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Saturday, March 24, 2012

Spontaneous Humor In The Produce Section

I was given the mission of hunting and gathering a variety of edibles, which included tomatoes. Upon arriving at my destination, I was positively excited that my prey was lethargically stacked in pyramid formation waiting to be selected, weighed, clubbed and dragged home.

Standing next to me at the tomato pen was a very polite looking gentleman, equally tasked with providing nourishment for his family.  As we carefully selected this fruit by color and ripeness in contemplative unison, I noticed that some of the tomatoes had some white dust on them.

Closer inspection revealed that the miniscule white dust was moving.  Unless one is married to an entomologist, this presented a problem. Wistfully, I placed them back. "Bugs," I sighed. My fellow tomato hunter paused, confirmed my observation and followed my lead.

I had moved on to a different, less ripe, non-heirloom variety, when I noticed that he had changed his mind and had decided to buy the infested tomatoes after all.

"The bugs. Maybe they're tasty," he explained.
"Some cultures consider insects a delicacy."
"I think I'll boil them."
"Well, it is extra protein."
"And the store is only charging for the tomatoes. I think it's a great deal."
"Never pass up a great bargain," I agreed.
"You're not getting any?"
"I'll be quarantined if I bring those home."
"Aah! She's a vegetarian," he stated.

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Things I Learned As An Adult.


 

Everything should be as simple as possible,
but not simpler.
Albert Einstein

1. Keys need a home.

2. Always purchase black socks. This way the Ankle Crossing Syndrome is easily avoided in professional environments.

3. If a conversation starts with "Is this Atnaros Caryptos?" it will likely end there.

4. A smile goes a long way.

5. Geeks have an advantage. Being called weird is a compliment. Embrace it.

6. Nourish the inner child. It is good for your health.

7. Play nice. Failing that, get some art supplies.

8. Multiple minds are better than one. Share.

9. Sometimes one needs to say yes. Sometimes one needs to say no.
It is important to know the difference.

10. Listen to your own advice.

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Women. The 52 Percent.

If women ruled the world, there would be no more wars.
But once a month there would be intense negotiations.
(Robin Williams)

Several years ago, I read an article in which authentic cave paintings were discovered that depicted women hunting alongside men. It shed light on our modern misconception of gender-based division into hunters and gatherers during pre-historic times.

It made sense. At a time when daily life was inconceivably harsh and mostly life-threatening, the "luxury" of excluding capable hands and minds based on gender probably did not exist, due to the limited resource of available human beings.

At least 52% of the world's population (and climbing) are female. That the 21st century still has inequality based on gender is confounding. Their exclusion from decision making positions is cultural rather than ability or capability based. One hopes that one day we will celebrate international best persons day. In the meantime, I extend my gratitude to all the courageous women, who improve our lives.

Given the current global economic and environmental climate, one cannot help but notice that tribes and countries led by women appear to be more successful in the humanitarian sense.  Some of our most intelligent co-inhabitants live in matriarchal societies; dolphins, elephants and bonobo chimpanzees. Considering that their ancestors have been playing the survival game longer than ours, maybe they are onto something.

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Today Is A Celebration

A seemingly random collection of videos.

Interspecies friendships between two fish connoisseurs:




If only our diplomatic relations were that endearing.

An amusing commercial:



That ought to take care of that sparkly fanger Eduardo. For good. Drrakoola iz not happy.

Something about Hayao Miyazaki's borrowers over here

What is the underlying theme of all of these videos, you may wonder? That would be Sprite's birthday, a hilarious and talented fellow blogger. You can send her your best wishes at A little Sprite.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY
 TO
A LITTLE SPRITE 

Sprite, hope you have a wonderful birthday celebration with copious amounts of cake and chocolate. And journals. And books. And art supplies.