Dey shud b glad dey dnt ev 2 deel wiv txt eng
Japan fears polite speech on wane
Shop assistants should speak differently to customers
Japanese people need help to brush up on their polite language, a government panel has proposed. A report for the Agency for Cultural Affairs said 'keigo' - honorific Japanese - was being widely misused.
Keigo is a complicated form of the language which involves different conjugations of regular nouns and verbs, or different words entirely.
It is used to address seniors - a customer, for example - and is meant to humble speakers and elevate listeners.
The government panel has proposed publishing manuals explaining to people how the language should be used.
"Not just young people, but grown-ups are not using honorific Japanese properly. With the language guidelines, we hope to spread the correct use of the Japanese language," education ministry official Osamu Kubota was quoted as saying by the French news agency AFP.
The government panel cited a 2003 survey on the Japanese language which found that 96% of people believe keigo remains important, but the researchers noted that it was nevertheless being used incorrectly.
It tends to take far longer to say something formally in Japan.
For example, the verb "to be" is iru in informal Japanese, imasu in polite Japanese, and irrashaimasu in honorific Japanese.
The government report also suggested that the country's ability to read and write Chinese characters - the mainstay of the Japanese language - be re-evaluated.
A survey in November found that 20% of students at private universities had poorer language abilities than high school pupils.
Adults sometimes find it difficult to remember how to write characters because they rely on computers, and have to ask their children for help.
(http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asi...ic/4236377.stm)
Unrequited love can be a 'killer'
Lovesickness can kill and should be taken more seriously as a legitimate diagnosis, according to health experts. Frank Tallis, a clinical psychologist in London, is among those calling for greater awareness of the "illness" in a report in The Psychologist magazine.
He said many are "destabilised by falling in love, or suffer on account of their love being unrequited" and this could lead to a suicide attempt.
Few studies deal with the "specific problem of lovesickness", he said.
Physical exhaustion
Prof Alex Gardner, a clinical psychologist in Glasgow and a member of the British Psychological Society, agreed that doctors needed to be more aware of lovesickness as a possible diagnosis.
He said: "People can die from a broken heart. "You get into a state of despair and hopelessness." He said as a result of love, in some people it could lead to an extreme state of physical exhaustion.
In extreme cases lovesickness could drive people to take their own life, he added.
Dr Tallis said that before the 18th Century lovesickness had been accepted as a natural state of mind for thousands of years.
He said in modern day terms the symptoms can include mania, such as an elevated mood and inflated self-esteem, or depression, revealing itself as tearfulness and insomnia.
Aspects of obsessive compulsive disorder can also be found in those experiencing lovesickness, such as preoccupation and obsessively checking for text messages and e-mails.
(http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4240579.stm)
re: Worms on a Hook Don't Suffer?
i worked for a woman once who said that the first time her mom cooked lobsters she didn't know to boil them and stuck them in the oven.
they SCREAMED. she has never forgotten it. :(
Young Blood Gets New Meaning with Fresh Study
LONDON (Reuters) - Maybe Dracula had a point. The term Young Blood -- meaning an injection of youthful vigor -- could have a medical origin.
Scientists at Stanford University found that wiring up an old mouse to the blood stream of a young one gave a major boost to muscle recovery time in the older one.
By contrast, when old blood was pumped round the body of a young mouse, muscle recovery time became more prolonged, they said in the science journal Nature.
It was not just muscles that benefited. The same was true of the livers of older mice.
Researchers said the results suggested that the aging process lay less with the organs themselves than with the tired blood off which they fed.
(http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...ealth_blood_dc)
Herman Wouk - Youngblood Hawk
In the 1960's Herman Wouk wrote a popular novel entitled "Younblood Hawk" (Youngblood was a first name)
Youngblood is an Americanize form of the German name Jungbluth
German: nickname for a young or impetuous man, from Middle High German junc ‘young’ + bluot ‘blood’.
NZ protester goes to court naked
An environmental activist in New Zealand who has been charged with indecent exposure continued his protest on Thursday by arriving at court naked. Simon Oosterman, 24, from Auckland, did however take the step of dressing before he entered the courtroom.
He was arrested during a naked bike ride last Sunday, which he organised to protest against society's dependence on the car.
Outside court, Mr Oosterman said public nudity differed from indecent exposure. "The purpose of the protest was to draw attention to the issue of transport emissions," the computer technician said, noting that the Kyoto protocol, which aims to curb air pollution, came into force on Wednesday.
"There has to be distinction between people flashing young girls and public nudity, which is benign."
Mr Oosterman said he decided to dress before his hearing, however, because he did not want to risk being charged with contempt of court.
A sergeant who saw him travelling naked up the courtroom's escalator "told me he was grateful I got dressed at the top".
(http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asi...ic/4274021.stm)
The Da Vinci Code put 'on trial'
Art experts and historians are staging what has been described as a mock trial to examine the claims made in hit novel The Da Vinci Code.
The "trial" is being held in Vinci, Italy, and an opening statement was made by Alessandro Vezzosi, director of a Leonardo Da Vinci museum, on Friday.
"Leonardo is misrepresented and belittled," he said beforehand.
No-one will represent the book but many fans are expected to attend. The book has sold 7.5 million copies worldwide.
Many readers assume the story, linking Da Vinci with a secret society that has held the secret of the Holy Grail for centuries, is completely true.
'Absurd'
Author Dan Brown has said: "All of the art, architecture, secret rituals, secret societies, all of that is historical fact."
But the book has sparked heated debate among historians, many of whom have dismissed Mr Brown's version of events and his central claim that Jesus had a child with Mary Magdalene and the Holy Grail is their bloodline.
The "trial" is taking place at the Palazzina Uzielli in Vinci, near Florence, Da Vinci's hometown. The town's vicar, Monsignor Renato Bellini, said the book gave an inaccurate view of Catholic society Opus Dei.
"This book depicts the movement as a mysterious centre of political and economic power that tries to hide the historical truth on Jesus and Magdalene, which is absurd," he said.
'Misunderstood genius'
A representative of Opus Dei would take part in the mock tribunal, he added.
Mr Vezzosi, director of the Museo Ideale Leonardo Da Vinci in the town, said he would produce documents and photographs to prove many of the claims about the legendary artist were false.
"His importance is misunderstood, he was a man full of fantasy, inventions and genius," he said.
As well as the original novel, published in 2003, another 10 books have been written to debunk its claims and a booming tourist industry has sprung up around its sites in France and the UK.
(http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertain...ts/4280383.stm)
Best-Dressed Homeless in the World...
SEOUL (Reuters) - Some South Korean homeless are dressing in style after the government gave away thousands of fake designer garments confiscated by customs agents.
The Korea Customs Service distributed more than 3,500 fake pieces in the southern city of Pusan this month with the permission of the fashion houses whose designs had been pirated.
A customs official declined to name the designers whose ripped-off creations are now being worn by the homeless but said both they and the state prosecutors had approved giving away the jackets, blouses, shirts and pants.
"We hope this will be of some help to the poor who need practical assistance in such hard times," the official said.
Customs agents removed the labels from the clothes before giving them to a welfare agency for distribution.
South Korea (news - web sites) has a vibrant illegal market in pirated designer clothing and customs officials said there would be more handouts.
"We will continue to look for useful ways to pass along the clothes -- it saves us the cost of destroying what we have confiscated," the Customs Service said in a statement.
One homeless man, who asked not to be identified, said he appreciated the fancy threads. "I don't care about the quality of the clothes, but these designs are quite trendy," the recipient said.
(http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...ea_homeless_dc)
