Let The Good Times Roll!...With The Good Times Jar Project

How much of last year can you really remember? What is something you did that you are proud of? What made you laugh out loud? What surprised you? What was a memory worth saving?

Honestly, I don't think I could come up with quick answers for us for most of these questions. Maybe you can? If you can, kudos. Since I can't, I'm going to write them down this year. Little bits of the every day, and the big days, whatever is noteworthy in the moment. I'm going to pop them in my Good Times Jar for 2013 and we'll pull them out next New Year's Eve (or New Year's Day) to have a read through.

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I'll be setting our jar up by the kitchen sink; it's the best place for it to be seen and, therefore, used. Remembering the good times - even that's a good time. Maybe that'll be the first addition to our jar!

Some other additions I might think about while getting started: goals we've set, goals we've accomplished, laugh out loud moments, good news, surprise moments, proud moments, hopes for the future. Memories worth saving. You think you might want to try it too?

eBook coming soon!

Hey guys, our ebook is coming soon! Get your paws on the YouTube book trailer right here:

Stay tuned for the launch on iTunes for iPad and Amazon.com!

Nice is Nice, But These 12 Alternatives Are Better

Synonyms for simple words.

Now these are basic, but they got me thinking, particularly as it applies to us as we're writing our book about the dog.

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Why write 'he said' when you can choose 'he remarked' or, when appropriate, 'he whispered'? Ooh, the intrigue.

But, it's easy to go overboard, so be careful. When it sounds cheesy, then you're trying too hard. Let others read what you write. Reading a book (or article or any piece of writing) that sounds like it's a walking ad for thesaurus.com detracts from any sophistication you intend to convey with your writing, so, again, be careful.

It doesn't always have to be 'cordial', something can really just be 'lovely'. And I'm pretty sure 'elegant' will be better than 'dazzling' any day. Make sure the alternatives are better, and not just something different.

What Do Animals See In The Mirror?

In human psychology circles, the 'rouge test' is considered an important assessment tool for evaluating self-awareness in children.

Toddlers start recognizing themselves in a mirror when they are around 18 months old. Passing the 'rouge test' is one sign that a child's cognition is developing properly.

In the animal kingdom, higher primates, dolphins, orcas, elephants, and European magpies are the only animals to recognize that what appears in a mirror is actually their reflection.

And, not surprisingly, pigs don't recognize themselves, but do use clues in mirrors to focus on food that is placed behind them!

So what about cats and dogs? Domestic animals are usually startled by images in a mirror when they are young, and when the images don't pass the "sniff test" (which they never do!), the dog or cat learns to just ignore them.

So...not sure what Juno thinks she sees here?

Wait... - is she napping? Diva.

Working Hard or Hardly Working...Can You Spot The Difference?

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Which Circle Do You Live In?...Yeah, I'm Still In The One On The Left Too.

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Hey Wise Guy - Samuel Beckett on Trying and Failure

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I know that our books will be the result of several tens (maybe hundreds?) of drafts and versions.

But I've never been one to be motivated by failure. I've always been more motivated by success. That said, I know that with something new, it's not always successful right off the bat.

So, I'm trying to treat the repetitive, constant, frustrating process of writing and editing/rewriting a book as a part of a learning process. 

And I'm also trying to remember that it's ok to fail. If I put our books out there and nobody buys them, I'll have to get to the place where I'm ok with that...because the books certainly won't be a success if they're never out there in the first place. That'd surely be a bigger failure. 

This post is part of a new tag series - 'Hey Wise Guy' and 'Hey Wise Gal' - words of wisdom we can all enjoy, on just about everything.

Don't Apologize For What You Like

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Dogs In Popular Culture - Day 2: Beloved Dogs in Literature

Continuing with our 'Dogs In Popular Culture' series, who better to celebrate these dog days of summer with than some of the 'Most Beloved Dogs in Literature'?

Here's my list - see if you agree! And if I've missed your favourite(s), then throw him or her a bone in the comments...

Argos, The Odyssey - he waited 20 years for his master to return!

Toto, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz - yup, this was a book first! Dorothy's favourite little black dog and favourite sluggish companion.

Lassie, Lassie Come Home - also a book first, and a feature story in the Saturday Evening Post before that! Do I really need to elaborate on this one?

Old Yeller, Old Yeller - yet another 'book before it was a big screen hit'! From rascal to lifesaver, this story sure gave me some first big cries of childhood!

Bodger and Luath, The Incredible Journey - one more 'book before it was a big screen hit'! (N.B. Chance only joined in the movie version.) What a ragtag duo. My affinity for Labs may have its origins in this adventure series.

Buck, The Call of the Wild - a riches to rags story and a testament to the loyal bond between a man and his canine companion.

Clifford, Clifford the Big Red Dog - now I'm not sure this children's series can be classified as 'literature', but the shenanigans of this big, red, affable canine lulled me to pleasant sleep on more than one night as a little girl!

Snowy, The Adventures of Tintin - the fluffy, adorable, cynical foil to Tintin's eternal optimism.

Agree? Think I missed anyone?

Image from here

Dog In Popular Culture - Day 1: Idioms

Have you ever thought about how often we use dog-related expressions in everyday conversation?

Well, here's a preview - and it's a pretty long list! Has our art of conversation just about gone to the dogs?!

Bark up the wrong tree
A barking dog never bites
Better be the head of a dog than the tail of a lion
Big dog
Bird dog
Call off the dogs
Crooked as a dog's hind leg
Dirty dog
Dog and pony show
The dog ate my homework
A dog's breakfast
Dog days of summer
Dog does not eat dog
Dog eat dog world
Dog in the manger
Dog it
Dog-faced liar
A dog's life

Dogged me
Dog-tired
Done up or dressed up like a dog's dinner
Every dog has its day
Fight like cat and dog
Give a dog a bad name
Go to the dogs
Hair of the dog that bit you
Happy as a flea in a doghouse
Have a bone to pick
Hot dog!
Hounds of hell
If you lie down with dogs, you will get up with fleas
In the dog house
Let sleeping dogs lie

Like a blind dog in a meat market
Like a dog with a bone
Like a dog with two tails
Like dog's breath
Love me, love my dog
Lucky dog
Meaner than a junkyard dog
My dogs are barking
Not have a dog's chance
Put a dog off the scent
Put on the dog
Quick as a dog can lick a dish
Raining cats and dogs
Sad as a hound dog's eye
See a man about a dog
Shaggy dog story
Shouldn't happen to a dog
Sick as a dog
Tail wagging the dog
There's life in the old dog yet
Throw you a bone
Throw someone to the dogs
Top dog
Two (or three) dog night
Wag the dog
Went off with his tail between his legs
Why keep a dog and bark yourself?
Work like a dog
You can't teach an old dog new tricks

If you're curious, and looking for the meanings and origins of this particular list of expressions, check out the post on Dog Idioms, over at Cesar's Way.

Throwing you a bone,
Danielle

Article and Video Round-Up

Some cool finds to share on this fabulous Friday!

1) "The Six Enemies of Greatness (and Happiness)" 

What do you think erodes good plans and great intentions?
Forbes Magazine has the six factors that turn visionaries and dreamers into regretful paper-pushers.

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See the list here.

2) A wonderful series of pet adoption PSAs and the cutest campaign videos I've seen in a while! via The Shelter Pet Project. A few of our favourites:

3) "Brain Scans Reveal Dogs' Thoughts" 

Canine cognition?! Emory University has taken the first peek into un-sedated dogs' brains, via fMRI. 

Not sure Juno could ever handle something like this, but, so cool! 

The article and a video are here.

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Have a great weekend everybody!

Do You See The World In One Colour?

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If you don't, but could, which would you choose?

Ever thought about it?

I'm A Genius...And You Are Too.

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We could all probably spend less time judging...anyone.

Where does it get us? 

...and more time working hard on what we can do. 

What are you 'genius' at?

"With Your Head Full of Brains and Your Shoes Full of Feet..."

"Oh, the Places You'll Go!"

Happy Friday friends!

McGill Dances for Cancer Research

"To highlight some of the critical work being done at the Goodman Cancer Research Centre, we gathered some of our top scientists, students, lab techs and dedicated volunteers, who turned on the music - and danced!

Thanks to our proud sponsor, Medicom, a donation will be made for each hit to support advances in cancer research at the Goodman Cancer Research Centre."

Watch and spread the word...

What If...

Love this!

                                    

Conversations Between a Heart and a Brain

Some happy Friday thoughts...

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I love this and wanted to share. Thoughts for all of us to feed on over the weekend!

Hope you have something nice planned!

"If Happiness Is on the Other Side of Success, Your Brain Never Gets There"

Why do we always think of happiness as an end goal? Why can't it be the goal now?

I've caught myself saying, "Once I ______ (insert goal here), I'll be happy." What if being happy now was the fuel to my success, allowing me to reach my goals faster?

Working and working for something, thinking that, in the end, we'll be happy, is the reality our culture has created. But will doing something that you hate, over and over again, really make us happy?

Happiness can come first. And, in the end, happiness fuels better work...and success.

Check out this video below that talks about reversing the formula - be happy to work well.

What Are You Working On?

Do you have something you're working on? 

Is it meaningful to you?

Do you find it fulfilling?

I think we all have a need for 'meaningful' work. We're always doing things, working on something - or many things. But is the work meaningful? To you, to someone else, or for many others?

Right now, we're writing a book. We're keeping track of facets, decisions, and details. It's creative, somewhat rule-less, and pretty much our baby right now. It feels good to be working on it. It feels bigger than us and it's definitely our biggest challenge yet.

"Meaningful work is work that is autonomous, work that is complex, that occupies your mind, and work where there is a relationship between effort and reward - for everything you put in, you get something out..." - Malcolm Gladwell

(Speaking of challenges, I don't have a P52uesday photo for you today or one to make up for last 2uesday. Sorry. But as it's a self-imposed challenge, I guess I'm ok breaking the rules.)

When I tear myself away from writing our book, (it's easy to tweak, and fuss, and edit, and move things around all day long), I'm trying to keep on top of a few other tiny things - and they may seem trivial, but they make diving into the book again every morning a bit easier:

-keeping the kitchen clean - somehow the day always looks up when the counters are clear and the sink is empty.

-staying on top of emails, phone calls, and letter-writing/card-sending. It feels so much better to just reply right away or call right back - what do we wait for? It takes almost as much time to write these things on a to-do list as it does to just do them. Of course, I add them to the to-do list after they're done just so I can cross them off - I can't be alone in this? And it feels good to send some love out to friends and family when there's a birthday or an anniversary to celebrate - a little way of saying, 'we know today isn't just an everyday for you.' 

-picking up around the house - putting laundry away after it's done (like 'back in drawers and closets away'), keeping the constant rotation of shoes at bay, eliminating the tumbleweeds of dog hair that hide in crooks and crevices of the house, and keeping up with the sorting/tossing/filing of the volumes of paper work and other 'stuff' that come in and out of our house.

Our day-to-days.

Well, back to work.

Do you have something you're working on? Is the work meaningful to you?

Speak With Conviction

Are we "the most aggressively inarticulate generation to come along since, you know, a long time ago?"

Speak. With. Conviction.

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And, maybe write with it too.

Happy weekend.