idealawg

Blog Glob: Inception + Up = Upception

Excerpt:

What do you get when you mash up neuroscience-fiction smash-hit "Inception" with the charming, all ages "Up"? 

"Upception", of course.  See the trailer below:

Click to see the trailer (Science 2.0).

Aren't these great whimsical drawings of the brain?

Click to see the brain showing off, reading, juggling, lifting idea weights, researching, and more. The artist Dilip Mukerjea is very creative, yes?

Lighter Wisdom: DON'T ARGY-BARGY, SIMPLY DO IT!

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day is argy-bargy.

argy-bargy • \ahr-jee-BAHR-jee\  • noun
: a lively discussion : argument, dispute
Example Sentence:
After much argy-bargy, Paul and Hugh finally came up with a plan that satisfied them both.

I was reminded of two things by the word. First, that it has been a while since I posted a Friday Lighter Wisdom, and, second, that years ago I wrote about argy-bargy. Since today is Friday, I will post that article . . .

The Serious Worth of Silly

“Serious things cannot be understood without
humorous things
Nor opposites without opposites.”
--Plato

Silly things can help us to achieve important things. Today will be a silly day.

Echo-words are so much fun to say. They feel good on our tongue and often make us laugh -- at least when we first hear them. I just learned the term argy-bargy, and I laughed when I heard it. It means an argument or to argue; it’s both a noun and a verb. Its cousin is argle-bargle with the same definition.

Argy came from argument and then it picked up an echo along the way and became argy-bargy. Can you imagine the possible results when you begin to use the term? “Let’s not argy-bargy.” That alone might defuse any tense situation. Incorporate it into your vocabulary and enjoy the pattern interrupt whenever you use it.

Hurly-burly is another echo-word. Hurly comes from the root meaning to howl. Sometime in history burly joined hurly because it rhymed. We seem to like echo words -- hodge-podge, wishy-washy, what else?

A Bunch of Gibberish

Make an echo for your name. Make several. Say

This short video will make even the most negative person smile: Is the kid positive or what?

Now this is a positive affirmation for you! Click to watch. Wonder what she will grow up to be?

Test your eyes or your brain

I received these in an e-mail. Some are rather appealing. Warning! Take the assertions made with a grain of salt, especially what is said about being a genius, using your right or left brain, and having an IQ of 160. Mainly, just enjoy. I particularly like the first one. If it does not move right away, wait a few seconds.

Read out loud the text inside the triangle below.

More than likely you said, "A bird in the bush," and...
If this IS what YOU said, then you failed to see
that the word THE is repeated twice!
Sorry, look again.

Next is an optical illusion . . .

Knowing all the physical benefits of laughing, why would you maintain a perpetual, persistent straight face?

Because I believe in the many benefits of play and laughter, I have both posted here about them and given presentations around the country about their value. (Many of the programs have been given to lawyers, who typically are quick to see the serious benefits of lightening up.) And once I began learning a few years ago about the brain, I was even more convinced of play's and laughter's advantages.

With a big smile, I read an article published yesterday in Medical News Today titled "Repetitive Laughter Response Is Similar To The Effect Of Repetitive Exercise." In the article, the research of Doctors Lee Berk and Stanley Tan is described. (This pair have been doing laughter research for quite a while now; I have referred to them in articles I have written over the years on laughter.) The writer explains that Berk and Tan have developed a program for incorporating mirthful laughter into your life called Laughercise© (not to be confused with Laughercize).

From the article:

Dr. Lee S. Berk, a preventive care specialist and psychoneuroimmunology researcher at Loma Linda University's Schools of Allied Health (SAHP) and Medicine, and director of the molecular research lab at SAHP, Loma Linda, CA, and Dr. Stanley Tan have picked up where [Norman] Cousins left off. Since the 1980s, they have been studying the human body's response to mirthful laughter and

"Don't Deck the Clown: Inviting Humor into the Law Firm"

Written 13 years ago, the thoughts I express in this article have changed a bit, but much of what I have written I still believe. What do you think?

From "Don't Deck the Clown: Inviting Humor into the Law Firm" (Law Governance Review) [pdf]:

Law firms can be very somber, serious places in which most members may at first discount the role of humor in addressing many of the current challenges to the legal profession. This article offers a view of why humor is important and how it can be incorporated into the practice of law. The author makes a case for taking humor seriously, because it can make the difference in achieving a higher level of performance and success.

Suppose a clown were invited to your firm on a whim of a senior partner. The clown is dressed in a colorful costume, and, in his curly-toed shoes, he pads through the hallways, peeking in the doorways, pausing to be acknowledged or invited into offices where lawyers are busy doing what lawyers do; the clown is ready to offer a wide smile and a friendly greeting. How would the clown be received? Would he be shunned or go unnoticed? Would staff members be embarrassed by his presence? How would the lawyers, paralegals, and other staff members respond?

The fact is that in many law firms, as well as in many corporate settings, fun and play are considered unprofessional and certainly not invited or honored; the value of humor in the law firm is ignored, discounted, or unrecognized. And so members of your firm might be expected to react in a way similar to that described by an attorney in a large Denver firm who, after considering the image of a clown walking through the hallways of her firm, said that given these tense times, the managing partner might "deck the clown."

Decking the clown, denying the jester, and discounting the value of humor are not in the best interest of a law firm or the legal profession. In times that call for creative problem solving, intrafirm collaboration, stress reduction, and other measures to support physical and mental health and superior client relations, humor is critical. Before a law firm frowns on play, it might want to consider the benefits of opening mouths wide to smiles and laughter. Below are described four of the many benefits of inviting humor into the law firm.

Click to read the rest.

"Want to age well? Laugh it up": "Who will hang out with you when all you have is yourself?"

In the past, I have given more than a few presentations on the benefits of laughter and humor; those benefits are many. So I was not surprised to read about an older adult who aged well AND had a sense of humor. From "Want to age well? Laugh it up" (The Globe and Mail):

In her new book, You Could Live a Long Time: Are You Ready?, sociologist Lyndsay Green interviewed 40 seniors identified as role models for aging well by the people who know them. What she discovered is that money matters far less than learning to laugh about your hearing aid.

In your opening chapter, you give some simple advice: Be charming. Is one of the most important lessons of aging well making sure you are fun to hang out with?

It's absolutely the most important lesson. Once you are older there are often very few reasons for people to hang out with you unless you are charming. You aren't offering them networking opportunities or career advancement prospects. Who will hang out with you when all you have is yourself?

You describe your Aunt Jean who made close friendships with the staff at her nursing home, partly because she couldn't relate to her fellow residents. She certainly appears to have been that great-aunt you'd always like to visit. What are the most important things you learned from her?

She made an enormous effort to put on her face for me – in the metaphorical sense. She prepared herself for her visit with me. She would have clearly boned up on some topical event, some public issues that she wanted to debate and would ask my opinion on.

Great Christmas decoration, don't you think?

Be sure to read the story below.

From the homeowner:

"Good news is that I truly outdid myself this year with my Christmas  decorations. The bad news is that I had to take him down after 2 days. I had more people come screaming up to my house than ever. Great stories. But two things made me take it down.

First, the cops advised me that it would cause traffic accidents as they almost wrecked when they drove by.

Second, a 55 year old lady grabbed the 75 pound ladder almost killed herself putting it against my house and didn't realize it was fake until she climbed to the top (she was not happy). By the way, she was one of many people who attempted to do that.

My yard couldn't take it either. I have more than a few tire tracks where people literally drove up my yard."

The first book-length Twitter collection

The sample Tweets at Amazon from G.B. Trudeau's new book My Shorts R Bunching. Thoughts?: The Tweets of Roland Hedley are very funny (at least to me):

Just spotted colleague Terry Moran in hall. Could wave, but easier to tweet. Hey, dude." 10:49 AM Mar 18th from Tweetdeck

"Bumped into an old stalker of mine at Borders. She'd lost some weight and looked terrific, but I tweeted 911 anyway. Cops arrived from 3 states." 1:43 PM Mar7th from Blackberry

"I refuse to apologize for making time for my kid's ball games, so I usually end up not going." 9:13 AM May 4th from web

"Had close call watching MJ memorial service. They ended 'We are the World' before I could jimmy open my gun closet and blow my brains out." 12:33 PM Jul 7th from web

"While speaking last night, someone threw panties on stage. Or boxers. Whatever. Times like that, always ask myself: What would The Boss do?" 5:13 PM Mar 12th from web

"Kabul. Awakened by huge blast in hotel lobby. Suicide bomber blew up complimentary breakfast buffet. Off to find bagel." 3:14 PM Apr 8th from Tweetdeck