Things To Do When Life Makes You Cranky

1. Read good quotes:

All mankind is divided into three classes: those who are immovable, those that are moveable and those that move. (Benjamin Franklin)

Put 100 clever people into a group; they lose their intelligence. (Carl Jung)

Most people would rather die than think.
In fact they do. (Bertrand Russell)

2. Watch TED talks.
3. Get distracted by the sidebar and watch Einstein, the parrot.
4. Somehow discover that the Mantis Shrimp is your new favorite animal. In a moment of synchronicity, The Oatmeal thought so too.
5. Go hiking to clear thoughts. Scientific evidence of what you already knew. Read blogs and discover a natural place called Flin Flon.
6. Look at or make art.
7. Write lists.
8. Say yes to people in a real crisis. Say no to people who are not.
9. Read The Peter Principle for amusement.
10. Realize that there is a theme here.

The Un-Resolution List 2013

Things I will never do, because I do not want to:

1. Swim in or travel to the Amazon.
There are too many lifeforms that can get into and up a human being. Armchair travel suffices and I leave the experience to travel writers and National Geographic journalists.

2. Eat Fugu.
Puffer fish are droll; the fish that turns into a balloon when stressed and paralyzes you if you did not get the hint.

3. Go bungee jumping.
It is not like flying. It is a high speed spine adjustment.

4. Eat anything endangered.
That is how most species became endangered to begin with.

5. Go unexplored cave spelunking.
Toxic guano fumes, spores and methane gas. Also, I watched "The Descent". Creepy white things without eyes are creepy, despite natural selection and the wonders of evolution.

6. Take a wilderness survival course.
I do not believe in reenacting the past without costumes until I have to.

7. Always write a list of 10.
Who came up with that rule?

Science Fiction And Fantasy Movies of 2012

Good Science Fiction and Fantasy movies fall into two basic categories for me; thought provoking or mindlessly entertaining. The latter includes spectacular things going "boom", especially when aliens make humans go "boom". Fun stuff.

Here are some of my picks for 2012. As someone who despises spoilers, all of my recommendations are spoiler and allergen free.

Prometheus
Ridley Scott waited 30 years to return to the scifi genre. I suspect that most people expected another alien movie. Instead, Scott addressed the questions that have preoccupied him since Bladerunner. What makes us human? Who is the creator? How do we use our scientific innovations? Where is our place in the universe?


The Cabin in the Woods
Joss Whedon makes a horror movie. Need I say more, Whedonites? For those who do not watch horror movies this is not...it is...it is funny. Just watch it.

The Avengers
Joss Whedon creates a truly enjoyable romp. Yes. I am a Joss Whedon fan.

Snowhite and the Huntsman
A visually beautiful film with stunning cinematography. Possibly not the greatest acting or story line but the visuals almost make up for it.

Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter
The title alone made me cringe. It should not work, but does. Stylistically it reminded me of Ritchie's re-invention of Sherlock Holmes.

TV series:
Game of Thrones
Probably one of the best and most cleverly written shows in a long time. Current status: Symptoms of GOT withdrawal.

The Walking Dead
Pure exaggerated horror (of life). The basic premise: What if it does not get better?

Still on my list:
The Dark Knight Rises
Hugo
Looper (or Sprite starts chanting)

Ode To Coffee

BC (Before Coffee)

Who moved the kitchen?
Cats! Why are there so many cats?
Why is it that one has to be awake to make coffee before one is awake to make coffee?
Where did all the cats come from? Why are they in the kitchen?
Incomplete thoughts and senten
Write to do list: TOO Do Dodo Thndo Frodo The ffpmppp TO DO
1. Fix something
2. Can't remember
3. Still can't remember
4. Can't believe how much work I have to do
5. Write to do list
6-10. Do something
11. Drink coffee

AD (After Drug)

The molecular structure of coffee is enhancing my neuronal activity. To do today:
1. Feed cats, make coffee and breakfast for HQ, paint cabinets, organize papers
2. Say YES to any new project
3. Paint masterpiece fresco on ceiling
4. Speed read 5 books
5. Prove new theorem
6. HOMG! I AM A GENIUS!!!!
7. World domination
8. Design groundbreaking new space ship
9. Go for a run

Something Weird Happened...Really Weird.

Sprite, Vinny and I, as well as our significant others spent some time at a stunning resort in the tropics. The pools were designed by Gaudi and even featured underground organically shaped water slides. We decided to take a day trip to a small quaint town, while our spouses stayed behind to enjoy the pool.

We got to a small white-washed restaurant that served chicken sandwiches. Vinny and Sprite decided that they were going to explore the local outdoor market and left while I waited for my order.  My order arrived and I looked at my sandwich on the plate. I was about to pick it up, when I noticed that something was moving between the lettuce leaves.  A green head poked out and a groggy black eye looked at me. I was looking at a small parrot, a beautiful orange-beaked conure. He was drowsy, his wings clipped so he could not fly away. "They serve parrots instead of chickens here?" I whispered. He nodded. " I will get you out, but you have to be really quiet." He understood and immediately crawled into a drawstring pouch that I was holding open for him under the table.

I had to find Vinny and Sprite. I walked out of the restaurant into the sunny street and started to run....

Then I woke up.

WTH???? This was as strange and disturbing as it gets. Fellow bloggers whom I have never met had shown up in one of my dreams! No offense to the bloggers who were involuntarily involved, but that dream crossed my twilight zone traumatized for life creepy threshold.

I am a science geek; I have to figure out why my brain does the things it does, especially when it does incomprehensible and disconcerting things.

Scientific theory:

Dreams are no more than our brains staying active while sleeping, usually digesting events and emotions of the day. If we happen to wake up during REM (dream stage), we "remember" the dream. Dreams during daytime naps, which is what I was doing, are particularly vivid, bizarre and frequently disturbing.

Precipitating events and numbered thoughts:

1. I got home. Tired. Made a healthy sandwich with greens, tomatoes and goat cheese on organic rye.
2. On my way home, I daydreamed about a desperately needed vacation, preferably in the tropics, sketching birds, taking photographs.
3. Read the news, came across a certain parrot species, which was going to be my first post and is still sitting in draft. Gotta finish that. I want a conure.
4. Different cultures eat strange things. Anthony Bourdain, Jane Goodall...
5. Quick alphabetical blog rounds. Read Sprite's and Vinny's posts, decided that I am too tired to leave any coherent comment.
6. Take Nana nap. [See Sprite: "Daytime nap"]

Interpretation:
This explains green parrot sandwich, as disconcerting as it may be.
The parrot communicating with me is "normal" in my dreams. I have been rescuing wildlife and animals ever since I was capable of picking them up. Dreaming that they would understand that the big scary ogre is there to help is wishful thinking.

Conclusion:
Strange dreams lead to interesting thoughts about social media.
To be continued...right after I take another napzzz...