Free Cell or FreeRice. What's the Difference?

Members of my family are addicted to games on their computers or cell phones such as Free Cell, Spider Solitaire, Bejeweled, and Tetris. I suppose I’m missing the fun, but I’ve never played any of them. With my crazy schedule, I don’t need another distraction from writing, and I consider those games a waste of time.

FreeRice—A Different Story.

FreeRice is a game that builds your vocabulary while ending world hunger. Now, that’s worth my time.

http://www.freerice.com/

The FreeRice website says:

FreeRice is a non-profit website run by the United Nations World Food Program in partnership with the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University.

Through generous sponsors, FreeRice has two goals:

1. Provide education to everyone for free.
2. Help end world hunger by providing rice to hungry people for free.

How do my answers to a vocabulary game earn rice donations?

For each correct answer, FreeRice donates 10 grains of rice through the UN World Food Program to help end hunger.

Do I really make a difference by playing FreeRice?

Yes, the rice you donate makes a huge difference to the person who receives it. According to the United Nations, about 25,000 people die each day from hunger or hunger-related causes, most of them children. Though 10 grains of rice may seem like a small amount, it is important to remember that while you are playing thousands of other people are also playing at the same time. Together, everyone makes the difference. Since October 2007, FreeRice has generated enough rice to feed millions of people.

How to Play

* Click on your answer to a multiple-choice vocabulary question.
* If your answer is correct, you’ll get a harder question. If your answer is incorrect, you’ll get an easier question.
* For each right answer, 10 grains of rice are donated to the United Nations World Food Program.
*Topics range from a variety of subjects from art, chemistry, English, geography, math and foreign languages.

WARNING: This game may make you smarter. It may also enhance your speaking, writing, and thinking skills. Your grades, and job performance may also improve. What’s more, you might feel good about that time you’re wasting on your computer.

Tools You Can Use: Improve Grammar, Punctuation and Vocabulary Skills

"My vocabulary dwells deep in my mind and needs paper to wriggle out into the physical zone. Spontaneous eloquence seems to me a miracle. I have rewritten—often several times—every word I have ever published." —Vladimir Nabokov

When you read the Chicago Manual of Style do their complex examples leave you saying, "Whaaaaaht? I'm confused. I don't understand." If you want to write faster and cleaner, here are websites that can help you learn grammar and punctuation rules.

The Purdue Online Writing Lab offers FREE handouts and exercises on grammar, spelling and punctuation.

HyperGrammar is a FREE electronic writing course that approximates the same information covered in the University of Ottawa's ENG 1320 Grammar course. If you don't understand or remember what a grammatical term means, grammatical terms link to their definition. From punctuation to building sentences and paragraphs to frequently confused verbs, every lesson includes a review.

Vocab Test.com offers FREE vocabulary tests ranging from sixth grade to advanced senior levels. Whether you are a writer, a homeschooling parent or work with the public, a strong vocabulary increases your skill to teach and communicate.

"Devotees of grammatical studies have not been distinguished for any very remarkable felicities of expression." This quote by Bronson Alcott illustrates the importance of understanding your audience reading level. Use words creatively that are clear, simple, active, colorful, and powerful.

Writing Whiplash

“Slang is a language that rolls up its sleeves, spits on its hands, and goes to work” —Carl Sandburg

My neck is beginning to feel like Linda Blair's in the Exorcist. I'm experiencing writing whiplash due to the electronic and internet impact of changes in publishing...and sometimes life in general.

The new words added to dictionaries reveal how life and times change. The Random House Webster’s College Dictionary was the first dictionary to include "Internet" and "World Wide Web". Only their dictionary includes these words:
B2B
Bazillion
Bleeding edge
Cross-post
Dot-commer
Hotlink
Hottie
Identity theft
Microbrowser
Mifeprex
Push poll

Words Entering English Since 1940

1940
A-bomb
Bikini
Cheeseburger
Fax
Quiz show
Tape recorder
TV

1950
Aerospace
Computerize
Desegregate
Doublespeak
Hash browns
Skydiving
Weirdo

1960
Cable television
Counterculture
Instant replay
Jet lag
Sitcom
Space shuttle
Sexism

1970
Chairperson
Detox
Diskette
Gas-guzzler
Infomercial
Punk rock
Video game
X-rated

1980
Automated teller machine (ATM)
Compact disc
Desktop publishing
Emoticon
Palmtop
Sandwich generation
Twelve Step
Virtual reality

1990
Bad hair day
Buffalo wing
Carjacking
Designated driver
Intranet
Personal trainer
Superchurch
V-chip
Web site

A Look Back…
The Merriam Webster Dictionary added these “new” words in 1806.
Advocate, verb: to defend, plead in favor of
Electrician, noun: one versed in electricity
Psychology, noun: the doctrines of spirit or mind
Census, noun: an enumeration of inhabitants, a register of people, etc.
Constitutionality, noun: the state of being agreeable to the constitution, or of affecting the constitution
Presidential, adjective: pertaining to a president
Unmarketable, adjective: not saleable or fit for the market
Americanize, verb: to render American
Checkers, noun pl.: a game
Immigrant, noun: one who removes into a country
Penmanship, noun: the act, art, or use of writing
Slang, noun: vulgar language, cant phrases [low]

How Hip Is Your Vocabulary?
How many of the new words added to the 2006 Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary do you use?
Mouse potato, noun, a person who spends a great deal of time using a computer
Ringtone, noun, the sound made by a cell phone to signal an incoming call
Gastric bypass, noun, a surgical bypass operation that typically involves reducing the size of the stomach and reconnecting the smaller stomach to bypass the first portion of the small intestine so as to restrict food intake and reduce caloric absorption in cases of severe obesity
Soul patch, noun, a small growth of beard under a man's lower lip
Supersize, verb, to increase considerably the size, amount, or extent of
Drama queen, noun, a person given to often excessively emotional performances or reactions

I don't want to be a drama queen, so I'll keep rolling up my sleeves, spitting on my hands, and putting my fingers to the keyboard.