Xxxicana’s Weblog

I ran across a site that made me fall out of my chair laughing. It’s called the Society for the Promotion of Good Grammar [SPOGG]. Just the thing to cheer me up after a round of grading student papers. Oy vey, some are just horrifically bad!

From SPOGG the ten most annoying expressions:

1 – At the end of the day
2 – Fairly unique
3 – I personally
4 – At this moment in time
5 – With all due respect
6 – Absolutely
7 – It’s a nightmare
8 – Shouldn’t of
9 – 24/7
10 – It’s not rocket science

Mr. Man and I have our own pet peeves, including

1. Awesome [should be reserved for acts of God]

2. Dude

3. I flaked

4. sweet

Anyway, this site is only slightly less interesting than the Darwin Awards. Link is on the sidebar.

TTFN!

Dear Gentle Readers,

I know that for most Americans, flatulence causes extreme emotional responses (either embarrassment or laughter). As an anthropologist, I am concerned with human behavior, development, and evolution — and I just love taboo subjects! Farting (ok, let it out . . . the laughter, that is) is a normal, everyday aspect of the human body. In our culture, however, there is almost nothing more humiliating than to let one rip in public — unless of course you are a sub-adult male. In that case, farts are used as weapons. Women in American culture, of course, DO NOT fart. You know that saying “men sweat, women glow”? This is a good example of how bodily functions are subject to cultural interpretations and can be deployed to signal gender differences. Same with flatulence. For men, collective farting can even promote social bonding. For women, it’s another story [however, it should be noted that I have never lived in a collective of women such as a dorm, sorority, or convent, so my perspective may be skewed]. As we move along into adulthood, into the stage of relationship building (pair bonding), there comes the day that we must reveal to our romantic interest that we do, indeed, have bodily functions. Now, come on, admit it, you all know what I’m talking about. Have you ever gone in to tinkle and tried to muffle the sound of the stream? What about the first time you actually fully expelled your bowels in the vicinity of your lover? Moving up the chain of increasing trust, there comes a day when one can pass a small, innocuous fart with no consequence. Now that is intimacy!!

You may be wondering what brought on my musings about farting. Well, a new study indicates that the gas that makes farts stinky (hydrogen sulfide) may play a role in regulating blood pressure (see story here). Most of the gas in farts is made by bacteria in the digestive tract, but it is also naturally produced in the cell lining of blood vessels. Mice that were genetically unable to produce hydrogen sulfide were shown to be less able to control hypertension. Researchers will be following up on this research to develop treatments that would promote the production and release of more hydrogen sulfide. So, will we see a fart pill in the future? Next time you feel the need to suppress a fart, think twice — let it rip for better health!

I’ve been away from my blog for a bit . . . my sister came for a visit . . . so I was busy cleaning the house and then enjoying her company. It was great to have Shell visit our fine city and enjoy some good old sisterly fun. When we were kids we spent a lot of time playing board games, as we grew older, the competition became stiffer. So, to relive those times, I dug out Trivial Pursuit. BIG MISTAKE. Of course Shelly kicked my butt . . . although I am blaming Mr. Man for serving me two shots of tequila. I would have won, I think, had I not been under the influence of that evil tequila!

Since his mommy left, Spot has been inconsolable . . . at least I think he has. He hasn’t moved from his favorite chair (except to nag me to feed him, oh, and to also hold him for hours). Here’s a photo of the two:

I think Spot really enjoyed seeing his real mommy . . . he also had three people’s laps to jump to for extra cuddling.

To entertain Shelly, we visited our favorite eateries and she met my friends. Here’s a photo of us at Grateful Bread (although they’ve just changed their name to something I don’t remember).

From left to right: Shemelis Beyene, Mary Willis, Shelly, Dan Osborne. These are the biological anthropologists at UNL and my favorite people in the department. We meet regularly at the “soup shop” since the soup is healthy and inexpensive, the decor is, hmm, well interesting, and the ambiance tres bon. Shelly was impressed by the large collection of Mr. Potato heads.

The Soup Night crowd met up with us at La Mexicana for dinner:

Left to right: Dave, Joan, Shelly, me, Patti, Tom, Matt, Ken (hiding behind Matt),and Kim (missing were Betty & Ray). I think this shot was taken early in the evening since there’s no accumulation of empty beer bottles and margarita glasses! I’ve made reference to the Soup Night crew before. This is a group of great, interesting, caring, funny, intelligent, and RAUCOUS folks that help keep me sane!

On Saturday, Tom and I had to figure out the best sights to show off Lincoln . . . hmm . . . should we go to the Germans from Russia Museum . . . or the International Rollerskating Museum . . . or perhaps visit a local winery (nixed since we are from California . . . one does not go to England for its cuisine . . . one does not sample wines in Nebraska). Ultimately, we decided that Shelly would enjoy a tour of the State Capitol building. Here’s a shot of Shell:

The Capitol was constructed during the Art Deco period — this is REALLY apparent in its architecture, materials, and embellishments. It is truly a beautiful structure and well worth a visit (jeez, it sounds like I’m a member of the tourism board!).

Although Nebraska isn’t entirely flat, the Capitol Building is the most prominent structure in the area. This has led to some rather off color phallic nicknames for our great state’s seat of government!

This is a door! Currently, much of the art work is being cleaned and restored. The main floors are replete with mosaics and so much detail it is hard to take it all in. I’m pretty sure that this building would cost a fortune to build today.

We also visited Wildlife Safari which I love. No pictures from me, however, I forgot to charge my camera battery.

All in all, we enjoyed Shelly’s visit immensely. The best part was spending some quality time with her just talking about our lives. I regret that our busy lifestyles have led me to forget to be in better contact and be a more supportive sister.

It is too easy to forget the important things in life . . . I’m going to try to remember to call and communicate more with my only sibling. It is funny how I have assumed that my life issues are unique. Talking with my sis I realized that we need to be more open about our trials and travails since we actually have to confront similar situations.

Anyway, I am so glad Shell came for a visit. I really enjoyed our time together and hope that next time the entire family can come out for a visit. Oh, and BTW, I will be naming one of my chickens “Bobbie” !!! TTFN