Earth Hour

On March 31, 2007 one city decided to do something about global warming. In Sydney, Australia 2.2 million people turned off their lights for one hour at 8:30 p.m. A year later, the event went global with 35 countries and 370 cities around the world taking part in Earth Hour. Tomorrow at 8:30 p.m. local time all around the world, people will be turning off their lights to raise awareness about global warming.

While I don't believe all the hype about global warming, I do believe in finding ways to save money and I think Earth Hour is a good place to start. I'm guilty of using way more electricity than I really need to, so tomorrow from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. EST, I'll turn off my lights for an hour and go do something not involving electricity. You should too...

To find out more about Earth Hour, click here.

Alouette

Tonight I agreed to hang out in Bryn's room and help her write and edit a 12-page Bible paper she has due tomorrow. I edited as much as she had done and then spent the rest of the evening distracting her. Somehow I managed to get the Alouette song stuck in my head and tried to sing it. This proved quite difficult because I'd forgotten all of the French lyrics except the first line. So I found a video to remind myself of the words that I learned all those years ago in elementary French classes.

English Translation: "Alouette" is a popular Canadian children's song about plucking the feathers (presumably in preparation for cooking) off a skylark, a small bird. It originated with the French Canadian fur trade. Naturally, the literal English translation does not match up well with the meter of the song, so a slightly less literal (but more singable) version would be:

Little skylark, lovely little skylark
Little lark, I'll pluck your feathers off
I’ll pluck the feathers off your head
I’ll pluck the feathers off your head
Off your head - off your head
Little lark, little lark
O-o-o-o-oh

Then repeat with various other body parts:
Off your beak
Off your eyes
Off your neck
Off your back
Off your wings
Off your legs
Off your tail

Wave Tag

How to Play:
Find an ocean. One with waves is preferable.

Rules:
1. As the water from the last wave goes back out to sea, walk towards the new incoming wave.
2. Stop and stand your ground when you are between 30-60 cm in front of the wave.
3. At the last possible second before the wave touches your feet, make a 180 degree turn and run.
4. Do whatever you need to in order to remain untagged.*
5. (a) If the wave tags you, you are now it and will need to tag the wave. (b) If you managed not to get tagged, congratulate yourself and start all over again when the next wave comes in.

*Dropping a camera is not suggested.


Exhibit:

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Step 5

Note: Playing a game of Wave Tag up until 25 minutes before church time on Saturday morning is an excellent way to start the Sabbath.