Good News: Child Abuse Drops Dramatically

From Denny: This is good news! A 38% drop in sexually abused children occurred from a high of 217,700 in 1993 - dropping down to 135,300 in 2006. What about physical abuse during this period? Dropped by 15%. What about emotional abuse during this period? Dropped by 27%.

Experts in the area of child abuse are heralding this finding as proof that public awareness campaigns have made great headway along with judicial crackdowns.

When you combine all the areas of abuse - physical, emotional and sexual - it averages out to being down by 26% since 1993. In this study there were 553,000 children studied as opposed to 743,200 children studied in 1993.

This is a 455-page government mandated study called the National Incidence Study of Child Abuse and Neglect is conducted periodically by the Department of Health and Human Services.

What is so encouraging is that this is the first time there has been such a dramatic decrease over a long period of study since we began collecting data. "It does suggest that the mobilization around this issue is helping and it's a problem that is amenable to solutions," said professor David Finkelhor of the University of New Hampshire, a leading researcher in the field of child abuse. "It does suggest that the mobilization around this issue is helping and it's a problem that is amenable to solutions."

Where did they collect this much information? The detailed data was produced by 10,700 "sentinels" - child welfare workers, police officers, teachers, health care professionals and day care workers - that helped create national estimates.

"There's much more public awareness and public intolerance around child abuse now," said Linda Spears who is the Child Welfare League of America's Vice President for public policy. "It was a hidden concern before — people were afraid to talk about it if it was in their family." Spears also commented there is now an abundance of programs to help abusers overcome their destructive behavior.

Professor Finkelhor, who has also conducted similar research and found a drop in abuse rates, believes the study depicts "real, substantial declines." Nor can this decrease be attributed to changing the definition of abuse.

Finkelhor speculated there may be several reasons such as in the 1990s more people were deployed in child protection services and the criminal justice system strongly focused its efforts on more arrests and prison sentences for abusers. Since then more child abusers had available to them medications to help them cope, therefore preventing molesting or mistreating a child.

"There's also been a general change in perceptions and norms about what one can get away with, so much more publicity about these things," he said.




Socio-economic factors were considered. As expected from previous studies, poverty played a starring role as three times more likely for children to be abused than other children. The rates in African-American households were also much higher than in Hispanic and Caucasian homes.

They even took a look at the family structure. It's a bit chilling about what was found here: a single parent, with a live-in partner, might abuse children at 10 times the rate of a two parent household.

The main author of the study is Andrea Sedlak, Westat, Inc. in Maryland. She was concerned over their finding that more than half of the child maltreatment incidents are not actually investigated by a child-protection agency. "Is the system still so strapped?" she asked. "There's still a lot of material here saying the system has a long way to go."

Of course, this study is now almost four years old upon its release this week. Since 2006, this country has sunk down into a deep recession or a depression with over 20% of America out of work like in the 1930s. With all the job loss and family financial pressures and home foreclosures there have been reports of domestic violence on the rise.

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Good News: Caring About People Actually Costs Less Money to Society than Jail, See How

From Denny: I just love these Making a Difference segments that Brian Williams does on NBC Nightly News. Viewers send in emails about people doing wonderful things in their area of the country and NBC does a report on them.

Having worked with troubled teens from the school system, I know only too well how important it is to give these kids hope and proper mentoring to impact their lives to the positive. I tried to get to the kids while they were still young, ages 7 to 13, before they ended up an issue for the court system.

This story is about helping troubled teens - who have often been jailed - gain new purpose near Washington, D.C., in Alexandria, Virginia through a mentoring program of teaching small ship building.

This is what real teaching is all about: taking unproductive unruly people and giving them a hands-on approach in a job situation to turn them into productive people who will know how to behave and succeed in a normal job situation in the adult world. It costs less money to care about someone and teach them than it does to be punitive and treat them as society's throw-aways. Take a look at this success story:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

These teens are referred from the judges and police officers in the court systems in Virginia. It costs over $100,000 to house one juvenile for a year. This program of teaching them a trade only costs $15,000 a year - and half of that money goes to paying the teen after they have finished the program! Many return to the program as teachers; it built their confidence so much they wanted to give back. Now that's what I call inspiring people!

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

For more Good News segments:

Good News: Zoo Animal TV Comforts, Helps Heal Hospital Children

Good News: Building Low Cost Homes AND Reducing Trash Footprint

Good News: Salvation Army Donation Bucket Literally Hits Gold This Holiday Season

Good News: Soup Kitchen Chef Raises Standard of Giving

Just for fun:

Funny Christmas and Santa Cartoons

Video: Children Who Are Spanked Have Lower IQs

From Denny: This is an interesting study to back up other studies about the brain and development. From other posts I've done on the brain and children - and what is not mentioned here - is that when experiencing stress the brain is bathed in stress chemicals. Those stress chemicals inhibit the brain from learning. Abused children experience long term stress, long term batheing the brain in stress chemicals and so do not easily experience success in the world as adults.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Funny News Video: Middle Aged Guy Puts Elderly Parents for Sale on Craigslist

From Denny: There's nothing like putting your parents up for sale to get the conversation started like this guy did! This news story sounds like a tutorial on how to do it. What started as a fun idea snowballed into a sensation. I can only imagine what his parents told their son off camera ... :)

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Libations Friday! 21 August 2009

From Denny: Since this is such a photo rich poem today I'll sideline the coffee talk. This online editor can only load so much at a time! (and your browser)

Drink in the richness of the wonderful photos from the photographers over at flickr in creative commons. You are free to use their photos if you also give attribution and a link back to their flickr page.

I've been thinking about what poem to write all week, and, as usual, started on another idea which just didn't gel well or in time. That's what's good about setting deadlines for yourself as you get that rush of adrenaline going to get out the words. :) Anyway, was researching some wonderful photos and kept finding awesome trees and one thing led to another as I knew my eternal mind was tapping my everyday mind on the shoulder and saying, "Hey! What about this?"

Photos often do give me inspiration for writing as so many ideas start flowing. Take a trip on over to flickr yourself to get inspired. You can always view my 5,000+ favorites I've found while researching for articles as I keep them bookmarked "just in case."

*****

People Trees



Some of us ruggedly root ourselves mountain high to savor the views



Some of us enjoy beauty’s lingering mirrored perfection



Some of us feel forlorn in life’s landscape, until we see we are a duet



Some of us like to stand tall with a crowd, all in a perfect row



Some of us like to party with different people, the more the merrier



Some of us like to stand out in a crowd, fiercely plumped proud



Some of us see our own rippling beauty, reflected in the mirrors of others



Some of us rush to greet the exploding morning at first blush



Some of us sway and bend with life’s swirling storms yet remain



Some of us rush zig zagging through life and still look wildly beautiful



Some of us safely hold dear a child’s swing and his playful heart



Some of us are strong, sheltering lightly in the shadows



Some of us rise up from the water and tenaciously breathe through our knees*



Some of us suffer, enduring kindly a bit of indignity from time to time



Some of us absorb the strongest truth, filtering softly inner light



Some of us like to stroll unknown passageways and secret gardens



Some of us play hard to get, secretly happy to see company coming



Some of us like to wear jewelry, all decked out at least once a year



And some of us



dream big



just by looking up – lost in thought for hours.


Denny Lyon
Copyright 20 August 2009
All Rights Reserved

* Copyright is for the text of the poem only, copyright for the photos belong to the photographers.

Have a great weekend, everyone! Thanks for visiting!


*Cyprus trees have what are called "knees" - those bumps you see sticking out of the water near the roots which are underwater in the swamps. These knees are how the cyprus tree breathes the air!

*****

Photo Credits

Mountain Mist treeline photo by Lida Rose @ flickr

Rugged lone tree high on a mountain photo By Chris Gin @ flickr

Cherry blossomed tree reflecting photo By rachel_thecat @ flickr

Cherry trees blanketed by snow photo By lrargerich @ flickr

Cherry blossomed trees all in a row photo By VJ flicks @ flickr

Bluebells partying in a stand of trees photo By left-hand @ flickr

Red tree photo By code poet @ flickr

Trees reflected in the river photo by Denis Collette @ flickr

Sunrise in Corfu, Greece photo by Katarina 2353 @ flickr

Bent tree Bonsai Moon photo by h.koppdelaney @ flickr

Rolling hills and tree photo by Katarina 2353 @ flickr

Trees give support to the child’s swing photo by lepiaf.geo @ flickr

Sheltering tree photo in the shadows by Zest-pk @ flickr

Cypress tree at sunrise in the water photo by Bill Swindamon @ flickr

Suffer a bit of indignity tree photo by Scarleth White @ flickr

Filtering Illuminating light tree photo by *clairity* @ flickr

Strolling with the trees photo by Bjǿrn Giesenbauer @ flickr

Tree of Peace photo by h.koppdelaney @ flickr

Christmas tree photo by laffty4k @ flickr

Redwood trees in California photo by aigeanta @ flickr

Strong tree’s canopy photo By -= Bruce Berrien =- @ flickr

Black and white tree canopy photo by anonymous

Video: Honoring Eunice Kennedy Shriver Who Honored Special Needs Kids in America

From Denny: Saying goodbye to Eunice Kennedy Shriver who brought the vulnerable in our society out into the open and gave them long awaited respect and care. Since I have a mentally challenged sister-in-law who became so because of a woefully mishandled hospital birth this lady meant the world to my husband's parents. They were thrilled with the Kennedys and Shrivers when they championed this cause.

Since my sister-in-law's speech center was injured at birth it can take her as long as two weeks to get out a sentence regarding her wishes. Usually, I just take the shortcut and read her on the spiritual level to divine her intent, ask a few short questions to narrow down her intent and then she sighs with relief and nods her head. Virginia is a lot like having a happy 5 year old around with OCD Monk behaviors along with autism. She's great fun, though her facial expressions rarely show it. We get her to laugh often.

I could go on and on about Virginia as I enjoy her immensely as many people do who have "special kids" in their families. The medical challenges can be daunting as it has for Virginia who suffers from severe epilepsy. She's required outrageously expensive medication since she was two years old, the doctors fearing as she's grown older that the next epileptic seizure will kill her.

Well, we just can't live in fear. She's lived longer than the doctors told the parents when she was born. They advised they lock her away in an asylum and forget about her. The parents were horrified and refused. That was too callous an attitude for my very cool mother-in-law, Bonnie, whose Irish was up and marched forward to do something about it. Can I tell you that my mother-in-law was the first special education teacher in Louisiana and helped organize education in the state for others like her daughter?

The terms like retarded, mentally disabled, mentally challenged, special have evolved over the decades yet Virginia remains forever the same. When she was younger she had a baseball arm like a cannon. The family and Virginia loved the Special Olympics that Eunice Kennedy Shriver founded. Virginia always won first place in any throwing competition. The woman was fierce! :)

A lot of families across America and the world over have gratitude towards Ms. Eunice for bringing so much understanding into the community and relief to families who no longer had to hide their special family members in shame. Take a look at her remarkable life.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Biography, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, mentally challenged, NBC, remembrance, society and culture, kids and teens, Special Olympics, special needs

Video: Making a Difference for Inner City Kids Thru Outdoors Program

From Denny: Here is a man in Pennsylvania who grew up in similar circumstances, experienced abuse and yet discovered nature, hunting, fishing and skeet shooting. At a year 'round camp for local kids he introduces them to Nature and outdoor activities to open their minds to other possibilities than a life of stress and crime.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Making a Difference, abuse, Kids and Teens, society and culture

Cheeky Quote Day! 12 August 2009

Photo by Tansan @ flickr

From Denny: For today's funny and ironic quotes it seems I hit the Mother Lode! In my research I ran across an additional category of Back to School quotes that was most amusing to add to the original idea of the Education category. Parents and kids are going back to school this week in Louisiana, very early in order to make room for any lost days due to hurricanes or if there is a flu outbreak. With some of those frazzled nerves out there from all the pressure of working AND getting kids back to school a few grins were in order...



If there were no schools to take the children away from home part of the time, the insane asylums would be filled with mothers. - Edgar W. Howe

Being a child at home alone in the summer is a high-risk occupation. If you call your mother at work thirteen times an hour, she can hurt you. - Erma Bombeck

Labor Day is a glorious holiday because your child will be going back to school the next day. It would have been called Independence Day, but that name was already taken. - Bill Dodds

You send your child to the schoolmaster, but 'tis the schoolboys who educate him. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently. - Friedrich Nietzsche

As long as there are tests, there will be prayer in schools. - Anonymous

I like a teacher who gives you something to take home to think about besides homework. - Lily Tomlin as "Edith Ann"

Often, when I am reading a good book, I stop and thank my teacher. That is, I used to, until she got an unlisted number. - Anonymous

There are three good reasons to be a teacher - June, July, and August. - Anonymous

What we want is to see the child in pursuit of knowledge, and not knowledge in pursuit of the child. - George Bernard Shaw

A professor is someone who talks in someone else's sleep. - W.H. Auden

A cross-eyed teacher can keep twice the number of children in order than any other, because the pupils do not know who she's looking at. - Four Hundred Laughs: Or, Fun Without Vulgarity, compiled and edited by John R. Kemble, 1902

Anyone who thinks the art of conversation is dead ought to tell a child to go to bed. - Robert Gallagher

The only person who is educated is the one who has learned how to learn - and change. - Carl Rogers

My education was only interrupted by my schooling. – Winston Churchill

I have never let my schooling interfere with my education. - Mark Twain

It doesn't make much difference what you study, as long as you don't like it. - Finley Peter Dunne

Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school. - Albert Einstein

If you think education is expensive, try ignorance. - Attributed to both Andy McIntyre and Derek Bok



It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education. – Albert Einstein

Education aims to give you a boost up the ladder of knowledge. Too often, it just gives you a cramp on one of its rungs. - Martin H. Fischer

Education would be much more effective if its purpose was to ensure that by the time they leave school every boy and girl should know how much they do not know, and be imbued with a lifelong desire to know it. - William Haley

Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember from time to time that nothing worth knowing can be taught. - Oscar Wilde, "The Critic as Artist," 1890

When a subject becomes totally obsolete we make it a required course. - Peter Drucker

Education is learning what you didn't even know you didn't know. - Daniel J. Boorstin, Democracy and Its Discontents

The founding fathers... provided jails called schools, equipped with tortures called education. School is where you go between when your parents can't take you and industry can't take you. ~ John Updike, The Centaur, 1963



You learn something every day if you pay attention. - Ray LeBlond

I am always ready to learn although I do not always like being taught. - Winston Churchill

Education is the silver bullet. Education is everything. We don't need little changes, we need gigantic revolutionary changes. Schools should be palaces. Competition for the best teachers should be fierce. They should be getting six-figure salaries. Schools should be incredibly expensive for government and absolutely free of charge for its citizens, just like national defense. That is my position. I just haven't figured out how to do it yet. - Aaron Sorkin, The West Wing

The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook. - William James, Principles of Psychology

Intelligence appears to be the thing that enables a man to get along without education. Education enables a man to get along without the use of his intelligence. - Albert Edward Wiggam

Every act of conscious learning requires the willingness to suffer an injury to one's self-esteem. That is why young children, before they are aware of their own self-importance, learn so easily. - Thomas Szasz

The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn. - Alvin Toffler

It is impossible for a man to learn what he thinks he already knows. - Epictetus

If a doctor, lawyer, or dentist had 40 people in his office at one time, all of whom had different needs, and some of whom didn't want to be there and were causing trouble, and the doctor, lawyer, or dentist, without assistance, had to treat them all with professional excellence for nine months, then he might have some conception of the classroom teacher's job. - Donald D. Quinn

If the Romans had been obliged to learn Latin, they would never have found time to conquer the world. - Heinrich Heine

The man who doesn't read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them. - Mark Twain

Good teaching is one-fourth preparation and three-fourths pure theatre. – Gail Goodwin



I read Shakespeare and the Bible, and I can shoot dice. That's what I call a liberal education. - Tallulah Bankhead

America believes in education: the average professor earns more money in a year than a professional athlete earns in a whole week. - Evan Esar, American humorist, 1899-1995

No matter how long you teach a fool, he still knows everything. - Leonid S. Sukhorukov, All About Everything (2005)

In the first place, God made idiots. That was for practice. Then he made school boards. - Mark Twain

Home computers are being called upon to perform many new functions, including the consumption of homework formerly eaten by the dog. - Doug Larson

You can get all A's and still flunk life. - Walker Percy

I think everyone should go to college and get a degree and then spend six months as a bartender and six months as a cabdriver. Then they would really be educated. - Al McGuire

The more that learn to read the less learn how to make a living. That's one thing about a little education. It spoils you for actual work. The more you know the more you think somebody owes you a living. - Will Rogers

Did you know America ranks the lowest in education but the highest in drug use? It's nice to be number one, but we can fix that. All we need to do is start the war on education. If it's anywhere near as successful as our war on drugs, in no time we'll all be hooked on phonics. - Leighann Lord

College is about three things: homework fun and sleep ... but you can only choose two. - Andy Stern


Thanks for visiting!



Society and Culture, United States, Kids and Teens, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Oscar Wilde, Winston Churchill, George Bernard Shaw, Mark Twain, Education, Lily Tomlin

Video: Making A Difference - Father's Heart Ranch

From Denny: This is a wonderful story full of love to heal abused and abandoned boys in California. A retired professional baseball player turned non-denominational minister took his life savings to begin this endeavor. Heart-warming story from another person who chose to "make a difference" in the lives of others!

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

abuse, Kids and Teens, Society and Culture, Religion and Spirituality, Making a Difference, NBC

Cheeky Quote Day! 5 August 2009

From Denny: A new quote site I found is CoolNSmart and they sure have some funny ones! They don't give attribution as to who said the quotes though so you lose half of the experience. Other than that they go on for days with the funny sayings.

Listed under their category of Clever Quotes and Sayings are a few goodies to whet your word treat appetite:

* A man likes his wife to be just clever enough to appreciate his cleverness, and just stupid enough to admire it.

* A clever man commits no minor blunders.

* How clever you are, my dear! You never mean a single word you say. (Could this be wife to former President Bush...?)

* I am so clever that sometimes I don’t understand a single word of what I am saying. (Now we know this is a Bush quote.)

* It’s good to be clever, but not to show it.

* To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance. (This sounds a lot like Oscar Wilde.)

* Clever people master life; the wise illuminate it and create fresh difficulties. (Love this one!)

* Copying from a single source is called plagiarism, copying from multiple source is called research. (Excepting when you site and/or quote them!)

* If you’re not very clever you should be conciliatory.

* Two things are infinite : the universe and human stupidity; I’m not sure about the universe.

* A lawyer with a briefcase can steal more than a thousand men with guns.

* Nothing shows a man’s character more than what he laughs at.

* Between thought and expression lies a lifetime.

* If you try to fail and succeed, then which have you done?

And under the category of Men Quotes (I'll equally skewer my fellow women on another Cheeky Quote Day, never fear!):

* If you never want to see a man again, say, ‘I love you, I want to marry you. I want to have children…’ - they leave skid marks.

* There are three stages of man: He believes in Santa Claus; he doesn’t believe in Santa Claus; he is Santa Claus.

* The best way to get a man to do something is to suggest they are too old for it. (Works every time!)

* Man has will, but woman has her way.

* If you want something said, ask a man; if you want something done, ask a woman.

* A gentleman is simply a patient wolf. (Yeah, but at least they have more finesse.)

* Never trust a husband too far or a bachelor too near.

* To be happy with a man you must understand him a lot and love him a little. To be happy with a woman you must love her a lot and not try to understand her at all.

* I think men who have a pierced ear are better prepared for marriage. They’ve experienced pain and bought jewelry.

Hike on over to their site for more grins! Have a good work week!

Note: BTW, there wasn't any This Week: Roundup of Sundays Funnies because they were no updates on their site yet for this week. Guess all the internationaly breaking news took precedence over the funnies updating of the late night shows.

Clown Photo by Tansan @ flickr


Santa Claus, George W. Bush, Cheeky Quote Day, Kids and Teens, People and Society, Quotations, Holidays, Christmas, Oscar Wilde

How Do You Handle Excessive Stress?

Interrupting GoGo's catnap to tell her about the health benefits of smiling... Image by elycefeliz via Flickr

From Denny:

In case you missed it, Friday I ran this quote over at the quotes blog, Beautiful Illustrated Quotations, and thought it was also a good fit over here:

Every now and then you get to quote yourself which I find quite amusing! How does that happen? Well, the spiritual development people know exactly what I'm talking about as it often goes like this: You are replying to an email as I was in this instance, or, say, you were having a conversation with someone, and, suddenly, out pops this fantastic one liner. You know it's profound or memorable or just plain good advice.

There is a lot of chaos, job loss, sudden onset of health issues and violence going on right now in our economy. People are struggling with their particular life tests, looking for ways to battle or handle excessive stress.

I grew up in a harsh environment of constant stress and created a lot of coping skills to help me manage the stress instead of the stress controlling me. Here is the most recent advice my spirit jumped up and offered to a recent email friend whose husband is now out of work and lost their house of many years.

There is a lot of hurt going on throughout this country. Like anyone I have my own garbage to deal with from time to time, yet I follow my own advice as in this quote. It has never failed me.

Inevitably, the bad times begin to fade and finally end and then a new cycle of properity begins. Keep your mind and eyes on the positive - even when you know it's down the road. Eventually, you will arrive at that better point in your life.

Quote

“Keep smiling. Humor keeps your attitude pushed up and your heart wide open to sight the new opportunities coming your way.” Denny Lyon, 16 July 2009



Health, Stress, Mental health, Coping skill, Emotional Health and Wellbeing, Kids and Teens, Lyon, Support group, Denny Lyon, humor, smiling

Story-A Visitor

Story-A Visitor: "..Today my uncle comes to visit and when he comes here we always have a lot of fun. Me and my sister have a good time teasing him with the marbles we roll under his bed to wake him up, well we have a good reason for doing this , honest."

By G-Ma Johnson @ HubPages

From Denny: This is a wonderfully told very short story told from the perspective of a child and how she perceives the serious activities of the adults around her. This is from one of my friends at HubPages and she writes a lot of easy enjoyable reads!

Cheeky Quote Day! 29 April 2009

Photo by I'm Fantastic @ flickr

From Denny: The Wednesdays just keep rolling on! Take a little time out from your work week, deep breath, chuckle a little or laugh a lot, so you can get through the rest of the week - until Libations Friday! - why, of course! :)

The Simpsons (via last.fm)

Humor Blog: Ouch Outrageous Obnoxious And Odd

Make sure you also pay a visit to my humor blog that is taking off unexpectedly well (shameless plug): Ouch Outrageous Obnoxious And Odd. Lots of cartoons, jokes, photos, videos (like the Simpsons and Saturday Nite Live's BitchPleez blogger).

Image by MyFreeStock via Flickr

Cheeky Quotes from the UK

On to the Cheeky Quotes and who better than the British themselves who coined the phrase in the first place!

From our friends “across the Pond” comes an engaging fun site called The Institution of Silly & Meaningless Sayings. I enjoyed them so much I placed a link to their site on The Social Poets any time you wish to visit. You are also invited to submit fodder for them as they willingly read their email from fans! While many sayings in their database are tied closely to British-only culture there are a number that translate easily for the American mindset.

Humor Creates Easy Learning, Enables Better Writing

This is also a fun way they devised to better learn how to use – or not use - your own language when writing. Many a TV or movie character has been based off these kinds of language mistakes/offenses and become quite popular with the public. We have even had a precious (oops! meant previous) American President who demonstrated some peculiar word choices. :)

The following goodies are from their database:

Malapropism - an act or habit of misusing words ridiculously, especially by the confusion of words that are similar in sound. ("Ism" is short for a lot of words like Malapropism.)

ism #886: I think familiarity is beginning to breed content. (contempt)

ism #891: He was from the Noise Debating Society!

ism #899: He was like a bullet in a china shop. (bull)

ism #902: You just take me for credit! (granted)

ism #905: She crashed her car on the bridge; she's a very erotic driver. (erratic)

ism #912: I'm sorry he's not here; he's in the other orifice. (office)

ism #917: It's slander, it's definition of character. (defamation)

ism #921: It's alright for you men, it's us girls who put up with all this pre-mental suspension. (PMS: premenstrual)

ism #928: I'm going on another shore excretion. (excursion)

ism #930: He sat at the bar and drank himself into Bolivia. (oblivion - but hey! Bolivia works too, kinda)

***

Image via Wikipedia

Another of their categories: Dodgy Foreign - incorrect use of foreign phrases in every day language in order to give the impression of being very cosmopolitan.

ism #733: The French don't even have a word for entrepreneur.

source: George Bush (from Kristins Amadeus and others)

ism #758: Accidents aren't my faux pas.

source: Car dealer, as part of safety talk

***

Image by SarahWynne via Flickr

A few of their cheeky tips for writers which will give your brain a chance to pause and appreciate:

Prepositions are not the words to end sentences with.

And don't start a sentence with a conjunction.

Avoid clichés like the plague. (They're old hat!)

Be more or less specific in your discussion.

Don't use no double negatives.

Any certainly don't never use no triple negatives.

Eliminate ampersands & abbreviations, etc.

One-word sentences? Never!

Understatement is absolutely the best way to put forward earth shattering ideas.

Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.

Who needs rhetorical questions?

***



Word cloud of Obama speech photo by shashiBellamkonda @ flickr

Of course, my all time favorites are newspaper headlines that often leave me tilting my head and saying, "What The Flock?" Here are the Brit versions. Looks like their news folks are equally lame.

March planned for next August

Include your children when baking cakes

Prostitutes to hold open day

Bulge in trousers was ecstasy

Something Went Wrong in Jet Crash, Expert Says

Police Begin Campaign to Run Down Jaywalkers!

Is There a Ring of Debris around Uranus?

Panda Mating Fails; Veterinarian Takes Over

Miners Refuse to Work after Death

War Dims Hope for Peace

If Strike Isn't Settled Quickly, It May Last A While

Cold Wave Linked to Temperatures

Red Tape Holds Up New Bridges

Crack Found on Governor's Daughter

Man Struck By Lightning: Faces Battery Charge

New Study of Obesity Looks for Larger Test Group

Astronaut Takes Blame for Gas in Spacecraft

Kids Make Nutritious Snacks

Local High School Dropouts Cut in Half

Hospital is Sued by Seven Foot Doctors

Typhoon Rips Through Cemetery; Hundreds Dead

***



Photo of volcano Mount Saint Helens, Washington state, 1980 eruption.

Just for fun, why not leave your own funny versions of the headlines in the comment section? Have some fun, exercise your brain, make like a volcano, blow off and delete some work week stress!

Video: WordAhead.com Review

Above are examples of the humorous vocabulary-building word cell videos from WordAhead.com

From Denny: Can I tell you this is a free fun video site? Who knew studying for your SAT or ACT, learning a second language or just refreshing your vocabulary could make you laugh and learn at the same time!

This site is also beneficial for anyone who has suffered short-term memory loss such as from long-term stress, a car accident, sports concussion or gradual aging just to name a few. Rehab centers might want to include this site on their link list. This site offers an easier method for re-learning vocabulary than the limitations of memorization.

This little site is just pure delight and keeps you engaged. More importantly, the video word cells, each a contained story in itself, keep you entertained while you are benefiting from a whole-brained teaching approach.

Are you someone who learns best by auditory learning? No problem. Are you someone who learns best by conceptual and visual images? No problem. Are you someone who learns best by the security of organized structure? No problem. And, lastly, are you a person who learns best by an emotional visual story? Again, no problem. Each word cell contains all four brain styles of learning!

The creators of this site are constantly adding new words to the list. They also would like to enlist your help and suggestions of how to improve the navigation of the site. Especially if you are a teacher, are there any study helps which would prove valuable you think they should include? Please take a little time to visit WordAhead.com and feel free to offer up your ideas! They are user-friendly and very glad to hear from you!

BTW, I’m not affiliated with or paid by WordAhead.com. Occasionally, someone contacts me and asks me to review their site. This site happened to be a good complement to The Social Poets, so I was happy to oblige. Besides, when you enjoy playing over at someone else’s site the least you can do is tell the world how much fun you had at their place! :)

Desktop Theme: Twinkling Teal Twilight

Desktop Theme for St. Patrick's Day and Spring

St. Patricks Day without the cheesy holiday stuff – lots of intense green but classier. Makes you think of Ireland and Spring time!

From: aathemes.com

Relaxing Saturday!

Time to stress down on Saturday; it's the weekend! Don't you just want to go out and blow soap bubbles for the pure pleasure of absolutely no reason but it's fun? Go ahead; enjoy yourself today!

Photo by -Gep- @ flickr