Random Thoughts

1. The following foods are divisive:

Coconut
Olives
Onions
Mushrooms
Mayonnaise
Mustard

Barring allergy, people can get talked into eating pretty much anything but these foods. Not a fan of fish? You might be gently coerced into trying a bite or two of some exotic dish. Perhaps you even enjoy it and chalk it up to the exception that proves the rule.

But try to talk someone into eating olives if they are not so inclined to like them and you will get disgust. (I have a suspicion that this aversion comes from a sense of betrayal. The other night I handed my nephew J. a whole kalamata olive to which he grinned and said "Ooh...gape! (grape)" He put it in his mouth and was terribly hurt at the savory for sweet bait and switch. I'll report back here in 16 years and tell you if my findings are correct.)

It's funny, though, that this disgust might lead those of us who happen to enjoy a good olive now and then, to behave so cruelly as to shove the little purple/brown/green nugget right up into their faces, even as they frown or go so far as to shove our offending hands away. Why do we do this?

2. My mother gave J. a pretend cell phone for Christmas. It has Elmo's head on top of it and, it turns out, it's Elmo J. is talking to when he plays with it. (Elmo being the little red monster on Sesame Street who refers to himself in the third person.) With a press of a button, Elmo giggles and calls J. by name, and is one of the most self centered conversationalists I've ever heard. ALL ELMO TALKS ABOUT IS EFFING ELMO.

Did you see Elmo on the TV today?
Elmo is having so much fun!
Elmo wants to have a party for Elmo's birthday!
Elmo bought a new pair of pants from the Gap. Does Elmo look fat in Elmo's new pants?
Elmo's new flame is totes crazy but Elmo just can't help Elmo's self.
Elmo is so happy you called J.!

Yeah, I bet you are. The kid can't get a word in edgewise.


3. Unanswered questions this week:

Why do we feel like we have to be understood?
Why do I seem to hate a movie so much weeks after I've seen it?
When does the "Go back to Start" card get shuffled out of the deck?
Why is it $2 rather than $1 to browse in Frenchy's Adult Bookstore after midnight?

These may or may not continue unanswered.

4. Favorite word this week:

an⋅o⋅dyne  /ˈænəˌdaɪn/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [an-uh-dahyn] –noun

1.	a medicine that relieves or allays pain.

2.	anything that relieves distress or pain: The music was an anodyne to his grief.

–adjective

3.	relieving pain.

4.	soothing to the mind or feelings.

Least favorite word this week:

Corn.