A Trick To Stop Office Gossip

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Want to know a great easy trick for stopping gossip about another coworker?

Here's the trick that works every time.....

Why We Shouldn't Cuss

Andie and I, who are long time fans of The Midnight Claw, found out Olan Rogers was in town a couple Saturdays ago... so we rushed up to Sugarhouse Park to stand in line for three hours to meet him! I am truly such a nerd because after all the laughter and delight I've had in watching this guys online videos I just feel like he is one of my dear friends, which is why I wanted to meet him. He is happy, original, hard-working, funny, and inspiring (see my other posts about him here and here). As the above picture suggests, it was worth the wait to meet him, what a role model.

I love when happy and creative people have success. I also love when comedians who aren't crass and crude do well. It seems like the world and mainstream media laugh the most at inappropriate stuff, which I think is cheap and easy. While I do enjoy a well placed cuss word every now and then, I think using less cuss words and more clever words takes more thought and makes you a delight to be around and a thrill to listen to.

Apparently Olan has been asked why he doesn't swear enough times that he has written an answer on his FAQ page... I love his answer.

Q & A: Why don’t you cuss in your videos?

SOOOOOO MANY PEOPLE ASK ME THIS hahaha

There are multiple reasons for this!

One, stems back to my high school T.V production class where it was a guideline in order to have your videos shown to the school.  This naturally made things very difficult in a world where comedy and cussing go hand in hand. I just keep this guideline.

Two, I sound like a idiot if I cuss like some people can cuss and sound like a boss and their delivery is just golden. I remember back in the 4th grade me & my friend Stephen were being chase down by some bullies and my friend Stephen yells out this string of curse words, freaking it was like slicing through Mozart butter, I mean for cursing it was art. So I decided to try my hand at it right after him and I come up with something that was so freaking stupid everyone starts laughing even Stephen hahaha I knew then I wan’t very good at it but the bonus the bullies were laughing so hard we got away and we got slushies. :)

Three, I began to realize cursing is the quick laugh everyone can cuss but not everyone can truly make someone laugh by doing honest comedy for example Monty Python, Charlie Chaplin & Buster Keaton. I laugh harder at that stuff then any comedy made today because modern comedy is all about gross out factors which I get why they do it but I’ll take Monty Python and the Holy Grail over any modern comedy hands down.

Four, I honestly don’t find it that funny, I’ll admit I do laugh at comedies/comedians who do it but that’s because they have crafted it so well or it’s done in moderation. But I think a lot of comedians just do it because every other comedian does it and it’s just accepted as what to expect from comedy. So naturally I like to do what makes me laugh.

.....

Using a cheap easy way to make a joke shows just how far and broad your thoughts and responses truly are. I, personally, haven't perfected it yet... which is why I get such a kick out of watching Olan's videos, I'm envious and fascinated by his proper wit and story-telling skills.... which are skills every proper mountain woman should work on to acquire.

These are just some of my on-going thoughts on the matter.

Thanks for reading,

Whitney Joy

Anecdotal: Collective Nouns

Collective nouns are absolutely charming. Every time an obscure collective noun pops up in casual conversation, or even when collective nouns in general are the topic of conversation, I am excited. They fascinate me. There are some collective nouns that are used in our every day speech with no thought at all... "pride of lions", "school of fish", "hill of beans", "gaggle of geese"... but if you pause to think about them, you develop a sense of wonder. Where did they come from? Who first linked these words together? Why do we use them?

They are like dusty little pieces of poetry and mystery.... part of a long forgotten English lesson. I find them interesting and adorable.

Back in the Medieval era, nobleman spent time and money studying collective nouns, known then as "terms of venery" or "terms of the hunt". And hunting was a noble sport. Not only was it thrilling to be part of the chase, but it was equally thrilling to take part in an intellectual conversation about it, before and after. And if you were well-spoken, well-read, and were able to properly use all the venereal terms... well then, you were very manly and noble indeed.

Nobleman were devoted to their hunting terminology. Each different animal, all of its body parts, the year of its development, each stage of the hunt, and each feature of the hounds' behavior, were all part of venereal terminology, and knowing all the terms was an accomplishment of knighthood. Not knowing the collective noun of the creature being hunted, or any creature in the forest, whether beast, fish, fowl, or insect, would make you look inferior to another nobleman that did.

Which is another reason why I get a big kick out of them. They seem so silly and frivolous. Their importance to us now is not the same as it was back then. They may add a little flare to a boring sentence, or a little sparkle to a conversation if used today, but to a gentleman in the 15th century, not knowing them was a chink in your armor of manhood.

I love it... as I love all silly things when they are taken with a serious tone. It's one of my favorite clever jokes.

James Lipton must enjoy the same clever humor I do, because not only is he an actor in one of my favorite funny shows, Arrested Development, he's also a lover of collective nouns. He loves them so much that he wrote an entire book about them, An Exaltation of Larks. He calls it the ultimate edition, because it's probably the largest collection of collective nouns ever, not just for hunting and animals either, collective nouns for everything, some he even penned himself. All of them little snippets of wonder.

Mr Lipton writes in his books' introduction, his goal for giving us these old forgotten terms: "that a few... will stick to our ribs and be ingested into our speech. If they do, it isn't just that we will be able to turn to someone and coolly and correctly say, 'Look - a charm of finches.' What is more important is that a charm of poetry will have slipped quietly into our lives."

I love that.

I think reading about them, studying them, and having a few in your lexicon to use at the appropriate time is wonderful. Every proper mountain woman should have some up her sleeve to use at dinner parties and in intellectual conversation, or simply for anecdotal reasons. While they may seem a little ridiculous, if you start sprinkling them into your vocab, whether in a silly way or nonchalant, you will stick out as a well-read, well-rounded soul who loves little poetic pieces of history... and that's the clever and charming thing about them.

To see some proper lists of collective nouns, try these:
venereal terms: names of groups
list of collective nouns on wikipedia


Here's some of my favorite:
a nest of machine guns
a den of thieves
a can of worms
a tissue (or pack) of lies
a chorus of complaint
a rope of pearls
a round of drinks
a true love of turtledoves
a clowder of cats
a cluster of housecats
a destruction of wildcats
a kindle of kittens
a murmuration of starlings
a barren of mules
an ostentation of peacocks
a colony of rabbits
a skulk of foxes
a mob of kangaroo
a pod of seals
a business of flies
a flock of lice
a parliament of owls

some odd ones from An Exaltation of Larks:
a rascal of boys
a wandering of tinkers
a fighting of beggars
a herd of harlots
a gaggle of women
an observance of hermits

The images in this post are some of the images from the book.

Olan Roger's Spice Of Life

 (this pullover is fantastic, what mountain woman wouldn't want a wolf howling across her bosom?)

I have been a long time fan of Olan Roger's youtube channel, his stories and the way he tells them delight me to no end. I think his zest for life, and what he shares with the world is positive and happy.

I may have mentioned it before, but I think about my future as a proper old lady quite a bit. It's sometimes hard to think past the fun part of the future, the part of owning my own land, having money, being successful, accomplishing goals, spending time on hobbies, raising a family, and so on... all that sort of stuff is exciting and easy to think about, but I try to look at the future that is up and over that mountain of goals, and sneak a peak at the little old lady I will be one day be on the other side of it. It will still be me, an older version of me. I can't get rid of myself... down the road of life and through the next few decades people will move in and out of my life, if I'm lucky I will pick up good friends and have loved ones close by... but one thing is for darn sure, I am still going to be stuck with me. 

It's an eye opening view, but it helps me in my progression. 

Why do I bring this up? Because I think view points are important. What you see in life, your outlook, your thoughts, the things you find important... they contribute to you and the stories you tell.

Some people feel they need to do extravagant things in order to be interesting, or to be impressive. I submit to you that that is simply not true. You can become a beautiful proper old mountain lady, who is charming, witty, and who can inspire with a happy outlook on something ordinary... just by living and LOVING your life.

I'm not sure if this post will make sense to anyone but me.

I just feel that the world doesn't celebrate the quaint and charming parts of every day life. Because of social media, TV, and the internet we think we have to be a jet setter, spend lots of money, stay up to date on trends, be the best at something, do something ridiculous, try something naughty, or be stunningly beautiful to be somebody interesting. Well, I think this guy can put an end to that argument right now. His stories are from simple things, happy outlooks, and childhood memories... and I could listen to him for hours. (bonus points because he doesn't even cuss)

As a proper modern day mountain woman, in my quest to becoming a charming old lady whom you'd be thrilled to sit by at a dinner party, AND in my quest to being a delightful person for myself to grow old with... this young man is a modern day hero and good example.

Olan Rogers recently came out with a new fashion line for fall. Spreading his cheerful perspective to the public, "injecting positivity". I love these tops because they are happy, and also.. very mountain woman chic.

Love YOUR life. I love that.

Read Olan Roger's beautiful words about his fashion line and positivity.

Mountain Words Defined: Convivial

I own and keep a giant dictionary near my bed for when I come across words I don't know.

Sunday night I came across the word 'convivial' and had to look it up.

convivial = fond of feasting, drinking & good company

great word, I need more convivial people in my life.

And last night I had to look up the word 'cad'. It means a man who acts w/ deliberate disregard for another's feelings or rights; someone who is morally reprehensible. Which is too bad, because I call myself a cad tech. It may be a sign that I need to change professions.

Mountain Word Defined: Brevity

brevity.

brevity is the soul of wit.

I like this word.