LOOONNNGGG words

It may be just out of boredom and with nothing else to do, i used to memorize long words out from encyclopedias and articles that i'd run into. It brings a nice feeling that you know some of the long words and that you are also able to pronounce them well.

From Frank and Wagnalls Encyclopedia, I got these:
DDT - dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane
CFC - chlorofluorocarbon

From Internet searches about fear of Friday the 13th, i found two terms for the phobia:
paraskavedekatriaphobia
friggatriskaidekaphobia

We often would have contests between elementary classmates on who could speak this the fastest:
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

But, with the medical terms that i got acquainted with, of course there's a whole lot being added to my list. Stumbling upon the question on what is the longest word in English, I remembered reading an old Guinness Book of World Records book at home (too old that the front pages were cut off and i don't know what edition it is) about the topic. And since entries about such does not change in time, unless there are new word coinages, information from my good old book are still relevant. Searches in the Wiki also provided useful answers. I just think I can share them with you.

The longest word in the Oxford English Dictionary is flocci­nauci­nihili­pili­fication (with a variation of p for n, i.e., floccipaucini...), with 29 letters, meaning "the action of estimating as worthless," first used in 1741, and later by Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832).

Webster's Third International Dictionary lists among its 450,000 entries pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis (45 letters), the name of a miner's lung disease.

The longest word in an English classic is the nonce word Honorificabilitudinitatibus (27 letters), occurring in Act V, scene I of Love's Labour's Lost by William Shakespeare (1564-1616), but used with the ending "-tatatibus," making 29 letters, in The Water Poet by John Taylor (1580-1653). In this category may also be placed the 52-letter word used by Dr. Edward Strother (1675-1737) to describe the spa waters at Bristol - aequeosalinocalcalinoceraceoaluminosocupreovitriolic. In his novel Headlong Hall, Thomas Love Peacock (1785-1866) described the human physique as "osseocarnisanguineoviscericartilaginonervomedullary" - 51 letters.

The longest regularly formed English word is praetertranssubstantiationalistically (37 letters), used by Mark McShane in his novel Untimely Ripped, published in 1963. The medical term hepaticocholangiocholecystenterostomies (39 letters) refers to the surgical creations of new communications between gall bladders and hepatic ducts and between intestines and gall bladders. The longest in common use is disproportionableness (21 letters).

Sounds fun if you get to be familiar with these words, huh?
More exciting words with certain characteristics of notable lengths found here.

-honey-

I Am Sam

Love is all you need.

Director: Jessie Nelson
Writers:
Kristine Johnson (written by) &
Jessie Nelson (written by)
Release Date: 25 January 2002 (USA)
Genre: Drama

Cast:
Sean Penn as Sam Dawson
Michelle Pfeiffer as Rita Harrison Williams
Dakota Fanning as Lucy Diamond Dawson, etc.

Plot:
A mentally-retarded, loving father fought against life and people who would attempt to separate him from his sweet 7-year old daughter. He would do everything that it takes to prove to the court that he alone could provide the kind of care and love his daughter needed to go through life's challenges as she grow up to be a young lady. And those people who never believed he'd be capable to do so, him having just a mental capacity that of a 7-year-old were all taken aback as he showed them that love is all you need to raise a child so dear to your heart. Sam Dawson sends inspiration to his lawyer, to his mentally retarded friends, to his daughter's foster parents and to all the people who witnessed how he struggled to claim his daughter back.

* I actually cried a lot of times while watching the movie. Yes, yes...you might think it's too sentimental or pathetic of me to do so. But, really, I just can't help myself. This movie speaks more of life and makes us see one of the things that we usually have taken for granted...our dad's love for us. I know that sometimes, we'd wish we have a different dad and not the one we already have. Sometimes we'd wish he wouldn't be that nosy or strict or overprotective or close-minded. And just because we couldn't conform to what he desired and wanted for us, we'd ravage and wish he'd be gone. But, we shouldn't be doing these. For at least, we've had the chance to know our dad, get to see him and live with him. We've had the opportunity to dine with him, cuddle with him, laugh at his jokes, watch movies with him, get to taste his cooking, and just even enjoy his company. We are fortunate enough to experience his presence, because not all the people in the world know where their dad is or if they do, not given the chance to get to know him.

Sam may not be a perfect dad, just like our dads. They all have flaws and weaknesses, and we may never knew it but they may also be hammering their heads and working hard on how to be a better dad to their kids. Yet, most of the time, we overlook at their efforts to provide us decent livings, we oversee their worries as we go home late at night and we resent their good advices to better our lives.

Before it is too late, let us all look back at what we've done to our dads and on how much we give importance to them. They deserve more than our attention, our care and our love in return...and I think Father's Day shouldn't just be a one-day affair. We should be celebrating that everyday of our lives so long as we look up to a father who nurtured us to who we are now...whether he be biological or not.

-honey-

Personal Rating: 8/10

more at http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0277027/

27 Dresses

This January, always a bridesmaid, never a bride.

Director: Anne Fletcher
Writer: Aline Brosh McKenna (written by)
Release Date: 30 January 2008 (Philippines)
Genre: Comedy | Romance

Cast:
Katherine Heigl as Jane
James Marsden as Kevin, etc.

Plot:
Having been a bridesmaid for 27 times, Jane couldn't say no to friends as she selflessly and effectively plan for their wedding. She even could not say no to hand over her secret love to her beloved spoiled baby sister, Tess. Now, what is she gonna prioritize as she became her sister's maid of honor and at the same time warding off the cynical, but handsome "Commitments" columnist who came tailing after her to get the outstanding story of the week? Who will she pursue: her 20 years of secret love or the new attraction towards the new guy whom she found out that they may have something in common after all?

* I am no big fan with Tagalog movies, I admit, but I actually have seen a few of them. This movie reminds me of Claudine Barreto and Rico Yan's movie about her being always a bridesmaid. I forgot the title for that, it was somewhat cheesy, I think.. hehhhe, peace. But, surprisingly, it was one of the few Tagalog movies that I finished watching from the start till the end. Though the storyline for 27 Dresses are somewhat different from the plot of the other movie, still, the theme and general idea was similar.

27 Dresses is a hilarious romantic comedy about love, sisterhood and relationships. The person we secretly love for so long now may actually be not the exact person that we've been looking for after all. And the person we so despise may turn out to be the one, we just never knew. Weddings are very serious events where "I dos" have more to it than just the mere blurting out of words. There's the commitment and promise to be with someone the rest of time no matter what..and that's no ordinary saying of vows, it has to be fulfilled every day of one's married life. Scary, right? But i believe, once you're truly in love and found the person you've decided to spend time with, it wouldn't be that difficult and scary after all. You'll just enjoy each moment together and relive them over and over again.

-honey-

Personal Rating: 7.5/10

more at http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0988595/

Unknown Creatures Discovered in Ecuador

Pls check this site:
http://buzz.yahoo.com/buzzlog/92687?fp=1

The age of discovery isn't over yet, indeed!
Though dangerous, i so want to be a part of ecotourism treks and also discover never-before-seen creatures on my own...and probably name one after me! hahahha, it isn't bad to be daydreaming about it, right?

Anyways, imagine, out of about 14 million species of plants and animals in the world, we only have discovered less than 15% of them...and yet some of them are already becoming endangered. Albeit we still have more to dig upon, it isn't ecologically justifiable to nudge the thought of saving them from total extinction. Remember, there aren't more of their kind and it would be such a pity for our generation to be heralded as passively unresponsive and uncaring towards our slowly degrading ecosystem. How can we truly appreciate the marvels of biodiversity if we can just see them through pictures and videos because we have not done enough to save them?

Apart from the wonder they bring to discoverers and environmentalists, we may never know that some of their possible medicinal properties might bring upon remedy, or if fortunate enough, cure to diseases such as cancer. Though of course, extensive researches and studies are needed to come up with those.

But, oh my! I do want to look at those See-Through Frogs, Alien Salamanders, and Spiny Bugs so that if ever, just when the worst case scenarios come, they become extinct, i might as well just tell the story to my grandchildren, ehe! God forbid.

Wireless Mobile Phone Recharging

I came through this article and was curious on how they could have done this so. Then, i came up with words such as electromagnetic energies, wireless waves and phone's battery. Hmmm, not impossible, should i say? Though we are all itching for the advent of wireless charging which could be and hopefully enjoyed a few decades more...(let's just be patient on how they'd actually come up with that), this might be the "baby step" towards such feat of technology.

It actually sounds cool to me, though more time shall be spent so they can harvest a few more hundred milliwatts to actually keep our phones alive 24/7. But, when this comes out from the market, we don't have to worry about recharging our phones just to make that very important phone call (well, of course that first call would cost a lot for sure). Nevertheless, i salute man's ingenuity and creativity!

Student Denied Diploma After Blowing Kiss

i stumbled upon this news just now...
and it took me appalled on how such could have happened.

A high school student must have reaped the fruits of his hard toil over years of burning candles during graduation day...and it's supposed to be one of the joyous memorable event in one's life, but how did it turn out to be a rage of confusion and agitation among the family and friends of this graduate as he was denied of his hard-fought diploma during his graduation day?

Of course, we should have to see what actually happened that time and find out what's more into the story. Since it would be very difficult to deliver our viewpoints without the details (yes, we were not there when it actually happened), here's the link to the video and report of the incident.

it wasn't much of a big deal, right?
though, we could understand the code of conduct being enforced to control the crowd of graduates attempting to overdo their excitement, nevertheless what Justin Denney did was a mere expression of happiness and gratitude to his family and friends.
we could commonly see such gesture being done by just anyone, and no one's got denied of their diplomas for doing so...except for him. Probably, the superintendent got too outraged by the crowd already and poured the hot soup on Justin, we never knew, but I think her actions were too much and unjustified to deny the diploma and getting serious about it. The guy earned it and he wasn't even part of the throwing of beach balls the entire ceremony. They should reconsider.

Mozart and the Whale

They don't fit in. Except together.

Director: Petter Næss
Writer: Ronald Bass (written by)
Release Date: 2 February 2006 (Thailand)
Genre: Comedy | Drama | Romance

Cast:
Josh Hartnett as Donald Morton
Radha Mitchell as Isabelle Sorenson, etc.

Plot:
A dramatic-comedy, inspired by the lives of two people with Asperger's Syndrome, a form of autism, whose emotional dysfunctions threaten to sabotage their budding romance. Donald is a good-natured but hapless taxi driver with a love of birds and a superhuman knack for numbers. Like many people with AS, he likes patterns and routines. But when the beautiful but complicated Isabel joins the autism support group he leads, his life - and his heart - are turned upside down.
Written by Anonymous

Memorable quotes:
Donald Morton: Excuse me. Do you know when the next bus, uh 217, runs?
Man at bus stop: Sorry.
Donald Morton: I'm chasing someone.
Man at bus stop: By bus?
Donald Morton: Well, it's important.
Man at bus stop: Important enough to take the bus?
Donald Morton: Yeah. My girlfriend left me because I wanted to get married and she wanted to stay just friends.
Man at bus stop: Ah. The slower this chase, the better.
Donald Morton: Yeah.

Isabelle Sorenson: All this time, and you didn't call.
Donald Morton: I was gonna call.
Isabelle Sorenson: You were?
Donald Morton: Well just to tell you that I wasn't gonna call so that you wouldn't be aggravated, sitting around waiting and wondering when I was
Isabelle Sorenson: gonna call?
Donald Morton: Yeah. But in the end I figured that forcing myself into your life was probably not right. I would always do that. So the only nice thing I had left to give was just not to call.
Isabelle Sorenson: I hated you for not calling. Because you were always gonna be there, and when you weren't, it was as if you didn't love me anymore.
Donald Morton: So go home, I'll call ya.

Donald Morton: People with Asperger's want contact with other people very much; we're just pathetically clueless at it, that's all.

Isabelle Sorenson: Be my friend Donald, be my best friend, please, because I really need you. I always felt like you wanted us to get married or something.
Donald Morton: I never said that.
Isabelle Sorenson: Not with words. But instead of that, do you want to just be my friend?
Donald Morton: Without the sex?
Isabelle Sorenson: Without the pressure. My friendship is all I have to give. Do you want it?

trivia:
The project was originally planned for Steven Spielberg, but due to his workload it eventually landed in the hands of critically acclaimed Norwegian director Petter Næss. This became his first US production.

The film is based on the story of Jerry and Mary Newport. They were profiled in 1995 in an LA Times article.

Talking about Asperger's Syndrome:
Asperger syndrome is an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and people with it therefore show significant difficulties in social interaction and restricted, stereotyped patterns of behavior and interests.

It is named after the Austrian pediatrician Hans Asperger who, in 1944, described children in his practice who lacked nonverbal communication skills, demonstrated limited empathy with their peers, and were physically clumsy.

The exact cause is unknown, although research supports the likelihood of a genetic basis; brain imaging techniques have not identified a clear common pathology.

The lack of demonstrated empathy is possibly the most dysfunctional aspect of Asperger syndrome. Individuals with AS experience difficulties in basic elements of social interaction, which may include a failure to develop friendships or to seek shared enjoyments or achievements with others (for example, showing others objects of interest), a lack of social or emotional reciprocity, and impaired nonverbal behaviors in areas such as eye contact, facial expression, posture, and gesture. Unlike those with autism, people with AS are not usually withdrawn around others; they approach others, even if awkwardly.

People with Asperger syndrome often display behavior, interests, and activities that are restricted and repetitive and are sometimes abnormally intense or focused. They may stick to inflexible routines, move in stereotyped and repetitive ways, or preoccupy themselves with parts of objects.

Personal Rating: 7/10

-courtesy by http://www.imdb.com
-more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asperger_syndrome