Just a Bite 4/13/10

Quote to ponder under the apple tree

I merely took the energy it takes to pout and wrote some blues.
~ Duke Ellington (born April 29, 1899)


Resources to bite into

1. It’s Jazz Appreciation Month

As noted in the current Brain Aerobics Weekly, five of the most famous jazz and blues performers of all time have April birthdays. Besides Duke Ellington, the others are:
• Billie Holiday, April 7, 1915
• Bessie Smith, April 15, 1894
• Lionel Hampton, April 20, 1908
• Ella Fitzgerald, April 25, 1917
Each had amazing talent, and you can hear samples of their performances by going to http://www.rhapsody.com and typing in their names. Here’s another of my favorite quotes from Ella Fitzgerald: “I stole everything I ever heard, but mostly I stole from the horns.”

2. The Earth is always moving


This week marks the anniversary of the April 18, 1906 San Francisco earthquake, which left about 75% of the city’s population (over 250,000 people) homeless. In a year that has already seen numerous devastating earthquakes, it’s interesting to note that the year 1906 was also fraught with them. In addition to the 7.8 magnitude San Francisco one were these:
• Ecuador/Colombia at 8.8 magnitude, January 31
• Taiwan at 7.1 magnitude, March 16
• Chile at 8.2 magnitude, August 16
• Aleutian Islands and the West Pacific at 8.2 magnitude, August 17
According to a recent article in the New York Times by Roger Musson, that’s not really so unusual: “On average, we record an earthquake with a magnitude over 6 every three days or so, and over 7 at least once a month.” Does that surprise you? It does me!
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/11/opinion/11musson.html?th&emc=th

3. April showers and creating bigger raindrops

The current Brain Aerobics Weekly notes advice from award-winning speaker Darren LaCroix. He wrote recently of taking a backstage movie studio tour and learning that when it rains in Hollywood movies, filmmakers actually make raindrops four times bigger. If they didn’t, we wouldn’t be able to see them, and why the actors were getting wet would make less sense. Mr. LaCroix uses that technique to exaggerate the stories in his speeches so they are more likely to make people laugh, and suggests we look for ways to enhance the raindrops in other aspects of our lives. April 16th is Stress Awareness Day and April 14th is Moment of Laughter Day. Why not decrease your vision of the stress raindrops in your life and increase the size of your guffaws this week?

Tips/ideas/insights to savor

The current Brain Aerobics Weekly also takes note of the publication of Rachel Carson’s book Silent Spring in 1962. Ms. Carson was a well-known natural history writer at the time, and when her book documented the detrimental effects of pesticides on the environment, particularly on birds, she was taken seriously. (“Silent spring” refers to the disappearance of birdsongs.) The book is credited with launching the environmental movement and the banning of DDT. As we approach Earth Day, it’s a good book to check out. (To order, click here.)

On the other hand, silence can be a good and too rare commodity in our lives. Think about the people you are with and/or the places you go to enjoy silence.

• What silences soothe you?
• With whom can you sit in companionable silence?
• How do you use silence – pauses – to enhance music, poetry or the telling of jokes?
• Who or what have you commemorated with “a moment of silence”?

To receive the advantage of seeing more than 4 times as many ideas and exercises each week, subscribe to Brain Aerobics Weekly today.

Each week brings amazing and amusing mind stimulation!

Let us become the apple of your eye.

Just a Bite March 30th, 2010

Quote to ponder under the apple tree

Don’t let a man put anything over on you except an umbrella.
~ Mae West

Resources to bite into

1. Umbrella Month is ending; April showers are beginning!

As noted in the current Brain Aerobics Weekly, the Latin root for umbrella is “umbra” which means shade or shadow. Umbrellas have been fashionable for at least 4000 years, but they were originally intended only as protection from the sun in hot Mediterranean countries. The Chinese were the first to put a waterproof coating on them for rain protection, but that use didn’t catch on for another millennium or two in the western world.

2. It’s Cherry Blossom Festival time

If you are lucky enough to live in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Vancouver, Tokyo, or anywhere else where cherry blossoms bloom, you are entering one of the most beautiful times of the year. Washington, D.C.’s Cherry Blossom Festival began on March 27 and will run through April 11. In Japan, where the blossoming of the sakura trees is as much a part of the daily news as fall color reports are in New England, some cities have already passed their prime viewing, which happened a little early this year.

But its transience is exactly what makes the cherry blossom season worth treasuring. Gathering under the blossoms, a practice called hanami, is the reason for picnics, parties and visits to temples and shrines. Cherry blossoms are both a sign of the hope of spring – for good fortune and love – and a sign of mortality, because their loveliness is short lived. The Japanese phrase for this is mono no aware (each vowel is pronounced) which is sometimes translated as “the ahhh-ness of things.” For a moment, we are deeply aware of great beauty, and feel a bittersweet sadness that it will not last. Treasure the ahhh-ness in your life!

3. An artist who immortalized the moments
The current Brain Aerobics Weekly features a painting by Vincent Van Gogh who was born on this date in 1853. Like many artists in his time period, he was deeply influenced by Japanese art. The painting pictured below, called “Almond Blossom,” was created in celebration of the birth of his nephew and namesake, born on January 31, 1890.

One would think he had been to a cherry blossom festival!

Tips/ideas/insights to savor

Moving ahead to April and Physical Wellness Month, the current Brain Aerobics Weekly features a body part quiz inspired by Paul Dickson’s book, A Connoisseur’s Collection of Old and New, Weird and Wonderful, Useful and Outlandish Words. (To order, click here.) I would suspect you didn’t even know these body parts existed. Here’s a sampling:

1. Olecranon ___
2. Opisthenar ___
3. Oscitancy ___
4. Sciapodous ___
5. Tragus ___

a. the act of yawning
b. the back of your hand
c. the fleshy bump on your ear between the face and the ear cavity
d. the ‘funny” bone – the projecting bone of the elbow
e. having very large feet

For extra credit, try naming 10 common body parts with only three letters.

Answers to this quiz: 1. d; 2. b; 3.a; 4. e; 5. c

As for the extra credit, you’ll need to think harder or subscribe to Brain Aerobics Weekly!

To receive the advantage of seeing more than 4 times as many ideas and exercises each week, subscribe to Brain Aerobics Weekly today.

Order Brain Aerobics Weekly at
http://www.wisernow.com/.
Each week brings amazing and amusing mind stimulation!

Let us become the apple of your eye.