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Posts Tagged ‘Thoughts’

I recently received an emergency request from a friend for a critical mission: Could I please run over to the old Toys ‘R Us and check for a certain costume for their toddler?

That’s right, I was asked to visit Spirit Halloween.

Sure, I said, no problem. I’ve never been to a Spirit Halloween before, it’s bound to be interesting.

And it was. I’m not a big Halloween person (I believe I’ve mentioned my childhood scars from The Amityville Horror; thanks, Dad! and also thanks for not moving into that house that looked a lot like That House when we were kids). 

My last real costume was a ghost (although I did attend one party as Trinity from The Matrix which was fun; still have the leather trench coat), so it’s been a while since I really celebrated. 

I do remember that there were very definite differences between good candy and not-so-good candy. 

As many of us prepare to do That Halloween Thing, I thought I’d share this highly scientific analysis of candy preferences:

The Ultimate Halloween Candy Power Ranking.

The social contract of Halloween is simple: Provide adequate treats to costumed masses, or be prepared for late-night tricks from those dissatisfied with your offer. To help you avoid that type of vengeance, and to help you make good decisions at the supermarket this weekend, we wanted to figure out what Halloween candy people most prefer. So we devised an experiment: Pit dozens of fun-sized candy varietals against one another, and let the wisdom of the crowd decide which one was best.

Or just buy what you like and share it with the neighborhood. Either way, have fun!

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Here’s an illustrated short by Rich Wells, capturing an epiphany he had outside a tire shop.

Graham’s Tyres – Rich Wells

“I thought l’d take the words from my notebook and make something visual.

A reminder to myself that all this everyday stuff – admin, errands, school runs, park trips, waiting in lines, meal times –

it’s all a gift”

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It’s a brave act to embrace incompetence. What’s delightful is that it’s a temporary state.

— Michael Bungay Stanier

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Science fiction is any idea that occurs in the head and doesn’t exist yet, but soon will, and will change everything for everybody, and nothing will ever be the same again. As soon as you have an idea that changes some small part of the world you are writing science fiction. It is always the art of the possible, never the impossible.

— Ray Bradbury

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Least Expected

Ikea is many things: an overwhelming shopping destination, a supply chain and engineering marvel, an unexpected beacon of sustainability, source of endless jokes about infuriating instructions, and a good place for meatballs.

It can also surprise you, as it did when I went looking for one thing and discovered something I’ve been looking for years: An affordable, practical, decently sized cake carrier. 

It’s not a big deal, but when you need to transport a cake across town without it ending up in heap in the back of the car, it can be important. 

Important enough to consider shelling out for an overpriced carrier? Not quite, as it happens. 

Because I don’t need to move cakes all that often, I’ve been putting this purchase off for years. I’m glad I did, because now, C$12.99 + tax later, I am the proud possessor of a decent cake carrier. (I also picked up a year’s supply of that critical Swedish ingredient, lingonberries.)

Thanks for this, Ikea, and for the reminder that solutions are sometimes where they’re least expected.

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Today, Mr Man is out in the woods being woodsy, and his cell connection is weak at best. He called with a story about an adventure, full of drama and excitement, near misses and impossible tasks. 

Ninety seconds into the tale, the call cut out. Oh no, I thought, he just set up the problem, how will he triumph? What happened next? I waited by the phone in anticipation.

Another call, another 90 seconds, another cut line, another moment of drama as he hung, metaphorically speaking, between victory and defeat. It happened again, then again. 

I started answering his callbacks with “And then what happened?”

After many episodes I got the whole story, and it was a good one. Let’s just say that most of us would have found ourselves stranded in the bush waiting to become a bear’s dinner, but through creativity, deductive thinking and mechanical know how, he found a way!

And I enjoyed an excellent reminder of the power of suspense in story.

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The only guaranteed way to succeed is simple: don’t quit.

— Arnold Schwarzenegger

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Mr Man and I were out for a hike a few weeks ago when a barred owl flew across the path. I hadn’t expected to see an owl in daylight, but there it was. We watched it for a moment as it nestled into the crook of a tree, and went about our way. 

This is what it might have been like to stay.

from wildlife photographer Gamander López

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For those who have experienced the joy of being alone with nature there is really little need for me to say much more; for those who have not, no words of mine can ever describe the powerful, almost mystical knowledge of beauty and eternity that come, suddenly, and all unexpected.

— Jane Goodall

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“The autumn stars had come out, incredible in number and brilliance… the whole sky seemed to tremble, a shaking of diamond chips, a scintillation of sunlight on a black sea.”

— Ursula Le Guin, The Dispossessed

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