Five for Friday (times two!) ... Ear worms

The definition of an earworm comes from a translation of the German "ohrwurm", a portion of a song or other music that repeats compulsively within one's mind, put colloquially as "music being stuck in one's head."

It's such a fascinating phenomenon, authors have written about it for years. Take Arthur C. Clarke's 1956 short story "The Ultimate Melody" for example. In it, the protagonist, Gilbert Lister, develops a melody that intrigues the brain so completely that the listener becomes entranced by it. His theory is that a great melody impresses itself on the mind because it perfectly matches the brain's electrical impulses.

In 2007, marketing professor James J. Kellaris PhD, of the University of Cincinnati conducted a study about the top ten earworms. It boggles the mind how some people manage to justify their paycheque ... but the results are interesting:

1. Other. Everyone has his or her own worst earworm.
2. Chili's "Baby Back Ribs" jingle.
3. "Who Let the Dogs Out"
4. "We Will Rock You"
5. Kit-Kat candy-bar jingle ("Gimme a Break ...")
6. "Mission Impossible" theme
7. "YMCA"
8. "Whoomp, There It Is"
9. "The Lion Sleeps Tonight"
10. "It's a Small World After All"

I don't even KNOW some of those songs and NONE of my most persistent nuisance-tunes are on the list, so I guess I fit in with number one. The obsessive musical thoughts that frequently plague my mind are:

Fortunately for me, not all of them are "claw-your-eardrums" annoying. In fact, some of them can be quite pleasant accompaniment to my day. I know there are only supposed to be FIVE, but try telling my subconscious that and see where you get. I was lucky to pare it down to ten! So, since I didn't get here to post last Friday, I'm taking both week's five together.

So ... what is your most persistent "tune wedgy"?

Hi, how y'all been?

(Is anybody else having trouble with blogger lately? I can't switch between Edit HTML and Compose anymore!)

Yeah, been a little busy this past week. Work, mostly. Middle school report cards, parent-teacher meetings, midterms and then high school report cards fall into the space of about 3 weeks. I'm in the midst of it now.

Some personal junk mixed in but nothing major. Something new cropped up with my health but it wasn't anything I didn't expect. It's only slowed me up a bit so far. It's been a hard winter and I'm gen'rally feeling rough - ragged, y'know? Bulbs are up and the robins are back though, so I 'spect spring's finally here.

Steve's been amazing. He truly is my rock, but finances are getting tight with him not working. I hope he gets called back soon. Construction work is nearly impossible when there's 9 feet of snow on the ground but it's melting now, so it shouldn't be long. He's looking forward to it, I know.

The B-man passed his brown-stripe belt in tae kwondo last Thursday. Only one more before black now. Master C has taken a special interest in him, for which I am eternally grateful. It has been so good for B's self-esteem. He's a pretty wonderful little boy, but of course I'm going to say that, right? The difference is that everybody else seems to think so, too. I always ask myself how I got so lucky, having a kid like him.

Steve and I hosted our monthly movie night on Saturday. Only 8 people showed but it was sort of short notice, being a re-schedule of the one we had to cancel a couple weeks ago for health reasons. The viewing was RANGO, followed by CALIGULA. Yeah. Not gonna comment on that. Feel free if you are so moved, though. Anyway, there was double chocolate cheesecake along with the usual munchies. It's always fun getting together with our friends.

So, that's what I've been up to. How's your life going?

Music on Monday

The topic of the day is BAGPIPES ...

There was a young Scottish boy called Angus who decided to try life in Australia. He found an apartment in a small block and settled in.

After a week or two, his mother called from Aberdeen to see how her son was doing in his new life.

"I'm fine," Angus said. "But there are some really strange people living in these apartments. One woman cried all day long, another lies on her floor moaning, and there is a guy next door to me who bangs his head on the wall all the time."

"Well, ma laddie," says his mother, "I suggest you don't associate with people like that."

"Oh," says Angus, "I don't, Mum, I don't. No, I just stay inside my apartment all day and night, playing my bagpipes."

Q: What's the definition of a gentleman?
A: Someone who knows how to play the bagpipe, and doesn't.

Q: What's the difference between a cat in the road and a bagpipe in the road?
A: Most people would actually swerve to miss the cat.

Q: Why do pipe bands march when they play?
A: Moving targets are harder to hit.

Q: What's the difference between a bagpipe and an onion?
A: No one cries when you chop up an bagpipe.

Q: What's the difference between a dead snake in the road and a dead bagpiper in the road?
A: There are skid marks in front of the snake.

Q: How can you tell if a bagpipe is out of tune?
A: Someone is blowing into it.

Q: What's the difference between a bagpipe and a chainsaw?
A: The chain saw doesn't have vibrato.

Q: What's the difference between a bagpipe and a lawn mower.
A: People get upset when someone borrows their lawn mower and doesn't give it back.

Q: What's the difference between a bagpipe and a trampoline?
A: You take off your shoes when you jump on a trampoline.

Q: What's the definition of "optimism"?
A: A bagpiper with a beeper.

Q: What's the range of a bagpipe?
A: Twenty yards if you have a good arm.

Q: Why do pipers walk when they play?
A: They are trying to get away from the sound!

Someone once said, "You don't PLAY bagpipes, you WIELD them."

Q: How can you tell the difference between bagpipe songs?
A: By their names.

Q: Why do most people hate bagpipes right away?
A: It saves time.

"I understand the inventor of the bagpipes was inspired when he saw a man carrying an indignant, asthmatic pig under his arm. Unfortunately, the man-made object never equalled the purity of sound achieved by the pig." - Alfred Hitchcock

Five For Friday - Going to the Dogs

I love dogs. I love the "dogness" of them; the inherent openness of spirit; the unconditionality of their hearts; the inherent curiosity and wonder of their nature. I even love their childlike dependency. From the most adorable puppy or the most elegant pedigree to the scruffiest mutt, my heart melts for dogs.

The few periods in my life when I didn't have a dog were mere transitions. I grew up in a dog family and my son has never known a life without the comfort of a cushy, furry, drooly, devoted heart-on-legs. At first, we had two. Mandy was the "momma-dog" who cuddled the B-man and herded him away from perceived dangers when he was a toddler. We still miss her but we remember her with smiles and laughter. She was a character and the stories never grow tiresome, no matter how often the B-man asks me to tell them.

We still have Daisy. She has always been the B-man's playmate. Even now, at the age of 14, she staggers gamely along with him on our walks. She's not as fast as she used to be but the B-man shows his love by slowing down for her and not going where she would have difficulty following him ... because he knows that she would follow him anywhere he leads her. That's what dog-love is, after all.

March Break ...

No posts for the past week. I've been doing taxes. Paperwork. Housework. And I spent a little time in hospital. Seems my emergency surgeries a few years back have left me with a legacy of abdominal problems. This time, though, it's not urgent and I can wait until it's convenient to have the operation to repair the damage. There's always a bright side to everything.
There were some really outstanding parts to the past week though. I got to spend a lot of quality time with Steve and the B-man. We went bowling, swimming, to the indoor amusement park and the giant bookstore, and we saw some movies together.
First, Steve and I escorted the B-man and his best friend "Big D" to see RANGO. It was absolutely wonderful. It is a great script, and the scope and range of Johnny Depp's talent never ceases to amaze me. The boys, of course, were exhilarated by the gunfire and explosions. It was a noisy drive home ...

The very next night, Steve and I got a grown-up date while B went to his grandparents for a sleep-over. It had been years since I saw an adult-type film in the theatres, so we did the traditional dinner-and-movie outing. We got to try out a new Indian restaurant, then held hands in the cinema through THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU. The concept presented in the storyline was more interesting than the movie itself, although it was decent enough entertainment. I think we were both just enjoying the absence of squirming question-factories for a change ...
Our third cinematic outing was a birthday party. B-man's little girlfriend, "Doll-face", turned 8 and we were invited to a private screening of GNOMEO AND JULIETTE. It was cute. The B-man thought the kissing was gross, much to his admirer's dismay but he liked the lawnmower races and ... the explosions. Yup. He later informed Steve, though, that the best part of the evening was getting to club a Disney Princess pinata to death at the party after the film. I witnessed the massacre and it was brutal. That, sad to say, is the mindset of an 8-year old boy ...

Although not a theatre experience, the last movie I saw before returning to the grind of a regular workweek came highly recommended by our Ann. Steve downloaded PS I LOVE YOU for me and we watched it together. I love Steve sooooooo much! He wanted to make me happy and share the experience, but he fell asleep about 30 minutes into the film and let me blubber in peace. Now THAT says love to me ...
Not too shabby, huh? Glad I was to get in some playtime along with all the other stuff. It makes me feel good that I was able to balance things. B-man even got lots of playdates and a couple of prime sleep-overs.

Could've used another week, though ...