A Random Assortment

Some tropical flowers in Cayman (and below)

 ~ A wonderful review of Iris DeMent's new "Singing the Delta" (which I'm crazy about and got for Christmas and will have more to say about when I've listened to it a dozen more times):

The first time I heard Iris DeMent, I was reminded of a sheep's bleat.

My only complaint with it so far is it's length--at about an hour, it's just too short.

~ On Pinterest, finally (thanks for the kick in the pants, Gypsy!): This makes me laugh.

~ So I might quibble with the terms used in this article--I think the author uses "happiness" to mean "pleasure," and calls "meaning" what I would call "happiness" (but that's probably only because I'm stuck to an Aristotelian definition of happiness). Regardless, it's interesting, especially on the relationship between children and happiness:

People whose lives have high levels of meaning often actively seek meaning out even when they know it will come at the expense of happiness. Because they have invested themselves in something bigger than themselves, they also worry more and have higher levels of stress and anxiety in their lives than happy people. Having children, for example, is associated with the meaningful life and requires self-sacrifice, but it has been famously associated with low happiness among parents, including the ones in this study. In fact, according to Harvard psychologist Daniel Gilbert, research shows that parents are less happy interacting with their children than they are exercising, eating, and watching television.

"Partly what we do as human beings is to take care of others and contribute to others. This makes life meaningful but it does not necessarily make us happy," Baumeister told me in an interview.

...

Baumeister and his colleagues would agree that the pursuit of meaning is what makes human beings uniquely human. By putting aside our selfish interests to serve someone or something larger than ourselves -- by devoting our lives to "giving" rather than "taking" -- we are not only expressing our fundamental humanity, but are also acknowledging that that there is more to the good life than the pursuit of simple happiness. 

~From the author of A House in the City:

In the book you talk about the importance of the threshold. Can you explain more about this?

What we perceived is that there is this psychological need for detachment from the busy streets of the city. This is created in a variety of ways. One way you can create it is like the New York brownstones, which have a semi-basement and some steps up, so you have a gulf between the street and your house. That creates a detachment in a very effective way and it’s also the way it’s done in Georgian housing. But it means that the street becomes a very public space, it’s not used in any private way. With something like the "potato rows" houses in Copenhagen [terraced houses on narrow streets, filled with picnic tables, trees and benches that become shared spaces] the street is quiet enough that you don’t have to create this physical detachment from the street. And then people start to take over the street as part of their private space.

The problem with most modern housing is that either it doesn’t create any detachment at all—it’s just doors on to the street—or alternatively it’s tall residential blocks which detach you from the street but then you have to get into a lift, and walk along several corridors before you reach your front door. So you’ve got all this weird anonymous space, which is neither public nor private.

 Yes! The [lack of'] threshold is my least favorite thing about most modern city streets. And it isn't because, as one urban planner once told me, people like rain forests and are looking for spaces in between the houses to run and hide.

~ What a man.

~ Is this true? I've always suspected them of being pernicious. Do they really grind them up and stick them back together? (Diana, my healthy food friend, be sure to read this!)

~ Ah! I am so jealous! A) This is the most beautiful wedding dress I've ever seen. B) She got to wear green to her wedding. C) That reception venue! The worst part: "Bride’s Dress ~ Custom designed by Bride and her sister and sewn by Bride’s mum." Sigh. (via Myrrh)