CuppaTea

I am re-reading Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen at the moment, so I want to start this post with a quote from chapter 14: "Yes, I am fond of history." "I wish I were too. I read it a little as a duty, but it tells me nothing that does not either vex or weary me. The quarrels of popes and kings, with wars or pestilences, in every page; the men all so good for nothing, and hardly any women at all - it is very tiresome: and yet I often think it odd that it should be so dull, for a great deal of it must be invention. The speeches that are put into the heroes' mouths, their thoughts and designs - the chief of all this must be invention, and invention is what delights me in other books." So in honour of Catherine Morland, I shall endeavour to avoid wearying or vexing you with the quarrels of popes and kings, or war and pestilences, or good for nothing men! (That will be one way to keep this really brief!) Princess Elizabeth announced her engagement to Lieutenan

I have been reflecting on the cross-cultural experience I had on the weekend, and trying to work out how to tell you about it. So much happened, and yet not much happened!

And the slide down from the Roaring Twenties into the Great Depression has begun... Is it bad that there are more feature films that I'd be interested to watch from 1931 than from this year? Amongst the most popular films released that year, according to IMDb , were Frankenstein , Dracula , and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde ! Ooh, and City Lights , starring Charlie Chaplin! In other topics , Albert Einstein began doing research at the California Institute of Technology, along with astronomer Edwin Hubble. Thomas Edison submitted his last patent application. And 'The Star Spangled Banner' became the national anthem of the United States of America. Sir Isaac Isaacs became the first Australian born Governor-General of Australia! An earthquake in New Zealand destroyed much of the city of Napier. Another earthquake destroyed Managua in Nicaragua. The Second Spanish Republic was proclaimed in Madrid (but when was the first?!) after municipal elections resulted in triumph for th

The world is an amazing place. There are so many different ways to think about it. I've been looking at a bunch of maps, and I thought I'd share a few I personally find very interesting. For the full set, see this site.

It has been a while since I wrote about my study, and seeing that this is week three of semester two I thought you might like to know what I've been up to! So today I want to share a bit about my language learning.

And we're into the twentieth century! Only 100 years of history remaining to this series! So much has happened since the first post in this series, 882 .  I think this is the first time the 'births' list has threatened to outnumber the entries for events in the year on Wikipedia ! So what did happen? Mexican Revolution Building of Canberra began First Balkan War... and the Second Balkan War Assassination of King George I of Greece First full-length Indian feature film released Rockefeller Foundation charter approved, and the foundation began with a $100,000,000 donation from John D. Rockefeller - that's a LOT of money!!!! The Little Mermaid statue was finished in Kopenhagen, Denmark Stainless steel invented King Otto of Bavaria was deposed by his cousin, Prince Regent Ludwig Ford Motor Company introduced the first moving assembly line First packaged cigarette Georges Sagnac showed that light propagates at a speed independent of the speed of its source  W

I have shared a few posts about my experiences as a teacher ( here and here ), and I might share a few things from my teaching practicum notes in the future, but I thought I'd share with you the outcome of those experiences.

I enjoy celebrating with people. I love celebrating weddings, engagements, birthdays, good news - pretty much anything! Especially if it gives me a reason to bake something to share with people. I am very disappointed that I have missed out on several of these opportunities lately, because I've been in the wrong place! In the last week I have missed two engagement parties and one wedding, all because I was in the wrong state at the time they were happening. I am thrilled for all the friends who have been involved in these celebrations, even though I had to miss out on the parties (and probably cake). So, I am making the most of the opportunities I do have to celebrate with people when I am with them. And so I have initiated Unbirthdays. Two of the students who are studying by distance are here for the first two weeks have their birthdays after that time - one in the week after she leaves, and the other in December. So this Friday saw the first Unbirthday celebration.

Wow, you should see how long the Wikipedia page for 1878 is! But I'll keep this as brief as possible! While I am not a Doctor Who fan (I've just never watched it), apparently the novel Imperial Moon is set in this year. Tolstoy's Anna Karenina was published in complete book form in Moscow. Cleopatra's Needle arrived in London. Pope Pius IX died, having been pope for 31 and a half years, the longest definitely confirmed reign. The next pope is Leo XIII. Thomas Edison patented the phonograph. The Tokyo Stock Exchange was established. The Salvation Army 'foundation deed' was signed. Russia seems to have been at war with everyone! Or at least terrifying everyone with the threat of war if they weren't actually already at war. In other parts of the world, the Lincoln County War began in New Mexico. And the Second Afghan War began, and the Nauruan Tribal War began... Lots of fighting, lots of deaths. In addition to war related deaths, Yellow Fever in t