Things I Do Instead of Writing the Songs that Make the Whole World Sing

• I Burn the Toast that Makes the Smoke Alarm Go Off
• I Eat the Burritos that Make my Whole Family Cringe
• I Take the Nap that Makes My Head Feel All Fuzzy
• I Post the Posts to Facebook that Make Most People Sorry They Friended Me
• I Pay the Bills Late that Makes A Finance Charge Show Up on My Account Next Month
• I Watch the TV and that Prevents Me From Doing Much of Anything Else
• I Underinflate the Air Pressure in My Tires that Makes the Gas Mileage Go Down, and then, Because I Can't Find the Stupid Tire Pressure Gauge, I Overinflate the Air Pressure in My Tires That Makes the Vehicle Difficult to Control In High Speed Situations
• I Write the Grocery Lists that I Routinely Forget and Leave on the Counter When I Go to the Store Which Makes Me More Susceptible to Impulse Buys
• I Do the Laundry Without Sorting By Colors Which Makes My Underwear Pink
• I Eat the Cookies that Were Made For the Kid's Lunches
• I Write the Blog Posts that Make People In Greece Regret that They Searched For "Where Are Naked Pictures of Jennifer Connelly", At Least for the 1.6 Seconds They Are On This Blog Page

Fruits That Are More Musical Than Beans

• Banana
• Raspberry
• Kumquat
• Clementine
• Kiwi
• Huckleberry
• Gooseberry
• Tangerine
• Acai
• Rock Melon
• Pomegranate
• Lychee
• Ziziphus mauritiana
• Raisin
• Pineapple
• Every other real fruit, including oranges, because beans are freakin' legumes, seed pods, and I don't even consider them fruits

Slummer School: English

They say that 65% of what is learned is lost during summer vacation Well, I don't know who "they" is, but I am a crazy optimist who prefers to look at it as 30% of learning is retained, which, to me, means that, if you give 110%, you will realize that there is no "I" in "team". Although there is a "me". But, anyhow, I still think that, after this incredible pep talk, everyone should be willing to learn a little bit, and, in an effort to declare this blog as a charter school and start collecting Fed moola so that I can improve the facilities to maximize student learning (I mean, how can I have a Phys Ed program without a heated swimming pool and a hot tub for physical therapy? I plan on correcting that around here as soon as I get those charter school funds. And I'm sick of the beans and Hot Pockets they serve in the cafeteria around here- give me some champagne and filet topped with a slice of free government lunch cheese!). With just a little bit further ado, I now commence on my tax-deductible, union-protected job of educating the youfs of the Internets through this fabulous development of my technology based, distance learning Summer Program, or, in other words, typing this damn blog.

And, since 85% of this blog is typed in English, I guess we'll start our Summer Learning program with English.

English

Many people, including myself, may be asking "What are the parts of speech?" In fact, if you are not asking that, it may be because you don't know enough parts of speech to form the sentence "What are the parts of speech?" (Hint: There are twelve parts of speech in that sentence, with two more that are unlockable once you've beaten the first twelve and have the passwords, and one more that can be gained by subscribing to the RSS feed of this blog, plus a secret one that is only given out to members of Congress and the top 1% wage earners in the U.S.). Anyhow, you didn't come here to ask questions- you came here to learn. With that said, let the learning commence.

Parts of Speech

1. Nouns
Definition: Every word you can say or even think about, day and night, along with a few others you can't pronounce and a few you aren't allowed to say and some from other languages.
Examples: This, and this, and this. Oh, and also this.

Purpose: To fill in those uncomfortable gaps in conversation when a date is going poorly.

Friends Describe Nouns As: Arrogant

Rank: 1.75

Actor Who Will Play This Part of Speech in the "Schoolhouse Rock" Movie: Tom Hanks

Fun Fact: Without nouns, the world would be a much quieter place.

Sample Sentence: Noun goin ta set foot on ma proprety, er else.

2. Verbs
Definition: Everything that gets you in trouble.
Examples: Yelling, fighting, stealing, drinking, smoking, defecating, sleeping during conference calls, coveting, skydiving, flirting with the hot babysitter, being
Purpose: To find ways to get out of work
Friends Describe Verbs As: Tiresome
Rank: 4.379
Actor Who Will Play This Part of Speech in the "Schoolhouse Rock" Movie: Quinton "Rampage" Jackson
Fun Fact: When people sleep, only a quarter of the population dreams verbs in color. The rest of human subjects dream verbs that are old black-and-white ones (like "gallivanting", "parlaying", and "frolicking").
Sample Sentence: VERB! Excuse me! I must have eaten too much garlic dip!

3. Adjectives
Definition: Every word that you can't figure out what part of speech it belongs to is, by default, an adjective.
Examples: betelgeuse, pretense, sippy cup, zumba, minke whale, polyamorous
Purpose: To try and sound smart and impress people at a party/job interview/parole hearing/infomercial
Friends Describe Adjectives As: Needy
Rank: 8
Actor Who Will Play This Part of Speech in the "Schoolhouse Rock" Movie: Gwyneth Paltrow
Fun Fact: If you randomly put a string of letters together, or even just beat your head on a keyboard repeatedly, you will most likely create an adjective.
Sample Sentence: T'was brillig and the slithy toves did gyre and gimble in the wabe.

4. Adverbs
Definition: This is kinda like a verb, only a lot more.
Examples: YELLING, FIGHTING, STEALING, DRINKING A LOT, SMOKING UNFILTERED, DEFECATING AFTER EATING TACO BELL, COVETING THY NEIGHBOR'S OX, SKYDIVING WITHOUT A PARACHUTE, RUNNING AWAY AND GETTING MARRIED TO THE HOT BABYSITTER LEAVING YOUR KIDS AND WIFE PENNILESS
Purpose: To convince people not to mess with you
Friends Describe Adverbs As: Obnoxiously, hideously, aimlessly stupid
Rank: -7
Actor Who Will Play This Part of Speech in the "Schoolhouse Rock" Movie: Dane Cook
Fun Fact: No one likes adverbs.
Another Fun Fact: Adverbs can be recognized by the tell-tale "lies" they always end with.
Sample Sentence: Did you hear that Shelly caught her husband trying to adverb? SHUT UP WITH YOUR SENSELESS GOSSIP ALREADY!

5. Pronouns
Definition: A professional noun
Examples: doctor, lawyer, long-haul trucker, Lebron James
Purpose: To entertain the other parts of speech
Friends Describe Pronouns As: Way awesome
Rank: 2, 000, 453, 839
Actor Who Will Play This Part of Speech in the "Schoolhouse Rock" Movie: LeBron James
Fun Fact: The word "teacher" does not count as a pronoun.
Sample Sentence: If that noun could be serious about conditioning, he'd be looking at being recruited as a pronoun.

6. Interjections
Definition: These are words that can only be used by lawyers.
Examples: hereafter, wherefore, unto, insamuch, however
Purpose: To understand the purpose of an interjection requires an advanced degree plus two to four years of intensive training, which is much more time than we have to spend on this blog entry.
Friends Describe Interjections As: Hoity-toity
Rank: 16.8439732
Actor Who Will Play This Part of Speech in the "Schoolhouse Rock" Movie: Helen Mirren
Fun Fact: Interjections are the only words used in both the Magna Carta (which is French for "Big Card")and the Declaration of the Constitution
Sample Sentence: Allow me to interject! P'shaw!

7. Conjunctions
Definition: These are the sounds people make when they forget their lines in a play or while giving a speech.
Examples: uh, um, ah, mmmmm, huh, duh, oh shit
Purpose: To prevent other people from talking even when you don't have anything left to say
Friends Describe Conjunctions As: Liberal
Rank:3.141592653589793238462643383279502884197169399375105820974944592307816406286208998628034825342117067982148086513282306647093844609550582231725359408128481117450284102701938521105559644622948954930381964428810975665933446128475648233786783165271201909145648566923460348610454326648213393607260249141273724587006606315588174881520920962829254091715364367892590360011330530548820466521384146951941511609
Actor Who Will Play This Part of Speech in the "Schoolhouse Rock" Movie: Billy Bob Thornton
Fun Fact: Conjunctions are the only part of speech that Americans enjoy asking what their function is while having no actual idea what their function is.
Sample Sentence: There has been a three-car accident at the conjunction of I-75 and I-80. Take an alternate route!

8. Prepositions
Definition: Words people use to try and trick other people into doing things
Examples: payment, trade, favor, owe, legal action
Purpose: To trick other people into doing things- duh!
Friends Describe Prepositions As: Charming in a creepy way
Rank: Tadpole
Actor Who Will Play This Part of Speech in the "Schoolhouse Rock" Movie: Charlie Sheen
Fun Fact: Many towns in the Southern part of the United States have outlawed the used of prepositions entirely and, if you use one in Arizona, you will immediately be deported to Mexico.
Sample Sentence: I would like to preposition you to come back to my place to drink some beer.

9. Articles
Definition: These are not parts of speech at all, but are a collection of parts of speech that come together to make speech. Articles can be found in such things as magazines, newspapers, and your better-written blogs.
Examples: "Obama May Be Able to Prove U.S. Citizenship", "B.P Decides to Start Sacrificing Puppies and Kitties in an Attempt to Stop Oil Leak", "My Life With Angela Lansbury", "Shocking! Beyonce and Oprah Love Affair!", "Visit to Grandma's House w/ Pix", "Reviews of the Ignorant".
Purpose: To provide a nice number of "Parts of Speech" so that posters in English classrooms are balanced into neat columns rather than being ugly and uneven.
Friends Describe Articles As: Entertaining enough to pass the time in the airport or doctor's office
Rank: B
Actor Who Will Play This Part of Speech in the "Schoolhouse Rock" Movie: Gary Coleman Verne Troyer
Fun Fact: Articles are not actually parts of speech, but, rather, are adjectives with an inferiority complex.
Sample Sentence: Do not put your fingers in people's armpits because, not only is it unsanitary, but it articles them!

10. Dirty
Definition: Any word that can get you fired for keying it in a Google search box.
Examples: censored, censored, censored, plushie, and censored
Purpose: To entertain middle-school boys; to keep HBO in business
Friends Describe Dirty Words As: ((smirking chuckle))
Rank: 69
Actor Who Will Play This Part of Speech in the "Schoolhouse Rock" Movie: Kendra Wilkinson
Fun Fact: Dirty words are the only parts of speech that are actually fun. The rest are pretty much boring and useless.
Sample Sentence: "Poo-poo, ca-ca," said the mayor, while a hooker in red leather peed in his hair and a teenage girl in Tijuana was traded by her grandma to a group of USC football players for ten bucks and a bottle of Darvocet.

Okay, so now you know all your parts of speech, and, as you sit there trying to figure out what six-figure job you will apply for next, you may ask the question, "But what can I do with this information"? Well, you are not so smart now, huh? You could make trading cards of the parts of speech and trade with your friends. You could teach middle-school English. You could write a blog. You could just sit back and eat Doritos out of the bag. Or you could diagram a sentence.
 
What, you may ask, is diagramming a sentence? Well, it is a formula for understanding the English language that is so complex, so mind-boggling, so amazingly awesome that I am not going to share it with you. To truly understand it, you must reach the 39th degree of English, which requires such sacrifices as being spanked by drunk men in fezzes and being buried alive in the Mojave Desert.  However, I will diagram the following sentence, just to give you an example of what you could obtain if you dare to dream. Watch closely:
 
First, an ordinary sentence-
I gasped as the heart-stoppingly gorgeous goddess Jennifer Connelly approached me outside the dollar store in order to profess her undying love.
 
Now, prepare for the mind-blowing. With nothing up my sleeve, and no assistance from the TV cameras, I will now attempt to diagram the above sentence:

Diagram 1

Ooooooh, I conjuncted as I heard the sound of the Internet shift to the left. That may have been too much knowledge for one lesson. I had a 74 page PowerPoint ready to continue discussion of Parts of Speech, but, after that diagramming demonstration, maybe we should all go eat Cheetos, drink Kool-Aid and watch "He-Man" while we wait for our parents to get home.

Class dismissed. 

And Now For How I Really Feel...

Since this is, at least according to the title header, a movie review blog, then I feel I should review a movie. So here goes...

Napoleon Dynamite

Man, I hate that thing. Stupid. Terrible. Sucks. Hate it.

Meanwhile, did I mention that Jennifer Connelly is hot?