Someone mentioned on Twitter: “curledmoss @hotforwords Its not Christmas where you came from…different dates or what?…berry good lesson hot4words and all the kisses and fishes”.
And I realized that in Russia, where the Orthodox Church is the dominant denomination, Christmas is cerebrated on January 7th, i.e. 13 days after Western Christmas, due to the simple fact that the Orthodox Church uses the Julian calendar instead of the Gregorian one.
[HOW!]…Today is saved for humanity and anyway; with means and all the math skills required…Merry XMAS.. blue christmas…may the great spirit be with you and to all who reads this
If you do the origin of Christmas again, might include some history of winter solstice celebrations (WSC). WSCs were present way before Christ; the Church tried to ban WSCs but failed, and on the premise of “if you can’t beat them, joint them” they tried to usurp WSCs into Christ’s birthday. Supposedly (“supposedly” because this part is based on the Wikipedia) WSCs date back to Egyptian Osiris Celebrations followed by the Babylonian Zagmuk Celebrations.
When the Roman Catholic church failed in their attempts to ban pagan celebrations of the winter solstice and decided to take over the celebrations, they made up December 25th as Jesus’ birthday and called the celebrations “Feast of Nativity”. This was by Pope Julius I in the 4th Century AD. The earliest date the OED lists for the word “Christmas” is 1123.
In Boston from 1659 to 1681, the Puritans banned Christmas, and those exhibiting “Christmas merriment” were fined 5 shillings!
So much for Christmas having non-pagan, religious Christan roots.
Here’s someone else’s view on Christmas; I don’t quite get this view, but here it is:
{In answer to the question of whether it is appropriate for an atheist to celebrate Christmas:}
Yes, of course. A national holiday, in this country, cannot have an exclusively religious meaning. The secular meaning of the Christmas holiday is wider than the tenets of any particular religion: it is good will toward men—a frame of mind which is not the exclusive property (though it is supposed to be part, but is a largely unobserved part) of the Christian religion.
The charming aspect of Christmas is the fact that it expresses good will in a cheerful, happy, benevolent, non-sacrificial way. One says: “Merry Christmas”—not “Weep and Repent.” And the good will is expressed in a material, earthly form—by giving presents to one’s friends, or by sending them cards in token of remembrance . . . .
The best aspect of Christmas is the aspect usually decried by the mystics: the fact that Christmas has been commercialized. The gift-buying . . . stimulates an enormous outpouring of ingenuity in the creation of products devoted to a single purpose: to give men pleasure. And the street decorations put up by department stores and other institutions—the Christmas trees, the winking lights, the glittering colors—provide the city with a spectacular display, which only “commercial greed” could afford to give us. One would have to be terribly depressed to resist the wonderful gaiety of that spectacle.
The animals that are domesticated will be feed!!! Who is born where they are feed has a God to feed…. Quote “Marriage is too interesting an experiment to be tried only once.” – Eva Gabor ImaGine PEace happy winter till the [WILL] of [SPRING]
Many Christmas traditions have pagan roots and they’ve become pagan again, but it the modern way (as the festival of unbounded consumption). Why are so many atheists nowadays gonna celebrate Christmas this winter festival without any meaning to them?
well, just because religion hijacked christmas and attached their meaning to this holiday doesn’t mean that it doesn’t have any meaning at all for atheists.
What I’m dying for is meeting you Marina in real life wondering how the hell I could’ve missed such a cuttie when visiting ННГУ in my old days in Нижний Новгород. I probably know some of you friends from there. Must investigate…
Great, as always….I obviously have missed something. My ipod isnt updating your lessons; I just assumed you have been really busy. Of course you have but there’s more to the story.
dearest marina, we hope you had the merriest of christmases. have an even happier one on january 7th. my 12 year old long-haired chihuahua, Diane, lost her brother Jack, at Easter. she has been very lonely ever since. she is requesting an autographed picture of Kobe. tx :cool
It’s a little late for presents, but all I want is for people who visit your site to visit mine, onelifetosave.org and donate the price of a cup of coffee. It will truly save me!
Thanks, Bob. I had originally tested the link in the practice area on Marina’s site and it worked fine, but when I did the post here I had to do a quick edit and things locked up on me. That might have caused the problem. Somehow it got a URL that wasn’t valid.
Yes, you are correct. The site is http://www.onelifetosave.org and I won’t try showing it as a link again, just in case.
Your steady inroads into contemporary vacuity should earn you the plaudits of grateful nations (assuming you have a use for plaudits). Crippled as I am by my mother tongue and this keyboard the best I can say is bolshoi spaseba.
As always, I am awed and humbled by the sheer courage of our intrepid researcher, doing fieldwork among the benighted denizens of Beverly Hills. (For your sake, I am hoping rumors that these are cannibals who have been known to consume their own sex goddesses turn out to be false.)
Best Wishes for the Season and for the New Year,
suimobile
p.s. Hoping to learn the origin of Boxing Day tomorrow.
Privyet maya padruga,
Marina, I am trying to learn Russian. It is so very hard. I have a feeling I am not the only one wanting to learn this language.
My perfect Christmas present would be you teaching Russian to me.
Could you pls do the poem “T’was the night before Christmas” in Russian. If not for this year, maybe make a production and do it next year.
thanx,
\ zeke4077
All I want for Christmas is an autographed calendar.
I’m completely serious.
I’m not pulling you leg.
I mean it.
I have enough “stuff”.
I would grovel at your feet if you were here.
I don’t know what else to say to convey to you the sincerity of my wish.
That was so informative thank you for all your hard work and awsome knowledge can you please look up the word Feliz Navidad thank you Marina I hope to get your santa picture you look outstanding.I also love the little bloopers at the end of these videos,just like Jackie Chan it also shows that we can have fun and laugh at ourselfs.Merry Christmas or celebration of the ointed one.Joy to the world!
I think you are doing a wonderful job looking up definitions of our crazy English language and delivering them to us in a very provocative manner. Thank you very much.
My Christmas wish would be for you ‘09 calendar with your signature and a ‘kiss print’ on the calendar.
This Christmas, I am asking “Sinter Niklaas” for a really good, hard-bound Collegiate-level Dictionary and Thesaurus.
It has always been a dream of mine to one day write and illustrate stories for children, and next year, I am going to attempt to make the transition from being on the consumer end of the book industry to being on the manufacturing end of it.
Since “words” are the tools of the trade for a future author, a Dictionary and Thesaurus would be a very welcomed sight under my Christmas Tree.
I don’t speak Russian, but I can certainly look up the translation for “Merry Christmas” on the Internet, so, Marina:
Pozdrevlyayu s prazdnikom Rozhdestva is Novim Godom
Dear Marina, the only thing I want for Christmas is an email from you. I watch all of your videos, spreading your gift of knowledge. I hope my wish comes true, and I hope all of your wishes come true during the holiday season.
Love, your student,
Gregory
Hey Marina, I think you said something a few blogs back about McDonalds and how you loved McDonalds. I am just wondering if that is why your order now sing for your calendar looks like a McDonalds sign. Or is that just a coincidence? So to put Christmas as the word into the proper perspective it is a celebration of the Anionted One. There are actually two gifts I would like from you actually and I know that sounds greedy but I will explain. The first gift would be a goat. There is this neat thing you can do, which I did for everyone on my christmas list last year. What you do is through world vision or another organization, you purchase a goat in someones name, the goat is given to a needy family in a third world country and the person gets a card telling them that something has been given in there name. The second gift would be a personal email from you to me talking about normal every day things like your plans for the holidays to why you do what you do. Thank you for the gift you already give, which is knolwedge. It is a gift that can be given over and over again. God bless and have an amazing Christmas and I hope you get everything you wished for.
DRIFTLESS AREA…It is,on average,a nice place to live..Hills but no true mountains,winter but not the coldest,summer but not the hottest,rivers/streams/lakes but no ocean,people but not too overcrowded,much wildlife but less than 300ya,jobs but rarely booming economy,etc etc,makes it a beautiful average in My book. Therefore I believe it is worthy of mention,vid request or not. TY.
Hmm.. Maybe for next-mass a Hot For Words Deck The Halls Playing Cards Set… and maybe I’ll learn where the word Poker, as referred to gambling, is derived from.
Oohhh hey,what do I want for cristmas? Well I need a card so I can hold it up to the screen when You are wearing something low-cut! It is almost impossible to concentrate on your words as-is. No wait,I can just scroll it down to hide the extra hotness! I’m old,,not dead! LOL.
Dear Santa; I would like another thriller-killer shoot_em_up PC vid game to help pass the slow cold Winter months.
I love your explanation of Christmas and Santa Claus–Santa also is a anagram for Satan. All that to the side, what is the origin of the word “windfall?” With all the stock market changes, I was curious as to the etymology of this word.
Marina,
I have all the luck Some one stole my mail box over the weekend bad move on their part tampering with a mailbox and vandalizing mailboxes are federal offenses and will be investigated by federal officials like the FBI. I cant believe they took the mailbox and the pole it was mounted upon also oh well.
I would love either a ringtone or ringback tone of your voice. And also a picture of you for a phone banner. And muscles like Arnold Schwarzeneggar’s.
Back to reality, I have a word request: “INDULGE” That’s one that describes what many of us do this time of year, particularly regarding food. And yet it has other applications, such as allowing someone to speak or do something freely.
I eagerly await your treatment of this word.
I would like our Creator to send a special cosmic beam to all the ” greedsters ” to release their wealth to families who are struggling for the basic necessities of life.
Someone made a word request for ‘Cheezit’ as in cheezit the cops are coming. This expression became into to use by my high school contemporaries. The following etymology is true and is based on facts that occurred at the time.
We had no cafeteria at my high school so we ate a bagged lunch in whatever room our next class after lunch was in. The cheerleaders would come around to these rooms with a snack tray, packaged items like Hostess Cupcakes, potato chips, candy bars and little bags of Cheezit.
Now the student body coveted these bags of Cheezits, so they would always disappear before they reach the general student population. The sales girls would save them for their special friends or the boys at the Coke station would get first crack at them. The coke station was my prestige job so I had an in to get my hands on the Cheezits.
So later on in high school we where aware of the disappearing Cheezits so we started using the word Cheezit for when something disappeared. During the summer months when my peers and me would hang out on the street corner the cops would come by to move us along. We see them coming and say, “Let’s cheezit the cops.” If we were down in Hobo Jungle or the swamp drinking the cops again would find us, we see them coming, someone would yell, “cheezit the cops” and then there would be a comical pursuit, but that’s another story.
Unless you can find another documented origin for this expression I’ll stand by my recollection. How it got out it the public is a mystery to me.
Che
{ The above story is true, I did not make this up }
I have to say I find this story to be a bit of an old CHE stnut which is difficult to CHE w, let alone to swallow.
It seems to have a touch of the CampKohlers about it, even though it has CHE ’s stamp all over it – CHE ezits, CHE erleaders, CHE ck it out.
Bob, when I say true story I’m very serious, I know I joke around a lot here but these events are real.
At that time in high school it was a running joke about the Cheezits, in my circle of friends it was common knowledge that cheezits meant “disappear’.
If you or Marina want to investigate this please do but until I’m proven wrong that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
If I ever see anyone from the old neighborhood I have the story reconfirmed.
Where I grew up the kids had a natural ability to rename things or assign new names to events and such…..
Word Request – Cheezit
Oh Bob one more thing, recalibrate your enigma machine, check it out for faulty wiring
hi marina!at first supplementary congratulations to you being 28.
my word request is, were does the word “apologize” comes from?
may be with regard to the old greek god apollo? i’ve got no idea. thx for investigation.
James… I need your help again… in the forums.. I am having an issue where the page icons were pushing the page out making it wider which sucks for long posts like the word games.
So.. I added in the css thing of: max-width: 200px; to the #latest td, #forumlist td, #favorites td
So now the page doesn’t get pushed out, but the little page number things still extend beyond the table.. so I don’t know how to fix that. I want it to do a line break at the end of the table so that I will have rows upon rows… instead of pushed.
If it’s too complicated.. don’t worry about.. I can just removed the pages thing and put something else in its place.
Right, I have learned some code but can you please paste the bit of code here that puts the seperate posts on thier own line. Then I can mix it up and apply it to the comment numbers.
Something I noticed is that there are no bbpress forums I can see with page numbers. Maybe they might automatically put themselves on a new line. If you can find any forum that has got page numbers on a line like you want then paste it!! That will really help
Marina, suggest you answer the offer from Brian Gardner, creator of your theme, to help you. When i read some of the problems you were having with the new design I sent him a PM and he replied that he had already contacted you. He is a guru.
Hello Marina, I just received your awesome Calendar in the mail. I was wondering what the private number trying to call me was, turns out it was Fedex haha
Hi Marina,
I’m a new subscriber, but after seeing you on the Bill O’Reilly show, I FELL IN LOVE! Therefore I had to join your class. I’ve already told Santa Claus I’d like to have YOU delivered, and under my tree tomorrow morning, so I hope it fits in with your schedule.
hello marina- i would love to get a letter from u for Christmas , even without any true return address or something, something that is signed tho. people don’t like to write much these days…
Also everybody who reads this letter i would love it if they would think about the spirit of Christmas and do there best to give all small things they might need, even if they don’t know them, let’s paint the world in a real big smile!
i guess by now you have millions of fans all over the world.
i just wanted you to know that i am your biggest fun,
here in the small state of Israel.
In Israel we have a famous philologist who’s name is Avshalom Kor and he is a total antithesis to you. He has a short TV program on Israel’s first channel since the 80’s (there was no Youtube back then). You must watch his video (someone uploaded it to youtube): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQzzZ5AlB-k
one more thing:
Do you know what finjan means?
well, finjan is a small pot used to by Bedouins (nomads from the desert) to make coffee.
Dear Marina,
Thank you for the wonderful Christmas present which I have already received and have been receiving for the past 10 months – access to your web site, where I have had the opportunity to have conversations, banter and laughter with people from all over the world, from Alaska to the Antipodes, who I would never otherwise have been able to meet.
I value these on-line friendships perhaps even higher than all the wonderful face-to-face ones I’ve had in the past, most of which have not survived the challenge of thousands of miles of separation when one or other of us have relocated. Maybe things would have been different if we’d had blogs and twitter in those distant days.
I arrived at your site out of prurient curiosity, having seen a thumbnail of one of your videos after viewing another. I was quickly captivated, first by your looks and then by the facets of your personality that you project on screen, I stayed around because of my interest in languages and I keep coming back because of these great people you have attracted to contribute to the site.
Others have come and gone, frustrated by not having their egos groomed by daily virtual hugs from you. I am glad to enjoy the company of the long term faithful who are, in my view, the salt of the earth, and to contribute in my way when I perceive a need or an opportunity. I expect nothing in return but, my goodness, I have received much in return.
Thank you for everything.
I wish you a wonderful Holiday with your loved ones, and peace, happiness and prosperity in the future.
Hey Bob, thank you for your kind thoughts and sentiments.
Like yourself, my experience is almost identical.
I agree with you whole heartedly, in that I have received so much that Marina doesn’t even realize how much, but will tell her soon. Even though accolades and acknowledgments are nice, I have received so much that I feel it that I could never repay Marina and see it fit for me to support her in any way that I can.
Feliz Navidad, Frohe Weihnachten and Merry Christmas to everyone.
Bob, no one could have said it better. You and the others around here have made this site a community, not just another interesting link on the Favorites (or is that Favourites?) list.
I will also say that I always enjoy reading your posts, Bob; whether humorous or poignant, they are always sincere, and i find joy there.
Bob you have been a great inspiration for me. Giving me the encouragement to weather the storms when I felt down. You are a mentor from afar. I am so happy to know you and your wisdom. Thanks for being here and have a wonderful and Happy life. You are right when you said the best Christmas present of all is being on this site with Marina and all of the wonderful friends that I have made. I hope we all can make a lot more new friends on here and enjoy their company as if we were sitting in the same room together. Love to you all.
Mike
It’s funny how she pronounced “Χριστóς” with the Russian reduction of o > u although it was emphasized that we’ll hear the ‘Greek pronunciation’. Wonder if this was done intentionally
Great site – nice to know there are other language lovers out there! I have a word request for “bedizen”. It’s a fantastic word that I try to use whenever the opportunity presents itself. Any information regarding the etymology of this word would be greatly appreciated.
For my present, I would like you to start a new part of the Website about the way common phrases translate into other languages. You would pick an English phrase (from those suggested by fans in the lesson comments?), do a short video on the origin and add the Russian equivalent as comment 1 in a password-protected blog, giving the literal translation and meaning in English. Then registered volunteers who are expert in other languages would add their equivalents, translations and meanings, one per comment. How many language experts could you line up? You might have to survey the experts before using a phrase, because it wouldn’t be particularly interesting if every single language uses, say, “fights like cats and dogs.”
With other people involved, it might have to be limited to twice a week, so as not to be a bother. You could even post your part in advance, but it wouldn’t be made visible to site users until all the others could fill in the other languages at their own pace. That way, nobody would be pressured to meet a deadline. And there is nothing to stop you from having several phrases running at the same time in pre-release, for the convenience of the other experts. Then you pick one that looks good, assign a date to it, list it in the index and release it.
For example, we say “Don’t let the bed bugs bite” as a way of saying to sleep peacefully. I seem to remember there was something in Russian about something crawling in the ear, but it was so long ago I have forgotten.
Thank you for the wonderful videos. Very informative. When and where did the term “hard row to hoe” originate. I suspect that it may have come from the Great Depression era but I’m just guessing. Your investigations would be greatly appreciated.
This was like Deja vu of the O’rielly Factor,but with a lot more clothes
The one gift that I would Love for Christmas is an autographed picture of Marina!
I thought I was going to be sent one a long time ago for throwing that student under the bus that said Marina was not as Hot as some other girl on you tube
copying her gig! The Captain emailed me and said it was in the works but it never came. So I bought her calender in the beginning of October,and that was not autographed either. So Please can I get an autographed picture of my favorite teacher?
Merry Christmas, and God Bless us each and everyone
Hello Marina, (HotForWords) i was Curious about the Word “Dictionary”. considering all the words that you are doing most likely come for the Dictionary, but i noticed you have not done it. If you could please inform me, and other About the Origin of this Word, i would Be Deeply Appreciative.
For my homework: I do not need any gifts, but since Christmas is about giving… Books are my passion, and I would be greatly honored to receive a copy (i can wait a year or so ) when they do get to print. You have staked your name and begun your (new, high-profile) career in education. With all the options you could have chosen, thank you for choosing to open minds.
{Should I tell her I will buy a book, anyway? But, then I would have one to give away and share the wealth even more. Hmm… }
and if you just absolutely, positively had to get me something now, a brand-spanking new copy of OED, signed by my favorite etymologist would be really cool.
I’ve been watching your videos for a while, but I’m not big on leaving comments. This word has been itching at my mind for a while now, so I finally decided that if anyone could find out more about this word, it would be you. “Bodacious” is defined as being remarkable or outstanding, and it brings to mind those 90’s movies where there are “bodacious babes”. Thanks, and Merry Christmas!
edit button on strike hey Che congrats on the new border
Dearest Marina i am so jealous of Che”s purple border
I shouldn’t have wasted my wish on world peace..LMAOROTF..B.B.
word request: weird
before i watched this video i really thought that xmas was just a generic term for christmas. your lessons are very informative, thank you! merry christmas or xmas.
Hey there miss Marina! I just want to tell you that you are so much fun, and I love watching your lessons. You are such a great teacher! Also, I want to wish you and the ones you love a very merry Christmas and a happy new year!
hey how is is it going, i searched but no answer. my question to your almightiness is where did the word Potluck come from. potluck resembles food but the break up is POT and Luck, so lucky pot… idk, can your beautifulness tell us all? Thanks, and happy it all, Christmas, new years, it all ext. and thanks for being so sexy.
hi, umm well this is my first comment and i have to say that you’re a really good teacher hehe.. and i just want a photo of you for christmas that will do it.. sorry if i didn’t write it well but i’m working on my english
Hello Marina. You Rock! My brother and I have been having a debate over the origin of the slang word “Yeehaw”. My brother thinks that it is derivitive from the word Jihad. I think it originated from two commands for draft horses or oxen…”Gee” and “Haw”, which mean right and left. Used together both animals on a team are told to go forward (Charge!). Are either of us remotely close to being correct? Thanks!
It’s true, it’s really true, there is a Santa Marina
I’ll have to check to see if the border is there in the morning
I may be having hallucination from the Sambuca Luge Party I just came from.
MARINA FOR CHRISTMAS I WANT A PICTURE OF YOUR SEXY SEXY FEET. PLEASE I REALLY WANT THIS!!!! it is my destiny!! =) WORD REQUEST OF MISSTLETOE ALSO!!!! PLEASE SEND ME THAT PIC ON CHRISTMAS!
Oh sweet beautiful Marina, guru of words both wonderous and wonderful, (and with a mighty fine toned body to boot! ) could you please explore the origines of the phrases ‘average Joe’, ‘GI Joe’, ‘Joe blow’ and ‘Joe shmo’ and the origines of using ‘John Doe’ and ‘Jane Doe’ to identify unknown deceased individuals remains.
Sweet Dearest Santa Marina all i want for christmas is you but you might get too many request of this kind so just a nice sweet photo of you will do !!! please !!! i need a new screensaver on my military computer here love and kisses to you family and friends and also to all your fans here around this world
Personally I think you give us all more then enough with the videos that you make. But since you asked I racked my little brain to come up with something none materialistic. What I came up with was a present for us all (well maybe not everyone – hehe). I would like to see Gorby dressed up like Max, the dog in How the Grinch Stole Christmas!”. You know, with little antlers.
Since I am a 100% disabled Vietnam veteran, I can’t physically go to the inauguration of Barack Obama as President of the United States; but I WAS able to get tickets, through my Congressman, for my son , and soon to be daughter-in-law to go. I will celebrate the event through their eyes via the pictures they take. As gift from you, I would love a copy of the offical inauguration dvd when one comes out. If you could grant me a wish, other than a nice candle light diner with you that would be my wish of a gift.
i;m also a vietnam veteran will do my best to see tht u recieve one and thanxs fer ur service Ltcom.August Van Suchtelen US Navy Seal retired/reinstated happy holidays to you family and friends
I want a portable dvd player for Christmas. If your elves could help me out to decide on a portable dvd player that consumer reports or digital magazine gave good ratings on that would help. What’s the best portable dvd player out there? Thanks Santa and Santa elves. I will leave some cookies and milk for you near the fireplace.
I picked up a sony Model # DVP-FX810 about a year ago. It has a great widescreen picture and many picture adjustments. The picture itself is awesome, thats why I bought it. It has two headphone outputs, A/V output, line in/out switch and I’ve able to watch 2 and a half movies off one charge…with the brightness turned down.
Homework: I already got the best present from Marina I could ever ask for. This site attracts more people of the finest kind than any I could have wished for. I got to hear Marina say “Me-Lika-Do-The-Cha-Cha”, when she used one of my word requests (totally awesome). I was selected as a TA! I received a PreHoliday card from Marina, and am told there will be another one (Yip-yippee! )
My gift this year would be to see some of the blessings I have had this year, bestowed on others. My good fortune should give you all hope that your word request, or TA application, will be among those selected by Marina.
When I signed up, I only wanted to hear her say MeLikaDoTheChaCha because she has an exotic, sexy voice…
I have learned that Marina is more than just a hot chick,
She is Hot… For Words!
I wish you all the best for your Holidays. Be careful out there with all the ice and snow. Stay safe, warm and tucky-tuck…
Hey ChaCha, I bet Jack is sweeping snow off of his yacht right now. Well maybe not exactly right now, he’s probably talking to some seamen on how bad they have been. I heard they got a good down fall of the white stuff. I wish we could get a little snow here in NC just for the 25th. It would make it a extra special day to have a white Christmas. I hope it snows 3 feet deep on you and Disney World or Land, Hmmm never can remember which one is in Florida. But any way wish you a great Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Cap, my son is up in Boone. We went up yesterday for lunch, and they had a light dusting from Monday night. We will all be at Mama’s house (in Boone) today for Christmas Eve brunch. Stop by around 11:00, make a plate, and we can look at some of the white stuff in a ditch somewhere. p’raps a little drive to Appalachian ski mtn. I am sure they have som snow up there.
Thanks for the great invite BB, but I have a house full here. That would have so nice to share a meal with you and your family, maybe one day we can. I wish you and all of your Family a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year pal. May you all feel blessed this and every year.
Some how the way it is figured out it does all go to 9. You can send it to your friends and put your name in there and it will choose you every time as their favorite person or role model or anything you want to change the parts of the content to.
I know Orion, just giving a little math lesson where Marina gave a philology and etymology lesson. It’s really simple. Just something else to do, copy it and send it to your friends, but put your name where Marina’s is at. Makes for a good little laugh.
Oh great wise Doctor! I know you are already saving me in ways I can’t even imagine! I only pray that you receive all the honor I give you as we pay it forward, prospering all in our path.
you can’t afford what i would wish for under my Christmas tree…
sure, finding a surprise there from you, Marina, would be nice…
but all i really, really want for Christmas is just a bit of peace and joy…
for my children especially, of course, but also for everyone, everywhere – no matter what their persuasion, no matter what their gender, no matter what their orientations…just a bit of respite from it all, with a dose of happiness…
and toss in a large dollop of hope while you’re at it…
That would be fantastic, but too many things are going on, too many worries, can’t even relax for a few moments, let alone feel the joy of this holiday, which I used to love until I turned 18.
Maybe tomorrow will be better, I just hope the people around me would stop caring enough, to not remind me every waking minute about my present problems. (it’s not like I can do anything about it now)
Is there any trick or formula of getting back into the Christmas spirit? I’d love to know…
lol…i have enough trouble just getting into my pants…
no, really – i don’t think there’s a trick, other than to refuse to let the bastards get ya down…
there’s an old saying, “i’ve been down so long it looks like Up to me.”…maybe that’s not a bad thing…i’m far from perfect, i know, but i’m all i’ve got, and i’m going to enjoy myself in spite of whatever woes come my way…
i’m sure there’s other drivel i could spout, but sometimes it really is best to take it one day at a time…
funny how you named my folks bastards, but it’s perfectly ok, I got the point. Cool reply
I’m going to fill tomorrow up with as many things as I can handle… I’ll see what events, concerts, festivities or other commercial stuff I like, and attend. I guess Christmas doesn’t just happen, you or someone else has to work hard for it to occur.
Like some of the words we learned here, Christmas too, changes it’s meaning throughout the times. But does anyone really have a Who-ville Christmas? It’s quite an art…
i’m divorced, Chemikal. my Christmas will consist of the kids coming over tonight, having supper, going to bed, getting up, opening the presents, putting them in the car, and heading off to deliver them to the ex-wife. i could fuss & fume about how i’m entitled to half the day…half the Winter vacation…half, half, half – but that’s not it. it’s not about me, it’s about them – so i cherish the time i have with them and joyfully let them have their fun.
approach each situation with a smile, regardless. enjoy what you can, don’t fret about what you can’t…
Hi again, Chemikal,
By a coincidence, someone sent me a quote today which seems to apply nicely to your decision to fill your day so full that you don’t have time to think.
The quote is attributed to the former Israeli Prime Minister, Golda Meir, but others say it’s an old Gipsy proverb, whatever … “The dog that trots about finds a bone.”
May your nose be keen, your claws sharp and your front paws strong.
Hi, Chemi, I feel for you in your situation. I don’t know what problems you have and I know that well-meaning people can, in fact, make things worse with their remarks.
I suggest that the thing to do would be to point out nicely to them that they are not helping and point out also that there are others worse off than yourself.
I have always found that focusing on the problem makes the problem worse. Try to focus on solutions, and if you can’t think of any possible solutions, focus on something else and trust that your subconscious will find the right solution and let you know when the time is right.
For me, the spirit of Christmas is not about giving material things, as so many people these days think, but about compassion. Thinking how you can help others, in spite of your present situation, will not only help you live through the challenges you are facing, it will also gain you immeasurable respect from your folks and maybe teach them to also grow and improve.
I wish you all the strength you need and peace and happiness for the future.
BTW, thank you for you greeting below and for your kind remarks.
Thank you, Bobby… I’ll get back to you after I wake up from the booze. Why can’t good wine have 0 alcohol? :/
It must be the yeast
Have a good time tomorrow, I’ll be thinking of you guys even though I’ll be pretty far away from any computer.
Also, the time here is 10:57 PM, that said I will add that Christmas eve was a success… mostly because I wanted it to be. I’m surprised now, that it took me so long to convince myself of it. Thanks for the motivation, I’m sure I’ll be seeing you around… I guess until Marina will close down the website or something like that.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I think Santa just came..
I would like a personalized voice message for my phone message recording machine!!!
That would totally rock!
~
Second wish…. Dinner at Houstons with Marina in Santa Monica… then stroll the Promenade for some window shopping… It’s the simple things don’t ya know!
I’d like to take a moment away from the holiday cheer to make something clear about the world. Just because it’s the Christmas season doesn’t mean that bad things stop happening. I recently became aware of an incident in which a 30 year old FD EMT in Delaware city was killed when a car ran her over at the scene of a motorcycle accident she had responded to. The car that hit her was a new BMW being followed by a Honda. Both cars stopped, the BMW driver got out, got into the Honda and fled the scene. This happened on Saturday, the EMT died Monday and left behind a 12 year old daughter. The police aprehended the BMW driver who has a record longer than my arm. They’re still looking for his ‘friend’ in the Honda. I’m not trying to bum people out, I’m just trying to point out that bad stuff is still going on out there and unless you want to be the cause of it, just take some time, take a deep breath and think before you take that extra drink and get behind the wheel. I just want to encourage people to do the right thing.
I would say think before you take the first drink.
Don’t ever drive after drinking alcohol. Even the first drink reduces your reaction times by an unacceptable amount.
The same goes for over-the-counter drugs like cold-cures.
Have a great time at Christmas but stay safe.
There’s the Red Sea, the Black Sea, the Caspian Sea, and other seas. Seagulls eat fish that eat seaweed and there are sea shells all over the place. Where did this word “sea” come from?
Thanks for your knowledge and entertainment. You are good.
What would I want, hmmmm? You know what would be cool? I would like for you to pick a charity of your choice, one that you really believe in and make a donation in the amount of you’re choosing, in my name.
Is that cool or what?
If not that I’ll take biggest bottle of English Leather Eau de Toilette you can find…is should only run ya about eight bucks…that or the biggest jug of High Karate you can muster up JK!!
…and if you can’t find any English Leather a signed calendar placed gently, with kindness and care under the tree would be better than the time I was nine and got the Steve Austin Rocketship and the GI Joe jeep on the same Christmas!
For my present I would like you Marina to tell us why Hip-Hop culture is called Hip-Hop Have a nice Xmas ;D … your freak fan from Poland ( I also like ‘polka dots’ lesson ;] )
For Xmas, I’d like a round trip ticket to New Zealand out of SFO or LAX.
And now, I have a minor rant. The phrase, “get it” has been beaten into the earth until it’s thread bare, worn out. There
are alternatives that could be substituted: understand, comprehend, grasp, and follow. Savvy?
yo Marina
i luv looking at your videos at present.
O;Reilly u appeared on several times, good for u
I liked failblog too but its videos became sometimes too
political in the election season : i e the party u luv/hate
gets too much coverage.
Grats on being apolitical. Do you have a green card btw lol.
Word to look up ——> svelte (built like a brick @hit-house)
I just bought an ebook (psr-505 Sony) was wondering if you
had an ebook reader. The Kindle has a dictionary but not an etmologist. I see tremendous potential for you there – well maybe your daughter.
Homework: You’ve already agreed to grant my Christmas wish , and this vid is just a bit of icing on the cake.
I have all I need, and more; I want for nothing. In recent years, Christmas has been for me, most truly, both a time for sharing my richness of life with others, and more of a second ‘Thanksgiving’ celebration – not only for the bounty of my life, but for that greatest gift to all man. I guess I would wish only to have more to share.
Merry Christmas Marina, and all my HFW friends!
Ciao,
Fianchetto
Who made up the blog on Making Fun of Marina? I just made fun of Marina in hope of getting detention. I hope it works, the detention that is. Sorry Miss.M
I’d like to visit/stay with a smart, single, gorgeous, English speaking Russian university girl who could show me around The State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, go bike riding, and maybe some “hanky -panky” too! My Grandma and Grandpa were from Crimea so I’d take her there… a Black Sea resort.
What do I want for Christmas? Hmm…the Church of Scientology exposed, the Library of Alexandria restored, the cessation of human rights violations…none of which are very feasible, I’m afraid. Oh well.
By the way, although I’d recommend the HotForWords calendar to people, I don’t think I’d term it a “stocking stuffer”: you’d have to have an enormous stocking to properly fit it in there.
You wish for miracles to be performed on Christmas? Good, I know for a fact that miracles happened before on Christmas day. Though I could suggest another request for Santa: SALT. (as much as he can carry in that big bottomless bag of his) I know you can’t ask Santa for money, we learned that as kids, so we’ll pull a fast one on him, by asking for tons of Salt!
As far as the “stocking stuffer” is concerned, I have a really wide stocking, I bet Santa could fit it easily into mine!
… What? I believe in Santa, that’s all!
It’s clear what I would ask Santa to bring me… I would LOVE a Hot For Words calendar of my very own, for Christmas!
I don’t have a credit card yet, but I remain devoted to this channel and to this website, whether Santa decides to grace me or not.
Happy Holidays to you, from Chemi!
Someone mentioned on Twitter: “curledmoss @hotforwords Its not Christmas where you came from…different dates or what?…berry good lesson hot4words and all the kisses and fishes”.
And I realized that in Russia, where the Orthodox Church is the dominant denomination, Christmas is cerebrated on January 7th, i.e. 13 days after Western Christmas, due to the simple fact that the Orthodox Church uses the Julian calendar instead of the Gregorian one.
I placed this post incorrectly, it should be in today’s topic
[HOW!]…Today is saved for humanity and anyway; with means and all the math skills required…Merry
XMAS.. blue christmas…may the great spirit be with you and to all who reads this 
If you do the origin of Christmas again, might include some history of winter solstice celebrations (WSC). WSCs were present way before Christ; the Church tried to ban WSCs but failed, and on the premise of “if you can’t beat them, joint them” they tried to usurp WSCs into Christ’s birthday. Supposedly (“supposedly” because this part is based on the Wikipedia) WSCs date back to Egyptian Osiris Celebrations followed by the Babylonian Zagmuk Celebrations.
When the Roman Catholic church failed in their attempts to ban pagan celebrations of the winter solstice and decided to take over the celebrations, they made up December 25th as Jesus’ birthday and called the celebrations “Feast of Nativity”. This was by Pope Julius I in the 4th Century AD. The earliest date the OED lists for the word “Christmas” is 1123.
In Boston from 1659 to 1681, the Puritans banned Christmas, and those exhibiting “Christmas merriment” were fined 5 shillings!
So much for Christmas having non-pagan, religious Christan roots.
Soul what ?
A clip from Goodness Gracious Me where “Mr. Everything Comes From India” tells his daughter why Santa comes from India.
[f.o.l.k.-.l.o.r.e] is [CuLTure and it is how wise you make of it; that is, food is cuLTuvation and if the middle man is not paid-[starvation]….H*O*P*EL^O^V^E…chicken dinner and dancing after…Parents will spoil the children and prepare… 
HAPPY BE YOUR WINTER and capricorns RuLe 
Here’s someone else’s view on Christmas; I don’t quite get this view, but here it is:
I hope Marina doesn’t do the whole “happy holiday” thing this year… It’s called christmas, not holiday.
atheist ads in las vegas (feat. stupid bitch laura ingraham).
The animals that are domesticated will be feed!!! Who is born where they are feed has a God to feed….
Quote 
“Marriage is too interesting an experiment to be tried only once.” – Eva Gabor ImaGine PEace 
happy winter till the [WILL] of [SPRING]
Many Christmas traditions have pagan roots and they’ve become pagan again, but it the modern way (as the festival of unbounded consumption). Why are so many atheists nowadays gonna celebrate
Christmasthis winter festival without any meaning to them?and … partying with baby jesus. merry christmas.
well, just because religion hijacked christmas and attached their meaning to this holiday doesn’t mean that it doesn’t have any meaning at all for atheists.
DSi
What I’m dying for is meeting you Marina in real life wondering how the hell I could’ve missed such a cuttie when visiting ННГУ in my old days in Нижний Новгород. I probably know some of you friends from there. Must investigate…
Merry Christmas
MERRY CHRISTMAS…just keeping up!!!
[drummer] boy- 
bing & bowie 
…and to all…peAce
^
Great, as always….I obviously have missed something. My ipod isnt updating your lessons; I just assumed you have been really busy. Of course you have but there’s more to the story.
dearest marina, we hope you had the merriest of christmases. have an even happier one on january 7th. my 12 year old long-haired chihuahua, Diane, lost her brother Jack, at Easter. she has been very lonely ever since. she is requesting an autographed picture of Kobe. tx :cool
autographed picture of u……………
definetely
Very simple. An autographed picture of you.
cute little bugger…..I bet
It’s a little late for presents, but all I want is for people who visit your site to visit mine, onelifetosave.org and donate the price of a cup of coffee. It will truly save me!
Thanks and Happy Holidays to everyone!
Unfortunately your link returns a 404 error, checmark, but I think this is it.
Thanks, Bob. I had originally tested the link in the practice area on Marina’s site and it worked fine, but when I did the post here I had to do a quick edit and things locked up on me. That might have caused the problem. Somehow it got a URL that wasn’t valid.
Yes, you are correct. The site is http://www.onelifetosave.org and I won’t try showing it as a link again, just in case.
Thanks.
HAPPY NEW YEARS ,
All with my loves and hugs,
Mahmut Alan
SAMSUN-TURKEY
same to you
Hello Leonard,
I am wishing for you and all your family ”HAPPY NEW YEARS !”
All with my loves and hugs,
Mahmut Alan
SAMSUN-TURKEY
Hi Marina, Merry Christmas! I’m new here, but I was wondering if you might review the origins of the expression “Run of the Mill”? Thanks!
Merry Christmas Marina,
Your steady inroads into contemporary vacuity should earn you the plaudits of grateful nations (assuming you have a use for plaudits). Crippled as I am by my mother tongue and this keyboard the best I can say is bolshoi spaseba.
As always, I am awed and humbled by the sheer courage of our intrepid researcher, doing fieldwork among the benighted denizens of Beverly Hills. (For your sake, I am hoping rumors that these are cannibals who have been known to consume their own sex goddesses turn out to be false.)
Best Wishes for the Season and for the New Year,
suimobile
p.s. Hoping to learn the origin of Boxing Day tomorrow.
What about word ‘Holla’….Considering the fact of the new US president – Barak Obama, that would be cool if you’d explain this word
Merry Christmas Marina……and to all my classmates as well.
Good Night
Finland
Sounds like Hanoi Rocks
Дорогая Марина,
С Рождеством Христовым и С новым годом!
Luv,
Казак
where did the word potluck come from….?
Merry Christmas fellow hfw fans.
Hello my dear teacher
I would like to know the origin of the word “hircine”
It’s a very strange word…
I’d like to request the word “Valet Parking”
Really lovely blog (and hot!)
Well, hugs & kisses from a slovenian argentine
Privyet maya padruga,
Marina, I am trying to learn Russian. It is so very hard. I have a feeling I am not the only one wanting to learn this language.
My perfect Christmas present would be you teaching Russian to me.
dusavadunya.
vosh student,
Ron
i got my present, head fones! with a mic =P and i wanted to kno y Xmas was used 2 so thanx very much, now i can feel comfortable saying it
One More Jive Before Santa Lands On Your Rooftop
Merry Christmas Marina,
Could you pls do the poem “T’was the night before Christmas” in Russian. If not for this year, maybe make a production and do it next year.
thanx,
\ zeke4077
Marina and HFW Fans-
Merry Christmas; Happy Holidays; Happy Yuletide; Peace be with you always!
HW: A signed picture from Marina. Thank you
HW: An autographed picture from Marina.
Thank you (I’ll pay for shipping).
I HEAR SANTA!! Oh wait no its not its just my mum putting xmas pressies outside my door. Oh well
Dear Marina,
All I want for Christmas is an autographed calendar.
I’m completely serious.
I’m not pulling you leg.
I mean it.
I have enough “stuff”.
I would grovel at your feet if you were here.
I don’t know what else to say to convey to you the sincerity of my wish.
As always, thanks for all you do.
Always.
Sorry for the “you”. I was hauling ass when typing that.
That was so informative thank you for all your hard work and awsome knowledge can you please look up the word Feliz Navidad thank you Marina I hope to get your santa picture you look outstanding.I also love the little bloopers at the end of these videos,just like Jackie Chan it also shows that we can have fun and laugh at ourselfs.Merry Christmas or celebration of the ointed one.Joy to the world!
I think you are doing a wonderful job looking up definitions of our crazy English language and delivering them to us in a very provocative manner. Thank you very much.
My Christmas wish would be for you ‘09 calendar with your signature and a ‘kiss print’ on the calendar.
all i want for christmas is youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu
My one Christmas present would be an evening with you, talking and laughing and trading word-origins.
Marina:
This Christmas, I am asking “Sinter Niklaas” for a really good, hard-bound Collegiate-level Dictionary and Thesaurus.
It has always been a dream of mine to one day write and illustrate stories for children, and next year, I am going to attempt to make the transition from being on the consumer end of the book industry to being on the manufacturing end of it.
Since “words” are the tools of the trade for a future author, a Dictionary and Thesaurus would be a very welcomed sight under my Christmas Tree.
I don’t speak Russian, but I can certainly look up the translation for “Merry Christmas” on the Internet, so, Marina:
Pozdrevlyayu s prazdnikom Rozhdestva is Novim Godom
Dear miss Marina my perfect present are you beautifull smile and perfect body,thank’s.
What else could a guy want for Christmas but your calendar!
Dear Marina, the only thing I want for Christmas is an email from you. I watch all of your videos, spreading your gift of knowledge. I hope my wish comes true, and I hope all of your wishes come true during the holiday season.
Love, your student,
Gregory
Hey Marina, I think you said something a few blogs back about McDonalds and how you loved McDonalds. I am just wondering if that is why your order now sing for your calendar looks like a McDonalds sign. Or is that just a coincidence? So to put Christmas as the word into the proper perspective it is a celebration of the Anionted One. There are actually two gifts I would like from you actually and I know that sounds greedy but I will explain. The first gift would be a goat. There is this neat thing you can do, which I did for everyone on my christmas list last year. What you do is through world vision or another organization, you purchase a goat in someones name, the goat is given to a needy family in a third world country and the person gets a card telling them that something has been given in there name. The second gift would be a personal email from you to me talking about normal every day things like your plans for the holidays to why you do what you do. Thank you for the gift you already give, which is knolwedge. It is a gift that can be given over and over again. God bless and have an amazing Christmas and I hope you get everything you wished for.
Word request,only in script,not vid.
DRIFTLESS AREA…It is,on average,a nice place to live..Hills but no true mountains,winter but not the coldest,summer but not the hottest,rivers/streams/lakes but no ocean,people but not too overcrowded,much wildlife but less than 300ya,jobs but rarely booming economy,etc etc,makes it a beautiful average in My book. Therefore I believe it is worthy of mention,vid request or not. TY.
tryant
Hmm.. Maybe for next-mass a Hot For Words Deck The Halls Playing Cards Set… and maybe I’ll learn where the word Poker, as referred to gambling, is derived from.
& HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Dan
Oohhh hey,what do I want for cristmas? Well I need a card so I can hold it up to the screen when You are wearing something low-cut! It is almost impossible to concentrate on your words as-is. No wait,I can just scroll it down to hide the extra hotness!
I’m old,,not dead! LOL.
Dear Santa; I would like another thriller-killer shoot_em_up PC vid game to help pass the slow cold Winter months.
tryant
Hi Marina,
I think I would love to get a big hug from you as my Christmas gift.
MERRY CHRISTMAS
HAP HAP HAPPY HOLIDAY EVERYONE
Thank you very much and the same to you and yours.
Steer clear of the deep fat fryer and be safe.
Give me six minutes and a microwave, I’ll be eating Mr. Pot Head out of my hands.
let’s see chives, butter, sour cream, bacon bits, it’s go time
You’re making me dribble, man, and I haven’t even recovered from the Christmas meal I took Mrs Bob out for at lunchtime.
Man, I am so stuffed!
I love your explanation of Christmas and Santa Claus–Santa also is a anagram for Satan. All that to the side, what is the origin of the word “windfall?” With all the stock market changes, I was curious as to the etymology of this word.
what do i want from santa? well… a date with u of course!
.. oh by the way… why do we call that a DATE?
Marina,
I have all the luck Some one stole my mail box over the weekend bad move on their part tampering with a mailbox and vandalizing mailboxes are federal offenses and will be investigated by federal officials like the FBI. I cant believe they took the mailbox and the pole it was mounted upon also oh well.
Word Request :federal
I second that word request, for a snowplow knocked my mailbox down and the county’s policy is to put it back up…but, next week
Next time put your mail box on a Hungarian.
Then it might run off
please discuss “lectern” and “podium” and why the word “podium” is universally misused to mean “lectern”.
God continue to bless you.
We all know about deja vu. Jamais vu has the sweetest sound and l`esprit de l`escalier is the most vexing.
Does any country or nation or club have a “protect the children day”? May the holi-daze…warmness over all.
Umm… everyday is protect the children day
Merry Christmas, my dear Marina!
I would love either a ringtone or ringback tone of your voice. And also a picture of you for a phone banner. And muscles like Arnold Schwarzeneggar’s.
Back to reality, I have a word request: “INDULGE” That’s one that describes what many of us do this time of year, particularly regarding food. And yet it has other applications, such as allowing someone to speak or do something freely.
I eagerly await your treatment of this word.
Blessings to you in the New Year!
I would like our Creator to send a special cosmic beam to all the ”
greedsters 
” to release their wealth to families who are struggling for the basic necessities of life.
Yes! so right David.
Greed is the biggest sin this world has.
they call that economics….less that of stupidity and dictatorships
Fellow Students, PedanticKarl has just posted this Promo video about Marina. HotForWords Promo
That was very well done!
hmm…interesting vid, but it makes me wonder one thing -
how many had never noticed how blue Marina’s eyes were before?
tell Karl he did well…
Thanks Tom, that’s why I picked that clip. Just for you.
You’ve talked about it before and I didn’t forget.
you, sir, are one of the reasons this site succeeds…blessings on you & yours this holiday season and always…
Excellent narration you could always get a job for PBS or Discovery Channel.
Outstanding job of packaging so much in 1:03.
Well done, very cool.
Awesome job!
Thank you Marina and everyone…
Wishing you and everyone a blessed Christmas Day!
Errr … not enough superlatives, so I can only concur without adding anything. Once again, brilliant.
That was very good. I like the “up close and personal” feel the video has.
10 points for style, PK!
Great job Klaus.
A true Pro at work. 
Cheezit
Someone made a word request for ‘Cheezit’ as in cheezit the cops are coming. This expression became into to use by my high school contemporaries. The following etymology is true and is based on facts that occurred at the time.
We had no cafeteria at my high school so we ate a bagged lunch in whatever room our next class after lunch was in. The cheerleaders would come around to these rooms with a snack tray, packaged items like Hostess Cupcakes, potato chips, candy bars and little bags of Cheezit.
Now the student body coveted these bags of Cheezits, so they would always disappear before they reach the general student population. The sales girls would save them for their special friends or the boys at the Coke station would get first crack at them. The coke station was my prestige job so I had an in to get my hands on the Cheezits.
So later on in high school we where aware of the disappearing Cheezits so we started using the word Cheezit for when something disappeared. During the summer months when my peers and me would hang out on the street corner the cops would come by to move us along. We see them coming and say, “Let’s cheezit the cops.” If we were down in Hobo Jungle or the swamp drinking the cops again would find us, we see them coming, someone would yell, “cheezit the cops” and then there would be a comical pursuit, but that’s another story.
Unless you can find another documented origin for this expression I’ll stand by my recollection. How it got out it the public is a mystery to me.
Che
{ The above story is true, I did not make this up }
I have to say I find this story to be a bit of an old CHE stnut which is difficult to CHE w, let alone to swallow.
It seems to have a touch of the CampKohlers about it, even though it has CHE ’s stamp all over it – CHE ezits, CHE erleaders, CHE ck it out.
OK, own up, who swallowed my smilies?
Bob, when I say true story I’m very serious, I know I joke around a lot here but these events are real.
At that time in high school it was a running joke about the Cheezits, in my circle of friends it was common knowledge that cheezits meant “disappear’.
If you or Marina want to investigate this please do but until I’m proven wrong that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
If I ever see anyone from the old neighborhood I have the story reconfirmed.
Where I grew up the kids had a natural ability to rename things or assign new names to events and such…..
Word Request – Cheezit
Oh Bob one more thing, recalibrate your enigma machine, check it out for faulty wiring
I was just joshing ya, mate, as the disappearing smilies would have made clear … still looking for them on the floor under my desk.
I know you are joshing me Bob, it was for the benefit of others which is why I wanted to reintegrate the validity of my story.
Che offers Bob a bag of Cheezit for an inflated price{Bob politely declines the Cheezits as his stomach is already inflated.}
can you do the word:
pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
and tell the origin and what it means (: thanks
hi marina!at first supplementary congratulations to you being 28.
my word request is, were does the word “apologize” comes from?
may be with regard to the old greek god apollo? i’ve got no idea. thx for investigation.
Marina My Word Request is the Japanese drink Saki.
James… I need your help again… in the forums.. I am having an issue where the page icons were pushing the page out making it wider which sucks for long posts like the word games.
So.. I added in the css thing of: max-width: 200px; to the #latest td, #forumlist td, #favorites td
So now the page doesn’t get pushed out, but the little page number things still extend beyond the table.. so I don’t know how to fix that. I want it to do a line break at the end of the table so that I will have rows upon rows… instead of pushed.
If it’s too complicated.. don’t worry about.. I can just removed the pages thing and put something else in its place.
No problem! I will have a look but I might not be finished until boxing day. I’m just going to upload a video then I’m on it
x
Hang on I forgot how the forum looked as I am playing with it now… Are you editing it as I type? It makes it harder. I was almost there
Sorry.. I put it back.
Thanks.
Aww, that sounds like something a little kid would say when they think they have done something naughty
As if you could be naughty….. 
*jaws theme*
*sigh*…you can always dream, James…
the forum thing won’t let me log on anymore…oh well
Right, I have learned some code but can you please paste the bit of code here that puts the seperate posts on thier own line. Then I can mix it up and apply it to the comment numbers.
Something I noticed is that there are no bbpress forums I can see with page numbers. Maybe they might automatically put themselves on a new line. If you can find any forum that has got page numbers on a line like you want then paste it!!
That will really help
I think people remove because of this problem it’s just a tag
I am still working on it. I think I have got my edge back (ie intuition)
I have got it working in HTML. Still working on css
Right now the forum is PERFECT!! The background is back…that helps me see where i am going. Thanks.
Marina, suggest you answer the offer from Brian Gardner, creator of your theme, to help you. When i read some of the problems you were having with the new design I sent him a PM and he replied that he had already contacted you. He is a guru.
Best of the season to you and Gorby!
Cheers!
Gary
Hello Marina, I just received your awesome Calendar in the mail. I was wondering what the private number trying to call me was, turns out it was Fedex haha
It was me calling you… bummer!
Well if that’s the case I’ll be sure to pick up next time!
On a calendar related topic… why can you not sleep?
hello everyone! ハッピー メリークリスマス from Japan
Hello back too…Merry Xmas
Hi Hitoshi,
メリークリスマス、あなたとあなたの家族に新年あけましておめでとうございます。
マイク
I hope that came out ok.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you and your family.
Mike
I just plugged your message into babelfish and it came out sounding just like Yoda.
ROFLMAO.
I figured it would. I hope it didn’t offend Hitoshi. But yea I see your point on sounding like
Yoda
This is the translator I use Bob. Try this one and see what it translates to.
http://translate.google.com/
thank you! how did you spend your christmas today? i hope you are having a very merry time!
Present? For you to say the 4 little words we all want to hear
“Kill Moose and Squirrel”
Good one Tayljim. I forgot all about that. It’s been a while since we tried to get her to say that for us.
Happy Xmas
the best x-mas song ever..thanks
Hi Marina,
Therefore I had to join your class. I’ve already told Santa Claus I’d like to have YOU delivered, and under my tree tomorrow morning, so I hope it fits in with your schedule.
I’m a new subscriber, but after seeing you on the Bill O’Reilly show, I FELL IN LOVE!
May you have a very MERRY CHRISTMAS.
dbird1958
Hi Marina!
I just saw Che’s 
color border! Can I please have one too for Christmas 
It would be really cool if it were in John Deere green also!
Your Loyal T.P.
cufan71
Oh well “You’ll shoot your eye out cufan71!”
hello marina- i would love to get a letter from u for Christmas , even without any true return address or something, something that is signed tho. people don’t like to write much these days…
Also everybody who reads this letter i would love it if they would think about the spirit of Christmas and do there best to give all small things they might need, even if they don’t know them, let’s paint the world in a real big smile!
merry Christmas and a happy new year!
hi hotforwords,
i guess by now you have millions of fans all over the world.
i just wanted you to know that i am your biggest fun,
here in the small state of Israel.
In Israel we have a famous philologist who’s name is Avshalom Kor and he is a total antithesis to you. He has a short TV program on Israel’s first channel since the 80’s (there was no Youtube back then). You must watch his video (someone uploaded it to youtube):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQzzZ5AlB-k
one more thing:
Do you know what finjan means?
well, finjan is a small pot used to by Bedouins (nomads from the desert) to make coffee.
I hope you like my nick…
Finjan
I like it finjan, as it seems to represent to us that you are offering each and everyone a cup of coffee, a very nice gesture of hospitality.
Dear Marina,
Thank you for the wonderful Christmas present which I have already received and have been receiving for the past 10 months – access to your web site, where I have had the opportunity to have conversations, banter and laughter with people from all over the world, from Alaska to the Antipodes, who I would never otherwise have been able to meet.
I value these on-line friendships perhaps even higher than all the wonderful face-to-face ones I’ve had in the past, most of which have not survived the challenge of thousands of miles of separation when one or other of us have relocated. Maybe things would have been different if we’d had blogs and twitter in those distant days.
I arrived at your site out of prurient curiosity, having seen a thumbnail of one of your videos after viewing another. I was quickly captivated, first by your looks and then by the facets of your personality that you project on screen, I stayed around because of my interest in languages and I keep coming back because of these great people you have attracted to contribute to the site.
Others have come and gone, frustrated by not having their egos groomed by daily virtual hugs from you. I am glad to enjoy the company of the long term faithful who are, in my view, the salt of the earth, and to contribute in my way when I perceive a need or an opportunity. I expect nothing in return but, my goodness, I have received much in return.
Thank you for everything.
I wish you a wonderful Holiday with your loved ones, and peace, happiness and prosperity in the future.
Me too
Hey Bob, thank you for your kind thoughts and sentiments.
Like yourself, my experience is almost identical.
I agree with you whole heartedly, in that I have received so much that Marina doesn’t even realize how much, but will tell her soon. Even though accolades and acknowledgments are nice, I have received so much that I feel it that I could never repay Marina and see it fit for me to support her in any way that I can.
Feliz Navidad, Frohe Weihnachten and Merry Christmas to everyone.
Thank you Bob!! That is so nice of you!!
Marina,
Thank you! You’re a perfect Darling!
You took my breath away and made me smile the rest of the day.
Bob that was sweet, Excellent sentiments, I could feel the love way over here.
Bob, no one could have said it better. You and the others around here have made this site a community, not just another interesting link on the Favorites (or is that Favourites?) list.
I will also say that I always enjoy reading your posts, Bob; whether humorous or poignant, they are always sincere, and i find joy there.
Happy Holidays…
BOB-You wrote that well and it warmed-over me.
Bob you have been a great inspiration for me. Giving me the encouragement to weather the storms when I felt down. You are a mentor from afar. I am so happy to know you and your wisdom. Thanks for being here and have a wonderful and Happy life. You are right when you said the best Christmas present of all is being on this site with Marina and all of the wonderful friends that I have made. I hope we all can make a lot more new friends on here and enjoy their company as if we were sitting in the same room together. Love to you all.
Mike
Ditto Bob…. After all, it’s the intangible things that mean the most…
Bob, you always have the perfect words at the right time.
Marina, That is a much nicer opening screen frame picture than the one you originally placed there.
Thanks Merry Christmas to you to.
I wish for a 13th month to be added to the calender just so I can get another month with you in it.
Hi Marina,
Wish you a wonderful Christmas, happy New Year and beyond.
, a photo of your hands, both sides
For the present , may I repeat ?
Thanks!
Another word Request: slobber
I was Puzzled to the point of slobbering.
Thank You (huh?)
I have a word request that is puzzling me, can you guess the word?
Word Request: puzzle
Where did such a puzzling word originate? Could you do this word request for all us puzzled students?
Thank You (huh?)
It’s funny how she pronounced “Χριστóς” with the Russian reduction of o > u although it was emphasized that we’ll hear the ‘Greek pronunciation’. Wonder if this was done intentionally
Word Request: “bedizen”
Hi Marina,
Great site – nice to know there are other language lovers out there! I have a word request for “bedizen”. It’s a fantastic word that I try to use whenever the opportunity presents itself. Any information regarding the etymology of this word would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers
As for what I really want, I won’t say, because you couldn’t squeeze it into an envelope.
Merry Christmas
For my present, I would like you to start a new part of the Website about the way common phrases translate into other languages. You would pick an English phrase (from those suggested by fans in the lesson comments?), do a short video on the origin and add the Russian equivalent as comment 1 in a password-protected blog, giving the literal translation and meaning in English. Then registered volunteers who are expert in other languages would add their equivalents, translations and meanings, one per comment. How many language experts could you line up? You might have to survey the experts before using a phrase, because it wouldn’t be particularly interesting if every single language uses, say, “fights like cats and dogs.”
With other people involved, it might have to be limited to twice a week, so as not to be a bother. You could even post your part in advance, but it wouldn’t be made visible to site users until all the others could fill in the other languages at their own pace. That way, nobody would be pressured to meet a deadline. And there is nothing to stop you from having several phrases running at the same time in pre-release, for the convenience of the other experts. Then you pick one that looks good, assign a date to it, list it in the index and release it.
For example, we say “Don’t let the bed bugs bite” as a way of saying to sleep peacefully. I seem to remember there was something in Russian about something crawling in the ear, but it was so long ago I have forgotten.
Thank you for the wonderful videos. Very informative. When and where did the term “hard row to hoe” originate. I suspect that it may have come from the Great Depression era but I’m just guessing. Your investigations would be greatly appreciated.
It may have come from pre-Civil War days, as there was a lot of hoeing of weeds involved in raising cotton.
This was like Deja vu of the O’rielly Factor,but with a lot more clothes
The one gift that I would Love for Christmas is an autographed picture of Marina!
I thought I was going to be sent one a long time ago for throwing that student under the bus that said Marina was not as Hot as some other girl on you tube
copying her gig! The Captain emailed me and said it was in the works but it never came. So I bought her calender in the beginning of October,and that was not autographed either. So Please can I get an autographed picture of my favorite teacher?
Merry Christmas, and God Bless us each and everyone
Word Request: Dictionary
Hello Marina, (HotForWords) i was Curious about the Word “Dictionary”. considering all the words that you are doing most likely come for the Dictionary, but i noticed you have not done it. If you could please inform me, and other About the Origin of this Word, i would Be Deeply Appreciative.
Sincerely, Torque.
For my homework: I do not need any gifts, but since Christmas is about giving… Books are my passion, and I would be greatly honored to receive a copy (i can wait a year or so
) when they do get to print. You have staked your name and begun your (new, high-profile) career in education. With all the options you could have chosen, thank you for choosing to open minds.
{Should I tell her I will buy a book, anyway? But, then I would have one to give away and share the wealth even more. Hmm… }
and if you just absolutely, positively had to get me something now, a brand-spanking new copy of OED, signed by my favorite etymologist would be really cool.
Oh, even better- a signed book- me too please (am I whining?).
Word Request: “Bodacious”
Hello Marina,
I’ve been watching your videos for a while, but I’m not big on leaving comments. This word has been itching at my mind for a while now, so I finally decided that if anyone could find out more about this word, it would be you. “Bodacious” is defined as being remarkable or outstanding, and it brings to mind those 90’s movies where there are “bodacious babes”. Thanks, and Merry Christmas!
I second that request never_a_reflection
that word fits Marina to a T.. 
A happy & especially healthy holiday season to one & all 
B.B.
edit button on strike
hey Che congrats on the new border 
i am so jealous of Che”s purple border 
Dearest Marina
I shouldn’t have wasted my wish on world peace..LMAOROTF..B.B.
word request: weird
before i watched this video i really thought that xmas was just a generic term for christmas. your lessons are very informative, thank you! merry christmas or xmas.
WORD REQUEST: ” Intercourse ”
Hey there miss Marina! I just want to tell you that you are so much fun, and I love watching your lessons. You are such a great teacher! Also, I want to wish you and the ones you love a very merry Christmas and a happy new year!
Give me a billion dollars , i buy my own presents .
I feel some kind of excitement when i can pay for expensive stuff
the calendar will do too ==
MARRY XMAS MINIONS YOU tOO jAck
merry or marry ? why MarinA
as 4 A present, Gift? Peace on Earth ….even if I have to kill everyone to get it
NIIIIICE!!!
hey how is is it going, i searched but no answer. my question to your almightiness is where did the word Potluck come from. potluck resembles food but the break up is POT and Luck, so lucky pot… idk, can your beautifulness tell us all? Thanks, and happy it all, Christmas, new years, it all ext. and thanks for being so sexy.
For The Record
I’m Kewl! I wear a long sleeve shirt under a short sleeve shirt – Stewie
My CHRISTMAS WISH is easy Marina.
I already have one of your calendars. But what I would love is to have one that is sign for my CALENDAR COLLECTION by our lovely and smart Teacher.
hi, umm well this is my first comment
and i have to say that you’re a really good teacher hehe.. and i just want a photo of you for christmas that will do it.. sorry if i didn’t write it well but i’m working on my english
Hello Marina. You Rock! My brother and I have been having a debate over the origin of the slang word “Yeehaw”. My brother thinks that it is derivitive from the word Jihad. I think it originated from two commands for draft horses or oxen…”Gee” and “Haw”, which mean right and left. Used together both animals on a team are told to go forward (Charge!). Are either of us remotely close to being correct? Thanks!
autographed even
I would like my daughter Stephanie to come over for Christmas
Larry, I hope you truly get your wish this year.
Hmmmmm, what would i want for Christmas how about an autographed calendar.
I need to take a short sleep session Good Night everyone.
The word is: Ragnarok!
Can you explain me what this word realy mean?
I’m From Brazil and I love to speak english!
That got me thinking of a Final Fantasy airship.
That hold photo of you is so perfect, you have this YT thingy down to a science.
When I’m ready please teach me all that you know.
Look! look! someone gave me a border
I’m so overwhelm with joy
It’s true, it’s really true, there is a Santa Marina
I’ll have to check to see if the border is there in the morning
I may be having hallucination from the Sambuca Luge Party I just came from.
Marina did you just do this?
Let me know so I can blow a big kiss you way.
maybe
Cool border, Che. Now everyone knows you are somebody.
Merry Christmas Che. Like I have always said Santa Marina is real.
WORD REQUEST:
Allah
Not sure if she would be able to do that. It could make Muslims very angry.
oh yeah , maybe they will fly two jets to marina’s house
wait , those are terrorists
and yet they call themselves muslims
MARINA FOR CHRISTMAS I WANT A PICTURE OF YOUR SEXY SEXY FEET. PLEASE I REALLY WANT THIS!!!! it is my destiny!! =) WORD REQUEST OF MISSTLETOE ALSO!!!! PLEASE SEND ME THAT PIC ON CHRISTMAS!
Oh sweet beautiful Marina, guru of words both wonderous and wonderful, (and with a mighty fine toned body to boot!
) could you please explore the origines of the phrases ‘average Joe’, ‘GI Joe’, ‘Joe blow’ and ‘Joe shmo’ and the origines of using ‘John Doe’ and ‘Jane Doe’ to identify unknown deceased individuals remains.
Have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Sweet Dearest Santa Marina
all i want for christmas is you 
but you might get too many request of this kind so just a nice sweet photo of you will do !!! please !!! i need a new screensaver on my military computer here 
love and kisses to you family and friends and also to all your fans here around this world 
Several nifty images/walpapers of Marina can be found [HERE]
Merry Christmas!
thanxs i have those on my computer here as well on my laptop was hoping fer a new one
there all fantastic 
can u plz investigate the origin of the word, essence.
I love u and ur videos
u are a beutiful creation
Personally I think you give us all more then enough with the videos that you make. But since you asked I racked my little brain to come up with something none materialistic. What I came up with was a present for us all (well maybe not everyone – hehe). I would like to see Gorby dressed up like Max, the dog in How the Grinch Stole Christmas!”. You know, with little antlers.
I hope everyone has a happy and safe holiday!!!
Off The Record
Why does the idea of having a conjugal visit at a penal colony sound funny to me?
Since I am a 100% disabled Vietnam veteran, I can’t physically go to the inauguration of Barack Obama as President of the United States; but I WAS able to get tickets, through my Congressman, for my son , and soon to be daughter-in-law to go. I will celebrate the event through their eyes via the pictures they take. As gift from you, I would love a copy of the offical inauguration dvd when one comes out. If you could grant me a wish, other than a nice candle light diner with you
that would be my wish of a gift.
i;m also a vietnam veteran will do my best to see tht u recieve one and thanxs fer ur service Ltcom.August Van Suchtelen US Navy Seal retired/reinstated happy holidays to you family and friends
All I want for Christmas is Peace on Earth and Health to everyone. And Marina
Dear Santa Marina,
Please send me a fancy border for my comments, this is what I would like.
Thank You,
Merry Christmas
Your loyal pal,
Che
Che, I give you your border.
Che’s Border
Love the color, love the girth, put a good word in to the boss
Since I ordered the calender too late,
I’d like an autographed picture of Marina.
(keeping things in the realm of possibility here)
I got mine in 3 days.
I have the calender; I was just not one of the first 100 people who ordered one, and got the autographed version.
Oh thats what everyone has said, I haven,t heard anyone say they gotten an autographed version.
Word request:
poltroon
i love your videos i was wondering what the word wishing well came from ( thanks )
Dear Santa,
I want a portable dvd player for Christmas. If your elves could help me out to decide on a portable dvd player that consumer reports or digital magazine gave good ratings on that would help. What’s the best portable dvd player out there? Thanks Santa and Santa elves. I will leave some cookies and milk for you near the fireplace.
signed,
GreatestPotential
I picked up a sony Model # DVP-FX810 about a year ago. It has a great widescreen picture and many picture adjustments. The picture itself is awesome, thats why I bought it. It has two headphone outputs, A/V output, line in/out switch and I’ve able to watch 2 and a half movies off one charge…with the brightness turned down.
Homework: I already got the best present from Marina I could ever ask for. This site attracts more people of the finest kind than any I could have wished for. I got to hear Marina say “Me-Lika-Do-The-Cha-Cha”, when she used one of my word requests (totally awesome). I was selected as a TA! I received a PreHoliday card from Marina, and am told there will be another one (Yip-yippee!
) 
My gift this year would be to see some of the blessings I have had this year, bestowed on others. My good fortune should give you all hope that your word request, or TA application, will be among those selected by Marina.
When I signed up, I only wanted to hear her say MeLikaDoTheChaCha because she has an exotic, sexy voice…
I have learned that Marina is more than just a hot chick,
She is Hot… For Words!
I wish you all the best for your Holidays. Be careful out there with all the ice and snow. Stay safe, warm and tucky-tuck…
Hey ChaCha, I bet Jack is sweeping snow off of his yacht right now. Well maybe not exactly right now, he’s probably talking to some seamen on how bad they have been. I heard they got a good down fall of the white stuff. I wish we could get a little snow here in NC just for the 25th. It would make it a extra special day to have a white Christmas. I hope it snows 3 feet deep on you and Disney World or Land, Hmmm never can remember which one is in Florida. But any way wish you a great Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Cap, my son is up in Boone. We went up yesterday for lunch, and they had a light dusting from Monday night. We will all be at Mama’s house (in Boone) today for Christmas Eve brunch. Stop by around 11:00, make a plate, and we can look at some of the white stuff in a ditch somewhere. p’raps a little drive to Appalachian ski mtn. I am sure they have som snow up there.
Thanks for the great invite BB, but I have a house full here. That would have so nice to share a meal with you and your family, maybe one day we can. I wish you and all of your Family a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year pal. May you all feel blessed this and every year.
Mike
I want to know where the phrase “hold your horses!” came from.
P.S. I LOVE YOUR VIDEOS!
All I want for Christmas is to know the origin of the saying “Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.”
Hope you have a great Christmas Marina.
Merry Christmas Marina!!! Thank you for the Christmas card!!!
By the way, where does your family name, Orlova, come from? Does it mean anything in Russian?
WHO IS YOUR ROLE MODEL???
Try it without looking at the answers……
please don’t look down until you do it, you’ll love it I promise.
GET A CALCULATOR, IF NEEDED, (YOUR COMPUTER HAS ONE ON IT)
1) Pick your favorite number between 1-9
2) Multiply by 3 then
3) Add 3, then again Multiply by 3
4) You’ll get a 2 or 3 digit number
5) Add the digits together
Now Scroll down …………..
Now with that number see who your ROLE MODEL is from the list below:
1. Albert Einstein
2. Nelson Mandela
3. Abraham Lincoln
4. Helen Keller
5. Bill Gates
6. Gandhi
7. George Clooney
8. Thomas Edison
9. Marina Orlova
10. Ronald Reagan
role model?…hmmm…not exactly…
but close…
I could have added my name to the 9th spot.
The Beatles – Revolution (No. 9)
Well, you’re not going to believe it but I got 9.
Now tell me, do all the numbers end up with a #9?
Some how the way it is figured out it does all go to 9. You can send it to your friends and put your name in there and it will choose you every time as their favorite person or role model or anything you want to change the parts of the content to.
I don’t want to spoil it unless you’d like me to; the explanation isn’t that difficult.
I know Orion, just giving a little math lesson where Marina gave a philology and etymology lesson. It’s really simple. Just something else to do, copy it and send it to your friends, but put your name where Marina’s is at. Makes for a good little laugh.
5 x 3 = 15 +3 = 18 x 3 = 48 4 = 8 = 12 i don’t see a 12
John I think 18×3=54 then 5+4=9
opps 54 yea equals 9
Do all the answers come out to nine?
lol , every number comes to 9
nice one
Claus is actually the German short form of “Nicholas,” from the Greek Nike Laos “victory of the people.”
Saint Nicholas was the one famous for saving a poor man’s children from lives of prostitution.
The best gift you could give me would be romantic, literally; we could save each other from the prostitution our lives are becoming!
Oh great wise Doctor! I know you are already saving me in ways I can’t even imagine! I only pray that you receive all the honor I give you as we pay it forward, prospering all in our path.
I would just like a ring tone of your voice on my phone.
I would just like to her teachers voice on the phone…while I’m talking to her!
That would be so kewl.
Hey Augie, I hope you stay safe this time of year or anytime that your recalled or home. Have a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year.
thanxs my good friend got to come home for 2wks than off to see what can be done in russia again enjoy all tha holidays be safe and happy
you can’t afford what i would wish for under my Christmas tree…
sure, finding a surprise there from you, Marina, would be nice…
but all i really, really want for Christmas is just a bit of peace and joy…
for my children especially, of course, but also for everyone, everywhere – no matter what their persuasion, no matter what their gender, no matter what their orientations…just a bit of respite from it all, with a dose of happiness…
and toss in a large dollop of hope while you’re at it…
Give Peace a Chance
much love and affection to all…
p.s. – you look especially radiant in this video, Marina…
That would be fantastic, but too many things are going on, too many worries, can’t even relax for a few moments, let alone feel the joy of this holiday, which I used to love until I turned 18.
Maybe tomorrow will be better, I just hope the people around me would stop caring enough, to not remind me every waking minute about my present problems. (it’s not like I can do anything about it now)
Is there any trick or formula of getting back into the Christmas spirit? I’d love to know…
lol…i have enough trouble just getting into my pants…
no, really – i don’t think there’s a trick, other than to refuse to let the bastards get ya down…
there’s an old saying, “i’ve been down so long it looks like Up to me.”…maybe that’s not a bad thing…i’m far from perfect, i know, but i’m all i’ve got, and i’m going to enjoy myself in spite of whatever woes come my way…
i’m sure there’s other drivel i could spout, but sometimes it really is best to take it one day at a time…
best wishes – truly…
funny how you named my folks bastards, but it’s perfectly ok, I got the point. Cool reply
I’m going to fill tomorrow up with as many things as I can handle… I’ll see what events, concerts, festivities or other commercial stuff I like, and attend. I guess Christmas doesn’t just happen, you or someone else has to work hard for it to occur.
Like some of the words we learned here, Christmas too, changes it’s meaning throughout the times. But does anyone really have a Who-ville Christmas? It’s quite an art…
i’m divorced, Chemikal. my Christmas will consist of the kids coming over tonight, having supper, going to bed, getting up, opening the presents, putting them in the car, and heading off to deliver them to the ex-wife. i could fuss & fume about how i’m entitled to half the day…half the Winter vacation…half, half, half – but that’s not it. it’s not about me, it’s about them – so i cherish the time i have with them and joyfully let them have their fun.
approach each situation with a smile, regardless. enjoy what you can, don’t fret about what you can’t…
just annudder thought…
Hi again, Chemikal,
By a coincidence, someone sent me a quote today which seems to apply nicely to your decision to fill your day so full that you don’t have time to think.
The quote is attributed to the former Israeli Prime Minister, Golda Meir, but others say it’s an old Gipsy proverb, whatever … “The dog that trots about finds a bone.”
May your nose be keen, your claws sharp and your front paws strong.
Ever hear the expression “Non Illigitimi Carborundum?” (fake Latin for “don’t let the bastards wear you down)
no, but i should get the tattoo…
Hi, Chemi, I feel for you in your situation. I don’t know what problems you have and I know that well-meaning people can, in fact, make things worse with their remarks.
I suggest that the thing to do would be to point out nicely to them that they are not helping and point out also that there are others worse off than yourself.
I have always found that focusing on the problem makes the problem worse. Try to focus on solutions, and if you can’t think of any possible solutions, focus on something else and trust that your subconscious will find the right solution and let you know when the time is right.
For me, the spirit of Christmas is not about giving material things, as so many people these days think, but about compassion. Thinking how you can help others, in spite of your present situation, will not only help you live through the challenges you are facing, it will also gain you immeasurable respect from your folks and maybe teach them to also grow and improve.
I wish you all the strength you need and peace and happiness for the future.
BTW, thank you for you greeting below and for your kind remarks.
Thank you, Bobby… I’ll get back to you after I wake up from the booze. Why can’t good wine have 0 alcohol? :/
It must be the yeast
Have a good time tomorrow, I’ll be thinking of you guys even though I’ll be pretty far away from any computer.
Also, the time here is 10:57 PM, that said I will add that Christmas eve was a success… mostly because I wanted it to be. I’m surprised now, that it took me so long to convince myself of it. Thanks for the motivation, I’m sure I’ll be seeing you around… I guess until Marina will close down the website or something like that.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I think Santa just came..
Chemikal
You in stockings
Great thought, forwords.
I want to know the origins of the word “racist”.
I luv ur videos!!!!!!!!
or what about a word request of “race,” and why is it used as a competition or as a biological classification.
Good point.
I would like a personalized voice message for my phone message recording machine!!!
That would totally rock!
~
Second wish…. Dinner at Houstons with Marina in Santa Monica… then stroll the Promenade for some window shopping… It’s the simple things don’t ya know!
I’d like to take a moment away from the holiday cheer to make something clear about the world. Just because it’s the Christmas season doesn’t mean that bad things stop happening. I recently became aware of an incident in which a 30 year old FD EMT in Delaware city was killed when a car ran her over at the scene of a motorcycle accident she had responded to. The car that hit her was a new BMW being followed by a Honda. Both cars stopped, the BMW driver got out, got into the Honda and fled the scene. This happened on Saturday, the EMT died Monday and left behind a 12 year old daughter. The police aprehended the BMW driver who has a record longer than my arm. They’re still looking for his ‘friend’ in the Honda. I’m not trying to bum people out, I’m just trying to point out that bad stuff is still going on out there and unless you want to be the cause of it, just take some time, take a deep breath and think before you take that extra drink and get behind the wheel. I just want to encourage people to do the right thing.
STAY SAFE out there guys.
No worries, I failed my driving test yesterday
One less hazard out there… but I will get it eventually!
I would say think before you take the first drink.
Don’t ever drive after drinking alcohol. Even the first drink reduces your reaction times by an unacceptable amount.
The same goes for over-the-counter drugs like cold-cures.
Have a great time at Christmas but stay safe.
My one gift: A signed personalized picture of Marina.
Or maybe a HFW ringtone.
A FANTASTIC idea; I’d like a HFW ringtone too.
Marina; can you make one available?
Me too.
Hi HotForWords,
There’s the Red Sea, the Black Sea, the Caspian Sea, and other seas. Seagulls eat fish that eat seaweed and there are sea shells all over the place. Where did this word “sea” come from?
Thanks for your knowledge and entertainment. You are good.
What would I want, hmmmm?
You know what would be cool? 
I would like for you to pick a charity of your choice, one that you really believe in and make a donation in the amount of you’re choosing, in my name. 
JK!!
Is that cool or what?
If not that I’ll take biggest bottle of English Leather Eau de Toilette you can find…is should only run ya about eight bucks…that or the biggest jug of High Karate you can muster up
i vote for your gift, pagedoll…
Sweet.
Anud, did you check out my Christmas poem on the Handkerchief lesson? You’re in it! 
…and if you can’t find any English Leather a signed calendar placed gently, with kindness and care under the tree would be better than the time I was nine and got the Steve Austin Rocketship and the GI Joe jeep on the same Christmas!
For my present I would like you Marina to tell us why Hip-Hop culture is called Hip-Hop
Have a nice Xmas ;D … your freak fan from Poland 
( I also like ‘polka dots’ lesson ;] )
Id like a copy of the book you said you where making
For Xmas, I’d like a round trip ticket to New Zealand out of SFO or LAX.
And now, I have a minor rant. The phrase, “get it” has been beaten into the earth until it’s thread bare, worn out. There
are alternatives that could be substituted: understand, comprehend, grasp, and follow. Savvy?
B.B. groks.
Make it one way and I’ll put in a good word with Santa for you.
Watch it, CampKohler, I’ll move to Sacramento.
yo Marina
i luv looking at your videos at present.
O;Reilly u appeared on several times, good for u
I liked failblog too but its videos became sometimes too
political in the election season : i e the party u luv/hate
gets too much coverage.
Grats on being apolitical. Do you have a green card btw lol.
Word to look up ——> svelte (built like a brick @hit-house)
I just bought an ebook (psr-505 Sony) was wondering if you
had an ebook reader. The Kindle has a dictionary but not an etmologist. I see tremendous potential for you there – well maybe your daughter.
69TH!!!
ROFLOL!
abc
def
ghi
jkl
mno
pqr
On my phone the 7 key says pqrs.
tuv
[WXYZ]
*0#
Homework: You’ve already agreed to grant my Christmas wish
, and this vid is just a bit of icing on the cake. 
I have all I need, and more; I want for nothing. In recent years, Christmas has been for me, most truly, both a time for sharing my richness of life with others, and more of a second ‘Thanksgiving’ celebration – not only for the bounty of my life, but for that greatest gift to all man. I guess I would wish only to have more to share.
Merry Christmas Marina, and all my HFW friends!
Ciao,
Fianchetto
That was very kind of you Fianchetto. My family wishes you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Mai votre vie remplie de bonheur et de joie, et vous profitez de votre famille tout au long de l’année.
Ciao,
Mike
Et vous aussi, mon frère!
Molto grazie!!
Ciao,
Fianchetto
Who made up the blog on Making Fun of Marina?
I just made fun of Marina in hope of getting detention. 
I hope it works, the detention that is. 
Sorry Miss.Mhey my friend wait in line hehe i believe i earned over 100 detentions by now
Can you research the term university. I constantly hear people using college and university to talk about the same thing. Thanks
Marina,
I’d like to visit/stay with a smart, single, gorgeous, English speaking Russian university girl who could show me around The State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, go bike riding, and maybe some “hanky -panky” too!
My Grandma and Grandpa were from Crimea so I’d take her there… a Black Sea resort.
Oh…. crimea river!
That was a very nice Ella Fitzgerald song.
That’s all? Sounds so simple the way you put it.
what i want for Christmas… your calendar!
Hey Marina,
What do I want for Christmas? Hmm…the Church of Scientology exposed, the Library of Alexandria restored, the cessation of human rights violations…none of which are very feasible, I’m afraid. Oh well.
By the way, although I’d recommend the HotForWords calendar to people, I don’t think I’d term it a “stocking stuffer”: you’d have to have an enormous stocking to properly fit it in there.
You wish for miracles to be performed on Christmas? Good, I know for a fact that miracles happened before on Christmas day. Though I could suggest another request for Santa: SALT. (as much as he can carry in that big bottomless bag of his) I know you can’t ask Santa for money, we learned that as kids, so we’ll pull a fast one on him, by asking for tons of Salt!
As far as the “stocking stuffer” is concerned, I have a really wide stocking, I bet Santa could fit it easily into mine!
… What? I believe in Santa, that’s all!
I’d like a personalized ringtone with Marina’s voice
That would be an amazing gift 
And here is my for Marina, ginger cookie (homemade ;P):
http://img520.imageshack.us/my.php?image=p2wr6.jpg
Merry X-mas from Poland.
Yummm…got milk?
It’s clear what I would ask Santa to bring me… I would LOVE a Hot For Words calendar of my very own, for Christmas!
I don’t have a credit card yet, but I remain devoted to this channel and to this website, whether Santa decides to grace me or not.
Happy Holidays to you, from Chemi!
Marina, Dearest of all my Teachers,
My one Christmas gift I would want is for you to receive your most joyous Christmas wishes.
Merry Christmas to all and a Happy New Year
Thanks John and I hope you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Years also.
What a nice thought, John. Wishing you a great Christmas too.