The brain is an incredible thing, and scientists are continually learning more about how it works and what it's capable of. I've come across these two findings, and I thought they were worth sharing.
All Mixed Up Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.
Neato, huh?! Here's one more:
Figuratively Speaking
This took a second to catch on, but by half way through I was humming right along.
I don't know if that's true that "only certain people can read this," but either way it's interesting.
Dear left calf,
You suck. We aren't friends right now.
Regards,
Me
Dear running shoes,
I regret to inform you that our regularly scheduled dates are postponed until further notice. Please direct all complaints and resolution inquiries to left calf.
Always your friend,
Aaron
Dear Hasher friends (my running club), While I've been attending and doing the walker trail in recent weeks, I really can't wait to be back in the pack and hunting those hares. True, I know the FRBs are the real chasers, but I like feeling useful in solving a check here and there. Also, I'm hoping to be back to hare the St Patty's trail. On on,
LDS
Dear scientists,
How are the cyborg experiments going? I am ready for a new left calf, because my current one hates me and won't let me get through runs without pain. Robocop was made in 1987, so you've got to be close. I mean, hoverboards from Back to the Future (1985) are in pre-order already (see attached picture). Please keep me posted. Anxiously awaiting your response, Aaron
Dear icepack & DVR, Thank you for supporting me in this trying time and for providing comfort to ease my pain. I know I don't pay you much attention when I'm not injured, so it means a lot for you to step up when I need you.
Much appreciation,
Aaron
PS Sadly, I can guarantee that as soon as I'm healed, you'll again get very little attention*. C'est la vie!
Dear roads, sidewalks, trails, and treadmills, I will miss you while I'm unable to visit. Just know that you always provide clarification and mental cleansing, and I'll likely be a mess until we're reunited. In the Governator's words, "I'll be back." Hopefully sooner rather than later. Achingly yours, Aaron
Dear bicycle,
We will hopefully be getting reacquainted in the next few weeks, so I hope you're ready to roll (pun intended). This is dependent on your cooperation with left calf, who is being finicky lately. I'll be making large quantities of Gatorade to our parties, along with a little chain grease for you. If the groundhog was right and weather stays/gets cold, our old friend the CycleOps trainer will also join us. I promise he's a good time, and you two get along swimmingly.
Ready to pedal,
Aaron
Dear pool,
I just wrote to bicycle and was reminded that you and I are out of touch. Such a tragedy. Given my current spat with left calf, I look forward to reuniting with you and bicycle on a regular basis. Please be ready and at the appropriate temperature for swim training. Also, not too much chlorine if you can help it.
You're the best dive I know,
Aaron
Dear left calf (again), I'm sorry I was hard on you earlier. It's just really hard waking up and knowing that you're keeping me from my running. For so long, you were a contributor, and now you're holding the team back. Please remember that there's no "I" in team... or in calf. Pulling my weight, how about you? Aaron
Dear healthy diet and old man body of mine, Let's pitch in and help left calf get better soon. When he's unhappy, no one's happy. You know it's true, Aaron
*Except DVR will still get used for Justified. How does neither Hulu nor FX offer full episodes?
Here's what the first sentence on its page 45 foretold:
"I should head home actually," I said. "I'm kinda tired."
Marvelous. Spot on. Funny because it's true (at least for my current state).
A few of my friends also tried it out, and here are some of their results:
Jen - A book about a political prisoner during Stalin's purges of 1937... "Whenever it suits you best. Now, if you like, or if it's more convenient, after lunch." ..."How long is it likely to take?"..."Oh, say forty minutes, perhaps an hour." ha ha ha. - This is just too appropriate. Great find!
Lisa - Closest book is my Bridgeman's Anatomy for Artists..."In the twistings and bendings of the body there is a harmony of movement, a subtle continuity of form, every changing and elusive, that is the very essence of motion." For real. It's about time. ;)
Dustin - "You have to let them go their own way eventually, I reminded myself. You have to let them have their own life..."
Megan - The closest book to me is a juggling manual. I looked up the line... but I'm too embarrassed to post it, so I shan't. Prospects look good, though! - Makes me really wonder what my sister found...
Rachael - "It seemed like she never even had time to think" (the exiled queen) sounds about right. too funny
Danielle - "Gladly, sir, but that guitar must belong to a master. It's too good to practice on." *snort*
David - A book of neurological disorder case studies: "'It's an 'as if',' I answered: 'as if the parietal lobes were not getting their usual sensory information.'" Prospects look grim... - Sorry, brother :(
Whitney - The closest book to me is the bible. HA! and funny enough the 45th page/first full sentence is Genesis 29:33 "And she conceived again, and bare a son; and said..." - Conceived again, eh? Get a move on it, girl!
Stephanie - "'What do you mean?' snapped the bald man, clearly irritated by my intrusion."
Micha - "Beside a marshy lake in an obscure sector of the Dakotas, a campfire was smiling its head off." I hope that's true!!! - Another excellent reason to love the great outdoors.
Lindsey - "Some diversity in hardware may be necessary to support legacy or mission-critical functions" BWAHAHAHA oh my gosh....tears are streaming down my face! - Too good. I couldn't help but laugh at this, too!
Thanks for sharing, everyone! Plenty of variety in literature and predictions, and definitely good fodder for humor and a laugh for my readers and me.
If you want to try it, please put your results in the comments, as I'd love to get a chuckle from yours, too!
I usually try to avoid fried foods. Delicious, but not very healthy.
Yesterday, the goal was to go crazy on the deep fried foods.
We succeeded.
Entrees included mozzarella sticks, jalapeño poppers, zucchini, pickles, bbq wings, sweet potato fries, chicken, onion rings, bananas, pineapple, cheese-filled meatballs, and even macaroni-and-cheese balls.
Alexis and Christine
Daniel and Kaitlin
Spencer manned the deep fryer (or fryolator as some -meaning Kaitlin- call it) for most of the actual foods. Between him and Dave, they had a pretty good knowledge of how long to cook things, or just really good guesses.
Jamie and football friends
The family photo of sisters and their god-dog
This is what onion rings look like mid-frying
Our running justifies these deep-fried pickles, right?
It's good to be flanked by these great brothers
Once we were done with the normal foods, it was time for dessert. Spencer had to go, so I took over on the deep fryer. I'd been waiting all day for the desserts, so I was happy to get 'em going.
For dessert, we had Double-Stuf Oreos, Girl-Scout cookies (thin mints), Tastykakes, Triple Double Oreos, and the fan-favorite Snickers bites.
The Snickers bites went quickly; I'd say they were the big winners
This is a triple double Oreo, basically a double decker; yum!
The afternoon was certainly a delicious one, but I think I'm done with fried foods for quite a while.
Do you have a fried food weakness? Ever just feel the need to satisfy it in a big way?
Okay, so this week I'm not going back to my childhood, exactly.
But it does go back to my senior year of high school, which was over a decade ago.
Crazy, because it seems like several decades ago.
A few years earlier, all my female friends had the apparently-difficult choice of picking between a trio of boy bands: Backstreet Boys, 'N Sync, and 98 Degrees.
My senior year, it was the fellas turn.
Two girls came on the scene for us to decide between: Christina and Britney.
Some guys struggled with the decision.
Though I have learned to appreciate some of Britney's club tunes, I've been a Christina fan from the start.
Christina Aguilera
Come On Over (All I Want is You)
Britney Spears
...Baby One More Time
Both have changed a lot over the years, and they've made some questionable personal decisions.
But let's keep those out of the equation and just focus on the music and performing.
Based on their professional product and ability, which do you prefer?
After recording way too much video over multiple weeks, and then a whole lot of editing, my freshman attempt at a short film was completed and submitted to the 2012 Lonely Hearts Film Festival.
Last night was the festival and my film's big public debut.
As it happens, most of the other films were comedic in nature, and I can't decide if that made mine more interesting or just a little out of place. One thing's for sure, my fairly quiet film with its contemplative message was in stark contrast to the film shown just before, which seemed to be channeling a Marilyn Manson acid trip while outrunning a psychedelic avalanche.
On its own, anyway, I quite like mine.
My objective was to get us all to think about how many people we pass every day, and to realize/remember that those people all have things going on in their lives, just the same as in our own life.
Anyway, enough babbling. Here's my video:
If you like it, and especially if you like the message, feel free to share it.
I'd also love to hear your comments and critiques, both positive and "constructive" in nature, because if I don't hear both types, I won't know where to improve for future works.
Let's all make this world a little more friendly and personable by reaching out to those around us.
Since this is the first week of my Flashback Friday series, I figured I'd throw in a bonus post.
I grew up in Utah, and my parents are both BYU alumni.
My dad took us to BYU football games, and we loved seeing the "QBU" passing attack shred opponents.
Though I was pretty young, I still remember watching Ty Detmer pass his way to the Heisman.
My dad followed that year with the same fanaticism that the BYU faithful followed Jimmer Fredette's senior season. All the publicity and staggering statistics made for lots of excitement.
As a natural result, my dad's football-loving sons were all about Ty and how great he was.
Ty Detmer, BYU's Heisman winner
And when it was clear that Ty Detmer was leading the Cougars to a special accomplishment, some guy seized the moment and wrote one of the worst raps in history. Which I loved back then, by the way.
The Tysman Rap.
Yes, it's pretty bad in retrospect. But at the time, I thought it was the bee's knees.
A couple years later, I guess some other guys figured white people (other than the Beastie Boys, of course) deserved another chance at rapping about something totally not-rappable.
The Mormon Rap.
It's so bad that it's good. Also, many of the references are still surprisingly relevant.
That's kinda scary if you think about it.
I hope we (meaning BYU and Mormons) learned our lesson and don't try any more rapping like this.
Or perhaps there actually are some decent raps by/about these topics now.
Nah, I doubt it, and it's not worth the time or effort to research.
I don't know if that's true that "only certain people can read this," but either way it's interesting.
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