This general notion that verbs for the second person end in “s” and for the third person do not end in “s” is fairly standard in Spanish. The reverse is fairly standard in English.

The obvious question follows: is this kind of conjugation fairly common in the respective Romance and Germanic families? Is the contrast a common contrast between those families?

Those were the days, my friend
We thought they’d never end
We’d sing and dance forever and a day
We’d live the life we choose
We’d fight and never lose
For we were young and sure to have our way

If you like this one, then also consider watching the Nando’s chicken breast commercial.

A few years ago we had a slightly related problem – how could a true American oppose the Patriot act.

The problem is that these bills use a name that may or may not be consistent with the content. We need to urge the congress to use a simple number, such as “Bill 239203923″, to describe each Bill. Many states already force that. The name itself creates a bias. If we want the people to be more knowledgeable of what they are voting on, then let us start with a neutral sounding number. At least some one has to ask the question – “What does Bill 239203923 stand for?”

View this toon at ToonDoo

If you are the kind of person who is interested in these fuzzy topics like reality and perception, then you may want to consider watching the Adelson checkerboard video:

Here are a few more proofs of Adelson checkerboard illusion.

Once in a while we come across a phantonym – a word that sounds opposite of what it means. The word “suffrage” is an excellent case in point, even though it wouldn’t qualify as a phantonym. The word root has been lost and the word sounds similar to “suffering” and has a negative ring to it. That combined with the age of the kids, I don’t take the video too seriously, I think it just makes a good joke, that’s all.

A similar confusion exists between bondage (bad) and bonding (good). I know that there is at least some confusion about this topic, because even one of our recent Presidents has said that “Republicans understand the importance of bondage between a mother and child.”

Firstly, the first person present tense marker usually is “o”. For example: “yo hablo”, “yo pienso”, “yo camino”, “yo digo” etc. This is especially true for regular verbs. Typically, in these cases, the 3rd person marker ends in “a” or “e”, for example: “el habla”, “el piensa”, “el camina”, “el dige” etc.

Now, consider the pretérito for the same, and the situation is sort of reverse. For example: “yo hablé / el habló” “yo pensé / el pensó” “Yo caminé / el caminó” “yo dije / el dijo”

Interesting, no?

1. You should be able to join that religion. In other words, a religion should not be a closed society. If you associate with it, you should be able to join it, after going through some sort of process.
2. You should be able to leave that religion. So, if you decide to leave that religion, you should be able to do so.
3. You should be able to marry outside that religion, and not force your partner to that religion.

In this rare picture, courtesy of National Geographic, a titanium A-12 spy-plane prototype is shown suspended upside down at Area 51 in the late 1950s.  How cool is this all, that this A-12 was nearly undetectable to radar, could fly at 2,200 miles (3,540 kilometers) an hour (fast enough to cross the continental U.S. in about  an hour), and that it could take high resolution pictures of foot-long objects from a height of 90,000 feet (27,400 meters).  And this was in the 1950s!  (60 years later, and we still spend many hours getting cross the country.)