The honey lamb

In Terms of Endearment, we see that very contentious relationships between family members (and, for some reason, astronauts) can be, in fact, quite endearing. It's a bit surprising that such small items as neck ties and convertible tops can cause such emotional upheaval and connectedness. But, of course, that's a movie, and movies are not like real life.

....or are they?

When I think about the old days at my grad school dorm, which had once been a convent building, it does seem that that little things are more memorable than the big ones. I don't remember my classes with much clarity, or my grades, but I do remember the evening that my friend informed that that girls were stupid because I made fun of his radishes.



Turnips--closely related to the radish. Photo by Peter Presslein, used under Gnu license.


No, they were real radishes. With salt. And quite nice looking for radishes, which are a vegetable that I don't really care for, although they are usually better than salsify, which looks a bit scary before it's peeled.

...but I digress...

Terms of endearment can, in fact, be rather, well...endearing.

Take for example the honey lamb. What a sweet term of endearment, and that's even without the honey bear...which is also pretty cute, even after it's empty.


Sheep, with lambs, grazing on the south lawn of the White House c. 1918 Public domain image.

A good friend and expert in AI and endearing behavior told me that the empty honey bears lead the good recycling to a happy place.


A honey bear by Aaron Siirila (not the plastic kind). published under the following license: Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike License v. 2.5:http://creativecommons.org/
licenses/by-sa/2.5/


I wonder what the honey lambs do?

Man Cubs

In The Jungle Books, by Rudyard Kipling, Mowgli, the man cub, has to leave his forest home, where he has been raised by wolves, and join the Man Village. As with all such tales, wacky high jinks ensue...pythons are angered, apes want fire, and general mayhem seems to be the potential result.



Mowgli...public domain image by J Lockwood Kipling, Rudyard's Dad.

The Walt Disney Productions version of Mowgli's story concentrates on the wackiness (what in literary terms might be called "picaresque qualities") and omits the more sublime elements of Kipling's tale. But maybe in the United States man cubs just have that effect on people.

Personally, I think the average man cub does potentially cause mayhem and other shenanigans, but then again, they can be rather cute.

Building the dream

Louis Armstrong once sang a lovely song called "A Kiss to Build a Dream On". I heard a nicely done version of it at a recital my graduate school roommate did one winter.

My roommate, who happens to be a really cool science fiction author, sings in a more classical style, rather like M Maus, who tends to sing classically in Germany. They're both really good, although I've heard M Maus more recently, and have a copy of the program on my refrigerator, next to a picture of us together...I'm wearing Mickey Mouse pants, a garment of which I was very fond in graduate school. Ok, I was a very odd dresser. M Maus is dressed as a forest, which was quite lovely on her.



Refrigerator...mine is rather more modern. Image by Magi Media. Used under gnu license.


In any event, it's interesting what a single kiss can do. When done right, it can shift the balance between friendship and something more profound. Although, there's always a risk that things will crash and burn (no, not the movie), which is not nice (the movie is not exactly "nice" either, but in a different way). That risk will tend to make certain people wary of bridging the gap. It's rather promising when someone is bold enough to reach out.



and better when there is snow.

Resolutions

Neil Sedaka sang it, the Partridges covered it, and we all agree...Yes, breaking up is hard to do. Boy, Neil Sedaka is cute. He also seems rather busy.

Of course, as I mentioned in "hard to do," below, The Colonel made it easier than one might have expected, which was good.

Today we had lunch. Which was also good. Mine had a pumpkin it in.



Pumpkin...not the exact one from my lunch, which was probably smaller. Public domain image by Cdest.

Pumpkins are a very nutritious and tasty vegetable that often get made into pies, which means that some people think that the pumpkin is a fruit. It's not.



Pumpkin pie. Image is in the public domain because it contains materials that originally came from the Agricultural Research Service, the research agency of the United States Department of Agriculture. I wonder why they picked Libby's brand pumpkin?



The Colonel is a fun friend, and good company. It's too bad when things don't work out, but it's much better when people work to make sure they can at least be amicable.

Gnap gnap video

This is rather cool...and French

Jealous envy of cyberhugging

DG suggests that perhaps some people are jealous when others get cyberhugs. Is such a thing possible?

Maybe. The poetic workings of envy date back at least to Ancient Greece where a poet named Sappho, from the island of Lesbos described envy as making the sufferer "chlorodotoros" which can translate as either "greener than grass" or "paler than grass" depending on how creative and smart and classics-y you are.



(Left) Grass by Ed Markovich. Image is in the pblic domain.

In Sappho's world, jealousy was oriented around romantic love, which is generally limited to the one romantic object, except in the case of jerky people who are not fun to date because they are very busy also dating (read "copulating with") others.

However, friendly love should be more flexible. I'll spare you the discussion of Plato and C.S. Lewis, erstwhile author of the Narnia books.



(Right) Plato from "The School of Athens" (detail) by Raphael painted in 1509. (No--not the ninja turtle). Fresco, Stanza della Segnatura, Palazzi Pontifici, Vatican.


So, does MightyIsis have enough love for all?


(below) Image by Johntex. Used under gnu license.


The world may never know.

Geap Geap Pug

Suzy Q has, indirectly of course, expressed some dissatisfaction with the fact that she has not yet had a tribute blog written for her.

This was a sad oversight on the part of MightyIsis.

Tribute to Suzy Q:

Top 10 Reasons Suzy Q was a great friend in the 6th grade:

10. Shared Hostess treats



Twinkies (Hostess Twinkies is a trademark of Interstate Bakeries Corporation). Source © 2005 Larry D. Moore Used under gnu license.



9. Encouraged the young Isis to disobey rules and not tell authority figures
8. Didn't stop talking to me when I failed to help her out of a freezing cold stream in the middle of winter



Creek in Australia-- Not the Creek in question. Photo by FIR 0002, used under gnu license.

7. Passed notes surreptitiously
6. Made amusing comments about orthodontia
5. Was the best shrinky-dink partner ever











Shrinky-dinks. Public domain image by Wrzfreak. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are copyrighted by Marvel Comics, Walt Disney Studios and other license holders.

4. Had a cool little sister to play with
3. Lived across the street from a park
2. Told great jokes
1. Was the most fun ever


Top Ten Reasons why Suzy Q is a great friend now

10. Shares candy and camomile tea
9. Is forgiving of faults and flaws
8. Listens when I'm sad
7. Congratulates me when I'm happy
6. Understands when I'm weird
5. Comes through in a pinch
4. Has a cool sister to hang out with
3. Knows how to fight and make up
2. Recommends great books
1. Is still the most fun ever.

I hope we're all happy now. I know I feel much better now that I've been reminded of how lucky I am to have such a friend.