Possibly Random and Dull, unless I think of something interesting

[debka_notion]

Today I finally started my Biblical Ritual paper. TOmorrow- to add in those 3 additional sources, and in theory to finish it up (how the heck am I going to conclude that mess?). But I've had a nice break from writing, so at least I'm not burned out or any similar problem, besides not focusing. I also need to call Vera's parents and talk about how much to pay them to stay there for a month. And I need to call/email the lady from my internship to inquire. And try to figure out what sort of part time job one can get for a month, or if I should just give up on that idea, shell out the money, and hope to make it and some more once I get home. And I still really want to go to Rochester for the marathon- I hope I can. I mean, I'll probably see some of the same folks at Keff, which I can actually go to this year, because it's the earlier week, before I move back to campus, but still- it's the Rochester marathon... I don't know who'll be there though, much of the usual crew will be away in such a way as not to be able to go, but the closer of the usual suspects should still be there.

This evening I learned about the Rambam's (Rabbi Moses ben Maimon, aka Maimonides) theories about preventative health care (get 8 hours of sleep a night, eat figs/grapes before the meal, light food before heavy food, and apples, which are apparently potentially constipating only afterwards and in small quantities. And avoid salted and aged anything, except salted fish oil, which can be used as a laxitive. Quite bluntly, the Rambam came across as a cranky old man who was a bit obsessed with his bowels. He had funny ideas about sex too. But he seemed significantly more interested in the bowels.

I also discovered (noticed? renoticed? what's a good real word for re-noticed?) that one can tell an awful lot about a person by how the walk, and how they move in general. There's definitely a couple of hurt puppy walks, and another that's the "I'm pretending not to be hurt by being really purposeful all the time" walk. That one reminds me of early high school- talk about flashbacks.

My room is a disaster- but I'm moving to transitional housing soon enough that I have no motivation to clean. But someone was throwing out a perfectly good storage block-thing, so, in the true spirit of my mother and midnight auto, I just picked it up and took it (and a dime) back to my room- hurray for one more storage and packing container.

Comments

Walks...

[shorr.livejournal.com]

I've always thought of my initial affinity or lack of affinity towards people as partially influenced by my perception of "how they carry themselves", which does tie very deeply in to the way people walk. I think you make a correct observation about walks being keys to a person's general wellbeing, but I think that it's not just something you can notice, it's something that has a significant impact on interpersonal relationships even without anyone being aware of it.

Cool.
-AzS

Re: Walks...

[debka-notion.livejournal.com]

Body language is incredibly powerful stuff. But when you start noticing it consciously for a while, Very interesting things come out. But that's not reacting to it- that's conscious. The subconscious reactions are often what build attraction/interest/ways of relating. I read somewhere that body language and intonation carry something like 60% (it might have been higher) of communication, and the words only communicate that last bit of stuff- not the majority at all.

Re: Walks...

[shirei-shibolim.livejournal.com]

I've always wondered how people quantify the amount of information conveyed by verbal and nonverbal communication. It's easy with a computer, since you can just count the bits, but real life information is not so conveniently packaged.

Funny thing about body language is that it's not usually taught in foreign-language classes, though it's sometimes quite necessary. Not all humans use the same gestures to mean the same things. My dad once had a co-worker from somewhere in India who habitually shook his head from side to side in order to indicate "yes."

For that matter, many cultures have signs that refer to very specific concepts. Let's say that an American asks me why tobacco companies keep selling cigarettes now that the health dangers are so well documented. I can hold my hand upright, rub the thumb against the index and middle fingers, and without a word being said he will know that I'm talking about money. I'm told that Italians have a very complicated system like this.

[shirei-shibolim.livejournal.com]

Rambam's medicine is pure medieval medicine, but there's a lot to be said for it once you take that into account. He recognized the need for rigorous cardiovascular exercise a couple of centuries before the jogging craze, if nothing else. :)

[debka-notion.livejournal.com]

Yeah- zodiacmg and I used that to justify Israeli Dance for him... Me, I don't need an excuse, but he's going through a "there has to be a Jewish reason for everything" phase (although I'm describing it horridly) and was feeling guilty about dancing... It was amusing. I think if they paid us any attention at all, we'd have a good portion of tbe Beit Midrash laughing quite a bit. It's learning with shtick.