Coucoumellisms

Farley Mowat and Lucy Maud Montgomery  (This was originally written for an English Composition class I had this past winter) What Canadian child has not grown up either laughing over the antics of Mutt, the dog that wouldn’t be, or at all the trouble Anne (with an E) Shirley got into, growing up at Green Gables? Farley Mowat and Lucy Maud Montgomery are two internationally renowned Canadian authors. However, they grew up in very different circumstances, in different places and at different times; this influenced their writing as we shall see. Both authors w rote endearing, sometimes funny, sometimes downright hilarious stories that have warmed the hearts of Canadians, as well as people around the globe, and are well worth the read, especially if you want a glimpse of what it is to be Canadian. Here, we will take a short look at their personal lives, the kinds of books they wrote, and their writing style. Lucy Maud Montgomery was born in 1874 and grew up on Prince Edward Island,...

Words! Descriptive words, funny words, old words, new slang... The history behind the words, the culture, the imagination...  I am currently studying translation at Concordia University in Montreal. One of my classes was on the influence of the French language on the English language in Québec. In that class, we not only saw borrowings from the French language, such as "dépanneur" or "méchoui" for example, we also looked at Canadianisms. Words that are commonly used in the English language around the world, but that ALSO have a specific Canadian use (meaning.)  Here are a few examples: Canadianisms To table – bring forward for discussion or consideration at a meeting (parliament) ROC – Rest of Canada (parts of Canada outside of Québec) Have-not province – province whose per capita tax revenue falls below a certain average level, and is entitled to receive equalization payments from the federal government Drop the gloves – to remove one’s gloves (in hocke...

If you have an e-reader, and enjoy fantasy/sci-fi check this trilogy out. (It's also available in paperback on amazon, but costs a bit more) It was on a list of deals of the day, in an e-mail I received awhile back, and I'm not sure why, but I looked at it, thought, "Hey... fantasy/sci-fi, $0.99... what do I have to loose?" I think this is one of those "nothing happens without a reason" moments. If you don't mind some crass details, (like, for instance, when someone sniffs, it's enough to know that they sniffed, I don't need to read the word snot as well... but whatever) once you get over how confusing it is to keep all the different countries straight and the different creatures... once you get into the book, it just takes you along for the ride. And then you start to notice certain things that sound rather familiar... certain doctrines, certain teachings... talk of redemption... and by the time you begin the third book... you're re...

I've been reading Plato's The Republic, among other things, and listening to the priest's homily on today's gospel brought a few of these things together. Christ and the adulteress - 1653 - Nicolas Poussin The scribes and Pharisees bring an adulteress before Jesus, in order to condemn her.  Instead of condemning her, Jesus says, " Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her. "  When everyone has left, Jesus asks her " Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you? " She replies, " No one, sir. " Then Jesus says, " Neither do I condemn you. Go, (and) from now on do not sin any more. " The point of the priest's homily was that Jesus did not come to condemn us, but as a physician come to heal the sick, he comes to save us from our sins.  He comes to make us holy and just people. In his talk on the importance of apologetics , John Njoroge asks the questions: Why is Christianity no...

I've discontinued my book and had the rights returned to me. "You own the unformatted text only, and you can do as you choose with that alone. PublishAmerica continues to own the ISBN number, the cover design, and the layout design of the text. Any use of any of these items would be a serious and very clear case of infringement. Therefore, you can use the same design only if we transfer the rights to you, or to your new publishing company. If you would like to use the cover or layout design, we would transfer the rights to your cover design and/or text layout, and provide you with high resolution pdf files of each. The cover design would cost $500, and/or the text layout would cost $250." Umm yeah, about the cover design?  I hated it.  You can keep it and good riddance.  I imagine I can always get another ISBN if ever I publish the book with a real publisher and I doubt that I will need the layout design.  Not tha...

I have been reading Heaven's Song  (Sexual Love as it was Meant to Be) from Christopher West. In chapter three, he quotes from the Song of Songs: "A garden locked is my sister, my bride, a garden closed, a fountain sealed" (4:12).  Then, a little further on, he says : "As we seek to enter the truth expressed by this language, it would be wise to "take off our shoes," for this is holy ground. Indeed, if we follow John Paul into the depth of this mystery we will find ourselves "behind the veil," having mystically entered the innermost sanctuary of God's dwelling place - the "holy of holies." I haven't read the rest yet, and I don't know if the book is going to even take the same line of thought, but the truly amazing thing (to me) is that I wrote a poem a few years ago, essentially using the exact same imagery and metaphor. It basically asks "If I let you in (to that garden) would you find the flowers r...

I posted this list on facebook awhile back.  I have since gone through a few more of the books listed here, so I'm posting it again.  Wondering now, which one will be my next book... hmmm... These are the ones that tempt me most: Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger David Copperfield - Charles Dickens Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell Brave New World - Aldous Huxley Dracula - Bram Stoker The Divine Comedy - Dante Those books I've read in their entirety are in bold. The ones I started but didn't finish are in italics. 1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen 2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien 3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte (Loved this book!) 4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling     5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee (Read since last time) 6 The Bible  (at least, I  think  I made it through, it was awhile ago...) 7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte  (A very dark book, but the end is worth it.) 8 Nineteen Eighty Four - ...

He got up and planted a big kiss on the side of her neck, right where it met her shoulder before putting his empty bowl and glass in the sink. “Stop.” She said, half-laughing, half-serious, “You’ll be sorry if all your charms start working on me.  I happen to have a certain faiblesse for kisses in that particular spot.” “Just providing all that attention that you’re so starved for.” Christian bantered.  “Before you go back to your lonely existence.” “I’ll be so spoiled, I won’t want to go back.”  Joanne smiled. “So don’t.” “And yet,” Joanne pretended to sigh, “I must.” “When are you leaving?” “Early Sunday afternoon, I think.  So I can be back in time to unpack, get groceries, throw out the spoiled food in my fridge, all that kind of stuff, before I go back in to work on Monday.” “Spoiled food, hmmmm.” Christian mused.  “I’m sorry about that.  I’ll have to pay you something for the food you’ve lost on my account.” “Don’t be ridiculous!”...

It was about seven-thirty when her cell phone rang. “Allô?” she answered. “Joanne?”  It was Karine. “Hi Karine.” “Are you planning on coming home anytime soon?” Karine asked. “Umm, well yes, eventually.  Why?” “Uh well, because you’re missing your surprise birthday party, and I think Christian is rather upset that you are not here to appreciate his efforts.”  Karine replied. “Oh noooo.” Groaned Joanne. “Oh yessss.” Confirmed Karine. “Okay, I’m on my way.” Joanne answered. “Okay, bye.” It was after eight o’clock when Joanne walked in the door.  She noted the untouched birthday cake on the counter of the kitchen.  It was obviously decorated by hand, with some effort gone into forming fruits and flowers.  Karine, Patrick and the girls were there, and she immediately recognized Michelle, Patrice and Caroline, mutual friends from years ago.  The guy sitting next to Caroline, she did not recognize.  She greeted the friends she ...

“Are you trying to keep women away for good?” asked Chantal. “Look at me.”  Christian told her, still joking, “I don’t need to keep women away, they aren’t attracted to a man my size anyway.  What woman would want me?!”  He laughed again. Joanne looked at him.  Christian was not a slim man.  He was a bit large around the waist, but he also had wide shoulders, and his weight was evenly distributed through his arms and legs.  When she looked at him, she did not see a fat man. The others continued joking, but Joanne was not listening anymore.  She continued to look at Christian.  To her eyes he was pleasant to look at.  His brown eyes crinkled in the corners when he laughed.  His face was expressive, his smile was charming.  She liked the way his very dark brown hair curled at the neck.  He kept it just a little on the long side, and it waved just a bit on his forehead too. Christian glanced at her and noticed her starin...

She was deep into a website project on her laptop when Christian came home later.  She saved her work and closed the laptop. “So?”  She asked, as he sat across the table.  “How was it?” He eyed her.  “You enjoy talking about yourself?” He asked. Joanne nodded. “To a stranger?” Joanne shrugged, “Sometimes that’s easier.”  She said.  “Strangers don’t judge.  They don’t really care.  They aren’t personally involved.” “So you’ve done this before?  Talked to a psychiatrist about your problems?” “Uh, no.  Not really.” Christian shook his head.  “So how can you know you’d like it?  What do you think it’s like, having to go through unpleasant memories that you’d rather forget?  It’s not much fun!” “Sorry.” Joanne replied. “So if you enjoy talking about yourself so much, why don’t you tell me what you were going to tell me this morning?” “You’re not a stranger.” Joanne reminded him.  “That makes things ...

The Rules: Don't take too long to think about it. Fifteen writers (poets included) who've influenced you and that will always stick with you. List the first fifteen you can recall in no more than fifteen minutes. Tag at least fifteen friends, including me, because I'm interested in seeing what authors my friends choose. (To do this, go to your Notes tab on your profile page, paste rules in a new note, cast your fifteen picks, and tag people in the note.) Cynthia Voigt JRR Tolkien CS Lewis Louisa May Alcott Laura Ingalls Wilder Gerard Manley Hopkins JK Rowling Lucy Maud Montgomery Bette Greene Hilda Stahl Thornton W. Burgess Johanna Spyri Farley Mowatt Peter Kreeft Charlotte Bronte There were others, whose stories I remember, but these were old books, that my mother had, hardcovers from the 30's and I don,t remember the titles nor the authors anymore, but the stories (although rather distant) remain with me, and some of the lessons learned as well... i...

Ou l’Expérience de Juana la Cubana (1) Écrit: le13 novembre 1993 (C'est un travail qui devait être fait dans le style d'un récit biblique et remis à l'accompagnateur/prêtre du groupe qui avait été au Paraguay.  Cela faisait parti de notre intégration au retour du Paraguay.) Édité: le 24 août 2010 La suite de l’Évangile… Jésus guérit une mère célibataire. La parole de Dieu fut adressée à Jeanne, fille de Jean-Nil, dans sa vingtième année sous la forme d’une parabole. C’était dans la neuvième année du règne de Brian Mulroney et elle se trouvait dans le ville de Québec, étudiant la théologie. L’Esprit lui dit : Voilà qu’un malheureux bédouin qui se plaignait de sa misère exceptionnelle, s’est mis en route à travers le monde pour voir, ce qui lui paraissait impossible, s’il existait au monde un plus pauvre que lui. Finalement en plein désert, il rencontre un vieillard tellement abandonné qu’il est ému de pitié devant ce dénuement incomparable. Il lui dit : « Tu es...

Be Not Afraid (Paperback) by Jeanne Chabot (Author) No customer reviews yet. Be the first. List Price: CDN$ 25.91 Price: CDN$ 16.32 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over CDN$ 39. Details You Save: CDN$ 9.59 (37%) Temporarily out of stock. Order now and we'll deliver when available. We'll e-mail you with an estimated delivery date as soon as we have more information. Your account will only be charged when we ship the item. Ships from and sold by Amazon.ca. Gift-wrap available. http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/1448929369/ref=cm_cr_rev_prod_title