LAUGHTER
When I first planned out my theme, I
had planned to write about a good blogging buddy, Cary McNeal, who
helms, wrangles and writes LOTD (List of The Day). However, he is hard to quantify and
he deserves more than just a quick post; a book would probably do him
justice. Kind to a fault, and tirelessly combing the internet for
oddities, marvels, random craziness and things that defy description,
he would be better served with a longer post. Besides, I still owe
him for lurking around his site for years, before I ever started to
engage with the innerwebz, or blog myself. He thanked me for coming
in from the cold, when I took that brave step.
My fellow minion on #teamDamyanti, Guilie Castillo Oriard, who writes and blogs at "Quiet Laughter" and puppy. Who doesn't laugh like this holding a puppy?
So, I looked to the wellspring and
inspiration for my Theme: Humor and Humorists and landed on Laughter,
and I found out some very interesting things about laughter and
laughing. There are certainly physical cues and psychological ones as
well, and some of the things that make people laugh are universal to
everyone and every culture. But, what I found interesting is that
there are schools of thought regarding laughter and what triggers it
and if it is organized or unorganized. Geeze! I would never have
thought it was that complicated, but then, I know from experience
that laughing is good medicine. I have essential tremor, or familial
tremor, and before I received Medicare and was able to find a good
neurologist and get treatment, the only thing that relieved the
tremendous pain associated with this condition would be a hearty
laugh. Bring on Cary with LOTD and the folks at Cracked.com! I would
laugh myself practically into the “Red Zone” of laughter
(apoplexy and hernias – my term) and it would relieve the pain.
Noel Coward was right.
For me, a post about laughing, must feature a cat. A laughing cat is even better!
But I did not know that laughter is
also sequentially-organized and precisely placed relative to
surrounding talk. This places it beyond the category of a mere
response to humor and in the category of a tool of diplomacy, as it
were. More than a simple external behavior caused by an “inner”
state, it is highly communicative and helps to found relationships
and accomplish actions. Who knew, when Kissinger was yucking it up
with U Thant at the U. N.? Or when Boris Yeltsin was telling Little Ivan jokes to Bill Clinton? Da!
Boris: "How does every Russian joke start?" Bill: "Dunno, Boris." Boris: "By looking over your shoulder." Bill: "Ha ha!" Boris: "Is no joke! Is pravda! Just keeding!"
As mystifying as I found this to be, I
also found out that animals laugh. Well, that's probably not a big
secret. I think they're laughing at us humans all the time, but
that's just a philosophy of mine. There have been studies done with
primates, rats and dogs. All have some type of laughing behavior, but
what I found most interesting, was the study done with the rats. The
rats apparently have a type of “tickle skin” that they like to
have rubbed, or tickled. When this was done with a rat subject, the
rat would display a positive emotion, or would bond with the human
“tickler”. Rats are pretty smart and they are sensitive
emotionally; my aunt had one named Snoopy that rode around on her
shoulder for years. It was to have been her sons', but the rat took
to my aunt and stayed with her almost constantly.
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The look on the kitten's face is priceless. I'm not sure if the cat even care that the dog is got practically his whole head in his mouth, but by the expression on the cat's face, something tells me this is not an unusual tableau at the breakfast table!
This is just scratching the surface
regarding the role of Laughter in our lives and in the lives of the
other creatures on this planet. Just as we have the ability to feel
deep sorrow and loss, these are tempered by the wonderful gifts of
laughter, joy and most importantly, love!
BOOK RELEASE ANNOUNCEMENT AND RAFFLE-COPTER!!!
Title: Golden Dawn
Author: Aldrea Alien
Genre: Paranormal
Release date: April 18th, 2014
From now until April 18th, I will be show-casing Aldrea Alien's newest release, Golden Dawn. This will include an raffle-copter (be sure and enter!) and well. . . I'll let her take it from here!
Family and blood.
After
1100 years, these simple words mean everything to Herald. His life has been
ruled by keeping his siblings safe, keeping them from becoming prey whilst
feeding on the weaker. His failures have been many and measured by those he has
lost. People like his twin brother.
There
has always been an enemy to push back or defeat.
Just who
the enemy is comes into question when Herald meets the dangerous, angelic
creature he is to guard. Wondering where his true loyalties lie is a dangerous
thought. No matter whether he chooses family over the heart, it will mean
death.
Only the
right choice will ensure the life taken is not his.
Buy Links:
Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/411514
MuseitUpPublishing: https://museituppublishing.com/bookstore/index.php/coming-soon/april-2014/golden-dawn-detail
Bookstrand: http://www.bookstrand.com/golden-dawn
CoffeetimeRomance: http://www.coffeetimeromance.com/BookStore/pubs_product_book_info/museitup-publishing-c-98/golden-dawn-p-11898
Andrea Alien
Author Bio:
Born and raised in New Zealand, Aldrea Alien lives on
a small farm with her family, including a menagerie of animals. Since
discovering a love of writing at the age of twelve, she hasn't found an ounce
of peace from the characters plaguing her mind.
Website: http://www.aldreaalien.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/@AldreaAlien
