A marvelous day! Lower 70's with lots of sun and low humidity.
"Mary had a little lamb,
It's fleece was white as snow,
And everywhere that Mary went,
The lamb was sure to go.
It followed her to school one day,
Which was against the rule,
It made the children laugh and play,
To see a lamb at school."
Was this the first poem that you remember? I think it was for me. My mother wasn't around much, but when she was, she recited lots of poems for me and sang songs that I still remember. Every one needs some mother love.
01. Happy People
Happiness is taken seriously by the members of the Secret Society of Happy People (SOHP).
SOHP has two membership options:
1. Amused membership: this is free, and you get a poster, a newsletter and some email.
2. Playful membership: ($9.95) and you receive:
a. A Happiness Guide
b. A Happiness wrist band
c. A Poster
d. Postcards
e. Facebook presence
02. Humor
A book that I dip into from time to time: "Why Things Are" (Answers to Every Essential Question in Life) by Joel Achenbach. Try it, you'll like it.
When one laughs, 15 facial muscles contract and breathing is altered. To make us laugh, there usually is a conflict between overlapping but incompatible frames of reference. Joel gives an example of that:
"My dog's got no nose."
"How does he smell?"
"Terrible."
Another example:
"Doctor, what's wrong with me?"
"Well, you've got hepatitis, mononucleosis, AIDS, tuberculosis, and the common code."
"Can anything be done for me?"
"We can keep you in bed and put you on a diet of pancakes and flounder."
"Pancakes and flounder? Will that cure me?"
"No, but it's the only thing that will fit under the door."
The main issue here is the surprise when the doctor suddenly changes from his normal reassuring demeanor to a not-so-reassuring jerk. The surprise causes us to laugh.
03. Accents
I've wanted to know this for a long time. Why do British Rock 'n' Roll stars speak in cockney accents but sound like Americans when they sing? Joel Achenbach tries to answer this:
British bands grew up listening to American singers, like American opera singers, who sing with an Italian accent. Also, singing tends to mute accents.
04. Makeup
Another thing I've wanted to know.. why do women subject themselves to the plastering of stuff all over their faces and eyes? I think it makes them look terrible .. unreal. Once, in London, I met a young lady at an evening function. She was beautiful, with a clear bright skin.. under some of the room's lights.. however, under other light, her face showed that it was caked up like a mask and looked weird. Joel, tell us why women do that..
Perhaps it has its origin in the bordello, where prostitutes simulated the flushed color of sexual passion with rouge.
But there are other reasons given:
a. It's fun
b. It's a disguise
c. Women are decorated objects (treated by men as expensive possessions)
And.. "as long as society trains people to perceive painted-up women as 'good-looking' it will be in their direct self-interest to keep doing it." I guess that it is similar to the tattoo craze currently affecting our female population.
Years ago, makeup was also used to cover up the scars of smallpox. Elizabeth I used it.
Some men used it to show that they had pale skin and were not "rednecks" that is, not workers, but rather, aristocrats.
05. Water
The Health and Welfare Wellness Committee says that we should not wait for "thirst" to replenish our bodily water lost through exhalation, perspiration and bodily secretions. By the time we feel thirsty, we have probably lost 16 ounces of body water. That is a lot of water when we need to have 64 ounces of water as input each day.
06. Not Mozart
I forgot to mention that one of the contestants on America's Got Talent was a 9 year-old obnoxious kid who played the piano and sang. He said that he has read 500 books in his short life and skipped 5 grades in school. But.. he was talented, and knew it. He got knocked off before his ego got to explosive size.
(Well.. enough for today.. plenty of other things to do. I can't let myself be completely wrapped up in this blog, even though I enjoy writing it.)
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