What’s The Word?

Do you think town criers should replace Twitter’s tweets? A town crier popped up at St. Mary’s Hospital in London to announce the royal birth of Prince William and Kate’s son. If you haven’t seen the announcement of the good news, take a look:

                                          http://youtu.be/rlC0SlCbX88

 We should definitely import this occupation from the Britain to America! We could position a town crier at every town’s post office to proclaim all the news that’s fit to yell and worth knowing. TCTV (Town crier TV) could be the television station that broadcasts all of the nation’s town criers so that we’d have all the important information from across the country. Doesn’t this idea sound so much more entertaining than our current news programs or those limiting 140-character tweets? Not only could town criers give us the news and nothing but the news, these new jobs would also lower the unemployment rate—it’s a win-win for everyone. Once this plan is adopted and your town has its very own announcer, what’s the first piece of good news you want your town crier to proclaim?  

           

        

Follow Your Black-Topped Road

We have a major intersection that connects five major roadways in our area. You probably have one in your town, too. If you drive through it on a regular basis, then you know the stop-and-go light timings, which lanes move fastest, and at what point you should switch lanes to get where you want to go in record time. Traffic often flows smoothly through those major intersections, except when there’s a driver who’s impatient or ignorant of the rules.

Once in a while I’ll see the first driver in line try to switch lanes during the red light. They wind up delaying everyone behind them when they can’t make a smooth transition. Sometimes a driver will inch so far into the left turning lane that they get stuck and block traffic when the light turns red. That’s when we get live action—honking, swerving and sympathetic head-shaking. Your road trip can turn from a pleasant outing to a chaotic nightmare if drivers fail to follow the rules. When people want to experience rule-free driving, here’s where they go:

                                   

                                          http://youtu.be/P8PQUTiBNyw

 How about that? Even the German autobahn, which has no speed limits, has safety rules. We can’t avoid them.  What rule(s) do you make a special effort to follow?

    

Large and Small Deals

Did I see what I thought I saw? Back-to-school sales! Let’s give this merchandising strategy a  name, call it “sales creep.” It’s the retail industry’s habit of scooching the traditional selling period for any holiday or special event earlier and earlier every year. Before long, stores will sponsor huge sales at the end of a school year and keep going until Independence Day. How awful to rush the summer break! What’s worse is that I’d be the first to grab all of those horrible one cent deals at those too-early back-to-school sales. What can I say? I’m a pushover for a bargain. You can never own too many folders and paper clips, can you? If you like deals, here’s one that might intrigue you:

                                         http://youtu.be/ewEfz_AEc8Y

 What a gorgeous place! I know it has the potential for a great resort, but the advertisement frightens me. Blame it on the choice of background music that makes the ad feel like a movie about murder, mystery and intrigue. Once you combine murder and paradise, the last thing I’m thinking about is a relaxing resort. For that reason, I cannot purchase the island—but that’s just me. How about you? Barring one cent back-to-school deals, what’s the best offer you’ve  heard?

A Rainy Day

Imagine yourself sitting in the back of your home enjoying the semi-sunny view outside. Now imagine walking to the front of the house, looking outside, and discovering that it’s nighttime. Something similar happened at our house. Here’s the real story:

We were at home, sitting where we could see outside. A few clouds dotted the sky. When we walked to the front of the house and opened the door, believe it or not—it was raining outside. A steady downpour. At one point we could see both areas simultaneously and yes, the back was clear, but rainy in the front. How odd! You never know what you’ll find outside or under your bed. Listen to one lady’s discovery:

 

                                             http://youtu.be/AIw7B7Ji0Ew

 

 There have been a lot of sinkholes popping up in recent months. Watch where you sleep, walk, and drive; turn a corner and a wild adventure may be just around the corner.  What’s the most amazing thing you’ve experienced?

 

 

 

Riddle Me This

What do you think about this video?

                                             http://youtu.be/q-jqMcKH4ZI

Did you see the Egyptian statue on the end turn around? Look again. The statue is ten inches high, stands in an enclosed glass case in a museum, and after three years—it’s moving. According to museum curators, it turns during the day. Time lapse photography shows the statue turning, but its movement is not visible to bystanders. A few people think the turning is caused by footstep vibrations. Do you want the truth? The statue moves because it’s part of a prank or it’s a very weird, unexplainable phenomenon. I chose prank—it’s less unsettling.

It’s more comfortable to believe that a moving statue is prank-related than to believe it’s an unexplainable mystery. Don’t we prefer clear-cut answers regardless of how we get there? If the statue is part of a prank, how does it turn and who is involved? Sometimes we only get to the heart of an issue by probing every answer with a succession of hows and whys.

Some of our beliefs lack in-depth reasoning, but we hold onto them until we hear a more convincing truth. What mystery or hotly debated topic can you settle because you know the real truth?        

 

Fish Out Of Water

Nothing gets a double-take like the sight of a big, burly bear lounging on top of a child’s playground set in your neighbor’s backyard. Bears, bears, everywhere! It’s like they’re abandoning the woods (what’s left of them) for backyards and housing developments. Check outside, there may be one at your door. They’re getting too comfortable prowling our streets and foraging through trashcans for leftovers. We’ll always pause to stare at a fish out of water. Look at this one:        

                                             http://youtu.be/4VBBjm0Iayo  

This fish actually leaves the water to walk to nearby bodies of water. But wait, there’s more. Not only has it popped up in Canada, the Snakehead fish is alive and well in New York City’s Central Park. Change is inevitable once the natural order of life gets twisted. Have you been feeling like a fish out of water? Perhaps you’re in a transitional situation, waiting to make the next step. What’s the better situation that you want to move toward?     

Talk about the Weather

 It feels like we’ve stepped back in time. Drenching rains every few days?  Welcome to April—again! If our unusual weather patterns continue, I may not have to complain about the heat in July and August. Instead of the high humidity, we might see spring-like weather with minimal sweating, less sunburn and hopefully, fewer bugs. A cooler summer might translate into less pool time, but I’m willing to make that sacrifice.  If the seasonal switches continue,  October and November could become the new summer months. The extra sunlight might force us to miss the beautiful red and orange leaf displays we love. We may have to move Thanksgiving dinner to a park and put grilled corn and turkey burgers on the menu.

 It’s interesting how changes in the weather, which might seem minor to us at first, could cause a domino effect that alters our traditions and how we live.  We aren’t the only ones to experience wonky weather. Take a look:

                                         http://youtu.be/KG5tGxC6IqA

Poor kangaroos! They didn’t know what hit them. One person in a related video mentioned that Australians should be heading to the beach during that time of the year, not shoveling snow. If we took a poll, I  wonder how many people would prefer seasonal weather shifts. Our actual question for today takes a different slant, and that is: Why do you think we’re seeing such unusual weather pattern changes?