Interesting email subjects

Why do I get emails with such interesting subjects (like, “How to date a stripper”) ? Or with no subject at all? Those I send immediately to junk. So if you want to reach me put something in the subject line. I don’t want to erase inquiries from potential clients, but I refuse to open any more offers for impotency drugs or herbs!

And why do I get emails from females who want to chat with me?

How on the world did I get on that list???

Enthralling music

I am so excited. I went to the library last night. I love the library! I found some CDs by a spectacular singer, Mario Frangoulis, in the International Popular music section. I had to play it as soon as I got in the car. I told my son, “I love this singer!” He wanted to know who I loved more, him (MF) or Daddy. Then he wanted to know if I loved him (my son) more than Daddy. I told him there were different types of love. But perhaps we should be more careful with that word. “Love” has many meanings, but maybe we could be more clear if we said, “I enjoy eating pizza,” rather than saying “I love pizza!”

But I do have a strong attachment and admiration for the library. I am consistently amazed at how many wonderful things are available for no cost. Of course, I do pay my share of late fines. We brought Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows back a few days late. But we just had to finish it! They only allowed 2 weeks for a book with over 700 pages!!!

Don’t believe me about the verbal impact thing? How about music? You must admit that music and sounds have a noticeable influence on our physiology. Water sounds are very relaxing, or I wouldn’t find those adorable little fountains in so many offices. Some music energizes you, that’s why the exercise gurus play it. Some music elevates the soul.

Last night the librarian was telling me about a musical performance with a powerful, magnetic singer who just enthralled the whole audience (and even the ushers). She used the word “mesmerizing!”

The last time I was enthralled by music was at a live performance by Mario Frangoulis in Tampa in January 2006.

Expressions

Eloquence is Silver. Silence is Golden.



This is just a saying I like. And I think some may be familiar with the last sentence only. Someone from Thailand told me this is what they say there.

The Sunshine State

I just read something funny about Florida. It was in today’s Florida Trend Newsletter.
According to this article, Florida’s motto is, “We’re cheap, and we’re proud of it!”
That means we have mediocre colleges for bargain tuition. Doesn’t that make you proud?!

More about Florida:

They call it the Sunshine State. We do have a lot of sunshine, but we also have a lot of humidity, snakes, and insects. There are hundreds of kinds of ants and we have them in abundance, especially the venomous kinds. We have fire ants, but they aren’t the only ones that sting. You’ve probably heard of fire ants, because they use a military strategy to overcome the enemy (you), by attacking en masse and then stinging all at once creating a strong burning sensation. It happened to me one day outside by the pool. They crawled on my leg and whoa! I tried to shake them off and then ran and put my leg in the pool. This didn’t bring immediate relief, but cooled the sensation somewhat. I have heard that rubbing alcohol is good for this type of sting.

Other small ants sting, too. Their sting just doesn’t burn as much and they don’t always attack as a group. One tiny isolated sting is easier to deal with and it’s easier to deliver the death penalty to the lone perpetrator.

By the way, we do have the death penalty in Florida. Another thing to be proud of?

National Guild of Hypnotists Convention

The convention was wonderful. I'm so glad I get to do this at least once per year. I love the combination of education and socialization. So much talent, so little time! The speakers are still fantastic. I've been going 11 years now and I'm impressed every time I go. I get to meet new people and reconnect with others that I rarely get to see. Kevin Hogan greeted me warmly with a hug. The interview I did with him will be available as a podcast before the end of September. That's why I went to Gerry Kein's workshop on podcasting. That was very entertaining as well as informative. Dick Sutphen shared the secrets of brain washing with us in a seminar on Friday. I wasn't able to attend his seminar last year, as it was at the same time as mine (Creative Hypnosis). The most intriguing seminar I saw was called Neurovasculars and Hypnosis, presented by Laurie Barefoot. She was in my certified instructor class last year and had a presentation right after mine on Sunday. I had never heard of neurovascular points before, but I think I will begin to hear lots more about them. It was very interesting.

Unfortunately, I had to leave the convention early (before 1pm) in order to catch the only direct flight back to Tampa. I won't mention the airline, but I think I will make an effort to avoid this one next year. After clearing security, I went to my gate and boarded the plane. After a few minutes the captain announced there was a tiny problem. A half-hour later it was a major problem and we were allowed to leave the plane, as it would be over 3 hours before we could make repairs or get a different plane. Since I would not be home in time for dinner as I had planned, I decided to get dinner at a nice restaurant if I could find one. The food was good and I met someone who was interested in hypnosis who was waiting for the same flight.

It all turned out okay (I did get home safely and my luggage returned with me).

By the way, if you want to read about my presentation, Verbal Impact, Can Words Hurt You? You can pop over to the article called Verbal Impact on Ellie Blunt's blog, http://transparenthypnotist.blogspot.com/2007/08/verbal-impact.htm

Cross-dressing

I just finished Self-Made Man by Nora Vincent. It's a very interesting account of the experiences of a woman who dresses like a man for more than a year. It's a very interesting examination of gender roles in our culture.

I'm intrigued by things like this. "Tootsie" is one of my favorite movies. I love the way Dustin Hoffman reacts when he can't get a taxi, and when his boss calls him Sweetie or Tootsie instead of his name. I actually could accept Dorothy as a woman.

"Yentl," however, was a different story. I never thought Barbara looked enough like a man to fool Mandy Pantankin or Amy whats-her-name.

Is Gender behavior inborn or learned? I think the answer is both. Nora thought it would be very liberating to be treated like a man, but found out just how much pressure there is to BE A MAN! She started her experiences like a boy and learned along the way what it really means to be a man in our culture. There are some good insights in her book.

A wonderful article

I just wrote a wonderful article and published it on my other blog, Philolog's blog.

It's full of big words, but I'm not just showing off (I'm no pedant), they really fit together, and in an amusing way.

I fear many people will give up after the first sentence, but I'm proud of it.

I dare you to check it out, philologsblog.blogspot.com.

And tell me what you think (if you make it all the way through)!