Just a Bite June 9th, 2009

Quote to ponder under the apple tree

A doctor can bury his mistakes,
but an architect can only advise his clients to plant vines.
~ Frank Lloyd Wright (born June 8, 1867)

Resources to bite into

1. A month to celebrate architecture *

The current Brain Aerobics Weekly features a trivia quiz about famous architects. People have been building amazing structures at least since the days of Imhotep, who is recognized as the architect of Egypt's first pyramid (for King Djoser, who reigned 2630–2611 BCE). The millennia since then have brought us soaring cathedrals, ornate palaces (from Versailles to China’s Forbidden City) as well as fascinating enigmas like Easter Island heads. In the last 100 years, Frank Lloyd Wright was probably the most familiar architect, (Shown here is his Falling Water house), but the world’s tallest building in Dubai and the Bird’s Nest stadium created for last summer’s Beijing Olympics, are just two indications that we have entered an exciting new global architectural age.

2. Sweets for all *

June is Candy Month, a time for sweet thoughts. Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader Puzzle Book #2 edited by Stephanie Spadaccini has a quiz about unsuccessful candy bar efforts including:
A vegetable sandwich bar
A chicken dinner bar
A Zep bar – named after the Zeppelin dirigible that was taken off the market when the Hindenburg crashed
A Sal-Le-Dande Bar named after the fan dancer Sally Rand
The current issue of Brain Aerobics Weekly asks you to design your own candy bar, healthy or decadent. What ingredients would you choose?

3. Donald Duck turns 75 *

Donald Duck, one of the most popular of the Disney cartoon characters, made his debut in the Silly Symphony cartoon "The Wise Little Hen" on June 9, 1934, so he officially

turns 75 this week. According to Leonard Maltin in his introduction to The Chronological Donald - Volume 1, Donald was created by Walt Disney when he heard Clarence Nash doing his "duck" voice while reciting "Mary had a little lamb." “Ducky” Nash became Donald’s hilarious and much imitated voice for the next 50 years.

Do you know anyone who can imitate Donald Duck? Can you? Does his voice make you laugh? (It always does me!)

* These items are easily adapted when working with people with Alzheimer’s disease.

Tips/ideas/insights to savor

I am the frequent recipient of unsolicited emails from friends intending to brighten my day, and am always (hint, hint to all of you) happy to receive ideas for clean humor that I might use in future issues of my publications. I am also usually an easy mark for funny animal pictures, silly videos, and interesting websites, but I am wary of the syrupy life advice that comes complete with music and slides, even when the advice is good. However, this week, I was taken by a phrase in one of those syrupy offerings: energy vampires.

We all define them personally – What saps my energy probably isn’t what saps yours, although we all can likely name people, events, activities and duties that are blood suckers. I have been emotionally exhausted today by a problem that cannot be quickly resolved. I had been looking forward to a meeting at which I hoped we would be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel, and the tunnel just ended up getting longer. The result was emotional fatigue, impatience, clumsiness, and careless mistakes.

There are two steps to overcoming energy vampires. The first is simply to acknowledge them. Shining daylight on them makes them cower, and making a list of them can often help us avoid them all together.

The second step is to make a list of what lights your fire and scares the vampires away. In my case it is friends, tasty food and lots of laughter. I am off to a dinner now at a new Indian restaurant with two people who value me. I expect to smile a lot.

Let the ever-ripening Wiser Now website become the apple of your eye.
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