Fat, dumb and happy is not a movie for me

Ho Tei is the Budhist God of Contentment and Happiness.  I've been there not out of religiosity but from seeking easy paths.  Unfortunately being fat, dumb and happy ended with a jolt again for me.  

In the past I listened to a veteran of war in the Mideast describe ghastly things I thought never got talked about.  I was moved to action and spent time volunteering for an organization that helps disabled veterans.  I didn’t protest foreign policy enough, although I did vote partly based on that political platform plank.

Two friends are violently gone from domestic violence this week.  I was unaware of this issue in their lives and am shocked at the abrupt, awful end of their relationship.  Rep. Mark Green has said, “If the numbers we see in domestic violence were applied to terrorism or gang violence, the entire country would be up in arms and it would be the lead story on the news every night.”  

I’m searching for a way to help others before another murder suicide reaps lives.  Are there suggestions for me and those like me? 

Perfection and wabi sabi in Pageants

The viral response to Miss Utah, Marissa Powell, flubbing her answer to a question during the Miss Teen USA Pageant personifies the fear that many have about public speaking:  they will be made fun of for being less than perfect.  

NPR’s Linda Holmes says of the question asked that, “…it's basically a test of your ability to generate cow patties on command.”  So Powell’s not a great bull sh*tter.  Given a second chance on the Today Show she answered fine.  

Beauty contest entrants focus on maximizing how they present themselves in many ways.  They are striving for perfection.  Salvador Dali has said, “Have no fear of perfection, you’ll never reach it”.   

Striving to be perfection can achieve excellence, but for another twist in thinking consider the Japanese concept of wabi sabi.  It is about finding beauty in imperfection.  

The viral response, both bullying and accepting, has overshadowed that Erin Brady of Connecticut won the Pageant.  The now notorious Powell did go on to be 3^rd Runner Up in the competition.  That’s pretty close to perfection.  She is grandly gorgeous and more beautiful because of her humanity. 

Doyoursentencesrunonandonandtheaudiencedoesn’tknowwheretheystop?Orwhentheystart?

Doyoursentencesrunonandonandtheaudiencedoesn’tknowwheretheystop?Orwhentheystart?  Having trouble with, like, vocalized pauses?  

For a cure, watch as Victor Borge teaches his Phonetic Punctuation System.  This could revolutionize how people improve their speech delivery skills! 

Matzo ball or dumpling?

“Knaidel” was the winning word for 13 year old Arvind Mahankali at the Scripps 2013 National Spelling Bee.    Knaidel brought victory to the 13 year old and it brought heuristic coincidence being a German Yiddish word.  

Apparently German knödel is the same thing as Yiddish knaidel, but the words are pronounced differently.  Hear knaidel pronounced.  Hear knödel pronounced.  

“The map is not the territory” according to Alfred Korzybski, the father of general semantics, but in this case at least the territories are the same.  Apparently both knaidel and knödel are different maps for the same dumpling.  

People are judged by the way they pronounce or use words.  Which is the “right” map?  In this case the answer is easy:  use either one.  

Katz's Delicatessan

Elsewhere people get in a snit by mispronunciations.  My wife, Barbara Chatterton Frye is realtor that wants to sell houses.  She winces but doesn’t worry if you add an extra syllable to her occupation: “real a tor”.  The Greek restaurant doesn’t care if I can say “gyro” with a hard “g” or a soft “g” as long as I order their sandwich.  Judging others this way doesn’t usually build the relationship needed by someone that needs to get something accomplished.  

German words were Arvind’s nemesis in past bees, and now he has victory through German Yiddish.  He won $30,000 and more.  Words can be 2 edged causing downfalls from judgment or connecting as intended.  For the rest of us a bad matzoh makes a good paperweight.     

It's not all Chinese to me.

Explaining “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer” to a Confucius Institute visiting professor gave pause at our Christmas caroling party.  She was only in the US a few days, but you could see her trying to understand:

Me:  “He’s a flying reindeer.”  Shell:  “Really?”

Me: “He has a nose that glows red.”  Shell:  quizzical look

Me: “He helps Santa Claus…”  Shell:  more silence

Me:  “Let’s just sing carols and have some fun.” Shell: nodding "yes."

We discovered our new friend, Shell, had a terrific voice.  She shared a few songs from China.  We had a memorable caroling party.  

 

Moving forward in time, we attended a concert of Folk Songs of the World to hear Shell, Xianghua Han, soloing with music professors.  She’s a talent at that level.

Shell returned the favor at the concert.  We didn’t understand the words in her music.  During the explanation we felt like aliens trying to grok flying reindeer.  But she is a singer that sparkles and we had no difficulty receiving emotional meanings.  

She received our meaning and we received hers.  As Bernstein said, “….music is one of basic and deepest levels of communication.” It's not all Chinese to anybody.