Quote to ponder under the apple tree
In all matters of opinion, our adversaries are insane.
~ Oscar Wilde (born October 16, 1854)
Resources to bite into
1. Character Counts Week, October 18 - 24
This special week starts before our next issue, so consider now how you might celebrate. In spite of the temptation we all have to discount those who disagree with us (as Oscar Wilde noted above), one mark of good character is the willingness to listen to others. Advice columnist Dear Abby (Abigail Van Buren) said:
The best index to a person's character is
(a) how he treats people who can't do him any good, and
(b) how he treats people who can't fight back.
2. Hollywood Squares
The current issue of Brain Aerobics Weekly features numerous examples of banter between Peter Marshall, the host for 15 years of “Hollywood Squares” (which premiered on October 17, 1966) and the celebrity panelists. The most outrageous of them was Paul Lynde who twice won a daytime Emmy for his quick retorts. Many of them are too risqué for this family-friendly blog, but here are two:
Peter Marshall: If you were pregnant for two years, what would you give birth to?
Paul Lynde: Whatever it is, it would never be afraid of the dark.
Peter Marshall: Paul, according to the classic movie “Frankenstein,” Dr. Frankenstein was supposed to do something important the day the monster killed him. What?
Paul Lynde: I think a tonsillectomy.
Check out many more at http://www.classicsquares.com/.
3. Gobblet
The current Brain Aerobics Weekly also highlights the games Gobblet and Gobblet Junior which are more complex versions of Tic-Tac-Toe (the game on which “Hollywood Squar
es” was based). While easy to learn and adaptable to various ages and abilities, they also require strategic thinking. The original Gobblet is attractive enough for a coffee table display, and that gives it the added advantage of instant, spontaneous intellectual stimulation. To order Gobblet, click here. To order Gobblet Junior, click here.
Tips/ideas/insights to savor
The current Brain Aerobics Weekly uses its imagination pages to talk about “do-overs.”
October 17 is Mulligan Day. In sports, a mulligan happens when a player gets a second chance to perform a certain move or action. It seems to be particularly common in golf, when it is not unusual to allow a mulligan on the first shot by a player on the first tee. Obviously, the mulligan is meant to replace a bad first shot with a better one, but when the second shot is worse than the first, it’s called a “Finnegan.” I’m not sure why the Mulligans and Finnegans of the world have lent their names to the practice – origin stories are many and varied – but I’ve always thought do-overs were a good idea.
One of the happiest discoveries aging has brought me is that do-overs – that is, changing my mind and starting again with another choice – are possible throughout life. Careers, life partners, where to live, talents to nurture, how much to exercise, what movie to see and what route to take home are just a few examples of mulligans I have taken.
One way to help group members get to know each other and also, we hope, do some positive self reflection, is to think about all the ways you have done course corrections. Ask participants to discuss these questions:
• What are the most dramatic mulligans you have taken in life?
• What small, seemingly insignificant mulligans have you taken that have made your life easier?
(For example, the alternative to “If a thing is worth doing, it’s worth doing well,” is “If a thing is just barely worth doing, then just barely do it.” Not everything requires full devotion. What things do you pay less attention to than you once did?)
• What mulligans do you still need/want to take?
• Finally, to whom do you need to give a mulligan and why?
Using these resources effectively:
We suggest you create a file on your computer for Just a Bite where you save each week’s digest so that you can access these websites any time.
Let the ever-ripening Wiser Now website become the apple of your eye.
In all matters of opinion, our adversaries are insane.
~ Oscar Wilde (born October 16, 1854)
Resources to bite into
1. Character Counts Week, October 18 - 24
This special week starts before our next issue, so consider now how you might celebrate. In spite of the temptation we all have to discount those who disagree with us (as Oscar Wilde noted above), one mark of good character is the willingness to listen to others. Advice columnist Dear Abby (Abigail Van Buren) said:
The best index to a person's character is
(a) how he treats people who can't do him any good, and
(b) how he treats people who can't fight back.
2. Hollywood Squares
The current issue of Brain Aerobics Weekly features numerous examples of banter between Peter Marshall, the host for 15 years of “Hollywood Squares” (which premiered on October 17, 1966) and the celebrity panelists. The most outrageous of them was Paul Lynde who twice won a daytime Emmy for his quick retorts. Many of them are too risqué for this family-friendly blog, but here are two:
Peter Marshall: If you were pregnant for two years, what would you give birth to?
Paul Lynde: Whatever it is, it would never be afraid of the dark.
Peter Marshall: Paul, according to the classic movie “Frankenstein,” Dr. Frankenstein was supposed to do something important the day the monster killed him. What?
Paul Lynde: I think a tonsillectomy.
Check out many more at http://www.classicsquares.com/.
3. Gobblet
The current Brain Aerobics Weekly also highlights the games Gobblet and Gobblet Junior which are more complex versions of Tic-Tac-Toe (the game on which “Hollywood Squar
es” was based). While easy to learn and adaptable to various ages and abilities, they also require strategic thinking. The original Gobblet is attractive enough for a coffee table display, and that gives it the added advantage of instant, spontaneous intellectual stimulation. To order Gobblet, click here. To order Gobblet Junior, click here.Tips/ideas/insights to savor
The current Brain Aerobics Weekly uses its imagination pages to talk about “do-overs.”
October 17 is Mulligan Day. In sports, a mulligan happens when a player gets a second chance to perform a certain move or action. It seems to be particularly common in golf, when it is not unusual to allow a mulligan on the first shot by a player on the first tee. Obviously, the mulligan is meant to replace a bad first shot with a better one, but when the second shot is worse than the first, it’s called a “Finnegan.” I’m not sure why the Mulligans and Finnegans of the world have lent their names to the practice – origin stories are many and varied – but I’ve always thought do-overs were a good idea.
One of the happiest discoveries aging has brought me is that do-overs – that is, changing my mind and starting again with another choice – are possible throughout life. Careers, life partners, where to live, talents to nurture, how much to exercise, what movie to see and what route to take home are just a few examples of mulligans I have taken.
One way to help group members get to know each other and also, we hope, do some positive self reflection, is to think about all the ways you have done course corrections. Ask participants to discuss these questions:
• What are the most dramatic mulligans you have taken in life?
• What small, seemingly insignificant mulligans have you taken that have made your life easier?
(For example, the alternative to “If a thing is worth doing, it’s worth doing well,” is “If a thing is just barely worth doing, then just barely do it.” Not everything requires full devotion. What things do you pay less attention to than you once did?)
• What mulligans do you still need/want to take?
• Finally, to whom do you need to give a mulligan and why?
Using these resources effectively:
We suggest you create a file on your computer for Just a Bite where you save each week’s digest so that you can access these websites any time.
Let the ever-ripening Wiser Now website become the apple of your eye.
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