Happy Birthday, You Sexy MF

Happy Birthday, sweet sexy Prince.

Origins, Beginnings, Questions

Do you ever sit in a quiet space and just think? I tend to do this a lot - maybe too much. It may be a form of meditation, but honestly, I don't even try to clear my mind, I just let it roll.



Today, out of the blue, I just wondered, "What is the true origin of language?" Not just English or Latin, but true speaking to define and announce and question - in any type of language - the very beginning. Vague? Yes. Interesting? To me, yes. And I guess to some other people as well since my Google search filled in its own search parameter before I was done typing "origins of language".


So, Wikipedia is always the first blurb that comes up (after any sponsored shopping link) and I decided to look there first because I am lazy that way.

What does Wiki say? So glad I asked: "The origin of language, known in linguistics as glottogony refers to the acquisition of the human ability to use language at some point during the Paleolithic."

Hmm, I have a history degree (ok, from a small state school) and I can't recall what paleolithic means. I will guess it is some time with hominids, but after dinosaurs.

Wikipedia, as well meaning as it may be, just didn't seem like it would answer those large philosophical and historical questions that were buzzing in my brain. And, they (or the people that post there) had a skew toward vocal language and humans and the larynx being the ultimate point for the start of language. That would rule out any primal form of sign language or communication with animals. I can't rule out the sign languages and communication with animals.

Maybe what I really want to know is how humans became aware enough to be able to communicate to others be they hominids or other animals. Yeah - that's the ticket.

Awareness. Such a concept. How do you even describe it without the ability to be aware? And animals share this awareness, don't they? They may not have the same larynx or cognitive structure to speak, but they know and can learn a vocabulary. Dogs, dolphins, apes, and countless other animals can be trained with vocalizations and repetition.

Scrolling down the page of the Wiki entry, I did finally encounter a paragraph on the Theory of Mind. Feels closer: to paraphrase, it speaks about pre-language as a time when hominids exhibited knowledge, awareness, intention and teaching. According to Wiki, this is a theory of Simon Baron-Cohen (no, not the Borat guy). Yeah, well, I am sure others were aware of this possibility before Simon published it, no offense.

Then that takes me to another level where I wonder if compassion can be learned. Is it something you must possess at birth, when life enters you and you enter the world? I think we can teach compassion by being an example of it, but some kernel of positive feeling must need to be present in order to learn this most important aspect. I have known animals with compassion - ha ha , I know, please don't laugh or shout "anthropomorphism" - I have truly seen it. Is it in the dna? Are we lucky when we are born with this or is compassion learned? I have met many humans who seem to lack it. I am not 100% convinced either way.

Compassion, awareness, communication. So important to life. So many questions left in my meandering mind.

OK, I know, I am going off on many tangents here. This is the way my mind rolls. This is my "meditation".

Anyway.... I love cave drawings. A physical embodiment and fossil of hominid communication. At least we have that.


Next question of my meditative mind....why must we temper chocolate? Off to Google, copy some recipes and research the history of the cocoa bean...

Red

Red is the color of choice for most women who paint their nails. In ancient history, Red signified royalty or higher class when worn on the nails. Nefertiti wore it. Cleopatra wore it. If it was good enough for them, then I can feel good wearing red polish. Still, this summer I am very partial to dark purple on my toes with lilac on my fingers.

Ah, .... nail polish - so much easier to change than hair color, weight, or men.


I would love to have my hands painted with Henna. I just don't think work would like it and I need my job to afford nail polish. It is beautiful, though.

Insula Dulcamara

Insula Dulcamara by Paul Klee
"Color has taken possession of me; no longer do I have to chase after it, I know that it has hold of me forever. That is the significance of this blessed moment. Color and I are one. I am a painter."

The Jungle Book

Reasons to love The Jungle Book:
King Louie can dance and sing.
Kaa is a cool and crazy snake. Shere Khan is a tiger.
Bagheera is a happy panther.
Jason Scott Lee is the live action Mowgli and he is beautiful.
Yes, yes, and yes (and I know this is a still from Rapa Nui - doesn't matter) and yes.

Gary the Snail

Meow.

The Night They Invented Champagne

I want to live in the movie Gigi.

Hemp

MA: the ancient Chinese character for “hemp,”depicts a male and female plant under a roof; cannabis inside the house of human culture. A single species answering to two such different desires - the spiritual and material.

I have never smoked anything - legal or illegal. It is just not my thing. I have hallucinated and I think I may have tried magic mushrooms in Thailand - but I am not too sure of it as they didn't seem to have any effect.

That being said, I am fascinated by psychotropic plants. I love the idea that these simple organic creations are just growing in the dirt with the power to alter the mind and being of animals and humans. Plant power.

I picked up this book at the local library - The Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan. The book is basically about how plants have used humans to propagate while at the same time affecting human culture. And, yes, I am geeky enough to find it funny that a guy who writes about plants has a last name that sounds like pollen.

The book is interesting in some chapters. I wouldn't read through the chapter on apples again as it was mostly a diatribe against the legend of Johnny Appleseed. The chapter on tulips was entertaining and worth a read, but what captivated me most of all was the chapter on marijuana. I still don't understand why it is illegal. I don't use it, but I don't see why others can't use it openly like alcohol or tobacco. There is a good blend of history, chemistry, biology, religion, and anthropology in the chapter on marijuana. A very interesting read and highly recommended.

RIP Miss Dixie

The woman could definitely deliver a line. She was a great actress and comedic talent. Designing Women would not have been the same without her. It is still one of my top ten favorite tv shows.

A Peabody and Geoff, too

You Know You're a Geek When...

You find the Man in Black and Jacob hot.

I am not crazy about these actors in anything else - but I love me some Jacob and Man in Black. Something about tropical islands, beaches, ruins, ancient history and the blurring of good and evil just does it for me.

Yummy geeky fun. I love Lost.

Let the sunshine
Let the sunshine in
The sunshine in

Spring, please hurry!

I live damn close the the 48th parallel, and I am so fucking sick of winter, it is not even funny anymore. Not even to my enemies (of which I seem to have a never ending supply...but enough on that.)

Spring must come soon or I will end up in the mental health ward and miss the first tulips.

As an offering to the Sun God, I present the Heat Miser. Please, please,please warm me up.

Lost

Excellent.

Hurley and Sawyer and Lost (oh my!)

Yes, I am Lost obsessed. Best show on television? In my opinion, yes, because I crave it like a good novel that has the last half missing. Only I can't borrow Lost from the library in order to read the rest of the story. I can't order a copy from Amazon and have it shipped overnight. I have to wait (patiently, patiently, I tell me self to be patient, patiently) on ABC's schedule to give me only 16 weeks (interrupted) of Lost and then make me wait 8 months for resolution!

Anyway.....

Finally the magical day draws near.
What I love most about Lost are the characters. They are incredibly well written and well acted. (Exception noted for Nikki and Paulo.) I came late to Lost. I watched it in reruns the summer of 2002, after the first season. Wow, it hit me over the head and hauled me away to its cave - where I would have happily stayed through May 2010 if I could have. This show is extraordinary. All of the stars aligned when this one was born.
Against type, I was immediately drawn to Sawyer. There is something about the combination of Josh Holloway and the character Sawyer that makes my heart pound. He is extremely sexy and a conman, and just naughty and bad, but in the way women like it, of course. I wanted to hate him, but I couldn't - just like Kate in season one. And then they had him walk around wearing jeans so well and looking so hot and sweaty, and just yummy. OK, so I guess I get what I like about him superficially. The fact that Josh plays him so well just adds to the complexity that draws me in. He is more than what the surface shows and this is the sexiest part about him.
Another character I am drawn to is Hurley. He is like a big puppy dog that I just want to hug, feed, and hold. I want to tell him, "It's ok. everything will be alright. You are not crazy. You are loved." I think a lot of Hurley's appeal comes from Jorge Garcia. From his interviews and his blog, I gather that he is a pretty cool dude and sweet to boot. Probably everyone that meets him likes him. Just like Hurley. Hurley is a comic relief in Lost, but he has his inner demons, too. Sweet Hurley has so many hurdles to overcome. Most have to do with his self-confidence, the guilt over the numbers, and the fact that he thinks he is crazy. My favorite Hurley scene is from Season 5, "The Lie". He sits down with his mom and confesses everything about the crash and the island and those that died and were left behind. It brings tears to my eyes everytime I watch it. I just want to hug him so hard during that scene.
People on the internet, in the office, at school, etc, talk about the relationships of Lost. These "shippers" are obsessed with romantic relationships between Kate and Sawyer, Jack and Kate, Sawyer and Juliet, and Jack and Juliet. I would prefer Sawyer for myself, but I guess, if I had to choose, I would be on the Sawyer and Kate team. It only takes romance in a dirty bear cage to win me over. And I really don't like Juliet. No, I don't.

The best relationship on Lost, however, is the friendship between Sawyer and Hurley. It is one of those friendships that must have been pre-destined in order to happen. Outside of the island, these two men would never have formed a bond as strong as brothers. They love eachother, and it has been a growing and redemptive process for both of them. One of my favorite moments was when Hurley conned Sawyer into thinking eveyone hated him, thus prompting Sawyer to become a better group member and person, and guiding him on his way to becoming a leader.
I can barely hold my anticipation for tomorrow night's season premiere. Yes, I am a spoilerhound and I have already read the recap posted for LA X, episode 1 of the final season. This will not ruin it for me, though. It helps me relax enough to notice details in the story. Plus, I will rewatch each episode at least twice after it has aired. I am obsessed with this story and these characters.
I can hardly wait!!!!!! It's Christmas morning for Lost geeks worldwide!

And then I remembered

This performance from the INXS reality show. Enjoy.

Heart-shaped Box

All that Valentine's candy typing made me want to hear Heart Shaped Box. I thought I would share.

Heart-shaped Candy

I am a sucker for heart-shaped candy. I think it tastes better than Halloween or Christmas candy - but I know it is all in my head. Valentines candy just seems like the best candy ever.

Hershey's chocolate covered marshmallow heart - mmmmmm. Reese's peanut butter heart - double mmmmmm. I even like the sweethearts, non-chocolate Necco wafer type sugary bright colored candies.

Mmmmmm...candy.

These are a few of my favorite things..... ( and I do like snowflakes that fall on my nose and eyelashes, but they aren't heart-shaped)


Brach's chocolate covered cherries are the best and are my normal present for Valentine's Day. Boring? No, not really since I love them. OK, not heart-shaped, but still Valentine related.


Cinnamon hearts - good on cookies, or good as a handful in your mouth. Spicy hot goodness.


Cinnamon Jelly hearts. Need I say more?


Conversation hearts. I used to take the time to read them before I ate them. Now, not so much. It is best to eat three of the same color at once. Depending on the brand, my favorite color is either white or orange. Pink gives the best tongue color.


The famous Hershey's marshmallow heart. Ahhh, sweet love.


The Reese's peanut butter heart. Not only rich and tasty, but also quite pretty. It is an elongated heart - a shape I quite like. Goes great with a cold glass of milk.


New addition to my Valentine's treats; the Coconut Cream Heart. Try it, you'll like it!

Relax into the Dance

Rather than being distinct, fixed and/or rigid categories, Yin and Yang are mutually-supportive, inter-dependent, and in constant motion. Each contains the seed of the other, and they are continuously transforming and melding one into the other.

In essence, you will need to find a balance between your instinctual and emotional self, and your tendencies to be analytical and rational. Create a dissolution of boundaries and balance of spirit.

When I wish upon a star

When I start over, this is what I want to be:

Young, vibrant, innocent, joyful, beautiful, smiling, and living on a tropical island.