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.

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Let us become the apple of your eye.

Just a Bite 3-16-10

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.