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cool resources, interesting thingamabobs and strange whatchamacallits that are worth a look, a thought and quite possibly a good laugh

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Random Ridiculousness Around The Web

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Life’s not worth living without laughter. Humor heals and there’s no doubt that a good chuckle or two does wonders for the soul. It’s human to err, which means there’s plenty to laugh at out there. My fellow humans, myself included, have committed enough blunders to amuse the world a million times over. Maybe it’s bad karma to entertain oneself by watching others make fools of themselves, but I can’t resist a good blooper or two. Plus, I’m captivated by various oddities, ridiculous rarities and other general weirdness.

Recently, as I surfed the web I came across quite a bit of random ridiculousness. Often I prefer to stumble, but sometimes I just follow links without too much thought and see where I end up. I’m sure a better strategy is to follow links suggested by sites that interest me. Oh well, I got to fly by the seat of my pants from time to time. Anyway, I came across a random assortment of sites that had me grinning, laughing and giggling like a little kid caught in a nitrous oxide gas chamber and I thought I’d share them with you here.

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Brain Food

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I absolutely love puzzles! Logic games, riddles, crosswords, math, brain teasersbrain, mysteries, chess, Rubik’s cubes and the like are my brain food. If I go too long with attempting to tackle anything of the sort, I feel as if I am losing a part of myself. It’s almost as if I can sense neural connections between my synapses fading away into oblivion. Perhaps it’s more like the wire’s snapping on a collapsing bridge. Regardless of how it happens, I try to avoid letting my brain get mushy by tackling a few of my favorite mind games from time to time. So, I thought I’d share some that I’ve enjoyed.

Here’s a classic riddle that I found on BrainBashers:

You are in a room with 2 doors leading out. Behind 1 door is a coffer overflowing with jewels and gold, along with an exit. Behind the other door is an enormous, hungry lion that will pounce on anyone opening the door. You do not know which door leads to the treasure and exit, and which door leads to the lion. In the room you are in are 2 individuals. The first is a knight, who always tells the truth, and a knave, who always lies. Both of these individuals know what is behind each door. You do not know which individual is the knight, or which one is the knave. You may ask one of the individuals exactly 1 question. What should you ask in order to be certain that you will open the door with the coffer behind it, instead of the hungry lion?

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Chocolate In Ya Ear- The Introduction

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Earlier this evening I was listening to Fight The Power off a Public Enemy compilation CD that brought back one of my favorite momeearnts in time: being a radio dj for the show Chocolate in Ya Ear. chocolate-sound2Although this was a small town college radio show with a couple of my buddies, we aired the smoothest grooving mix of rap, reggae, soul, funk and any other chocolaty genres of music.

We’d typically kick the show off with something that would make you want to get up off your feet and shake that groove thang. A jam such as James Brown’s Super Bad would launch the hour-long chocolate explosion into the ears of our listeners and then we’d follow it up with our intro theme song, Flava in Ya Ear, by Craig Mack. After our two kick off tracks, Mackadonna, Crza and I would drop a few thoughts or perspectives on things. Mostly, we acted a fool; yet, I think wise foolsthe-message we were. Nevertheless, we kept the funky jams steady bumping with a track like The Message by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five.

Keep in mind that Chocolate In Ya Ear doesn’t reference the color of the artists, rather the flavor and texture of the dope sounds. That bittersweet, silky smooth richness that tickles the eardrum, thumps the soul and probably causes a twitch in the hip if the bass is kicking properly.

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Discover What We Dream About

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I discovered this remarkable resource recently: DreamBank, where you can search for what we dream about on your own. The University of California, Santa Cruz, search engine-equipped database of over 16,000 dream reports is compiled from people who call the research center and, apparently, our dreams typically feature mundane day-to-day activities.

I’ve always been intrigued by the whole concept of dreams. What do they mean? Are they real? What exactly is a dream? Do they help me? Am I crazy because I dreamed that ______________?

dream

I took courses in college that enabled me to dive more deeply into the world of dreams and have done some reading on my own, but I haven’t cracked open a book on the topic for at least five years. I have always wondered why this ubiquitous sleep experience exists, but I think my interest in dreams is fueled by the fact that I rarely remember my dreams. I enjoy hearing the dreams of others and live vicariously through their memories of that “other” state of being. The only dream that I consistently remember is the common chase scene where I spend a seemingly endless amount of time running from a group of people. Typically all the people coming after me are part of the same group; yet, the group is never the same. I’ve been pursued by Italian mobsters, urban gangsters, the KKK, Simpsons characters, the CIA, the FBI, the PTA, the police, the Muppets, historical figures, Greek and Roman Gods, etc. The strange thing is that I can never remember why they’re hunting me down. All I know is that I can’t let ’em get me!
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