Ah-So!

"I don't like that man. I must get to know him better." - Abraham Lincoln

Keith Varnum's Survival Guide for the Holidays has a nice little paragraph on Japanese diplomacy:

If you can’t wholeheartedly agree with what someone is saying, you can respond in the spirit of the famous Japanese phrase, “Ah-So.” This diplomatic response translates literally into: “So it would appear.” Without compromising your integrity, you can respond to almost any relative’s narrow-minded statement with: “I can see how you can see it that way” or “I understand how you feel.”

I read that to my dad, and he said you have to be careful saying "Ah-So" out loud, 'cause people might think you're calling them a bad word.

The American Psychosomatic Society

Did you know there's an American Psychosomatic Society? It "promotes scientific understanding of the interrelationships among biological and psychological factors in human health and disease."

They're mentioned in a USA Today article courtesy of Keith Varnum, Hugs Warm and Protect the Heart (awww!)...... in which we learn that the French kick our American asses at chilled-outedness not because they drink more wine and eat more cheese, but because they are more affectionate with each other.

South African Exhortational Writing

A fine but depressing written piece about children's television in South Africa.

http://longwind.wordpress.com/2008/11/28/growing-genuises/

Piano Lessons Can Dramatically Improve Other Areas of Your Life

Aaaahhhhhh. Feels good to read this.
http://www.126126.info/piano-lessons-can-dramatically-improve-other-areas-of-your-life/
Former piano teacher yeehah.

on the business of art

Luminiferous Aether on licensing your artwork for greeting cards and calendars, or renting out eight cars of an El train to showcase 200 emerging artists. Web savvy and whole brain thinking are stressed.

Leadership and Influence

Ooh, Lance Giroux puts forth on what leadership isn't and is.

http://alliedronin.blogspot.com/2008/11/another-day-another-leader.html

“I don’t know who first discovered water, but we’re pretty sure it wasn’t the fish.”
-- Marshall McLuhan

New era in public humiliation?

I saw an article in the Northern Kentucky newspaper today about a municipal court prosecutor who has a 4,000-strong weekly newsletter following. Apparently the mug shots are the most popular feature. Reminds me of how people used to be put in stocks -- I bet the newsletter itself is a crime deterrent, in some roundabout way.

Do you think any of these convicted criminals could rightfully sue Rob Sanders as having violated their privacy by publishing their mugshots? Metafilter says public domain laws for mugshots vary according to jurisdiction. My guess is, if your mugshot got published and you didn't want it to be, you're just SOL.