Here are academic theories about how we handle discomfort.

* Cognitive Dissonance: we try to reduce the discomfort of dissonance.

* Actor-Observer Difference: others' behavior caused by disposition, ours by situation.

* Confirmation Bias: we seek confirmation that we made a good decision.

* Disconfirmation bias: Agreeing with what supports beliefs and vice versa.

* Escape Theory: We seek to escape uncomfortable realities.

* External Justification: we blame our failures on external things.

* Hindsight Bias: we pretend we knew everything all along.

* Insufficient Punishment: we devalue forbidden activity to reduce dissonance.

* Informational Social Influence: when we are uncertain we copy others.

* Ironic Reversal: we cannot avoid thinking about things we want to avoid thinking about.

* Minimal Justification Principle: we justify what can't be explained rationally.

* Overjustification Effect: we attribute too externally for some events.

* Positivity Effect: we attribute disposition to good things about ourselves.

* Post-Decision Dissonance: after a decision we think it was a good one.

* Prospect Theory: we value certain gains and try to avoid certain losses.

* Regret Theory: we consider and try to avoid future regret.

* Risk Preference: we seek risks around losses and avoid risks around gains.

* Selective Exposure: we avoid what will cause dissonance about a decision.

* Self-Discrepancy Theory: we need beliefs to be consistent.

* Self-Serving Bias: we take credit for success and deny failure.

* Social-Role Theory: men and women fall into expected roles.

Forrest Gump Goes to Heaven

The day finally arrived. Forrest Gump dies and goes to Heaven.
He is at the Pearly Gates, met by St. Peter himself. However, the gates are closed, and Forrest approaches the gatekeeper.

St. Peter said, 'Well, Forrest,


it is certainly good to see you. We have heard a lot about you. I must tell you, though, that the place is filling up fast, and we have been administering an entrance examination for everyone. The test is short, but you have to pass it before you can get into Heaven.'

Forrest responds, 'It sure is good to be here, St. Peter, sir. But nobody ever told me about any entrance exam. I sure hope that the test ain't too hard. Life was a big enough test as it was.'

St. Peter continued, 'Yes, I know, Forrest, but the test is only three questions.


First:
What two days of the week begin with the letter T?


Second:
How many seconds are there in a year?


Third:
What is God's first name?'

Forrest leaves to think the questions over. He returns the next day and sees St. Peter, who waves him up, and says, 'Now that you have had a chance to think the questions over, tell me your answers.'

Forrest replied, 'Well, the first one -- which two days in the week begins with the letter 'T'?
Shucks, that one is easy. That would be Today and Tomorrow..'

The Saint's eyes opened wide and he exclaimed, 'Forrest, that is not what I was thinking, but you do
have a point, and I guess I did not specify, so I will give you credit for that answer.

How about the next one?' asked St. Peter.

'How many seconds in a year?
Now that one is harder,' replied Forrest, 'but I thunk and thunk about that, and I guess the only answer can be twelve.'

Astounded, St. Peter said, 'Twelve?
Twelve? Forrest, how in Heaven's name could you come up with twelve seconds in a year?'

Forrest replied, 'Shucks, there's got to be twelve: January 2nd, February 2nd, March 2nd... '

'Hold it,' interrupts St. Peter. 'I see where you are going with this, and I see your point,
though that was not quite what I had in mind....but I will have to give you credit for that one, too.

Let us go on with the third and final question.
Can you tell me God's first name'?

'Sure,' Forrest replied,
'it's Andy.'

'Andy?' exclaimed an exasperated and frustrated St Peter.

'Ok, I can understand how you came up with your answers to my first two questions, but just how in the
world did you come up with the name Andy as the first name of God?'

'Shucks, that was the easiest one of all,' Forrest replied. 'I learnt it from the song,
ANDY WALKS WITH ME,
ANDY TALKS WITH ME,
ANDY TELLS ME I AM HIS OWN.'

St. Peter opened the Pearly Gates, and said: 'Run, Forrest, run.'

A Room with a View....

For those who did not know, I have started a travel blog http://aroomwithaviewandcat.blogspot.in/2011/09/congratulations-its-travelogue.html


However my last entry was of September last year.  And this only from sheer procrastination ( http://catanchaos.blogspot.in/2009/11/procrastinators-are-just-last-minute.html ).


Hopefully I will be more regular now and don't forget to read all the four pieces on the blog.


Ciao!!

Maturity

A group of 40 years old buddies discussed where they should meet for dinner.

Finally it was agreed upon that they should meet at the Ocean View restaurant because the waitress's there had low cut blouses and were very young.
______________________________________

10 years later at 50 years of age, the group once again discussed where they should meet for dinner.

Finally it was agreed that they should meet atthe Ocean View restaurant because the food there was very good and the wine selection was good also.
_____________________________________

10 years later at 60 years of age, the group once again discussed where they should meet for dinner.

Finally it was agreed that they should meet at the Ocean View restaurant because they could eat there in peace and quiet and the restaurant had a beautiful view of the ocean.
_________________________________________________________

10 years later, at 70 years of age, the group once again discussed where they should meet for dinner.

Finally it was agreed that they should meet at the Ocean View restaurant because the restaurant was wheel chair accessible and they even had an elevator.
____________________________________________

10 years later, at 80 years of age, the group once again discussed where they should meet for dinner.

Finally it was agreed that they should meet at the Ocean View restaurant because they had never been there before !!!!!!!!!!!! !

Scherzando

There was a composer named Liszt,
Who from writing could never desiszt.
He made polonaises
Quite worthy of praises,
And now that he’s gone he is miszt.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjdhdvV1Bu8&feature=related * that's my addition




There was a composer named Haydn,
The field of sonata would waydn;
He wrote the Creation,
Which made a sensation,
And this was the work which he daydn.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJTzpWzTPEs * that's my addition




A modern composer named Brahms,
Caused in music the greatest of quahms.
His themes so complex
Every critic would vex,
From symphonies clear up to psahms.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3X9LvC9WkkQ&feature=related * that's my addition




An ancient musician named Gluck
The manner Italian forsuck;
He fought with Puccini,
Gave way to Rossini,
You can find all his views in his buck.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tenI_FyFeZ0 * that's my addition


– Anonymous

“We do not grow absolutely, chronologically. We grow sometimes in one dimension, and not in another; unevenly. We grow partially. We are relative. We are mature in one realm, childish in another. The past, present, and future mingle and pull us backward, forward, or fix us in the present. We are made up of layers, cells, constellations.”
—Anais Nin

A tourist in Vienna goes through a graveyard and all of a sudden he hears some music. No one is around, so he starts searching for the source. He finally locates the origin and finds it is coming from a grave with a headstone that reads: 'Ludwig van Beethoven 1770-1827.' Then he realizes that the music is the Ninth Symphony and it is being played backward! Puzzled, he leaves the graveyard and persuades a friend to return with him. By the time they arrive back at the grave, the music has changed. This time it is the Seventh Symphony but like the previous piece, it is being played backward. Curious, the men agree to consult a music scholar. When they return with the expert the Fifth Symphony is playing, again backward. The expert notices that the symphonies are being played in the reverse order in which they were composed, the 9th, then the 7th, then the 5th. By the next day the word has spread and a throng has gathered around the grave. They are all listening to the Second Symphony being played backward. Just then the graveyard's caretaker ambles up to the group. Someone in the group asks him if he has an explanation for the music. 'Don't you get it?' the caretaker says incredulously-
......He's decomposing.'

Sign of the times

sign of the times: i purchased this book 'how to talk so kids will listen and listen so kids will talk' on a suggestion from a friend (i don't usually buy 'self help' books but some excerpts on the net convinced me otherwise)....now my 9 year old occasionally quotes from the book to instruct me how to interact with her! sighhhhh!!!

El Jaleo

"el jaleo"..... it means the spontaneous clapping and shouting that comes like an "olay!" at the apex of a performance. saw this lifesize (almost 8ft x 12 ft) painting by john singer sargent recently and was instantly mesmerized!!! 
 http://www.gardnermuseum.org/#/1st_floor/spanish_cloister/el_jaleo

kairosclerosis n.: the moment you realize that you’re currently happy—consciously trying to savor the feeling—which prompts your intellect to identify it, pick it apart and put it in context, where it will slowly dissolve until it’s little more than an aftertaste!
 (courtesy: dictionary of obscure sorrows)