Sunday, July 20, 2008

LP RhythMix Mini Bongos

Our Rythmic Bongos are two-headed drums that produce hearty, authentic sound. They stand 6" tall, with 4" and 5" diameter sturdy synthetic heads - like two drums in one! Includes a musical activity booklet. Ages 2 and up.
Customer Review: Not easy to play with bare hands and too pricey*, but not all bad
Trying to play these myself, I have to play pretty forcefully to get a decent pitch. It's not nearly as easy to play as a better quality, non-toy version of bongos, but then, it's a whole lot sturdier than a quality wood & skin drum. The colors are vibrant and very appealing. These have withstood the abuses heaped on them by my kids from their toddler through preschooler years, and still look great. Buy a pair of mallets or drumsticks to go with these: it makes it a whole lot easier to play, and gives children more immediate gratification. *The "too pricey" comment was made when these were retailing at $35. The new list price of $20 seems much more reasonable, and a real bargain at the sale price of $13.99!


The other day at a staff meeting, one of my co-workers was talking about a project that had gone badly off the rails. "Per angusta ad augusta," I said as he concluded his tale of woe. Everyone looked at me uncomprehendingly, of course. "You know through difficulties to honors," I said.

Now, I am definitely no Latin scholar, but I do arrive at staff meetings armed with several memorized phrases from the ancient tongue, ready to whip them out whenever the occasion permits. My source? Its a breezy little tome titled, Amo, Amas, Amat and More; How to Use Latin to Your Own Advantage and to the Astonishment of Others. Its author is Eugene Ehrlich, a renowned dictionary editor and contributor to other books about words.

The book is straightforwardly presented, with the Latin phrases given in alphabetical order. Each entry consists of the phrase followed by a phonetic rendering to assist in pronunciation, then its English translation and finally, in most instances, an explanatory paragraph to help elucidate the more mysterious of the offerings.

One aspect of Amo, Amas, Amat that is particularly helpful is that the author will occasionally translate a phrase using an equivalent English expression that might not be a word-for-word rendering (although he does provide the exact translation in the follow-up paragraph).

An example: "Aliquando bonus dormitat Homerus" is translated as "You cant win 'em all," but a more precise rendering would be, "Sometimes even good Homer dozes." Ehrlich offers the history behind this phrase, which helps us to understand why our common expression about not being able to "win 'em all" is indeed a good way to translate the Latin in this case.

Amo, Amas, Amat includes an introduction by William F. Buckley, Jr., as well as an index to the English translations, which makes for a nice cross-reference.

Amo, Amas, Amat was published by Harper & Row Publishers of New York; ISBN # 0-06-181249-8.

H. Tim Sevets is books editor for the Solid Gold Info Writers Consortium, where he specializes in objective reviews of the top money-making reports sold over the Web. Recently, he reviewed an e-book that claims to show how to make money by tearing up old books and magazines and selling them on eBay. Read his opinion at http://www.solid-gold.info/tear-up-old-books-sell-ebay.html.

dance music 2007

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