August 21, 2009

Today I learned that there is a small Christian sect of people who practice snake handling during their services. They refer to it as "Taking up serpents" after a passage in The Bible. The practice began when a man was reading this particular passage while on a walk in the woods and then came across a snake. He felt that it was a heavenly sign and bent to pick up the snake (which I believe was poisonous) and went away unscathed. After that he started a church based entirely on a literal interpretation of The Bible and incorporating snake handling that spread out all over the American Appalachians. Of course eventually someone had to be scathed. Many someones, actually (though not as many as you might think, though I don't remember the exact statistic), to the point that the law came into it and ended up making the practice illegal in most states with former congregations. Today, West Virginia is the only state where it is legal to take up serpents.

(I learned this by watching a History Channel documentary called Hillbilly: The Real Story. It's pretty interesting though the facts are a little hazy in my mind due to the fact that I was watching the doc at the same time as I was surfing online.)


I also just learned that the line "When I was young and full of grace/And spirited a rattlesnake" in R.E.M.'s song "I Believe" is in reference to Christian snake handling. I've probably heard that song hundreds of times since I bought that album (Life's Rich Pageant) when I was 15, and yet I never knew.

Hmm.

August 19, 2009

Today I learned that corn, avocado, and barbeque chicken is really good on pizza.

http://www.joesquared.com/

And dressing like a hipster is kind of uncomfortable.

Hello, and Mission Statement

I definitely think it's true what they say: "You learn something new everyday." I also think it's good to keep track of these new things learned. Why? Well, my 10th grade geometry teacher, Mr. Johnstone, always used to say that the best way to remember something is to hear it once, then again 10 minutes later, and then once again 24 hours later. I've never bothered to verify his claim but I know that for me it usually takes a few times for something to stick. Having this log online will allow to look back at my recently acquired knowledge with ease. Also, I think it will be good for me to keep track of what I have learned so that even on days when I'm being lazy(such as today), I will at least feel like I've accomplished a little something.
In creating this blog I will attempt to come back everyday and record what I have learned within the most recent 24 hour period. Most of the time it will likely only be a few sentences, other times it might be a few paragraphs and/or include photos or links. Sometimes I expect what I learn will be trivial, other times it will be more profound.
I have an unfortunate tendency of not liking to admit it when I don't know something. I guess I just feel like letting people know what I don't know will make me appear weak. I will try to resist this tendency in this blog and share everything new I learn - as well as I can remember - no matter how embarrassing I may feel it is that I'm only just learning it.

The creation of this blog is very spontaneous, but I hope I will keep it up!

• Today I learned the definition of the world, denouement. It means "the outcome of a complex sequence of events " or "the final resolution of the main complication of a literary or dramatic work ."I've been wondering what it meant for a while now while I've been reading the 10th, 11th, and 12th A Series of Unfortunate Events books, in which there is a place called the Hotel Denouement. I only just remembered today to look it up. The author, Lemony Snicket, likes to make use of unusual words, puns, literary allusions, and alliteration in his books. Usually I get the joke, but this was a case when I didn't. "Hotel Denouement" now makes sense to me because the hotel is where all the main action of the 12th book takes place and is likely to be where the 13th and final book's action is held (no spoiler's please, if you've read it!).

• I also learned that at 20 years old I am apparently not to old to get obsessed with silly computer games. I saw a friend's score in"Typing Maniac" come up in my Facebook newsfeed and my curiosity was peaked. Soon I was punching out random words as fast I could (not very fast) and trying desperately to beat my lowest ranked friend's score. I comfort myself by knowing that as ridiculous as it may be to sit around playing Facebook-powered procrastination generators, at least this one could improve my typing skills.

Okay, that's it for today. See you tomorrow!