Quote to ponder under the apple tree
Hope is a very unruly emotion.
~ Gloria Steinem (born March 25, 1935)
Resources to bite into
1. C’mon get happy; it’s spring!
As noted in the current Brain Aerobics Weekly, this is Spring Fever Week (fittingly the week spring begins) and Act Happy Week. Many of us have no problem acting happy when spring begins; some of us get downright goofy. But when one more snowstorm or bout of cold weather arrives, our hopes are thrown for a loop. Dale Anderson, M.D., says that we can become happy by acting happy. Just as smiling when you’re feeling low can lift your mood, acting as if you’re happy when you’re not can bring your body around to feeling happier. Dr. Anderson notes on his website (http://www.acthappy.com) that “Happiness is an infectious state that can have a beneficial impact on health,” making it an idea worth “germ”-inating. There’s never been a better time to exercise your funny bone than now. There never is.
2. Overcoming awkward moments
March 16th is Awkward Moments Day, a reminder to make light of your faux pas. After lunching at New York City’s Algonquin Hotel one day in the 1920s, the American humorist Robert Benchley and his companions walked through the lobby and out the front door. Still engaged in conversation with his friends, Mr. Benchley offhandedly said to the uniformed man standing by the front door, "My good man, would you please get me a taxi?" The man immediately took offense and replied indignantly, "I'm not a doorman. I happen to be a rear admiral in the United States Navy." Benchley instantly quipped: "All right then, get me a battleship." Have you ever had a clever comeback line to cover up an awkward moment? Share your story.
3. Imagining your loved ones as food
The current Brain Aerobics Weekly has an imaginative exercise based on a quote found in author Mardy Grothe’s book I Never Metaphor I Didn’t Like. (To order, click here. His website, http://www.drmardy.com/, is also the source of the Robert Benchley story above.) The quote that inspired the exercise was Katherine Hepburn comparing herself with Spencer Tracy:
He was a baked potato – solid . . .
I was a fancy dessert – mocha chip ice cream.
Imagine yourself – and your family, friends and other celebrities as food. What kind would they be?
Tips/ideas/insights to savor
We couldn’t let the week go by without noting St. Patrick’s Day. The current Brain Aerobics Weekly celebrates with a word game inspired by the song from “Finian’s Rainbow” called “Something Sort of Grandish.” The lyrics by E.Y. Harburg include real and made up words ending in “ish”. For example:
My heart feels so sugar candish . . .
Why should I vanquish,
Relinquish, resish,
When I simply relish this swellish condish?
There are, in fact, hundreds of real words that end in “ish.” How many can you think of in the following categories? (Sample answers are given below)
• People of particular nationalities, such as Irish
• Colors, such as greenish
• Ages, such as thirtyish
• Human sizes and shapes, such as smallish and tallish
• Human character, such as impish
• Humans’ animalistic tendencies, such as coltish
A few answers:
• Nationalities: British, Danish, Moorish, Polish . . .
• Colors: blackish, bluish, grayish, purplish, reddish . . .
• Ages: oldish, youngish, fortyish, fiftyish . . .
• Human sizes/shapes: biggish, blimpish, frumpish, lumpish, plumpish, thinnish . . .
• Human character: babyish, boyish, brutish, childish, clownish, coquettish, devilish, girlish, knavish, nerdish, pixyish, scampish, tomboyish, vixenish, wimpish . . .
• Humans’ animalistic tendencies: mulish, hawkish, dovish, kittenish, piggish, sheepish, shrewish, sluggish, toadyish . . .
To receive the advantage of seeing all these ideas in an expanded version, subscribe to Brain Aerobics Weekly today.
Order Brain Aerobics Weekly at
www.wisernow.com.
Each week brings amazing and amusing mind stimulation!
Let us become the apple of your eye.
Hope is a very unruly emotion.
~ Gloria Steinem (born March 25, 1935)
Resources to bite into
1. C’mon get happy; it’s spring!
As noted in the current Brain Aerobics Weekly, this is Spring Fever Week (fittingly the week spring begins) and Act Happy Week. Many of us have no problem acting happy when spring begins; some of us get downright goofy. But when one more snowstorm or bout of cold weather arrives, our hopes are thrown for a loop. Dale Anderson, M.D., says that we can become happy by acting happy. Just as smiling when you’re feeling low can lift your mood, acting as if you’re happy when you’re not can bring your body around to feeling happier. Dr. Anderson notes on his website (http://www.acthappy.com) that “Happiness is an infectious state that can have a beneficial impact on health,” making it an idea worth “germ”-inating. There’s never been a better time to exercise your funny bone than now. There never is.
2. Overcoming awkward momentsMarch 16th is Awkward Moments Day, a reminder to make light of your faux pas. After lunching at New York City’s Algonquin Hotel one day in the 1920s, the American humorist Robert Benchley and his companions walked through the lobby and out the front door. Still engaged in conversation with his friends, Mr. Benchley offhandedly said to the uniformed man standing by the front door, "My good man, would you please get me a taxi?" The man immediately took offense and replied indignantly, "I'm not a doorman. I happen to be a rear admiral in the United States Navy." Benchley instantly quipped: "All right then, get me a battleship." Have you ever had a clever comeback line to cover up an awkward moment? Share your story.
3. Imagining your loved ones as food
The current Brain Aerobics Weekly has an imaginative exercise based on a quote found in author Mardy Grothe’s book I Never Metaphor I Didn’t Like. (To order, click here. His website, http://www.drmardy.com/, is also the source of the Robert Benchley story above.) The quote that inspired the exercise was Katherine Hepburn comparing herself with Spencer Tracy:
He was a baked potato – solid . . .
I was a fancy dessert – mocha chip ice cream.
Imagine yourself – and your family, friends and other celebrities as food. What kind would they be?
Tips/ideas/insights to savor
We couldn’t let the week go by without noting St. Patrick’s Day. The current Brain Aerobics Weekly celebrates with a word game inspired by the song from “Finian’s Rainbow” called “Something Sort of Grandish.” The lyrics by E.Y. Harburg include real and made up words ending in “ish”. For example:
My heart feels so sugar candish . . .
Why should I vanquish,
Relinquish, resish,
When I simply relish this swellish condish?
There are, in fact, hundreds of real words that end in “ish.” How many can you think of in the following categories? (Sample answers are given below)
• People of particular nationalities, such as Irish
• Colors, such as greenish
• Ages, such as thirtyish
• Human sizes and shapes, such as smallish and tallish
• Human character, such as impish
• Humans’ animalistic tendencies, such as coltish
A few answers:
• Nationalities: British, Danish, Moorish, Polish . . .
• Colors: blackish, bluish, grayish, purplish, reddish . . .
• Ages: oldish, youngish, fortyish, fiftyish . . .
• Human sizes/shapes: biggish, blimpish, frumpish, lumpish, plumpish, thinnish . . .
• Human character: babyish, boyish, brutish, childish, clownish, coquettish, devilish, girlish, knavish, nerdish, pixyish, scampish, tomboyish, vixenish, wimpish . . .
• Humans’ animalistic tendencies: mulish, hawkish, dovish, kittenish, piggish, sheepish, shrewish, sluggish, toadyish . . .
To receive the advantage of seeing all these ideas in an expanded version, subscribe to Brain Aerobics Weekly today.
Order Brain Aerobics Weekly at
www.wisernow.com.
Each week brings amazing and amusing mind stimulation!
Let us become the apple of your eye.
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