Shampoo Your HAIR Club For Men . . . or . . .

(or...Should I buy a vowel or buy a wig?)

(or...How Great Thou ART History)

Jeopardy? No, I think it was Wheel of Fortune.

Back in the day, I won millions on that show. Well, had I been a real contestant instead of sitting on my couch, I might have won millions, or at least dozens of dollars. I remember a puzzle they used to feature called "Before and After" which involved combining two phrases, one ENDING and one BEGINNING with the same word. Examples:

"shirt off my BACK to the basics"
"poked in my EYE of the tiger" or
"listen to Chris RICE krispie treats taste good"

Random.

I've been studying some art history (nerd), and am learning about an interesting period when one specific change occurred in art. Without giving too much boring detail, over time art has progressed from simple into more complex and realistic representations of a subject.

One trend that I'm noticing is that around the 300's BC, statues and sculptures became more realistic (instead of static and stiff), and you can particularly tell by the hair. Before this time, the hair of the subject was usually represented in a very simple, pattern-like way in painting and sculptures. But 'suddenly' Roman artists began to skillfully represent hair as . . . well . . . hair. Floppy, tussled hair. One of the best examples of this new trend can be plainly seen in the sculptures of Alexander The Great.

What does this have to do with Wheel of Fortune? Nothing, except that one of the phrases they should use in their "Before and After" puzzles is:

"Alexander the GREAT hair."

Either Alexander the Great was the first guy to have really great hair, or this was the first period in history when sculptors started showing what people's hair really looked like. Why is this important? Who cares? I don't know. Like I said, random. Just noticed it, that's all. Ah, the beauty of blogging...



In conclusion, watch less Wheel of Fortune and use that time to study something that interests you (like art history).

In continued conclusion, let's hear some "Before and After" ideas of your own.

And to conclude my conclusion, art is cool. (And so is some people's hair, especially Alexander's...although a mullet might have been a slight improvement for him. Just sayin'.)

Happy Blue Monday

Today has been declared by depression expert, psychologist Cliff Arnall, "Blue Monday." Using complicated formulas evaluating several factors, he has determined that this is officially the GLOOMIEST DAY OF THE YEAR. Let's celebrate!

But I don't feel it. Although the heating unit isn't working at my house, and it's 20 degrees outside, I don't feel blue today, except for blue hands and lips from the cold.

Blue Monday this year coincides with Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, so at least some people are getting the day off of work and school. That should skew the 'feelings' trend upward a notch for some of us. And I can think of a couple of NFL football teams who are pretty happy today after yesterday's wins. (But I guess they are cancelled out by the teams that lost, who are feeling the blues today.)

Blue Monday, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, completely unrelated except for the fact that they happen to fall on the same day this year. Which reminds me, don't let the day go by without doing a little reading or research about the Civil Rights movement. Appreciate how far we've come, but also realize how far we have to go as a nation and neighborhood.

According to an article posted on ananova.com, the factors contributing to the gloom of Blue Monday are:

1. The weather
2. Christmas debt
3. A feeling of monotony after the Christmas cheer has faded
4. Broken New Year's resolutions (already?)
5. Low levels of motivation
6. A desperate feeling that you need to act to improve your life

Dr. Arnall has some advice for us too. He says to simply stop moaning.

Here's how he puts it: "If you are a regular whiner or moaner about the weather or minor ailments, stop. It is boring and you are boring. Focus on the good things you do have in your life. If one of your limbs does not work, focus on the three that do."

Is it Blue Monday for you? Which of the factors are playing the biggest role in your day today? Which are you rising above? What color would you say YOUR day is today?

Breakfast

The official 2007 WORD OF THE YEAR

I can't get over my word-fever, you know, the disease that keeps me studying, reading, writing and communicating. I've tried every herbal and pharmaceutical remedy available to mankind, but I'm still ailing from my interest in language and words. So it's no surprise that when I made a random stop on the Merriam-Webster Online website (www.m-w.com) I was intrigued by the announcement of the....2007 WORD OF THE YEAR!

First of all, I know you're wondering if I'm trying to cover an obsession with dictionary websites by calling it a 'random' stop online. But it was truly random. I can't remember what word I was looking up, but I didn't have a dictionary close by, so my only option was online. No joke, it's a good reference source if you ever need it. That's www.m-w.com.

Really, I'm not obsessed.

Anyway, back to my point, the WORD OF THE YEAR. After combining the results from Merriam-Webster Online and Merriam-Webter's Open Dictionary, a list was compiled of the 20 most frequently looked-up words of the year, and onliners voted which one they thought should receive the high esteem of being declared "The 2007 WORD OF THE YEAR."

The results are in, and I have to credit my friend Christina for bringing my attention to the word all year long (even though I rolled the eyes of my heart ((Lord)) every time I heard her say it). Apparently, I haven't been keeping up with the popular new words this year, because I had no idea that this word had a MUCH larger reach than Christina's world (and I don't mean Andrew Wyeth's painting). Sorry Christina. I should never have judged you. Please forgive me.

Well, wait no longer. Time for the reveal. I'm going to tell you the word. (I'm not going to give the whole explanation behind the word here, but if you'd like to, make the short click-trip to the Merriam-Webster Online site and read the history behind the word.)

Are you ready for the word of the year? Drum roll.......

"Woot!"

That's right.

W-O-O-T-!

Ok, now go look it up. But PLEASE, don't use it. There are far better words on the list that are more deserving of the exposure, enthusiam and usage. Christina will get over it, I promise.