Something I've wanted to know...

I've got a lot of cousins, and some of them are 2nd cousins once-removed...or is that 1st cousins twice-removed?

I found a chart (here), and now my life is complete. :-)


So my mom's first cousin is my 1st cousin once removed, and her kids are my 2nd cousins.

I really do feel better knowing this!

Lori

Students Run Underground Junk Food Trade

The local school board could take the credit if they wanted to -- "See, the students learned a valuable history lesson about how organized crime began in the United States, and learned entrepreneurial skills at the same time!"

(The full story here.)

Some high school students are making money by selling junk food out of lockers at their Burnaby school despite a provincial ban on junk food sales now in effect in all B.C. schools.

The three Grade 11 students — who asked to be identified only as Weeman, The Fern and Goggles — told CBC News they made more than $200 in the first week of school by bulk-buying candy and chocolate bars, then selling them at a profit.

And the beautiful part of the story is that the School Board isn't cracking down...they're a bit proud of them, I think.

Plus, there's an intimation that teachers are taking advantage of the opportunity as well!

The Piano

Watch more cool animation and creative cartoons at aniBoom

A lovely way to start the day...

Lori

The Reason I Could Never be a Photojournalist:

more animals


Lori

Stationary and Wacky Fun -- 2 of my fave things!

From the guys who brought you the Mentos-magic...

Fun with Post-its!




(Source)

Enjoy!

Lori

Destino -- Dali meets Disney

More intellectually absurd than my normal head-slapping variety...but absolutely, almost painfully beautiful and brilliant is this trailer for a "Salvador Dali/Disney collaboration Destino that was begun in the 40's and only released recently":

Chef-d'oeuvre ! Walt Disney + Salvador Dali
Uploaded by LTT

The whole piece is about 7 minutes long, as the source points out:

Sublime !

Collaboration artistique unique entre deux géants !

Walt Disney commande un dessin animé à Salvador Dali dans les années 40 et décontenancé par le resultat jugé "trop original", le film initulé "Destino", petit bijou de 7 minutes, restera dans les placards de Disney jusqu'en 2003, date de sa sortie aux USA.

Lori

A Group of Individuals

Last week, my man and I were in a hotel in Our Nation's Capital. Yes, thanks for asking, we had a good time. A bit stressful, with all of the visiting-family requirements, but fun. [Note to self: next year, do not combine family obligations with holiday.]

But when I stay in hotels, I watch TV. It's really the only time I watch TV, so suddenly I get to see the underbelly of our culture as something of an anthropologist...with fresh eyes.

This time around, I noticed that the cult of individuality, mutated into a revolting sameness that inspires every young woman to be a slut with a lower back tattoo just like everyone else's, and makes me confuse Christina Aguilera with Paris Hilton (Is it only me, or are they clones of each other?), has now spread to advertising, where what's cool goes to die.

• A car commercial that has cars (and drivers, I assume) coming together for a rally: "It is that which makes us different that brings us together!" yells the speaker. The tag line? "United by Individuality"
• A commercial for a cell phone company which entices potential new customers with "the only thing we have in common is how different we are."
• A(ny) commercial for alcohol that has the whole bar drinking the same mixed drink (following the herd ain't just for beer any more!). My, aren't they having fun.

So, is that it then? Is the cultural love affair with individuality run its course? When it's the theme of 3 oft-repeated commercials shown during the broadcast of one re-run of CSI, could it be that Individuality as the Icon of Cool is dead?

Gads. What's coming up behind us, here in the mainstream? (Yes, RC, I hear you...You, of course, are not mainstream...)

I mean, really, if an idea, a cultural meme (in its original meaning) works its way through the initiators, then the early adoptors, then the rest of the world before becoming noticed by ad execs...then individuality is in its death throes.

Okay, so being an individual is not a short-lived trend, like some. From Jung helping people along the path of individuation, through to today's tattoos and piercings being the norm, this trend has had some real longevity. But I'm throwing these musings out to my clever readers -- What's next? If individuality is old hat, what can possibly follow it?

Lori