History of Insults

Since I don't take them to heart, but instead have fun pointing out the history, finding this site -- that shares the history of insults was a fun experience.

What I find interesting is that most of the earlier insults were directed to intelligence instead of being insults directed at a person's character or looks.

A personal favorite:

I was delighted to see that nincompoop is the fertile mother of children, such as nincom (1800, simply a shortened form) and nincompoopery (1900). The latter is used to describe foolishness or stupidity. Sinclair Lewis says, for example, in Arrowsmith: "Were they, in their present condition of nincompoopery, worth any sort of attention?" I was delighted to see that nincompoopiana developed around 1880, though it was used as a name for a late 19th century aesthetic movement. The London Times explained this in 1970: "'Nincompoopiana' began in the 1880s and was triggered off by the aesthetic movement which rebelled against the pretty and the respectable, and by the 'new woman.'" Very very nice, isn't it? Finally, there is nincompoopish (1852) which means "characteristic of or resembling a nincompoop." And, why was it invented in 1852, in America no less? Possibly because this was the height of the "Know-Nothing" movement in American politics. From 1852: "It is perhaps the deepest misfortune which should befall mankind now, that for the ensuing Presidential term the rule of the United States should be in the hands of the nincompoopish or the imbecile."

I am emboldened by all of this to try to make up my own words. How about a nincompooper? You could imagine several things that such a person would do. Or nincompoopdom, as the place where they tend to congregate? The possibilities, though not endless, are multifarious.

Cigars or cigarettes...

Still on the topic of smoking, a few of my friends both male and female are into cigar smoking. It's something I've not tried, though I have tried the whole tobacco hookah experience since some of my daughters and their friends are into that. Most of my cigar smoking friends are not into discount cigars -- they go for the more pricey products and claim that it's a moment that they savor. I'd be afraid after years of inhaling smoke, I'd be a bad cigar smoker...

All you need is love...

In 2004 the journal Science reported 900 women when polled gave "intimate relations" a positive score of 5.10, compared to 4.59 for socialising. Housework scored 3.73, which was better at least than working at 3.62.

It's also been reported often in the past few years that being married makes you healthier and happier, in part due to sex. About 40% of married people have sex twice a week, compared to 20-25% of single and cohabitating men and women. Over 40% of married women said their sex life was emotionally and physically satisfying, compared to about 30% of single women. For men, it's 50% of married men are physically and emotionally contents versus 38% of cohabitating men.

This creates the rise in products to enhance that "experience" with a selection of prescription drugs and non-prescription products like extenze. Which then creates the old adage - Make love not war...

:-)

Chasing sleep...

I've always had trouble falling asleep though recently it's gotten worse, in part because I've taken on more work but yet the hours of the day have not increased to keep up with it. This creates situations where instead of sleeping, I'm working. At one point in time I took a prescription sleep aid - Ambien...While it worked to make me sleep, I didn't wake up when taking it, no matter what was going on around me. That was kind of scary after one night of my youngest daughter waking up sick. Thankfully my husband was home but after that? The chemical appeal Ambien offered was not worth the feeling of the loss of control in waking when needed.

I've tried the over the counter sleep medications, with limited success and I've tried the herbal remedies with even less success. It's said that four in ten Americans has problems getting enough sleep, which leads to the question, do you have trouble sleeping and if so, what works for you?

You don't develop courage by being happy...

“You don't develop courage by being happy in your relationships everyday. You develop it by surviving difficult times and challenging adversity.”

So says the quote attributed to the Greek Philosopher Epicurus and it is true. For many of us we don't have courage especially when it comes to our relationships. We let people that claim to love us abuse us emotionally and at times physically. We make excuses for them, blame or own behavior or jokingly talk about needing to find the best testosterone boosters out there to somehow make us more courageous.

I used to be an emotional doormat, going out of my way to give, and give and give some more even when nothing was given in return. It's a hard cycle to break and it may end up making some relationships no longer possible. It was easier for me to give in, but the damage I did to myself in constantly folding was worse than what I've gone through in cutting off friends and family members who are not willing to accept that relationships need to be based on mutual respect and realistic expectations of what a person can give.

Ramadan begins in the US...and my house...

No, I have not converted, I am still a Roman Catholic but one of my daughters is more interested in Islam and my youngest, never being one to be left out of anything is also practicing Ramadan this year which in the US began today. I have to admit the first day of Ramadan was profitable for me, because to take her mind off of not being able to eat or drink anything until sunset (8:24 pm - yes they knew on the dot) she decided to clean. My kitchen is now spotless and totally re-organized.

Ramadan also takes the topic of diets and diet pills one that's not discussed at all. What's being discussed is will the youngest make it, how many days before she breaks and decides that type of fasting is not for her. She kept opening the fridge and looking today, considering it's only day one? I'm not sure she'll make it until September 19th...

From mobile homes to manufactured homes

Ask most people why mobile homes are now called manufactured homes and they might tell you that it was created by the industry to try to make it sound more appealing since some have placed a negative connotation on mobile homes and the accompanying trailer park.

Yet the history of the mobile home is one that started after World War II when housing was needed. In the late 70's the government stepped in to make sure that certain standards existed in building mobile homes and then in the early 80's after the industry and the government started using the term "manufactured" home things went from there. Now, most parks call themselves "manufactured home communities" instead of trailer park. The actual construction features have changed where the image of a metal roofed narrow home is now one that can be set on a foundation or even with a basement with a traditional shingle style roof when the home is placed on it's own lot.

This also impacts the prices but in many cases a manufactured home is less expensive than a home built on site.

The Meaning of the Iowa Gay Marriage Decision

I recommend reading Time's The Meaning of the Iowa Gay Marriage Decision though I know some of you who read here are not in support of gay marriage.

I personally feel that the state should not be involved in marriage "the religious ceremony" at all, that should be something that couples do within whatever rules their particular religion dictates. That civil unions should exist if there is going to be a scenario where unions are recognized by the government and it should be open to both same and heterosexual couples for the legal and other civil benefits to a contractual union. That would eliminate all of the religious aspect to gay marriage and it would also ensure that there was a separation of church and state, since I have always found it ironic that government and religion meddle in each others affairs all too often.

Marriage would still exist for those that want it, you'd get a civil marriage license, then have your service performed by a minister, or whoever your state gave the power vested to perform the service. You could have as big or as small of a marriage ceremony as you wanted, or if you opted for none? You didn't have to, the act of purchasing your civil union certificate and taking a quick oath would be enough. Divorce would still exist, since there would need to be a process in place as in any form of contract law to dissolve a contract...

Yet, my way would create common sense, and eliminate the division that people have on this issue from a governmental standpoint. Instead? We will have many more court decisions where:

"This class of people asks a simple and direct question: How can a state premised on the constitutional principle of equal protection justify exclusion of a class of Iowans from civil marriage?" Justice Mark S. Cady asked.

The answer? It can't.

Happens...

Scrubs as a fashion style?

I'm a big fan of comfort clothing and anyone who knows me knows, that's one of the things I love about blogging is the ability to work from home without having to do the whole "dress up" thing. That said, I'm not sure how I feel about noticing more and more people wearing medical scrub clothing as a fashion style because they don't work in the medical profession. Both online and in stores you find people purchasing cherokee scrub pants who the closest they are going to get to a medical profession is brushing their teeth.

It's interesting because it is one of the few professions where you see this happening, in part because the clothing was designed to not fit snug, so that there did not need to be a huge selection of sizes, but now some of these brands like landau medical scrubs as one example, are a far cry from the traditional blue/green scrub that some think of. Though some of the landau scrubs are still the style you'd recognize, there are a number of colors and styles.

I also wondered if part of the scrub wearing public is influenced by shows like Grey's Anatomy, which by the way has a line of it's own scrub wear for those of you who want to dress like your favorite character. Perhaps since I have not tried scrubs, I haven't experienced the comfort zone many have stated as a motivating reason, but either way? I'm seeing more and more people wearing them at the grocery store, at the mall and as casual wear.

Most blacks say MLK's vision fulfilled?

I hate polls, well hate is a strong word, I strongly dislike polls and the way responses from a small number of people is deemed to speak for "all" of any group. The morning headline at CNN is the title of this thread, Most blacks say MLK's vision fulfilled. CNN does not provide any of the real polling data or even what the exact questions were. All we do know is they polled 332 blacks:

The CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll was conducted January 12-15. Pollsters questioned 1,245 adult Americans, including 798 whites and 332 blacks, by telephone. The survey's sampling error is 3 percentage points for the overall sample and 4.5 percentage points for the breakdowns by race.

They compare percentages to last year, but last year the ratio of black to white responses was higher than this year and the number of polled was larger:

The survey, which includes interviews with 1,393 adult Americans, including 743 whites and 513 blacks, was conducted by telephone January 14-17 and has a sampling error of plus or minus 4.5

This is what was reported today:

The poll found 69 percent of blacks said King's vision has been fulfilled in the more than 45 years since his 1963 "I have a dream" speech -- roughly double the 34 percent who agreed with that assessment in a similar poll taken last March.

But whites remain less optimistic, the survey found.

"Whites don't feel the same way -- a majority of them say that the country has not yet fulfilled King's vision," CNN polling director Keating Holland said. However, the number of whites saying the dream has been fulfilled has also gone up since March, from 35 percent to 46 percent.

In November, a majority of blacks for the first time believed that the U.S. would eventually find a solution to its racial problems; now a majority of blacks believe that race relations will always be a problem in this country.

This is what was reported a year ago:

Roughly four in 10 individuals in both groups say that the country has fulfilled all, or at least a great deal, of King's dream. However, they have different views on whether King's dream will ever be fully realized in the United States. When asked whether race relations will always pose a problem in the United States, about half of black Americans, 52 percent, said yes -- and just 43 percent of whites shared that view. When posed the same question in 1993, 55 percent of blacks and 53 percent of whites thought race relations would always be a problem for the United States.

What does it really mean? That despite seeing the first black president be elected, people still believe that race relations will always be a problem in our nation. Which then creates a question not answered by the headline selected by CNN, if that is true and a majority of blacks and whites polled feel that way, then how can it be said that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s vision has been fulfilled?

It also means that CNN continues to be selective in what it wants to report and selective as far as providing details for any of us to see what the real questions and numbers were. If they provided real facts and figures, it'd be easier to determine what is valid and what is hype...

Disagree without being disagreeable

It's a noble cause to attempt to "disagree without being disagreeable" it's one that I've tried to do for years and at times have not always met with success, I've discovered something in my years of having that as a goal. The person you are disagreeing with has to share it as a belief too and despite what we may want to accept, our nation has quite a few people who will always be "disagreeable" no matter what.

They have to be, because once they stop being disagreeable they'd have to actually rethink their positions, they'd have to stop and rethink how they treated others. It's much easier for them to be disagreeable, living an existence that typically includes the hypocrisy of expecting them to be treated one way, yet treating others in the exact same manner that they claim is wrong to do.

It'd be easy to pretend that only one party or one group in our nation does this, but that's far from the truth. A prime example of that has been evidenced with the reaction over the selection of Rick Warren, part of which is pointed out in this article that inspired my soap box moment about those who are disagreeable, Put differences aside, let us pray together. For us to really put our differences aside, both sides would have to actually do that. It rarely happens, what does happen is one side demands the other put their differences aside but are not willing to do the same.

We spend more time focusing on what divides us and as long as we continue to do that and we continue to forget what should be our common goals? Things will continue to be pretty disagreeable...

Remembering elderly neighbors during the holidays...

When I lived in the township I had quite a few elderly neighbors that did not have close family near them. Our family ended up "adopting" a few, helping when we could and making sure that they were not only okay but so that they knew someone cared about them. I learned first hand the difficult decisions they had to make even when the economy was better for many than it is now. After we moved we still stayed in touch and unfortunately now the last one of our former friends passed away last year.

It's made me more sensitive about my neighbors even in our new area, especially in the type of society we seem to live in where few of us even know our neighbors, let alone look out for them. At holiday times we would make a small basket of homemade treats for our friends, it doesn't necessarily have to be expensive gift baskets though for some of you who don't bake that might actually be an easier option (smile). I have to admit though that the gift that always seems to be most appreciated is one of time. My children benefited from the relationships and the stories that were shared with them, and to me that's the best type of a giving moment, when you not only give something but get something equally valuable in return.

Bash a goats brain in for Obama...

I know there are many people out there who have customs in their culture that by most of our way of thinking here in the US would seem pretty brutal, such is the case in Kenya where they are not only praying for Barack Obama to win but they are sacrificing goats. Not in the biblical manner of slitting it's throat...

Customarily, those seeking large blessings sacrifice a goat by swinging it by its legs so that its head and neck are bludgeoned against a large rock in a naturally occurring enclosure between two massive boulders that serves as the shrine's sanctuary. The goat's demise incurs the blessings of the rock shrine's god, said Caroline Odhiambo, a 24-year-old who tends to the shrine.

Let's hope this is not something that Obama ever decides he wants to do here as a way of honoring his father's heritage, I think PETA might not approve...

Single parents cost taxpayers $112 billion

That's according to a study that is the focus of this piece on CNN:

Scafidi's calculations were based on the assumption that households headed by a single female have relatively high poverty rates, leading to higher spending on welfare, health care, criminal justice and education for those raised in the disadvantaged homes. The $112 billion estimate includes the cost of federal, state and local government programs, and lost tax revenue at all levels of government.

One of the suggestions is to somehow create "marriage building" plans but some say not so fast:

But Tim Smeeding, an economics professor at the Maxwell School of Syracuse University, who was not involved in the study, said he's seen no convincing evidence that the marriage-strengthening programs work.

"I have nothing against marriage -- relationship-building is great," he said. "But alone it's not going to do the job. A full-employment economy would probably be the best thing -- decent, stable jobs."

He also noted the distinctive problems arising in black urban areas where the rate of single-mother households is highest.

"A high number of African-American men have been in prison -- that limits their future earning potential and makes them bad marriage partners, regardless of what kind of person they are," Smeeding said. "A marriage program doesn't address that problem at all."

Another expert not connected to the study, University of Michigan sociologist Pamela Smock, suggested that bigger investments in education would pay long-term dividends -- improving economic prospects even for children from fragmented, disadvantaged families.

"Providing a global number doesn't give us anything to go on," said Smock, who was skeptical of the study's $112 billion estimate.

Seriously, drop the Andy Hagler will win my money bs...

Last April of 2007 it didn't work to tell me that Andy Hagler would win my money from Publishers Clearing House and here we go again, another email telling me:

Dear Lisa Ward:

Right now, Andy Hagler is hoping you don't read this letter.

Why? Because Andy Hagler has already been selected the alternate recipient of prize money that could rightfully be won by you, Lisa Ward in a matter of days.

You see Lisa Ward, there is a real chance the prize entry opportunity you're reading about right now could be selected as the winner of $25,OOO.OO in a very short time (Giveaway #1116).

Last time we discovered how many other people got the same exact email about Andy Hagler, and what I now want to know is, is Andy getting paid to be used like this as a scare tactic?

:-)

Honey don't divorce me, think of the environment...

The title of this headline at the Washington Post, caught my eye, Divorce Found to Harm The Environment With Higher Energy, Water Use.

Part of what was stated:

The analysis found that cohabiting couples and families around the globe use resources more efficiently than households that have split up. The researchers calculated that in 2005, divorced American households used between 42 and 61 percent more resources per person than before they separated, spending 46 percent more per person on electricity and 56 percent more on water.

Their paper, published yesterday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, also found that if the divorced couples had stayed together in 2005, the United States would have saved 73 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity and 627 billion gallons of water in that year alone.

Married households use energy and water more efficiently than divorced ones because they share these resources -- including lighting and heating -- among more people, said Jianguo Liu, one of the paper's co-authors. Moreover, the divorced households they surveyed between 1998 and 2002 used up more space, occupying between 33 and 95 percent more rooms per person than in married households.

One wonders how far this could be taken, could we also say that fact that families no longer live together in extended family units also comes into play? It's an interesting article even though I am not sure what type of impact it will have on divorce in our society.

New Orleans City Council white majority in over 20 years

If anyone needed proof as to the demographic changes that have taken place in New Orleans since the destruction the city faced from Hurricane Katrina, this news blurb from the New York Times, Whites Take a Majority on New Orleans’s Council grabs your attention with the headline and then provides the information:

Since the mid-1980s, black politicians have held virtually all of the reins of power in a city where interest groups are sharply factionalized along racial lines and blacks were once two-thirds of the population. Saturday’s vote indicated a transition is in the making, perhaps similar to the one that occurred at the end of the segregation era here.

White candidates made other gains on Saturday, taking two New Orleans seats in the Louisiana Legislature long held by blacks, and a state court judgeship that had also been occupied by a black judge.

Voting was largely along racial lines. The apparently greater number of votes cast by whites — 29,700, compared with 22,900 black votes, according to an analysis by Mr. Rigamer — makes uncertain widely quoted estimates that blacks, despite a disproportionate population loss, are still substantially in the majority here.

The elections also call into question if the number of those who have moved back into New Orleans is accurate, given only 52,614 voted compared to double that amount in the Mayoral election where people traveled to be able to vote.

Real Halloweeen Horror...Pumpkin prices!

Because of problems with the pumpkin supply, they are in demand and in some cases have had to be imported from out of the country. After looking at some of the local selection and seeing that last year's $5.00 pumpkin was this year's $20.00 pumpkin? We opted for a jack-o-lantern free Halloween. Some believe this is due to Global Warming, but I remember past years when the pumpkin crop was bad, and we opted for very small pumpkins rather than to pay more per pound for something that would be carved up and left to rot (if it wasn't taken and smashed by the neighborhood hellions) than it cost to buy steak...

Seven in 10 have no problem with surveillance cameras

I suppose this shouldn't surprise me, but it did, this recent poll on Surveillance Cameras: Fighting Crime or Invading Privacy?. I tend to believe that we should be more careful in how quickly we are willing to give our privacy away, so I'd be one of those three out of ten.

Support for more closed-circuit cameras in public places is shared across the political and ideological spectrum. Two-thirds of liberal Democrats support the measure as do 85 percent of conservative Republicans. In addition, 72 percent of moderates and 71 percent of independents favor the proposal.

Although support is widespread, some groups are less supportive than others. Among those under age 35, 63 percent support the plan, but it's 79 percent of those age 55 and up. Blacks are less likely than whites to support surveillance. And while two-thirds of city-dwellers support an increase in cameras, suburbanites are even more supportive.

Merging of culture and business when it comes to weddings

Really interesting article in today's Washington Post that is subtitled, Industry Woos Asian Weddings Even as U.S. Reshapes Them. I found the information on the immigrant community in Washington DC and how the merging aspects of US Wedding traditions and other cultures have happened to the point:

The result has been the rise of a hybrid wedding scene in which ever more Caucasian couples eschew pastels in favor of South Asian reds; Middle Eastern and African couples use the ornate South Asian wedding canopies known as mandaps; and South Asian couples include bridesmaids, unthinkable in India or Pakistan.