Cut Your Losses

You know how gmail pays attention to what your email is about and gives you ads it thinks are relevant? Creepy isn't it? But sometimes they're right on target for their audience, which is how I came across this particular shirt:



You can get it here.

( You are about to view content that may not be appropriate for minors. )

WORT DES TAGES
die Toilette (pl. die Toiletten) - toilet, bathroom, lavatory, restroom

Wo ist die Toilette? - Where's the restroom?

Ich muss mal auf die Toilette. - I have to go to the bathroom.

Er ist auf der Toilette. - He's in the bathroom.

Related:
auf die Toilette gehen - to go to the bathroom/toilet
die Toilette spülen - to flush the toilet
das WC - toilet, bathroom, restroom

MORE> Basic Travel Phrases~
Below you'll find a phrasebook with the most important BASIC German phrases for travelers and tourists. Have a look.
http://german.about.com/library/weekly/aa091498.htm

On a cultural note...
There is absolutely nothing "wrong" with using the word toilet in German and asking for it as above. I mention this because I know it would be odd to be this direct in North America where words like "restroom", "ladies room" etc. are used and "toilet" really is never mentioned. ;) How does it work in YOUR country?

PS: See comments for the wonderful world of German public restrooms.

( You are about to view content that may only be appropriate for adults. )

Since we've had such a stir about the Merlin TV series, I thought I'd mention T.A. Barron's Merlin book series, which explores what might have happened to Merlin during his youthful years, before he appears fully grown and fairly wise in our more traditional Arthurian legend. The first book, The Lost Years of Merlin, is my favorite, although I hesitate to say it's the best in the series -- it holds the most nostalgia for me, as I read it when I was young and before the rest of the series was published, then went back years later to read them all.



The rest in the series:

The Seven Songs of Merlin

The Fires of Merlin

The Mirror of Merlin

The Wings of Merlin

The series is pretty fun, although clearly aimed at grade school audiences. (Which is good for grade schoolers but less in-depth for people my age.) Barron does a pretty good job of filling in a mythological blank without treading on the established legends (for what they're worth, as they tend to change pretty easily). And it looks like since I read the series, Barron has returned to the world with another character in an in-between type adventures: Merlin's Dragon.

( You are about to view content that may only be appropriate for adults. )

http://feeds.reference.com/click.phdo?i=5c665c31ee6e1cae28181b21f839e55f

http://www.dictionary.com/wordoftheday/archive/2009/07/13.html

sartorial: of or relating to a tailor, tailoring, or clothing.

http://ads.pheedo.com/click.phdo?s=5c665c31ee6e1cae28181b21f839e55f&p=4

Hoping someone here can help me with this...

I'm writing a book that draws on Japanese mythology and traditions, primarily Shinto, and ran up against a question I can't seem to find the answer to online.

In Shinto shrines, are there any protections against "evil spirits" or the like? Something in the way the buildings are built/laid out; inscriptions; natural objects (plants/running water/??) considered to ward off evil; ceremonies that are done when the shrine is built or regularly afterward to protect it?

If you have any info on this, or can refer me to folktales or myths or a plain old informative resource that mentions it, I would be very very grateful. :)

Thanks in advance!

( You are about to view content that may only be appropriate for adults. )

Example:
The Professor's speech did nothing to ameliorate the students, who still felt glum about their test results.


Sorry about the long absence, I was visiting my mother in Germany, and the trip lasted longer than I thought it would.

http://feeds.reference.com/click.phdo?i=6063ef0e3ef18647f1cb195f20cebe99

http://www.dictionary.com/wordoftheday/archive/2009/07/12.html

ineffable: incapable of being expressed.

The weather has been great lately. It's been summer for almost a month now but the first two weeks of that was rain and gloom - both of which I love, but preferably in the proper season. The days are hot enough to wear a pair of shorts and a thin shirt, and the nights are comfortably cool, with summer breezes making sitting on the stoop with a glass of iced tea a simple pleasure. I am looking out the living room window of my parents' house and the leaves on the trees are busy trying to stay on their branches :) The air is sweet with the mingled scent of grass and earth. I look at the sky and feel the promise of new days. I love this moment.

- Germany’s territory covers about 137,850 sqm - slightly larger than the US state of Montana, just to put it in perspective for the many Americans in this community.

- The largest city is the capital Berlin with ~3.4 million inhabitants (Hamburg: 1.76 mio, Munich: 1.35).

- Germany consists of 16 states, 3 of which are city states (Hamburg, Berlin, Bremen).

- Germany shares borders with Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland and Switzerland.

- It's one of the world’s top exporters, main exports being cars, machinery and chemical products.

- 18 is the universal age of consent. This is when you can vote and drive a car as well.

- There are 9 to 13 holidays a year (varies from state to state, more days off in catholic states).

- Employees get 20 to 30 days paid vacation per year. If they stick with one company over the years, the number increases. All national holidays are off for most people (apart from some service staff in cinemas, hotels, etc). There is no such thing as a set number of "sick days".

- The population growth rate is -0.033 - more of a decline rate.

- 34% of the population are Protestants, 34% are Catholics, the rest is other or undeclared. The Christian churches have been steadily losing members for decades. For Germans, religion is more of a private matter and generally won't be announced to the world as it is done in countries like the United States. Religion does not take a center role and it would be more than odd to hear a politician mention "god" in their speeches.

( You are about to view content that may only be appropriate for adults. )

( You are about to view content that may only be appropriate for adults. )

( You are about to view content that may only be appropriate for adults. )

http://feeds.reference.com/click.phdo?i=ae9e332d9ab3a2c4d1c01455658c157e

http://www.dictionary.com/wordoftheday/archive/2009/07/11.html

gauche: lacking social polish; tactless.

http://ads.pheedo.com/click.phdo?s=ae9e332d9ab3a2c4d1c01455658c157e&p=4

ty·ro (plural ty·ros) or ti·ro (plural ti·ros)
noun
Definition:
beginner: somebody who is just beginning to learn something

[Early 17th century. Via medieval Latin, "squire" < Latin tiro "young soldier, recruit"]

ty·ron·ic adjective

tyro. Encarta® World English Dictionary [North American Edition] © & (P)2009 Microsoft Corporation. http://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_/tyro.html (accessed: July 10, 2009).

Example:
Bob was feeling a little worried and realized he needs to stop stretching the truth. Claiming to be an expert at something, when at best a tyro, is not always a good idea; especially when the pilot and co-pilot become incapacitated. Maybe he should not have told the flight attendant he had flown over 5,000 hours on a wide-body jet before. He wasn't exactly lying, but perhaps a computer flying game didn't count. Which button operates the machine guns again?