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Humor

"It is the right hemisphere that understands the emotional or the humorous aspect of a narrative; it is also better able to appreciate irony and sarcasm – all that is not explicit but radically alters meaning. . . . There is a large literature showing that the right hemisphere is crucial for appreciation of cartoons, jokes and humour of every kind." Iain McGilchrist, The Matter with Things

Russians, Muslims, and the Bagpiper

Seven Abandoned Wonders of the USSR You ever think to yourself: "This is gonna land me in Hell"? I do, way too frequently. I have an acerbic turn of mind. I think I'm subduing it, but then it rears its head mightily. I'd like

From the Notebooks

The Funny Guy What's the definition of a funny guy? Most obviously: A guy who makes others laugh. But that definition doesn't answer many questions. What about the clumsy guy who stumbles a lot and unintentionally makes others laugh? What about the guy who unintentionally says

Bird Watching and Other Scatology

Giving Me the Bird I've had an horrendous spring. I won't go into the details, but a barrage of non-work commitments has frayed my nerves to the bone (is that metaphor possible?). I was looking forward to a nice long Memorial Day weekend, with nothing to

Fluid Thursday

Stream of Consciousness Thursday I'd forgotten about this short-lived feature. It garnered some boos and some laughs, and I like laughs, like that scene from Mary Poppins ("I love to laugh. Hahaha"), but that weightlessness stuff reminds me of astronauts, and I hear they have to

Something for Laetare Sunday Morning

Joy in the Cross Today, "the Church wishes to remind us that joy is perfectly compatible with mortification and pain. It is sadness and not penance which is opposed to happiness." Francis Fernandez, commenting on one of the most bizarre teachings of Christianity in the eyes of modernity&

Received in an Email

In honor of the mother of the octuplets, Denny's is offering a new breakfast meal called the Octo-Slam. You get fourteen eggs, no sausage, and the guy next to you has to pay the bill!!

Something for Sunday Morning

"God also asks us to live without ostentation, without wanting to be heroes. He wants us to lead simple, ordinary lives, trying to do good to everyone and carrying out our duties honestly." Francis Fernandez

Zmirak

Zmirak is on fire this morning at Taki [http://www.takimag.com/blogs/article/lie_i_cant_even_be_tactful/] (be patient with the link, it appears to be malfunctioning). Flippin' slayed me: > I'm reminded of my first weeks at Yale, when I cheerfully introduced my

The Wednesday Eudemon

Medal score: USA 56, China 62 [http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/beijing/medals]. Phelps 15, Great Britain 13. __________ I guess Thomas Sowell has become a popular columnist this year, given the phenomenon of Obama Mania. In fact, bogus Sowell material is circulating the Internet. Snopes snoops it out [http://www.

GKC on Facial Hair

G.K. Chesterton said a man can't grow a beard in a moment of passion. Maybe he was wrong [http://www.explosm.net/comics/405/].