Vocabulary Log #7

SUNDAY

• deflagrate

-To burn rapidly with intense heat and sparks being given off
The city has banned fireworks and similar devices that deflagrate when lit

• persnickety

-Giving a lot of attention to details that are minor and not important
As she got older, she got more and more persnickety

• fervor

-A strong feeling of excitement and enthusiasm
Surprised by the fervor that her parents' old love letters contained when she discovered them in the attic

• equanimity

-Calm emotions when dealing with problems or pressure
An Olympic diver who always displays remarkable equanimity on the platform

• inaugural

-Marking a beginning
Tim's election winning was an inaugural surprise 

MONDAY

• rumbustious

-Chiefly British
While American university debates tend to be sedate affairs, their counterparts in Oxford are wholeheartedly rumbustious

• promiscuous

-Having many sexual partners
Since I just collect stamps that happen to like, my collection is pretty promiscuous

• A-OK

-Entirely good or satisfactory
Shopping at the mall was A-OK

• jurist

-A person who has a thorough knowledge of law
Earned a reputation as one of the most learned jurists in the federal courts

• laceration

-An act of cutting or tearing flesh
The fall from the motocross bike left him with several lacerations from the sharp rocks

Novel Log #1

The Gatecrasher by Madeleine Wickham

Being a persistent Sophie Kinsella reader, I have gotten an idea of how she writes and what sort of message she is trying to convey in her books. In this case, Mrs. Wickham again did not disappoint me in indulging her piece of art.

The Gatecrasher holds a story of Fleur who is a single mother to Zara. Fleur only had one purpose in life, to be rich. She had never thought of settling down or has a place called home. She was always around-literally. 

With the help of her friend, Johnny she would always find a way to crash into a funeral and dig out gold. It has been the same situation. A wife to a bigshot dies and she just happen to cut in line and take advantage of what lies before her. But all her relationships were temporary. She would cut in, dig and take everything she could, and move on. 

That is... until she meets Richard. And everything changes. Her perception of life. Her definition of family, love and posession. Everything was different.

I personally think this is a good book to read because Madeleine has always find a way to drag you into her stories, and I got caught up too myself. Definitely a page turner I must say!

Movie Log #2

She's The Man

'Sebastian' showing his roommates the right way to use tampons

Duke wants Olivia

Who really likes Sebastian

Who is really Viola

Whose brother is dating Monique

So she hates Olivia

Who's with Duke to make Sebastian jealous

Who's really viola crushing on Duke

Who thinks she's a guy.

That seems to wrap up the whole movie I must say. A clear picture that I got from this movie would be to follow your heart. For instance, Viola Hastings herself was overly fond of soccer despite being a girl, she's really good at it. When the school's girl soccer team was cut off, they literally wanted to try out for the boys' team which ended up in a disagreement. She really wanted to prove that she could still play soccer nevertheless.

Seeing his brother sneaking out to London, to pursue his dreams in the music industry (which I also think is an act of following your heart), Viola saw it as an opportunity to actually be in the school soccer team, except she would be against her own school. "If you can't beat em, join em"

So the entire time her brother was in London, she was pretending to be Sebastian the whole time. Her charms took over Olivia Lennox-the most wanted girl in school but nobody seemed to be of her type. But her roommate, Duke had a crush on Olivia but he was rather timid on taking up the first move of approaching the girl. But eventually after a series of events, Viola (being sebastian) suddenly realised she was all over Duke. Olivia was into Sebastian. 

When Sebastian unexpectedly came back early from the trip, Duke saw Olivia kissing Sebastian (the real sebastian) and he felt betrayed. On the big day of the soccer tournament, Sebastian played the first half because he had no idea what was going on and he ended up in the bench. Viola, after geting kicked out of the room by raging Duke who thought she betrayed him, slept in a room with Eunice, who didn't wake her up. She went to the field and was surprised of her brother's early comeback. But she played the second half and she had finally proved that a girl can also play soccer after being given a chance to play/

In the nutshell, Viola never gave up and she would go to great lengths just to pursue her dreams to an extent of impersonating her own twin brother.

Vocabulary Log #6

WEDNESDAY

• folderol

-Nonsense
Stacy wanted nothing to do with the fuss and folderol of Valentine's Day and felt lucky that she had found in Lucas a partner who felt the same way

• paltry

-Too small of an amount
The hotel's shabby, outdated exercise room was its paltry attempt at a health spa

• reconcile

-To find a way of making (two different ideas) exist or be true at the same time; To cause ppl to become friendly again after a disagreement
Historians have never been able to reconcile the two eyewitness accounts of a battle

•  evoke

-to bring into mind
The house evoked memories of his childhood

• impertinent

-Rude and showing lack of respect
The imperyinent child had a smart answer for everything

THURSDAY

• haberdasher

-a person who owns or works in a shop that sells men's clothes
He went straight to the haberdasher once he entered the shop

• surly

-Bad tempered and unfriendly
He left with a surly expression

• notion

-a conception of or belief about stg
Children have different notions about the roles of their parents

• forthwith

-immediately
We undertake to pay forthwith  the money required

• placid

-Not easily upset or excited
This horse has a placid nature

• mollified

-appease the anger or anxiety of stg; soften
Nature reserves were set up around the power stations to mollify local conservationists

Vocabulary Log #5

Today's topic that was discussed in class was rather quite riveting. It was our opinion on intercultural marriage. Well, personally I see it as a form of art -that is if I disregard problems like social barriers and communication restrictions and clashes of culture. Um, let me make an analogy. Say if my spouse is black and he has curly hair and oh well preferably green eyes, I'd have the most unique family photo ever! Come to think of it, regardless of who we marry, post-marriage problems are inevitable, they just come and that's how the love of a family suddenly blares its powers and overcome these things. Be it intracultural marriage or intercultural marriage, each partner must complete each other and surely portray tolerance and to constanly understand one another because a marriage itself is an icon of compromise. That's just my opinion hihi.

TUESDAY

• eradicate

-To pull up by the roots
The new mayor promised that his term in office would be devoted to reducing crime and eradicating homelessness throughout the city

• endeavour

-To seriously or continuously try to do stg/ an effort or attempt
His endeavours have gone unrewarded

• demeanor

-A person's appearance and behaviour
The director of the opera company has a haughty demeanor that can be irritating

• espionage

-The things that are done to find out secrets from enemies or competitors; spying
The acts of espionage on behalf of the Confederacy carried on by Belle Boyd and Rose Greenhow

• decipher

-To find the meaning of something that is difficult to read and understand
We deciphered the hidden message to find out when we were supposed to meet

Vocabulary Log #4

MONDAY

• intrinsic

-Belonging to the essential nature of a thing; occuring as natural part of stg
The question of whether people have an intrinsic sense of right and wrong

• levy

-An amount of money that must be paid that is collected by a government or other authority
The government imposed a levy on gasoline

• persistent

-Continuing to do stg or try to do stg eventhouggh it is difficult or other people want you to stop
Although his first attempts were singularly unsuccessful. he was persistent in his pursuit of a career in rock music

• intuition

-A natural ability or power that makes it possible to know stg without any proof or evidence
She just had an intuition that what she was doingg was the right thing to be done

• fulgurant

-Flashing like lightning
She went straight inside after seeing a fulgurant lightning that flashed across the sky

Vocabulary Log #3

SUNDAY

• tantara

-The blare of a trumpet or horn
A tantara announced the arrival of the Queen, and everyone snapped to attention

• complacent

-Satisfied with how things are and not wanting to change them.
The auditors were taken aback by his complacent response to their findings of fraud

• subordinate

-In a position of less power or authority than someone else
She leaves the day-to-day running of the firm to her subordinates

• albeit

-Even though
She felt that her script was still too short, albeit it was the longest compared to her previous scripts

• inclination

-A tendency to do stg
It was her natural inclination to help people in need