Blog Archives - Claritywise

Chopin Nocturne Opus 9 number 1 – Listen and be soothed

5/31/2016

My son played this piece this morning and I found myself mesmerized. He wouldn't let me record him, so you'll have to listen to Artur Rubenstein playing it instead. While you are listening, read a brief biography of Chopin and browse this ambitious website: The Chopin Project.

brief Chopin biography

Why we mix up people's names

5/28/2016

... Among people who know each other well, the wrong name is usually plucked from the same relationship category, the study finds. Friends call each other by other friends’ names, and family members by other family members’ names. And that includes the family dog...

Futurity article

Lewis and Clark expedition, 1804-1806

5/23/2016

In 1803, the United States purchased the Louisiana Territory from France, nearly doubling the size of America. President Jefferson commissioned Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to explore the territory, hoping to find a water route west from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean. Undaunted Courage by Stephen Ambrose, one of my favorite books of all time, recounts this fabulous adventure. If you are at all interested in understanding present-day Americans, this story explains a lot!

brief video overview

timeline and more

How do you say those hard-to-pronounce names and places in English?

5/18/2016

Ever wonder how to pronounce in English a name or place that you read about in the news? Here is Voice of America's guide for broadcasters, and the rest of us. The sound buttons are a real boon!

Atlas of Emotions: anger, fear, disgust, sadness, enjoyment

5/12/2016

Exploring this website categorizing the range of human emotions is an excellent exercise in everyday vocabulary. Be sure and click on one or more emotions on the drop-down menu on the right to look at states, actions, triggers and moods. Do you agree they are universal?

Atlas of emotions

Soda vs Pop vs Coke: Mapping How Americans Talk

5/12/2016

Soda vs Pop vs Coke video

results question by question

In case you were wondering, I came up 100% Chicago (even after almost 30 years away).

Pulitzer Prize - Editorial Cartooning 2016

5/8/2016

"The 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning was awarded to Jack Ohman for cartoons that convey wry, rueful perspectives through sophisticated style that combines bold line work with subtle colors and textures."

More Jack Ohman

Small doses of English? Language as we speak it? Insight into American culture? These cartoons have it all, in addition to being an excellent medium for filling in basic vocabulary that you might be missing. This batch is political - so be it. I'll be suggesting more on the lighter side later.

Alissa J. Rubin awarded the Pulitzer Prize

5/7/2016

The Pulitzer Prize board gave Ms. Rubin its international reporting award for her 2015 work in Afghanistan, where it said “she delivered deeply reported, moving articles about the struggle to improve the lives of women.”

article about Alissa Rubin

article by Alissa Rubin

Celebrating 100 Years of Pulitzer Prizes

5/6/2016

"Put it before them briefly so they will read it,
clearly so they will appreciate it,
picturesquely so they will remember it,
and above all, accurately so they will be guided by its light."
-Joseph Pulitzer

Most Lethal Animal... yep, it's the mosquito

5/3/2016

According to the World Health Organization, as referenced by Bill Gates on his blog, mosquitos kill more people than all other dangerous animals combined. Check out the numbers.