http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/07/nyregion/for-poor-schoolchildren-a-poverty-of-words.html?src=recg&pagewanted=print

When I read this NY Times article, I saw myself in it.  I was raised by immigrants who barely spoke english but spoke english to their children so they could do well in school and hopefully get better jobs and a more affluent life.  I spoke english but my vocabulary was sadly lacking.  How do you describe things to your child in a language that is not your own?

But in 4th grade, I was tested as having the vocabulary of high school senior.  And what is the secret of my 4th grade success?  My parents and I watched lots of TV.  The television was my babysitter and by the age of 7,  I had my own room with a small TV and probably never turned the thing off until I went to bed.  I graduated third in my class in high school, did really well on my SATs, and attended and graduated from a top 10 private liberal arts college.

I will admit that my speaking vocabulary is not great.  I don't use what a friend of mine calls $5 words.  My parents never used them and so I don't normally.  And the few times I've injected $5 words by mistake into conversation with my family, they ask me to explain what I just said and look hurt that I've talked down to them.

I work in corporate America where people admire and at the same time resent their coworkers who use words that they cannot understand.  In my current job, I write website copy sometimes and I've been told that you have to write like a person has a junior high education.  So all those $5 words I learnt in school have no place in my job.  And I can't imagine texting $5 words or using them in an email.

So do words matter?  Yes.  They matter for tests and schools, and if you are planning a career in academia.  I think they also matter a great deal for books and reading because it's a pain to read something and to find a word that you don't understand and have to stop and look up.  And yes, I do stop and look words up.

But do words matter in real life?  Not exactly.  You don't need a large vocabulary for work, for emailing and texting and for general conversation.

What really matters is getting your point read and heard clearly, and you don't need a large vocabulary to do that although words are tools to help you get the nuances right and be more precise.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/49320705

Gas prices are high in California and on Sunday they went up even more.  I picked up gas on Friday night at $4.549 at Costco for premium because I knew the prices would climb higher, and sure enough they did.  How crazy is that?  If gas goes to $6 a gallon, things in the Cali republic will break down. We're not used the high gas prices that is charged in other countries.

http://blog.sfgate.com/mlasalle/2012/10/05/must-see-movies-since-1960-2/#7588-1

From SFGate.com - the must-see movies post 1960.  I was amazed at the number of movies on this list that I've seen.  Of course now I have to see the movies on this list that I've never seen.

Since I am blogging again I thought I would post one of my favorite pics - turtle face taken at the aquarium on the island of Maui during my April 2012 trip.

The Trishas are playing on my Hardly Strictly Bluegrass livestream and they aren't that bad for an all girl band.