One of my favorite activities is having a nice, long, drawn out conversation with another person about almost absolutely nothing, solving world peace, why people won’t signal a turn in Texas, the pro’s and con’s of gun control, the weather, food in the United States, why flying is never boring no matter how much you’ve done, the fear of flying, garbage, cell phone, sports, Italian politics, the Mona Lisa, Boccaccio, and a host of golden daffodils. Sip a double espresso and listen as a friend goes on about their day, their concerns, what they had for lunch. I don’t always have time to do this, but my day is always better when I give myself a little recess from the stress of the day and let someone else tell me how their day went. Of course, I do my share of talking as well. Perhaps it is more important to actually have friends with whom you share a certain intimacy who will sit and listen to you as well. I know I’m not the most enthralling or interesting speaker myself, so listening to me ramble about making bread or leading a search committee is not the most dynamic conversation in the world. What is probably more important than the topics being discussed is the time spent with the other person. American work ethics, however, do not lend themselves to taking a coffee break and just chatting about the world. I guess there may be something to “all work and no play make Jack a dull boy.” To have a good conversation and meaningful interaction, paradoxically one does not have to talk about anything profound or transcendental. In fact, perhaps it would be better if one is not talking about anything profound at all. A slow give-and-take is all a body really needs, but perhaps the conversation is better if it’s not a strenuous debate on presidential election politics. Talking about the weather in Texas is just about mundane enough to qualify for the perfect conversation between two people who really want to hang out together, but who also don’t want to complicate their lives by talking about something that stirs conflict. Intimacy is seldom about conflict and more often about subjects and beliefs held in common. I would suggest that most people do not base their intimate interactions on debate, conflict, or strife. In fact, most people need intimacy to reaffirm their own identities by seeing themselves in others. Talking, a coffee conversation fits the bill entirely. Sure, one might spend some time laughing at the latest political fiasco coming out of Washington, or why handguns on a college campus is insane, or whether one might boost, or not, a flagging economy with economic incentives or tax relief, but it will always be more interesting to discuss which drunk starlet has been sent back to jail for violating her parole or who is going to win the Oscar for best-supporting actor. Life cannot be just work. There has to be more. I find that while talking to another person, my mind tends to work on other problems which I might being trying to solve at any given moment. I’m sure my blood pressure goes does, as do my levels of stress. Having a nice long chat with a friendly person is like going out for recess and letting off some steam, and breaking the day’s routine can only be a good thing. We spend our whole lives wallowing in our daily routines, mindlessly bending our wills to schedules, time tables, and calendars. Now these aids help us to get our work done, which is good, but too much of anything can be a negative thing. In the isolation of work schedules, we eschew human interaction and robotically dedicate our time and energies to work, just work. Getting out and talking to another person may be just the ticket for breaking out of our zombie-like dedication and working on our overall good mental health.
Category Archives: laughter
On talking
One of my favorite activities is having a nice, long, drawn out conversation with another person about almost absolutely nothing, solving world peace, why people won’t signal a turn in Texas, the pro’s and con’s of gun control, the weather, food in the United States, why flying is never boring no matter how much you’ve done, the fear of flying, garbage, cell phone, sports, Italian politics, the Mona Lisa, Boccaccio, and a host of golden daffodils. Sip a double espresso and listen as a friend goes on about their day, their concerns, what they had for lunch. I don’t always have time to do this, but my day is always better when I give myself a little recess from the stress of the day and let someone else tell me how their day went. Of course, I do my share of talking as well. Perhaps it is more important to actually have friends with whom you share a certain intimacy who will sit and listen to you as well. I know I’m not the most enthralling or interesting speaker myself, so listening to me ramble about making bread or leading a search committee is not the most dynamic conversation in the world. What is probably more important than the topics being discussed is the time spent with the other person. American work ethics, however, do not lend themselves to taking a coffee break and just chatting about the world. I guess there may be something to “all work and no play make Jack a dull boy.” To have a good conversation and meaningful interaction, paradoxically one does not have to talk about anything profound or transcendental. In fact, perhaps it would be better if one is not talking about anything profound at all. A slow give-and-take is all a body really needs, but perhaps the conversation is better if it’s not a strenuous debate on presidential election politics. Talking about the weather in Texas is just about mundane enough to qualify for the perfect conversation between two people who really want to hang out together, but who also don’t want to complicate their lives by talking about something that stirs conflict. Intimacy is seldom about conflict and more often about subjects and beliefs held in common. I would suggest that most people do not base their intimate interactions on debate, conflict, or strife. In fact, most people need intimacy to reaffirm their own identities by seeing themselves in others. Talking, a coffee conversation fits the bill entirely. Sure, one might spend some time laughing at the latest political fiasco coming out of Washington, or why handguns on a college campus is insane, or whether one might boost, or not, a flagging economy with economic incentives or tax relief, but it will always be more interesting to discuss which drunk starlet has been sent back to jail for violating her parole or who is going to win the Oscar for best-supporting actor. Life cannot be just work. There has to be more. I find that while talking to another person, my mind tends to work on other problems which I might being trying to solve at any given moment. I’m sure my blood pressure goes does, as do my levels of stress. Having a nice long chat with a friendly person is like going out for recess and letting off some steam, and breaking the day’s routine can only be a good thing. We spend our whole lives wallowing in our daily routines, mindlessly bending our wills to schedules, time tables, and calendars. Now these aids help us to get our work done, which is good, but too much of anything can be a negative thing. In the isolation of work schedules, we eschew human interaction and robotically dedicate our time and energies to work, just work. Getting out and talking to another person may be just the ticket for breaking out of our zombie-like dedication and working on our overall good mental health.
On Santa Claus
I am not here to discuss the veritable existence or not of Santa Claus, but I would like to offer a few thoughts on that rather rotund, if not jolly, red-suited, white-bearded, generous fellow. His very appearance is strange given what America considers to be aesthetically appealing in male beauty: oldish, chubby (rather fat, actually), lots of facial hair, white hair, suspenders, large black boots. 007 would never look like that. Santa Claus is an odd figure who actually scares small children who are often faced with having to meet Santa up-close and personal, sitting on his lap. Though known for his kind generosity, he also keeps a naughty and nice list, which is a rather sinister proposition, especially if you have been naughty. Santa represents a threat to impose punishment if certain levels of good behavior are not observed. The naughty-nice list is a strange sword-of-Damocles type weapon which for some causes a certain amount of personal introspection. Some people worry about how bad they have been during the year because they know they deserve nothing, nothing at all. The mere existence of Santa suggests associations with the supernatural, or perhaps the magical, but the flying sleigh and reindeer imply that all is not what it seems to be–Santa is not just Santa, and those reindeer are not run-of-the-mill quadrupeds. The question of his residence is also very problematic: he lives on an ice flow which has trees and fixed foundation buildings. Yes, the ice is permanent, and ice houses or houses on ice are totally possible because we see the behavior in Minnesota all the time, forming small cities of ice houses on area lakes. The elf population, however, is really problematic. My question is how Santa funds the feeding of his workforce, the housing for so many reindeer, and flying sleigh maintenance. Elves are not particularly problematic because of the Harry Potter documentaries explaining the care and feeding of these magical creatures, but still I wonder about their toy-making skills. I also wonder about how Santa makes it down chimneys in his unhealthy state of chubbiness. Chimneys are dicey enough to maneuver even when you are skinny, but if you are carrying around an extra sixty or seventy pounds, you might not make it down the chimney at all. I think the perks of being Santa, however, are very nice, but quite unhealthy, being free cookies and milk at all his stops. Perhaps being Santa is harder than it looks. Mrs. Claus does a lot–let’s out his Santa suit, overfeeds him, tells him he’s going to be late, nags him about new curtains for the living room, stuff like that, so we know who to thank for all those gifts on Christmas morning. I worry that Santa Claus is part of patriarchal conspiracy to enslave elves, repress reindeer, spread the wealth, and generalize breaking and entering. I also worry about Santa’s blood sugar and waist line. He does not lead a healthy lifestyle, and his cholesterol must be sky-high. I worry about Santa, and maybe you should too. So Santa is the generous, fun guy, handing out free stuff, watching over us all, checking the “naughty/nice” app on his phone, wondering if it will storm this Christmas Eve.
On hand dryers
I hate hand dryers. You know the kind, the one’s you find in the rest rooms all around the world. You press a button, and it blows out hot air to dry your hands. Most public or private restrooms let you wash your hands with a certain amount of ease and proficiency. You can wash your hands, but what you can’t do is get them dry without wiping them on your pants. I understand the problem: the bathroom owners will pay for a little machine to dry your hands, and they will even pay for the electricity to run them, but they don’t want to buy paper towels of any kind or then collect the garbage to get rid of them. Garbage cans are so unsightly. The problem only starts when your hands are already wet and you want to dry them. The vast majority, if not all, of hand dryers do not work at all. They usually fall into a four categories of dysfunctional behavior. One, they don’t work at all–broken; two, they blow just a little bit as if there were an overworked hummingbird inside, and this has no effect of any kind on the moisture on your hands; three, the machine is supposed to function when you put your hands under it, but you can’t find the sweet spot where the machine turns on, or you find it, but it immediately turns off again–you play this game for a few minutes until you get tired of trying to guess where the sweet spot is; four, the machine does blow out hot air, but timidly, and this does not as much dry your hands as warm up the water still on them. The results of all of these machines are best described as pathetic or zero. I would suggest, in fact, that buying an automatic hand dryer is both useless and illogical because none of them will dry your hands. (I will not address the one company that makes a “blade” that really does dry your hands because they are so rare, like white tigers.) I have pressed the dryer button on more than one occasion to have the dryer come on and softly whine at me while it gently blows cool air on my hands. I can’t even count the times when the machines will not function at all, and you have to wipe your hands on your pants. What is a total mystery to me is how these businesses and engineers stay in business producing machines that don’t work. Many, many businesses have installed paper towel dispensers right next to the hand dryers (or removed the hand dryers entirely), so that their patrons can dry their hands without wiping them on their pants. Why, as users, do we tolerate such flimsy and faulty engineering? And how hard can it be to design a machine that works? The plain truth of the situation is that most hand dryers don’t work, and I mean 99% of them. I have laughed out loud when, with total innocence, I have put my wet hands under the dryer expecting to dry them, and nothing has happened, so I wipe them on my pants. So lately I always reach for the paper towel and leave the hand dryer clinging to the wall in mute silence, wondering which fool bought that thing thinking that it would dry hands.
On hand dryers
I hate hand dryers. You know the kind, the one’s you find in the rest rooms all around the world. You press a button, and it blows out hot air to dry your hands. Most public or private restrooms let you wash your hands with a certain amount of ease and proficiency. You can wash your hands, but what you can’t do is get them dry without wiping them on your pants. I understand the problem: the bathroom owners will pay for a little machine to dry your hands, and they will even pay for the electricity to run them, but they don’t want to buy paper towels of any kind or then collect the garbage to get rid of them. Garbage cans are so unsightly. The problem only starts when your hands are already wet and you want to dry them. The vast majority, if not all, of hand dryers do not work at all. They usually fall into a four categories of dysfunctional behavior. One, they don’t work at all–broken; two, they blow just a little bit as if there were an overworked hummingbird inside, and this has no effect of any kind on the moisture on your hands; three, the machine is supposed to function when you put your hands under it, but you can’t find the sweet spot where the machine turns on, or you find it, but it immediately turns off again–you play this game for a few minutes until you get tired of trying to guess where the sweet spot is; four, the machine does blow out hot air, but timidly, and this does not as much dry your hands as warm up the water still on them. The results of all of these machines are best described as pathetic or zero. I would suggest, in fact, that buying an automatic hand dryer is both useless and illogical because none of them will dry your hands. (I will not address the one company that makes a “blade” that really does dry your hands because they are so rare, like white tigers.) I have pressed the dryer button on more than one occasion to have the dryer come on and softly whine at me while it gently blows cool air on my hands. I can’t even count the times when the machines will not function at all, and you have to wipe your hands on your pants. What is a total mystery to me is how these businesses and engineers stay in business producing machines that don’t work. Many, many businesses have installed paper towel dispensers right next to the hand dryers (or removed the hand dryers entirely), so that their patrons can dry their hands without wiping them on their pants. Why, as users, do we tolerate such flimsy and faulty engineering? And how hard can it be to design a machine that works? The plain truth of the situation is that most hand dryers don’t work, and I mean 99% of them. I have laughed out loud when, with total innocence, I have put my wet hands under the dryer expecting to dry them, and nothing has happened, so I wipe them on my pants. So lately I always reach for the paper towel and leave the hand dryer clinging to the wall in mute silence, wondering which fool bought that thing thinking that it would dry hands.
On laughter
Did Jesus laugh? I think I’ll go out on a heretical branch and say “yes.” He was a man, after all, and there were times when I thought the narrators of the gospels would have liked to let Jesus laugh, but they thought their task too serious to let him laugh. This issue is discussed in Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose, with various characters taking different views on the subject. One side argues that laughter is frivolous and a part of the Devil’s plan to trick true believers into sinning. The other side argues that truth can come from the criticism implicit in laughter, and that Jesus probably made his followers laugh more than once. Although being laughed at can feel rather cruel, most laughter is derived from humor and funny situations, and it can often relieve stress or conflict. The body releases endorphins when it laughs, so laughter feels good. Stress is a horrible killer, but laughter is the antidote. Jesus was constantly being opposed by different groups who felt threatened by the revolutionary message he was preaching. Laughter was probably a great release for all that tension and conflict. Laughter often comes along with a smile, and one feels slightly out of control when laughing. Yea, though I walk through the valley of death, I should fear no evil. The Psalmist laughs at death, even when death is imminent, at hand, and all appears as dark as night and hope is no where to be found. Laughter is like the soul’s sword, it’s shield, it’s true defense. I find laughter to be balm for the troubled soul. When I am stressed out, or worried, or have to face something awful, I put on one of my favorite funny movies and lose myself in the humor and laughter. Laughing helps to put evil in perspective, and evil runs from laughter because laughter shines the light of truth into the dark corners where evil resides. If you have any doubts about the power of laughter, watch the “laughing scene” from the movie “Mary Poppins” and you will never wonder about laughter again.
On laughter
Did Jesus laugh? I think I’ll go out on a heretical branch and say “yes.” He was a man, after all, and there were times when I thought the narrators of the gospels would have liked to let Jesus laugh, but they thought their task too serious to let him laugh. This issue is discussed in Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose, with various characters taking different views on the subject. One side argues that laughter is frivolous and a part of the Devil’s plan to trick true believers into sinning. The other side argues that truth can come from the criticism implicit in laughter, and that Jesus probably made his followers laugh more than once. Although being laughed at can feel rather cruel, most laughter is derived from humor and funny situations, and it can often relieve stress or conflict. The body releases endorphins when it laughs, so laughter feels good. Stress is a horrible killer, but laughter is the antidote. Jesus was constantly being opposed by different groups who felt threatened by the revolutionary message he was preaching. Laughter was probably a great release for all that tension and conflict. Laughter often comes along with a smile, and one feels slightly out of control when laughing. Yea, though I walk through the valley of death, I should fear no evil. The Psalmist laughs at death, even when death is imminent, at hand, and all appears as dark as night and hope is no where to be found. Laughter is like the soul’s sword, it’s shield, it’s true defense. I find laughter to be balm for the troubled soul. When I am stressed out, or worried, or have to face something awful, I put on one of my favorite funny movies and lose myself in the humor and laughter. Laughing helps to put evil in perspective, and evil runs from laughter because laughter shines the light of truth into the dark corners where evil resides. If you have any doubts about the power of laughter, watch the “laughing scene” from the movie “Mary Poppins” and you will never wonder about laughter again.