how china wants to join the list of countries who will get billions and more of u.s. money for global warming / green energy aid? that they're pissy about not being atop the list to get money.

from the u.s.

china.

the guys who have been lending us all that money.

the u.s. is the world's hated parent: hated, but the monetary handout is ever-expected.

Hi everyone,

I'm visiting Longmont helping out a family I used to nanny for in Florida for almost 2 years. One of my duties while I'm here is to find a new permanent babysitter for them. I want to find one sitter and a backup when this sitter cannot perform their duties. I'd prefer a college student (maybe someone at the local community college here as the family lives about a block from it.)

Here is what I'm looking for:
-Non-smoker/drinker/drug user

-CPR and First Aid certified (or willing to become so at their own expense. She may be willing to reimburse you for this but you'd have to ask her.)

-Able to administer medication (the youngest has a patch he needs to have removed, and pills he takes everyday. nothing major)

-At least 3 years of experience with children

-Has reliable transportation/DL

-Fairly open availability in the evenings after 5PM as the job mostly consists of picking them up from school and making them dinner/hanging out for a few hours as well as driving them to a few after school/weekend activities

-At least 2 references. If I can't get ahold of your references you will not be hired.

Pay is $10-12/hour based on experience. I want to do interviews next week.

I'm a children's librarian, and I have a collection of Frere Jacques in different languages. In February, we're doing a West African based storytime, and I wanted a Frere Jacques to match. Wikipedia gives this in Wolof:

Sama raka modou, sama raka modou,
Yéwougham, Yéwougham,
Gnoundé yayou diné, gnoundé yayou diné,
Ding dong dong, Ding dong dong

It doesn't give a translation (and I wouldn't necessarily trust it if it did. Does anyone have any Wolof language to let me know what the words mean, or have a good site for it? Is the pronunciation close to what they have here, or are the phonemes very different?

Thanks--I know, it's not exactly advanced language study, but it's just meant to introduce little kids of preschool age to the wonders of other languages existing in the world. (And it's funny how much easier the words are for them to learn than for their parents!)

Just got a call on my work cell, from Citibank, seeking to verify activity on my work charge card.

Last I used it was in early November. Someone tried to use it at Target and at Walmart today. Neither transaction went through, so it's just a matter of canceling the old card and sending me a new one.

But coming so soon after the last phone call from Wachovia, I'm going to be watching accounts like a hawk for a while. Not that that's such a big deal, I maintain card balances of zero so anything untoward'll stand out like a sore dick, but, well, like the Subject: line says.

I can't figure what they tried to buy that led to a charge not being approved, though. It's a travel card, so it's got some bigass limit on it, and I've bought shit like wooden dowels and Master locks and beer on it, so it wasn't a category error.

Most attractive female rock-and-roll goddess? Consider not just physical appearance, but style, musical acumen, personality, etc etc.

Poll #1497800 Neanderthalitude
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 19

Most attractive female rock-and-roll goddess at her peak? Consider not just physical appearance, but style, musical acumen, personality, etc etc.

Hello, I am currently trying to teach myself the Hindi language. I find it very difficult since the hindi script is written so small.

I was wondering if anybody has any tips on learning this language?

Also, I don't know if this has been mentioned before, but does anybody know of this site called www.livemocha.com?

it's a free language learning website. I've been finding it quite useful for spanish.

I doubt if any of you were expecting to hear four speeches today.
I doubt if any of you was expecting to hear four speeches today.

Which of those is correct? Any is the subject and is singular (sub in any one of you to see this is true). You is plural but is part of a prepositional phrase and not actually the subject.
BUT...do subjunctive rules kick in here to make it were, or is was correct?

Thanks

ETA: okay, if = subjunctive.
What about "I doubt anyone here was/were expecting to hear four speeches today."?
The if is still there (though implied I guess, removed for redundancy). Would it still be were then? That sounds so off.

if your Friday needs uplift.

Back later.

Good news, everyone: I've discovered I like sushi.



My first hint that I might enjoy a food I'd written off as pretentious, weird or just inaccessible for so many years came at Hawver's wedding. He served raw tuna steak, which tasted delicious. This planted a seed in the back of my mind: the idea that raw fish could taste good (what the hell is this, Thomas Friedman's op-ed column? fish growing from seeds? fix this before you publish).

Visiting Baltimore for Thanksgiving, my old pal Liz B. took me to XS on the outskirts of Baltimore. I ordered the chef's Sushi Sampler, as it looked standard and unintimidating. It wasn't until the platter arrived, stuffed with tuna rolls and sashimi, that I made my confession.

"I've never had sushi before," I explained.

"Really?"

"I never got around to it. It's one of those things I felt you had to try at a certain age or else it was too late to cultivate a taste for it. Like reading Catcher in the Rye."

Liz was a perfect tutor, giving me just the right combination of coaching and tips to let me discover on my own. And it was all good! Tuna rolls: fantastic! California rolls: still good! Whitefish sashimi: loved it! Shrimp sashimi: incredible!

"Take a little bit of ginger," she suggested. "Just a tiny sliver. Hold it in your mouth but don't chew it yet. It's very potent."

Since then, I've hunted for more opportunities to find and eat sushi. When Misch and I grabbed lunch on Monday, I passed up my usual heaping mound of chicken teriyaki for a sushi platter. It came in a densely-packed plastic bento with a pair of chopsticks that splintered as I pulled them apart. And the soy sauce was a little too tangy for my liking. But I ate everything on the plate and loved it.

I would even have grabbed a sushi takeout dinner from a deli on Mass Ave on Tuesday night, but they didn't look very tightly sealed.

Why do I like sushi so much? Yes, yes, it's healthy, fish tastes good, new and exotic taste expanding my consciousness, etc. But what I really love about sushi is the texture. A well-formed tuna roll blends al dente, firm and chewy textures into a single morsel. It yields to the teeth and then dissolves into sticky bits of rice with a meaty center. My mouth has no idea what's going on.

The guys at The Second Glass said that a good glass of wine should appeal to all the senses: taste, sure, but smell, vision and even the fluidity of its feel. I think sushi appeals to me in the same way. There's the perfect tessellation of tiny rolls in a bento box, with everything arranged just so. There's the wide variety of tastes. There's the mixture of sensations. The meal does more than fill me; it engages me.

So: I like sushi. If only I lived in a country where it were readily available.

Original post

I just watched one of South Park's recent episodes, The F Word and thought it brought up a lot of interesting linguistic points.

Synopsis: The boys get annoyed at loud bikers in the town and start calling them "fags" in order to run them off. They write "Fags Get Out" and a gay couple sees this and gets offended. The principal calls an assembly and is enraged at the seeming homophobia, but the boys immediately own up to it, are proud of their actions, and don't see the link to homophobia. The boys see "fag" as referring to "a loud, obnoxious person" and not to gay people. The bikers look up fag in the dictionary and see that it's changed meaning several times already, that it's been used to insult different groups throughout history. The mayor writes a decree that "fag" now means "obnoxious person", but a national gay group is still offended, saying that "fag" means "homosexual" in the dictionary. The boys invite The Dictionary Committee to South Park to change The Definition in The Dictionary. The Defintion is changed and the bikers immediately reclaim the word fag and say they are proud of being fags.

Now, I don't agree with the message that gay people shouldn't be offended by young people's use of the word "fag" as meaning.... well, basically, anything pejorative. I don't think it's been delinked from "homosexual" that much yet. But I do see this as possibly happening in the future, though. The main point of the episode is that words change meaning, and it's not dictionaries that are the guardians of meaning.

So I've been thinking about testing my Spanish officially... but my problem is that I speak Argentine Spanish, with features such as vos, LL and Y sounding like porteño sh and so on. I suppose I was just thinking that if the examiners are not intimately familiar with the regionalisms, some things may get me marked down. For example, in Argentine Spanish for "take an exam" (as a student) you say "dar examen" and for "give an exam" (as a teacher), you say "tomar examen" which is the exact opposite meaning to the phrases in Spain. If I used that, would they not just think I was saying it wrong? Sometimes there are vast differences in meaning and usage.


If I were to take the DELE would I be penalised for pronouncing words so differently? In the oral part of the test, would I have to use tú? Also, does an official test exist for any form of Latin American Spanish??

The official website says "Para la obtención de los diplomas de español, además de la norma castellana, será considerada válida toda norma lingüística hispánica respaldada por grupos amplios de hablantes cultos y seguida coherentemente por el candidato."
But I guess I don't understand exactly what they mean by it.. they want you to be consistent and speak a recognised version of Spanish, right? Recognised by whom? Who would set the rules for how one might speak Mexican or Argentine Spanish or whatever??

Also I've never actually taken a class in Spanish - does anyone have any experiences in speaking with a different accent / regionalism than the rest of your class and your teacher? I suppose it depends on the particular school you attend, but were you expected to change how you spoke and wrote? Considering I am living in Europe I imagine teachers and students will not be speaking Latin American Spanish.

So yeah well any comments welcome! Regionalisms are one thing I adore about Spanish, but I'm wondering how this is approached in the classroom and so on? What were your experiences?

Even before the plans of establishment a free Sunland settlement on one of the Pacific Islands were declared, a large-scale strategic document - "The Pacific Plan of freedom and development" has been proposed for discussion of all interested countries, organizations and individuals. But the challenges to the Pacific island countries are so threatening, that it would be more correct speak about the plan of salvation.

We primarily mean the global warming environmental threat and rising of sea level because of it. Most Pacific countries actually threatened with extinction under the Ocean waters in the coming decades, may be in years. The entire population of such countries as the Republic of Kiribati etc. is already preparing to become environmental refugees. The problem of possible flooding is the primary problem of island states.

We can not say that this problem is outside international attention. In December 2009 Copenhagen hosts the Cop-15 international conference under the auspices of the UN. 110 Heads of States and Governments from over the world gathered in order to solve the problem of effective counteract global climate change. The main conference goal is the adoption a new agreement, which will replace the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012. The new agreement will set commitments to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases the largest developing countries (China, Brazil, and India) and the United States.

The participants intend to come to agreement on the establishment of a global fund to combat climate change. China and islands developing States believe that the developed countries are obliged to give $ 200 billion in aid to the fight against climate change. The disagreement consists in the fact that the rich world, led by the United States,

A(Rarely) B(I have) been C(on) D(an) empty bus in San Francisco.

Which word is wrong?
Rarely, I have, on, or an??
What should it be?

It's for my English homework... Is it against the rules of this comm hereXP?

Now that I think about it, the problem with me is that I always tried to evade problem and try to make new lines instead of correcting it0_0

My faith that Paul Krugman is the worst columnist in the world is shaken a little bit:

I try to discipline myself in not being a hater of the player, but of the game, but...

But here's a question for goldbugs: when the time comes when nanobot assemblers can compile gold bricks from atoms, what becomes your store of value then?

I'm kidding, of course. The government(s) will never allow swarms of nanobot assemblers. They would kill jobs.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/dec/09/new-underground-economy/

My fav Lib man onsite and I were discussing the underground economy and how it will grow in these recessionary times. The above article mentions the other side of the non-bank accounts but IMHO doesn't go far enough. Couple this w/ my current reading of Jim Roger's first around-the-world book, "Adventure Biker" which discusses the black market and underground economies of all the places he visits. It is hilarious to read of the currency exchanges beating the price controls of the government - the author uses this and other measures to gague whether or not he'd care to invest in the country at that point in time. EDIT - forgot to mention that bartering is not touched upon either in the article nor other hard currencies beyond paper dollars, cash form... but so many things can be 'cash' for trade.

Anyhow, take a gander. Lots of truths.

no doubt [thomas friedman] has every confidence that we will wind up very much further [ahead with government-legislated green energy spending]. and cannot imagine it not being so.

i refer to this privately as one of the mira gambits. taylor and i compared notes sometime after the events in she and i, and one of the most interesting things to me is that her expressions of commitment to him often took the form of "i can't imagine not being with you." i call this a subset of the clinton gambit, which obama has taken over: transposing a discussion of objective matters into a discussion of one's own consciousness - which is an arena whose representation is strictly under one's own control. watch how obama does it over and over - he says "i thought" (e.g., about fdr ending the great depression via statism) or "i believe" instead of making statements about the outside world. and, after all, one can always change one's mind.

oh, and i read that friedman lives in an 11,500 square foot mansion. :)

- me, in http://melvin-udall.livejournal.com/789923.html

that i've heard a number of those evil obama-hating classical liberals and conservatives profess themselves not unpleased with obama's novel speech - chi's one of the former.

[ it's at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/remarks-president-acceptance-nobel-peace-prize ]

You don't have to be a dog lover to appreciate the moving, powerful short film by Atsushi Sanada - "Say, Marimo."

Beautifully shot.

"ANOTHER White House Power Grab that Congress & America Don't See - The deliberate setup for the White House power grab is built into the each of the health care bills and, if they fail, little-known twin bills called “MedPAC Reform of 2009” are waiting in the wings. The bills, S.B. 1110 and H.R. 2718, craftily amend the Social Security Act and transfer the Medicare guideline and rule setting processes, from the legislative branch to the executive branch. These bills offer cover to one another in case one doesn’t pass the House or Senate, respectively. Remember, Democrats need to gain executive branch authority by amending the Social Security Act over Medicare regulations and physician fee schedules to transform the health care system in a single-payer, socialized system."

- http://biggovernment.com/2009/12/08/a-white-house-power-grab-that-congress-and-america-doesnt-see/

[ c/o http://o-2opine-o.livejournal.com/73826.html - links to http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=s111-1110 and http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h2718/text ]

"ANOTHER White House Power Grab that Congress & America Don't See - The deliberate setup for the White House power grab is built into the each of the health care bills and, if they fail, little-known twin bills called “MedPAC Reform of 2009” are waiting in the wings. The bills, S.B. 1110 and H.R. 2718, craftily amend the Social Security Act and transfer the Medicare guideline and rule setting processes, from the legislative branch to the executive branch. These bills offer cover to one another in case one doesn’t pass the House or Senate, respectively. Remember, Democrats need to gain executive branch authority by amending the Social Security Act over Medicare regulations and physician fee schedules to transform the health care system in a single-payer, socialized system."

- http://biggovernment.com/2009/12/08/a-white-house-power-grab-that-congress-and-america-doesnt-see/

[ /o http://o-2opine-o.livejournal.com/73826.html - links to http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=s111-1110 and http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h2718/text ]

contrarian - a significant point against the npr/latte left: Charles Kenny, a Washington developmental economist - argues that in many places television has proved to be a remarkable force for political and social good. - After reviewing studies on the impact of television in various countries, Kenny concludes that it is associated with improved rights for women, higher school attendance, reduced toleration of local corruption and other benefits. - Although it is difficult to determine cause and effect, it appears that television is a powerful educator - not through investigative journalism or public information broadcasts, but from the examples set by characters in daytime soaps and other popular dramas. In Kenny’s view, “soap operas and reality shows help solve real-world problems”.
- http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/tv_and_radio/article6898122.ece
c/o http://community.livejournal.com/happy_news/149492.html
[ my comment to google: paglia-list: paglia's love for soap operas not so daft after all? ]

junk euro-art in hopenhagen: The sculpture ’Survival of the Fattest’ is a symbol of the rich world's (i.e. the fat woman, ‘Justitia’) self-complacent ‘righteousness’. With a pair of scales in her hand she sits on the back of starved African man (i.e. the third world), while pretending to do what is best for him.
- http://volokh.com/2009/12/10/survival-of-the-fattest-and-the-global-superfluous-poor-in-the-negotiations-in-copenhagen/

spiegel reports things are going great in europe: Germany is poised to borrow around 100 billion euros more next year, a newspaper reported on Thursday, signaling Europe's largest economy is on course to break the EU's deficit rules - and the extent of the financial headache facing the new center-right government coalition.
- http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,666373,00.html

never underestimate the european desire to create thought-forms rather than cut through them, as with the healing power of action. (america is europe's denied action arm.)
- me, in http://rjlippincott.livejournal.com/846504.html

orderly europeans: The World from Berlin: 'Obama Must Prove Himself' - As US President Barack Obama prepares to accept the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, critics wonder what exactly he did to deserve the honor. But he's already succeeded in changing the tenor of America's relationship with the world - German commentators hope he will still earn the prize in the years to come.
- http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,666298,00.html

( links for 12-11-09 pt 2 )

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chi just syndicated the great rudy rummel's democratic peace blog - not sure how active it will be, but here it is: democ_peace_rum - the base URL is http://democraticpeace.wordpress.com/feed/

his personal blog appears a little more active but doesn't appear to be any more syndicatable: http://rudyrummel.blogspot.com/ - can probably add it to igoogle if you use that

and of course there is the powerhouse of all websites, his very own: http://www.hawaii.edu/powerkills/

New EU Report Finds Racism Prevalent Across Europe - For minority groups living in Europe, everyday pursuits like shopping or visiting the doctor are often soured by discrimination - report says EU racism is deeply entrenched - and, more worryingly still, often goes unreported [and thus not counted in official figures]

- http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,666317,00.html

I have learned how to use folders on my camera. Never again will I be forced to delete photos.

I've known Steve for a few years being in and out of OC for business to the first Conservative leadership conference (mis-named, greedy non-lib Chuck Muth organizer aside it used to be a decent conference) and of course Freedom Fest here in Vegas. Steve is the real deal. I'm surprised it has taken him this long to write the book w/ as many long-standing articles he's had on the over-priced Gov employment scheme of California and beyond.

Take a gander:
http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig5/seiler8.1.1.html

It's almost Hogswatch, and you know what that means! You all must watch Hogfather, the best winter holiday movie ever made. I have provided links to make it easier.

Amazon

Netflix

BitTorrent

marginalrevolution says: Today Tyler pointed me to the PhilPapers Surveys, the most fascinating opinion poll I've seen in years. Not only does it survey philosophers' views on thirty classic and modern controversies; it meta-surveys philosophers' views on philosophers' typical views!

http://econlog.econlib.org/archives/2009/12/what_do_philoso.html

c/o http://www.marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2009/12/assorted-links-7.html

According to researchers, psychological problems among teens have been on the rise since the 1930s, and Americans' obsession with material gains and success may be to blame. - "We have become a culture that focuses more on material things and less on relationships," said lead researcher Jean Twenge, author of "Generation Me" and an associate professor of psychology at San Diego State University. Twenge said this focus is affecting mental health on a societal level. - Eight-five percent of college students today fall above the average mental illness "score" of students in the 1930s and 1940s. - Students today report they feel significantly more isolated, misunderstood, and emotionally sensitive or unstable than in decades past. Teens were also more likely to be narcissistic, have low self-control, and express feelings of worry, sadness, and dissatisfaction with life.
- http://abcnews.go.com/Health/MindMoodNews/todays-teens-anxious-depressed-paranoid/story?id=9281013
[ interesting findings, but totally out to lunch in finding causation - the obsession on relationships and an inner void in the active, creative individual self is central to the problem - the blabbering about materialism is decades old and getting nothing done - prior times were a great deal more "materialistic" - i suggest it's more an indictment of what used to be called the permissive society - but that's heresy to the left - fact is, that which makes relationships satisfying has been subverted ]

elevating the discourse: Grayson to Cheney: Time to 'STFU'
- http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/12/10/grayson-to-cheney-time-to-%e2%80%98stfu%e2%80%99/

Real Christmas trees ‘greener’ than fake - Unlike real trees, artificial trees don't come out even in the carbon balance
- http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34365419/ns/technology_and_science-science/
[ that familiar pattern: the emotively green solutions turns out not to be so ]

Union leaders, among the most passionate backers of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul, pressed Democratic senators Thursday to drop a tax on high-value insurance plans to pay for remaking the nation's system. - As the Senate entered its 11th straight day of debate on the sweeping legislation, members of several labor unions denounced the proposed tax on so-called "Cadillac plans," arguing it wouldn't just hit CEOs but also middle-class Americans who passed on salary increases to negotiate better health benefits.
- http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34362919/ns/politics-capitol_hill/
[ so the unions' reasoning admits that their members have dandy insurance plans ]

who said this - bush43? "Whatever mistakes we have made, the plain fact is this: The United States of America has helped underwrite global security for more than six decades with the blood of our citizens and the strength of our arms," he said. "The service of our men and women in uniform has promoted peace and prosperity from Germany to Korea, and enabled democracy to take hold in places like the Balkans." - Waging war is not a way of imposing the will of the United States on the world, he said, but a way of seeking a better future for its people. - "The instruments of war do have a role to play in preserving the peace,"
- http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/12/10/obama.peace.prize/index.html

( links for 12-11-09 pt 1 )

I just started this journal that focuses entirely on deals around the Denver Area.
Right now, I focus primarily on grocery bargains, but I plan on expanding out from there.
So, if you are interested in good deals and saving money, stop on by and check out my findings, and feel free to friend me.
Thanks!
dealsindenver

Dear Linguaphiles,

once again I need your assistance. I need an English term for non-commercial advertising. To be more exact, the type that is used to promote social awareness, e.g. during campaigns against alcoholism, drug addiction, etc. Also, such adverts might also be used for promoting human values, such as tolerance, respect for the old, or whatever. What would be the term (terms) for this type of advertising?

Please, indicate your variety of English. Thank you!

In Latvia, there are several things with the name "Skonto", most notably a football club, the stadium they play in, and a radio channel.

Does anyone know where the name comes from, whether it means anything in Latvian, or how those things came to bear this name? In German, "Skonto" means "discount" (from the Italian), but that seems like an unlikely origin of the name....

On Thursday, December 10, 2009, John Stossel will return to television news broadcasting. His new program, "Stossel," will premiere at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time and will run for a full hour. This broadcast will re-air on Friday, December 11, at 10:00 p.m. Eastern Time. This will be on the cable channel known as the Fox Business Network (not to be confused with the Fox News Channel).

The first episode will either be about how the events described in "Atlas Shrugged" are happening today, or it will be about alarmist rhetoric over man-made global warming. Whichever topic Stossel chooses, it is bound to fascinate audiences and generate controversy!

- http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=196425138925

considerable anger over the White House's decision to cancel a series of events normally attended by the prizewinner - According to a poll published by the daily tabloid VG, 44% of Norwegians believe it was rude of Obama to cancel his scheduled lunch with King Harald, with only 34% saying they believe it was acceptable. - "Of all the things he is cancelling, I think the worst is cancelling the lunch with the king," said Siv Jensen, the leader of the largest party in opposition, the populist Progress party. "This is a central part of our government system. He should respect the monarchy," she told VG. - Peace activists opposed to the Afghanistan war are planning a 5,000-strong protest in Oslo.

- http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/dec/10/obama-norwegians-nobel-snub-harald

...Probabably don't include what we are about to embark on, but dammit, I need to get away from all this shit even if it is a PITA and fairly short. Tomorrow we will be leaving as early as possible (for us) to head west, to the mountains, for our postponed Thanksgiving trip to see my mother and step-father. I was kind of pissed when I realized how messed up my schedule got around the holidays this year. My mom and I scrambled to find a suitable alternative, and this weekend was it, because I only have to use 8 hours of leave time to take four days off (thanks to not having much time off for the last two weeks), and it happens to be her birthday on Sunday. So I was really lonely on Thanksgiving, but looking forward to this weekend.

Fast forward to the fact that it was practically a sauna on Thanksgiving compared to the weather we are facing tomorrow. I am sure I don't have to tell you readers that a major storm had its way with the USA this week, and that means our usual route to mom's house, over McClure PAss, got 28 inches of snow yesterday. Rifle got 24 and Glenwood got about 18. Good gravy I don't even know what happened at Eisenhower Tunnel and Vail Pass, but we are determined. We have decided to go through Glenwood to Clifton/Delta instead of taking the scary as hell drive over McClure (winding, narrow, two lane road with no shoulders or guard rails in two feet+ of snow? HELL NO!).

So wish us luck, on our 6 hour drive. We have had worse. There was one Thanksgiving where we had to get to grandma's house (and THEN mom's house, another 2.5 hours) via Steamboat Springs because of a rockslide. That added eight hours into our drive, so a mild six hour affair seems breezy, right? Right?

Man, I would stay home and warm if I didn't need a mental vacation so badly after this horrible week, and if my mother wasn't so excited about our arrival.

In other news, it is weird, but at our weekly Twin Peaks night tonight, I halfway convinced myself I had met my pup Genghis's litter mate. His name is Saki, and he looks almost exactly like Genghis, and when I whipped out my camera to show his owner picture sof my guy, the owner's jaw hit the floor a little bit. Same age, same markings, same build. Weird, eh?

So I'm working a paper on external sandhi for my linguistics class, and I figured I should touch on it in Sanskrit since 1) sandhi's namesake is from Sanskrit and 2) Sanskrit is famous for having tons of sandhi. I am including examples of actual phrases in which sandhi has occurred, but I am having trouble translating them because there is no glossing and my knowledge of actual Sanskrit vocabulary is null. Could anyone possibly tell me what the following phrases mean? (They are also romanized only because I can't read devanagari and it's way easier to look at phonology in the romanization, at least for me)

aśvinoṣásam (aśvinā uṣásam)
aśvinā (aśvinā ā)
śamitéva (śamitā́ iva)

EDIT: Solved. =D

Hello, I'm working on some extra credit for my French class, and have chosen to write upon an album of one of my favourite musical groups, and would greatly appreciate if someone could give a quick proof-read...

( La Mecanique du Coeur )

Thank you!