they don’t even use human names necessarily. But the namers for the North Atlantic and Northeastern Pacific share the following system, according to the National Hurricane Center: male and female names alternate in alphabetical order, and the gender that the list starts with alternates every year. The lists are recycled every six years.

(The difference between hurricanes, cyclones and typhoons is another fascinating story, which is explained here.)

Letters that rarely begin names (like Q) are excluded from consideration. (There will never be a Hurricane Quetzalcoatl.) Not until a tropical depression transforms into a tropical storm is it eligible for a name. Wherever the storm-level activity kicks in determines which basin has naming privileges.

When tropical storms reach a certain velocity, they become hurricanes or cyclones. Hurricane names can be retired from the list if they have caused a certain level of destruction. And if there are so many storms in one region that all the alphabetical names are used up, additional storms are called “Alpha,” Beta,” etc., through the Greek alphabet (alpha, beta . . .)

The following are the remaining names on the 2010 North Atlantic list: Gaston, Hermine, Igor, Julia, Karl, Lisa, Matthew, Nicole, Otto, Paula, Richard, Shary, Tomas, Virginie, and Walter.

Originally the names for storms near North America were only female. The sexist implications of the practice led to the current system.

Historically, an earl is a title of nobility, a rank below that of marquis and above that of viscount. Sort of a medieval middle manager. The name Katrina is a version of Katherine, which derives from the Greek word meaning “pure.”

Do you give Presents or Gifts?

On december we are all making our lists and checking them twice. All this holiday shopping got us thinking: where do the words gift and present come from? Why does English use both? It’s not just so that children can ask for toys in multiple ways.
Language is not a linear, predestined development. Even though it may feel as if the language we speak is in some way the logical conclusion of thousands of years of development, every word that we use has a unique, sometimes circuitous history.
The word gift wandered through multiple meanings before arriving at its current common meaning: “something given voluntarily without payment in return, as to show favor toward someone, honor an occasion, or make a gesture of assistance.” In Old English, its most dominant meaning was “payment for a wife,” or a dowry. Gift originates in the Proto-Indo-European base ghabh- which came from the Sanskrit word gabhasti meaning “hand or forearm.” (Gabhasti is also the root of the word habit.) While gift became associated only with marriage payments, the related verb give followed a different trajectory of meaning; it denoted the specific act of putting something in someone else’s hands, according to the Oxford English Dictionary. Around the 1300s, the word gift began to assume a more general meaning of an object freely given to another person.
But what about its synonym present? Present was imported into English from Old Norman (also called Old French). Present originally meant the same thing as the adjective present, “being there.” It was used in the French phrase mettre en present, to mean “to offer in the presence of.” By the early 1300s, it became synonymous with the thing being offered. (Present did not acquire the sense of “the present time” until the 1500s.)
A more recent evolution of the term came in the popular word regift. The word refers to the common practice of giving away a gift that you received from someone else, like candles, bubble bath, and ugly slippers.

If gift and present do not suffice, you could always use one of these gift-related terms:
lagniappe, succor, potlatch, bonhomie, beneficence

 

(When did gifts become an essential part of the Christmas holiday? Learn more about Santa and his sidekicks here.)

Where does the word Hobbit come from?

J.R.R. Tolkien was born on January 3, 1892. In honor of the author’s beloved Lord of the Rings series of books, we pay tribute to his fantastic creation, the hobbit. Hobbits are similar to humans, but they are short and have hairy feet. Bilbo Baggins, Samwise Gamgee, and Frodo Baggins are the most-well known hobbit examples. In J.R.R. Tolkien’s fiction, they’re the peaceful folk who reside in Middle Earth.
(On a side note, if you’ve ever wanted to know what the “J.R.R.” in Tolkien’s name stands for, here’s the answer.)
As you may have guessed, hobbits are a fictional race born in Tolkien’s imagination. He even created an etymology for the word; hobbit derives from the word Holbytla, which means “hole-dweller” in Old English. Tolkien invented three groups of hobbits. The Harfoots were the smallest of all the hobbits and also the first to enter Eriador, a large region of Middle Earth. The Fallohides are the least numerous of the Hobbits and tall and fair. The Stoors were the last to enter Eriador. They stand out as being the only hobbits that are willing to swim.
Now here’s the fascinating and slightly spooky detail. There are no references to hobbits before Tolkien’s publication, except for one. In 1895, the folklorist Michael Aislabie Denham published a long list of supernatural creatures. Here’s an excerpt: “. . . nixies, Jinny-burnt-tails, dudmen, hell-hounds, dopple-gangers, boggleboes, bogies, redmen, portunes, grants, hobbits . . .”
While Tolkien was a masterful adapter of mythology and folklore, there isn’t the slightest suggestion that he was aware of this list. Synchronicity, coincidence, or serendipity? Tolkien’s interest in language predates his career as a professional writer. After World War I, the Oxford English Dictionary was Tolkien’s first employer. His job at the dictionary involved working on the history and etymology of Germanic words that begin with “W.”

Is text messaging ruining English?

With every generation come cries that teenagers are destroying the language with their newfangled slang. The current grievance harps on the way casual language used in texts and instant messages inhibits kids from understanding how to write and speak “properly.” While amateur language lovers might think this argument makes sense, experts say this is not at all the case. In fact, linguists say teenagers, far from destroying English, are innovating and enriching the language.
First of all, abbreviations like haha, lol, omg, brb, and btw are more infrequent than you might imagine, according to a 2008 paper by Sali A. Tagliamonte and Derek Denis. Of course, 2008 is a long time ago in terms of digital fluency, but the findings of the study are nevertheless fascinating. Looking at IM conversations of Toronto-based teenagers, Tagliamonte found that “the use of short forms, abbreviations, and emotional language is infinitesimally small.” These sorts of stereotypical markers of teen language accounted for only 3 percent of Tagliamonte’s data. Perhaps one of her most interesting findings is that older teens start to outgrow the abbreviation lol, opting for the more mature haha. Tagliamonte’s 16-year-old daughter told her, “I used to use lol when I was a kid.”
Tagliamonte, who now is exploring language development in texting as well as instant messaging, argues that these forms of communication are a cultivated mix of formal and informal language and that these mediums are “on the forefront of change.” In an article published in May of this year, Tagliamonte concludes that “students showed that they knew where to use proper English.” For example, a student might not start sentences with capital letters in IMs and text messages, but still understands to do this in formal papers. Tagliamonte believes that this kind of natural blending of conversational registers employed by teens would not be possible without a sophisticated understanding of both formal and informal language.
It was once trendy to try to speak like people wrote, and now it’s the other way around. For the first time in history, we can write quickly enough to capture qualities of spoken language in our writing, and teens are skillfully doing just that. John McWhorter’s 2013 TED Talk “Txting is killing language. JK!!!” further supports the idea that teens are language innovators. He believes their creative development of the English language should be not mocked, but studied, calling texting “an expansion of [young people’s] linguistic repertoire.” He singles out the subtle communication prowess of lol. Teens are using it in non-funny situations, and its meaning has expanded beyond just “laugh out loud.” Now it can be used as a marker of empathy and tone, something often lacking in written communication. This is an enhancement–not a perversion–of language. There’s also evidence to suggest that lol sometimes carries a similar meaning to wtf (and furthermore, the abbreviation wtf is more functional and sophisticated than it seems).
Teens aren’t the only ones opting for abbreviations in written communication. The first citation of OMG in the Oxford English Dictionary is from a 1917 letter from the British admiral John Arbuthnot Fisher to none other than Winston Churchill. He writes, “I hear that a new order of Knighthood is on the tapis–O.M.G. (Oh! My God!)–Shower it on the Admiralty!!” Clearly, to give young people all the credit for spreading new abbreviations would be shortsighted, though this letter does bring up the question of where Admiral John Fisher first encountered OMG. Perhaps he picked up this colorful expression from his grandchildren.

The Formidable Power of Positive Thoughts

“Some men see things and helplessly say: ‘Why?’.

But I dream things that never were and say:

‘Why not?’.” - George Bernard Shaw

All thoughts manifest as an energetic subject at a vibratory level. A thought, once emitted, is propagated into space and is next accepted or refuted by other people having similar thoughts. The thought always establishes in the emitter a state of receptiveness for specific energies of the same kind. This is why a man’s life is the result of his thoughts. Regardless of circumstances, a human being always has a force which he is not always conscious of. This is the formidable power of positive thoughts, which will put you instantly in resonance with the beneficial, wonderful forces of the Universe.

What was the first thought that appeared in your mind this morning? Was it a beautiful thought, for example, you thought of someone dear to you or simply rejoiced at seeing the sun in the sky? Was it a negative thought, such as: “I am so tired that I’m in no mood for ever getting up”? Remember now your next thoughts, the general state you had when actually beginning your activity. You can notice that the entire “programming” you imagined for today either supported you throughout the entire day or on the contrary brought you only trouble. A great philosopher said: “In you is the cause of everything which occurs in your life.”

Every man is the creator of his own destiny; he is the one building his own existence composed of light and shadow, ups and downs. We are the ones who choose our own goals and it depends on us to aim to the abysses or to the heights. The echo of our aspiration reverberates at the level of the entire Universe, because “An elevated soul will also elevate the world.” Let us start then each day with clear positive thinking. A positive thought means we amplify powerfully belief in ourselves and in God to be in all our actions in harmony with the divine laws of the Universe.

If we observe closely ourselves and the people around us and observe their attitude towards events, we will notice the existence of three fundamental attitudes in life, closely connected to the predominant orientation of the thoughts: the fatalist-pessimistic attitude, the pseudo-idealistic attitude and the active-optimistic attitude.

The Fatalist-Pessimistic Attitude

“Foolish Man, you create wonders without knowing and you do not know at all the formidable power of your own thoughts. You should know that all you imagine is accomplishable in direct proportion to your faith … Why is it that you do not get to know yourself and thus discover a perfect god?” (Tudor Arghezi)

This is the attitude that manifests through fear of the future, the feeling of futility, desperation, restlessness and anxiety. It is most often encountered amongst disoriented, unhappy and unbalanced people. We have all probably known people who systematically miss all favourable opportunities; they always find themselves facing some difficulties, they consider themselves the victims of negative circumstances. They are the ones who, at the first obstacle they meet, conclude: “I knew I was not going to make it! I cannot do anything or change anything!” When they have to resolve an important problem, the first thought which appears in their minds is that the job is not suitable for them. They immediately become unhappy and disinterested strongly believing that in different circumstances, by resorting to other means they could have resolved it much better and quicker. Because of this reason, the solution to their problem escapes them and they start convincing themselves that they will not resolve it. All past failures are remembered and possible success disappears in front of a mountain of difficulties. All theses things are starting from a single negative thought. Nevertheless it cannot be said that they do not wish to do something. Many times we have heard people asserting: “I will change my life”, “I’ll start over from scratch”, “My luck will change”. Yet, despite all this, they resume these manners of behaviour, these negative attitudes and these same ways of looking at things, even if the outer situation is different. Conflictual tendencies, the inability to surpass various obstacles, to see the situations objectively, to value one’s own qualities, to permanently experience and sense that indescribable feeling of inner calm and harmony are recommenced again and again.

The Pseudo-Idealistic Attitude

“Nothing great has ever been achieved except by those who dared believe something inside them was superior to circumstances.” (Bruce Barton)

“The mind in its own place, and in itself, can make heaven of Hell, and a hell of Heaven.”(John Milton)

The second fundamental attitude is characterised by those running from responsibilities and of the tendency to flee from reality into an illusionary world, in which the daily tasks and necessities are ignored in the name of the spirit’s superiority. We meet in this category the fake philosopher, the forever unsatisfied, the endless dreamers. They are the ones immediately giving way to bad moods; the ones always dreaming to what they could have, without ever doing anything to make the dreams become reality; the ones irritated by the most unimportant things and they find defects in everyone around them, yet never to themselves. The pseudo-idealistic attitude is not actually anything other than a false way of self-protection, of hiding from reality and of one’s own destiny. Pseudo-idealists accept a passive manner of leaving things to evolve randomly, to escape in dreams about ideal worlds, which will never exist, because nothing is done for them to exist. Non-action represents, in this case, a method of action, but a negative one which brings negative results.

If the pseudo-idealistic attitude is transformed into an authentic-idealistic attitude, which presumes that fear of responsibility and fleeing from reality is transformed into self-confidence and faith in life, the third attitude appears, the active-optimist. Contemplating can become, in this case, a way of correct thinking, of truly living, of becoming the ruler of destiny.

The Active-Optimistic Attitude

“The history of the world is that of a few extraordinary people who had complete belief in themselves. This belief makes manifest the Divine, which is always behind us. A human being that has a great belief maybe anything; everything is a possibility. Such a human being will only fail when he does not give sufficient effort to manifest the subtle infinite power of the Universe. You who understand will realise how important it is we believe, before everything, in the power of ourselves.” (Swami Sivananda)

The third fundamental attitude, the active optimistic, is characterised by those who evaluate how all that exists around them as being positive. The profoundly positive attitude of their mind is the firm, unshakeable belief that things go well and that any problem or difficulty can be surpassed. Life is full of circumstances that we cannot influence directly; what we can do is modify our way of looking at them. Active-optimists build a positive state of spirit, being thus capable to face all events and thus influence, for the better, those around them. They envelop all their personal relationships in affectionate, charming warmth. These people know that difficulties represent the necessities of life, which help us deeply understand life and surpass our own limits. Active-optimists know they are not toys in the hands of destiny but the creators of their own happiness. They make from their permanent state of enthusiasm a true art as they awaken such capacities to pass with ease over all obstacles. They nurture almost always the power of positive thoughts and act always for the good of things, being fully and promptly sustained by the beneficial forces attracted by resonance from the Macrocosm. These people are open towards all that enriches the spirit; they are ready to learn everything from anything and strongly believe that the most revolutionary act they could achieve in this world is to be happy. For the very fact that they assert the good into everything, the events and beings reflect them back at their best.

In other words: “Say YES to Life and Life will also answer YES to you!”

Taken from: http://edwardmaya.com/love/the-formidable-power-of-positive-thoughts/

Secret code for English

The fabulous gadgets of 007 and Ethan Hunt might be out of our price range, but the vocabularies of super spies are well within reach. Join us as we decode 9 terms from the world of espionage.

Canary trap

This phrase was used by Tom Clancy in Patriot Games and refers to a method of finding leaks—or determining which songbird sings—in a spy organization or operation in which different versions of sensitive information are given to each suspected leaker. Prior to canary trap, versions of this strategy were referred to as Barium meal tests.

 



Sheep dipping
In the light of day, this phrase refers to the practice of coating sheep with a liquid formula of insecticide and fungicide to protect them from parasites. In the underworld of military intelligence, it means disguising one’s true identity.

Raven

From Edgar Allen Poe’s feathered friend to the trickster of North Pacific Coast Native American mythology, ravens have occupied a special place in numerous cultures. The term raven pops up in spy terminology to refer to a male agent who seduces targets to gain intelligence.

 

Mole
In the context of clandestine intelligence operations, a mole is a spy who burrows into the ranks of an enemy governmental staff or intelligence agency. This sense was popularized by celebrated spy novelist John Le Carré, but, according to the OED, the sense of “a person who works in darkness or secrecy” dates back to the 1600s.

Honey trap
A honey trap refers to a strategy whereby an attractive person uses his or her powers of seduction to coerce someone into doing or revealing something. This term, as well as the term honeypot, can also be used to refer to the not-so-sweet person employing this strategy.

 

Cobbler
The word cobbler has a plethora of meanings: it can refer to someone who mends shoes, a deep-dish fruit pie, an iced drink made of wine, sugar, lemon and ice, or a specific kind of fish. However, in the shadows of undercover ops, a cobbler is a spy who produces fake documents, such as visas and passports.

Shoe
If the gumshoes are hot on your tail and you need to skip town while on a top-secret mission, ask your “cobbler” for a “shoe.” In spy lingo, this term refers to false documents.

 



Brush pass
Any spy worth his or her salt has mastered the art of the brush pass. This term refers to momentary in-person contact in which crucial intelligence information is exchanged.

Bug
The spy senses of this word, “to install a secret listening device” and “a hidden eavesdropping device,” perhaps evolved out of insects’ aptitude for infiltrating spaces unnoticed.

The Story of My Life

Have you ever heard of a group named One Direction? They are a teen music group in which there are five men which always sing about their teen point of view of life. Can you still remember that period of life? Everything was important then, wasn't it? You may remember how every bad event seemed to happen just to you, and you would always wonder:"Why is it happening to me?". Anyway, one of the most typical teens' obsessions is the relationships between them and other people. They worry about their new discussions with parents and grandparents, they worry because their whole life lasting friends are not what they seemed to be and, of course, they worry for their love feelings. Whether they are good or not on these important facts (and they usually are not), they all agree, when they grow up, that their past mistakes have helped them to write the story of their lives. In fact, it's this story what makes them realise they are genuine survivors of life. It makes them feel they're strong and they realise life is not perfect but memories are sweet. Don't you agree? One Direction does and they sing it in their own song: The story of my life. Have a look and enjoy!

Lyrics:
 
Written in these walls are the stories that I can’t explain
I leave my heart open but it stays right here empty for days

She told me in the morning she don’t feel the same about us in her bones
It seems to me that when I die these words will be written on my stone

And I’ll be gone, gone tonight
The ground beneath my feet is open wide
The way that I been holdin’ on too tight
With nothing in between

The story of my life I take her home
I drive all night to keep her warm and time...
Is frozen (the story of, the story of)
The story of my life I give her hope
I spend her love until she’s broke inside
The story of my life (the story of, the story of)

Written on these walls are the colours that I can’t change
Leave my heart open but it stays right here in its cage 

I know that in the morning
I'll see us in the light upon your ear
Although I am broken, my heart is untamed still

And i’ll be gone, gone tonight
The fire beneath my feet is burning bright
The way that I been holdin’ on so tight
With nothing in between

The story of my life I take her home
I drive all night to keep her warm and time...
Is frozen (the story of, the story of)
The story of my life I give her hope
I spend her love until she’s broke inside
The story of my life (the story of, the story of)

And I been waiting for this time to come around
But baby running after you is like chasing the clouds

The story of my life I take her home
I drive all night to keep her warm and time...
Is frozen

The story of my life I give her hope (give her hope)
I spend her love until she’s broke inside (until she’s broken inside)
The story of my life (the story of, the story of)
The story of my life
The story of my life (the story of, the story of)
The story of my life.

Activity: Compose the story of your life. Try to tell some episodes wich have helped you grow up and how time has changed things. Anyway, don't forget to say how you ere enjoying it in the present. In fact, life is sweet with moments of bitterness, not vice versa...

Why does triskaidekaphopia exist?

Can you turn to the person next to you, look them in the eye, and honestly say that you have never felt a twinge of concern in the morning when you realize it is Friday the 13th? It’s time for triskaidekaphobes to acknowledge their shared superstition, learn its possible source, and try to gain some insight into what it means for millions of people to hold such a belief.
Let’s start with Friday, named for one of two Norse goddesses, Freya or Frigga. While modern folks may exclaim “TGIF,” some traditions consider “Frigga’s Day” to be unlucky. Some Christians aren’t fond of today because they believe Jesus was crucified on a Friday.

Many cultures have an issue with 13, though we can’t say for certain just how many architects actually omit a 13th floor from a highrise. The precise circumstances that made Friday and 13 such an intense combination for superstition are unclear, but a study speculates that businesses lose millions of dollars in revenue from phobias of the day. Some possible origins revolve around the Battle of Hastings, the Knights Templar, or the goddess Frigga once again.
Whatever the source, it’s certain that, however much we want to believe that rationality informs our decisions, logical and systematic thought has limits. For further proof, simply spend some time with a dictionary. Inconsistencies, contradictions and uncertain origins abound.

Activity: What are some other examples of superstition in contemporary life? Saying gesundheit when someone sneezes is certainly one famous word-based example, but what are a few less obvious situations that you’ve experienced?

Some Thoughts on Candy Crush Saga

Posted by Edward Champion on http://www.edrants.com/some-thoughts-on-candy-crush-saga/ 

Candy Crush Saga is a terribly addictive game designed to prey on the uncertainties of obsessive and compulsive people. If you possess little willpower or a stubborn determination to win, I urge you in the strongest possible terms never to download this monstrous app. You would be better off spending your time taking up chess or impossible bottle building, which both offer the solace of handling tangible objects.

The game involves manipulating candy on a screen to form rows, where the objects obliterate in a deceptively pleasing manner. The first ten levels are preposterously easy, feeling like a derivative form of Tetris or Bejeweled. But this is enough time for Candy Crush Saga to sink its cold steely talons into your sense of confidence. Because the levels after this become progressively more difficult. Sometimes you must ensure that objects from the top of the screen (“ingredients”) fall into their proper niches. Sometimes you need to make blocks of jelly dissolve by forming rows within these viscid masses. It’s a fairly stupid premise for a game, and yet the game ensnares you within its netting.

Soon you are using lives quite rapidly. Because each level has a limited number of moves. The game’s brilliantly treacherous way of making money is for a new life to replenish every thirty minutes. What this means is that you must wait once you’ve used up all of your lives. The other option is a Faustian bargain with your impatience: pay the ignoble ransom of 99 cents per life to get back in the game. Like many effective freemium applications designed to ensnare the closet addict, it requires tremendous willpower not to hand over your cash, your passport, or even your firstborn child.

This has proved quite profitable for the diabolical assholes who run this racket. It is estimated that they are raking in $850,016 each day. Gizmodo’s Ashley Feinberg was brave enough to write a confessional essay, pointing out that she has spent $236 on this game. That figure rivals a mildly out-of-control bar tab or a pleasant day at an affrodable bed and breakfast. I am sure that there are people in America right now excavating coins from the deep crevices of couches just to keep their Candy Crush Saga game going a little faster.

I wasted two hours of my life on Candy Crush Saga and I am still not quite sure why. The derivative music, badly looped, clanged inside my ears with all the subtlety of an army of percussion experts terrorizing me with a six gong battery. There are a few cut scenes involving an obnoxious girl who you are apparently collecting bits of candy for. I did not like this girl and did not understand why she required so much candy. Did she not have concerned parents? Perhaps some dentist who could steer her away from her dentine-destroying fixation? And yet I kept on going despite this poorly conceived narrative. You see, there’s this train that pulls you along from level to level. And I have always been very fond of trains. I hated the way the game preyed upon this affection.

Some outfit called King appears to be the software company responsible for this goddam game. I resent the cocky imperialism contained within the appellation. The company should have had the decency to call itself Scarface or Big Meech Flenory or Nixon. Because King has clearly adopted the business style of a smack dealer operating without honor.

There seems to be some consummate AI at work ensuring that the user will not win. Because if you are too slow or methodical, the game actually shimmers the wrong candy from time to time, suggesting that you move it. And because the game puts you into a narcotic state where you feel compelled to please it, you are constantly at war between the game’s slot machine-like aesthetic and your own rational thinking. There are psychedelic experiences that offer a more consistent state of being.

In the end, I was forced to uninstall the dreaded game. I began to imagine a future in which I was selling my body to feed my Candy Crush Saga addiction. Well, if one must become a puck bunny, then the stakes should be higher than shifting around animated candy.