Happiness is a Constricted Anus

Grok Headline matches for Happiness is a Constricted Anus

As the wind blows, we see the anus of a
chicken.

As the wind blows, we see the anus of a
chicken. 01/19/2004 11:47 AM
Hollywood? Old. Bollywood? That's soooo 2003. Make room for Nollyw ood, Nigeria's own film industry which is growing by leaps and bounds every year, and is currently worth about $45 million dollars. About 400 Nollywood films are produced every year many on a budget of around $15000 and are distributed almost entirely by VHS and VCD. The stories are very much simplistic and pulpy (check out 419 Stalk Exchange. Yes, 419 as in the email scam) but are much preferred by local residents and emigre's than the usual arthouse fair one often thinks of when talking about African cinema. Now if you'll excuse me there's a bucket of popcorn and a copy of GSM Connection waiting for me in the living room.

Happiness Is...

Happiness Is... 04/29/2004 12:22 AM
Recent acquisition: Which brings our household data capacity to a quarter of a terabyte. I've long claimed that 5 petabytes is all I'll ever need, for life. Which provokes bemused expressions on the faces of those around me. No one...

The how and why of happiness

The how and why of happiness 04/16/2004 01:06 PM
Long article about happiness from The Guardian. I was especially interested in the part that reported that people, on average, are least happy at age 42, because they realize they aren't going to be rich and famous like they thought when they were in their twenties. After 42, though, they stop worrying about it, and start enjoying life more.

'People start out in life pretty certain that they're going to end up like David Beckham or win the Nobel Prize,' says Oswald. 'Then, after a few years, they discover it's quite tough out there - not just in their careers, but in life. Unsurprisingly, their happiness drops.' The good news is that the downer doesn't last. According to Oswald, if you trace the trajectory of most peoples' happiness over time it resembles a J-curve. People typically record high satisfaction levels in their early twenties. These then fall steadily towards middle age, before troughing at around 42. Most of us then grow steadily happier as we get older, with those in their sixties expressing the highest satisfaction levels of all - as long, that is, as they stay healthy.

Link (Via LinkmachineGo)

"Against Happiness"

"Against Happiness" 06/26/2004 08:34 PM

Happiness is....

Happiness is.... 10/28/2003 11:08 PM

reliving my past. When I opened Rhapsody this morning, Cake by the Trash Can Sinatras was staring me in the face. Now that's how you start a day!

And if you're not a Rhapsody subscriber, you can listen to some free MP3 downloads from the TCS site (there are some videos, too). If I have a chance to install iTunes at work today, I'll see if the album available there, too (I imagine it is).

"...ever stopped to think and found out nothing was there?"

The intolerable happiness of being

The intolerable happiness of being 05/14/2004 06:09 PM
Just had the perfect dinner with a beautiful woman in a fabulous restaurant.

Bliss.

The Keys To Happiness

The Keys To Happiness 09/15/2004 07:49 AM
Microsoft's wireless ergonomic keyboard gives those weary fingers a rest, while Logitech builds a better mouse using laser beams. By Peter Lewis, Fortune (via MyAppleMenu)

Money can't buy happiness

Money can't buy happiness 09/27/2004 08:53 AM
David Pescovitz: A new scientific study reveals that (shocker!) a nation's economic fortitude is not as tied to the well-being of its citizens as previous believed. The results of the study--prepared by researchers at the University of Illinois and University of Pennsylvania--appeared in the latest issue of Psychological Science in the Public Interest.

"It has been assumed that money increases well-being and, although money can be measured with exactitude, it is an inexact surrogate to the actual well-being of a nation. In a 1985 survey, respondents from the Forbes list of the 400 richest Americans and the Maasai of East Africa were almost equally satisfied and ranked relatively high in well-being. The Maasai are a traditional herding people who have no electricity or running water and live in huts made of dung. It follows, that economic development and personal income must not account for the happiness that they are so often linked to."

Instead, the authors propose that a population's "engagement, purpose and meaning, optimism and trust, and positive and negative emotions in specific areas such as work life and social relationships" should be considered when measuring the strength of a nation. Link

Happiness Is the Best Medicine

Happiness Is the Best Medicine 04/19/2005 07:02 AM
Happiness and health are often linked, but are people healthy because they're happy or happy because they're healthy? Several new studies shed light on the connections between biological processes and the psyche. By Rowan Hooper.

The Happiness Broker

The Happiness Broker 12/30/2004 04:43 AM
Before: Hey, we need to talk! Don't you remember me? From school? Well I sure remember you! Look, let me buy you a coffee. Surely you have a few minutes to chat. A lot has happened since those days.

Inexplicable happiness

Inexplicable happiness 01/07/2004 04:33 PM
Do I exist if I don't blog? I have been quiet for a couple of days, because there frankly has not been much to say. I'm using my final vacation days, and not really much of interest has happened - nothing that I would say out loud in public anyway :).

I did manage to see Helmiä ja Sikoja, a rather hilarious Finnish movie about a bunch of guys who owe someone a whole lot of money, and thus decide to make a singing star out of their 10-year little sister. I wasn't expecting much of it, but somehow the fresh performances of the cast, who obviously do have some comedic talent, made it a rather memorable experience. And the song the little girl sings is absolutely beautiful. Got a tear in my jaded eye :).

Though, I did have these flashbacks to some other movie, where also four handsome brothers land in some financial difficulties and use crime and deception to wiggle their way out of it... Oh well.

Grr. Work tomorrow. A catastrophy is waiting. I feel it in the water. I feel it in the earth. I smell it in the air.

In Pursuit of Happiness

In Pursuit of Happiness 09/22/2004 12:27 PM
One Fool experiences more than two hours of lost pre-party productivity in a Barnes & Noble quest.

Daedalus - How not to buy happiness -
The MIT Press

Daedalus - How not to buy happiness -
The MIT Press 08/07/2004 03:52 PM
How not to buy happiness

mitpress.mit.edu/catalog/item/default.asp?ttype=6&tid=1440 3
track this site | 4 links

Bluebird of Luggage Happiness

Bluebird of Luggage Happiness 07/09/2004 06:22 PM
A conceptual contest winner envisions Bluetooth luggage tags: The tags on your luggage and that you carry signal when your luggage is near. Conceivably, this concept could be expanded so that you would register your luggage and your tag: without both parts, you wouldn't be able to leave with the bags. [link via Gizmodo]...

What price happiness? (Reuters)

What price happiness? (Reuters) 06/29/2004 04:07 AM
Reuters - You don't need millions to be happy. At The Happiness Institute in Australia, a couple of hundred dollars may do the trick.

Happiness is a warm puppy

Happiness is a warm puppy 04/19/2005 09:17 AM

Sleeping with Bo

Mizuka took this awhile ago. Just found it on my camera.

Comment - TrackBack

Traffic, obsession and happiness

Traffic, obsession and happiness 01/08/2004 07:58 PM

I disagree somewhat with Adina. I think that traffic is similar to attention. Attention is not the same as power or money, but it is sought after in the same way and in some ways is something that money can't buy and is actually more valuable and difficult to gain. Having said that, it's not about the traffic. Just like it's not about money, or attention. Money, attention and traffic do not, at the end of the day, make you happy. It is associated with privilege and power. I've met many people who have privilege and power (and money and attention and traffic) who are not happy. One of the problems with happiness through score cards is that it's like playing a video game. It's quite an empty happiness that is similar to the empty happiness of fulfilling a craving or an obsession. Most (not all) of the extremely wealthy people I know are obsessed with money and think about it all the time. If you're smart and you are obsessed with money, you can usually become wealthy. Most of the happy people I know are not obsessed with money. Most of them think about money just enough so that they don't have to worry about money. But money's nice to have, just like power is nice to have. But more than enough is often too much. Once you have too much money, power or attention you become obsessed and the fear of losing it alone can make you unhappy. Money, power and attention are addictive and dangerous.

I don't talk about these things very often because speaking from a position of privilege, it's not very convincing, but most of my power, attention, money and other "assets" are a result of my obsessions. These obsessions drive me to focus in excess. I am now exploring my obsessions. I wonder what this is going to do to me. Obsession is a demon which can help you gain many things, but has many corrosive side effects and in the end often leads you away from happiness. I wonder what I would be like without my obsessions?

Money can buy happiness (Reuters)

Money can buy happiness (Reuters) 01/09/2004 09:55 PM
Reuters - Money, it seems, can buy happiness after all -- but only if you've got shedloads of it.

Dynamic Happiness: Flash and PHP

Dynamic Happiness: Flash and PHP 08/22/2002 08:22 AM

Ruby the Elephant Monitored for
Happiness (AP)

Ruby the Elephant Monitored for
Happiness (AP) 04/30/2004 07:50 AM
AP - A judge gave a Tennessee zoo six months to report back on the social life of an African elephant named Ruby.

Happiness is a Warm Mobile Suit

Happiness is a Warm Mobile Suit 12/19/2004 03:51 PM
My Zeta Gundam box set has come in.

One Recipe for Happiness? Run 262 Miles
(Reuters)

One Recipe for Happiness? Run 262 Miles
(Reuters) 03/24/2005 11:47 AM
Reuters - Pondering life on his 30th birthday and finding something lacking, Dean Karnazes staggered home from a night out drinking with friends, put on his gardening shoes and went for a run. A 30-mile run. All night.

happiness and cheer, families draw near

happiness and cheer, families draw near 12/19/2004 03:48 PM

According to The Man, I need to walk for about a week before I can start running again, so I've been dragging my lazy ass out of the house for the last few days, and reminding my muscles what it feels like to do more than move from the office to the living room and back. This hasn't been as difficult as I thought it would be, because I'm super motivated to get back into shape, and the weather in Los Angeles has been just amazing. Right now, it's 71 in my backyard, and it has been near 80 for almost a week. I have also taken the boredom out of walking by listening to America: The Audio Book by Jon Stewart and the writers from The Daily Show. It's awesome, and I highly reccommend it.

This morning, I added two miles to my walk, which took me past Nolan and Ryan's elementary school. The streets around the school were lined with cars, and I paused my iPod long enough to hear a chorous of children singing holiday tunes as I passed the auditorium. It reminded me of a blog entry I wrote a few years ago, which didn't make it into Just A Geek. The original is in the archives, but rather than cut-n-paste, I did a little . . . uh . . . cleaning up, because, well . . . uh . . . wow.

Hope new readers like it, and hope returning readers don't mind the reprint.

I am Jack's Holiday Program
Originally published on December 20, 2001, edited on December 15, 2004

I just got back from watching Nolan's holiday program at his school.

Nolan is in 5th grade this year, so it's the last elementary school holiday program I'll probably ever see, and when I realized that this morning, I felt immense regret for all the years I attended because I felt obligated to be there, rather than truly looking forward to the show.

For years, Anne and I would arrive at the school moments before the show began, and we'd end up standing in the back, with all of the other parents who overslept, or took too long for breakfast, or had to grab a quickie once the kids were at school. But this year, Anne got there nice and early, and grabbed us two seats with a great view of the stage.

Unfortunately, our great view was tainted a little bit by the horrible people who surrounded us. To my immediate right, I present the old woman who kept farting loudly throughout the entire show. I will not deny that there was more than a little amusement value in listening to them reverberate off the metal cafeteria chairs, but they weren't just the loud "hey, pull my finger" farts. They were the really horrible, lingering, "holy shit, man! Was that you?" ones. Behind us to the right, please enjoy the two little kids who did not stop talking the entire time, except when their mother told them that a good way to stay occupied would be to stand on the floor and bang on their chairs in time to the music. And finally, say hello to the kid immediately behind me, who had one of those little kid colds, and coughed and sneezed throughout the whole performance. I especially loved it when he sneezed all over the back of my neck.

Once the show got started, though, all the annoyances that surrounded us insignificantly faded into the background, as we focused our attention on the stage. All of the classes were great, and the kids were just adorable. The theme this year was Peace and Diversity, which is very funny, considering that I live in the most reactionary, demagogic Republican area in the freakin' world. (All of my neighbors had those offensive "Protect Marriage" signs last year, when the homophobes were trying to make it certain that marriage should only be between men and women. Because those marriages always succeed. And we have to keep the gays from soiling that sacred, unspoiled institution, right?) Sorry. mini-rant. I'm back now.

Nolan's class performed the Christmas carol "O, Tannenbaum," which meant that I spent the last five weeks helping Nolan learn three verses in German, so I could sing along. It was easy to pick out the other 5th grade parents, because they were singing too. Nolan was so adorable in his red sweater and Santa Claus hat, and he held his head high as he belted out, "O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum, wie treu sind deine Blätter!" He did all the same things on the stage that he did when we were learning the song: when he sang "Du grünst nicht nur zur Sommerzeit" he clenched his hands into tiny fists and looked at the ceiling. When he sang "Nein auch im Winter, wenn es schneit" he punctuated the three syllables in wenn es schneit with little punches in front of his chest.

I am certain that I, like all the other parents, was able to pick out and isolate my child's voice from the chorus, and I am equally certain, as were the other parents, that my child had the sweetest voice, and turned in the most adorable and memorable performance that has ever graced the cafetorium's stage. Or any cafetorium's stage, for that matter.

My absolute favorite moment was watching Nolan's subdued Joe Cocker as he sang,of course . . . but coming in a close second was when these kids read poems about winter. There were 4 kids up on the stage, all in their holiday finest, who each read a different winter-related poem. The first kid read "The Snowman" by Shel Silverstein, and I'm embarrassed to report that I can't recall what the middle two kids did. But the last kid, who looked an awful lot like Dewey from "Malcolm in the Middle", who wore a checkered shirt and non-matching clip-on tie (it was so damn cute, I couldn't stand it) recited, from memory, a poem by elementary school staple Jack Prelutsky, which was quite an impressive achievement, especially for a third grader. This kid did a great job, and when he was done, he proudly scanned the audience, clearly looking for his parents. When he found them, shrugged his shoulders as if to say, "Well, that's about as good as it gets", and picked his nose and ate it.

Nolan starts Middle School next year, and I realized this morning how much I'm going to miss not just these performances, but all the things that are part of elementary school: the macaroni art work, the turkey on Thanksgiving that's made from a little handprint on brown paper, the mobiles at Christmas that are made from sixteen inches of yarn, green construction paper cutouts that look like trees if you squint, and fifty pounds of glue.

I know that they'll both be in high school before I know it, and then they'll be off to college . . . but wherever my stepkids are, I'll always have these memories to keep me company each holiday season.

Happy Holidays, everyone. I hope you get to spend some time this season with people you love.

Private Life, Public Happiness and the
Howard Dean Connection

Private Life, Public Happiness and the
Howard Dean Connection 01/07/2004 03:12 PM
With Dean, the campaign is somewhere... out there. It is not at headquarters any more, but it talks to headquarters. This is a de-stabilizing premise, and a reporting nightmare. But Samantha Shapiro in the Times magazine this week had a notion.

Yahoo! finance push reveals secret of
male happiness

Yahoo! finance push reveals secret of
male happiness 12/03/2003 02:57 AM
Revolution Dec 3 2003 2:16AM ET

Every website is a human being's attempt
at achieving a goal or obtaining
happiness

Every website is a human being's attempt
at achieving a goal or obtaining
happiness 09/03/2004 01:33 PM
WebDevInfo Sep 3 2004 5:43PM GMT
Grok Description matches for Happiness is a Constricted Anus
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Happiness is a Constricted Anus

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