Where are you really from??

Just for fun:

I ran across an article concerning the etymological names connected with cities and states. 

I now know my mother's family are from "North Freewoman's Land"; my father's family are from "Land of the River" and "Land of the Great River"; my grandson was born in the "Blooming Land"; my next grandchild will be born in "Land of the Red People".

If the name of your state gets you down, keep in mind that Mexico translates to "Navel of the Moon"!

From Stephan Hormes and Silke Peust:

The Atlas of True Names reveals the etymological roots, or original meanings,
of the familiar terms on today's maps of the World, Europe, the British Isles, Canada and the United States.

For instance, where you would normally expect to see the Sahara indicated,
the Atlas gives you "The Tawny One", derived from Arab. es-sahra “the fawn coloured, desert”.

The 'True Names' of 3000 cities, countries, rivers, oceans and mountain ranges
are displayed on these four fascinating maps,
each of which includes a comprehensive index of derivations.
Etymology, (OGr. etymon “true sense” and logos “speech, oration, discourse, word”)
is the study of the origin and history of words.

For the first time, the Atlas of True Names uses etymology to give us an unusual insight
into familiar geographical names – with intriguing results......

Once the names have been taken back to their roots and translated into English,
it is immediately apparent that our world has an extraordinary affinity with Middle Earth,
the mythical continent where the events of Tolkien’s ‘The Lord of the Rings’ are played out.

Middle Earth’s evocative “Midgewater”, “Dead Marshes” and “Mount Doom”
are strikingly similar in nature to Europe’s “Swirlwater”, “Darkford” or “Smoky Bay”,
as revealed by the Atlas of True Names.

Many geographical names are clearly rooted in Man’s observation of his natural environment;
the physical location of a settlement: “At the Foot of the Mountain” – Piedmont,
the character of an important water course: “The Gentle One” – The Seine
or even just the local vegetation: “Under the Oaks” – Potsdam.

Unsurprisingly, countries and landscapes
often derive their names from the characteristics
of the people who lived there: “Great Land of the Tattooed” – Great Britain,
whilst local mythology and regional rulers also frequently leave their legacy:
“Isle of the Monster’s Eye” – Peleponnese or “Illustrious Emperor” – Zaragoza.

Sometimes, it is impossible to deny the force of the Roman proverb
‘nomen est omen’.
For instance Grozny - the Chechnyan capital which,
over the last years, has been destroyed in so many wars,
– translates as “The Fearsome”.

The Atlas of True Names restores an element of enchantment
to the world we all think we know so well.
It takes the reader on a journey into the unknown –
a unique exploration of uncharted territory
in that familiar place we all know as ‘home’.

Take a look at the world through fresh eyes!

Summer School??

 Check out the Busted Halo Summer School Calendar ...interesting questions for every age!

First Man on Moon

A recent study shows that 1 in 5 British schoolchildren think that Buzz Lightyear was the first man on the moon. Now, while his most famous saying is "To infinity and beyond!" he wasn't even around when Neil Armstrong landed. Of course, neither were the children...in fact, it has been more than 2 generations since those exciting times. The gap in their knowledge about historical events is somewhat disconcerting, but that's a discussion for another time.

I remember my parents waking me in the middle of the night so I could view the first moon walk. I sat mesmerised...and actually ran outside to see if I could see them! But these were the days when many programs were still broadcast in black and white...we only had three channels on the TV and they went off at midnight or before. You still had to dial your telephone and if you couldn't call someone, the telegraph was the fastest way to get a message out. Don't know about you, but at that time I believed that by 2010 we'd be travelling by time machine!

While technology has grown in ways and directions that most of us couldn't even imagine, it has, in it's own way, numbed our children to the wonder of imagination.
Knowledge and information is at their fingertips. They can find the answer to any question by simply going to any one of a number of search engines. Think about what kind of papers and reports you could have written had you had the Internet rather than the World Book Encyclopedia.

But back to imagination...they can view any event, look up any fact, listen to a book or read a synopsis...or better yet, in their minds anyway, watch the movie! I admit to being a lover of movies, they cannot be allowed to take the place of reading a book. Peter Jackson did a wonderful job of telling the story of "The Lord of the Rings" but any who have read these books knows that entire places, events and characters were left out of the saga. The fantastical images I saw in my mind while reading these books were a wonder!

It is my hope that we find new and creative ways to encourage our children to be not just voyeurs but participants in life. Instead of watching something happen, to run out and do it! I pray that as their brains are filled with knowledge, their bodies do not just wither away from lack of use. Let us help them build forts, explore creeks, climb trees, sail in imaginary boats and fight pirates. Buzz Lightyear is a great cartoon character...but he's not a hero!