08.21.08
Posted in Humor~General at 7:29 pm by Dr. Trina Hess
“The world will tell you who you are. Until YOU tell the world.” This is from a LMN movie about a girl who wore a fat suit to see the reactions of people to her.
This is our assignment, every day–to find out who we are.
We are told what is funny by the types of shows we are provided on tv. We are shown what we should consider funny by the comics offered to us at comedy clubs. We are also instructed which topics are taboo, which colors are not allowed to be spoken, which races, religions, political leanings, and weights.
These all reflect who we become to ourselves, in our own minds.
Our task is to decide for ourselves who we are, by what we consider funny. Maybe it is, “laughing at your neighbor falling off the roof,” as one talk show host says. Or maybe you can immediately notice ingruency in people’s spoken or written words.
It’s when we are free to laugh at what we want, that we realize who we are. What is YOUR style of humor? And, what’s so funny about that?
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08.20.08
Posted in Humor~General at 5:19 pm by Dr. Trina Hess
“…and have fun. That’s why we play ball,” John Challis wrote.
John had written it on a poster to encourage the players of both teams. He had thrown out the first pitch at the Pirates-Yankees game. He was the honorary manager of the Pirates. He had just graduated high school.
He had terminal liver and lung cancer and passed away on Tuesday.
As Pittsburgh’s own Last Lecture taught us, life seems most precious when we known it is nearly over. John spoke to numerous people of all ages about his love for life. He lived in a town called “Freedom,” where he shared his motivating words.
John Challis’ example gave us an assignment. To not wait to appreciate our life, to not wait to be a motivating presence. To not wait to be a Shining Example to others. To not wait to, “Get Your SHINE Together!”
How much of your life are you wasting with worry, envy, being oblivious to the humor and fun and goodness all around you?
Check out the story at http://kdka.com/local/Challis.Wetzel.coach.2.799311.html
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08.19.08
Posted in Humor~General at 7:48 pm by Dr. Trina Hess
Here I am at the premiere for Trapped, an independent film shot solely in Pittsburgh and starring Corbin Bernsen, Tom Atkins, Bill Sewak, Tom Roach, Michelle Vezzani, and a host of Pittsburgh extras! This very clever, smart, dark comedy was written by Gavin Rapp and Ron Hankison.
For more information and release info go to, www.trapped-themovie.com or www.wintermorningpictures.com
Pictured here are Bill Sewak, Tom Roach, lead actors Tony Bingham (who has a recurring role on As The World Turns) and Dana Hardy, Michelle Vezzani, and me.
!!!OOMBAY OOMBAY!!!
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08.18.08
Posted in Humor~General at 9:42 pm by Dr. Trina Hess
Congratulations to LaShunda Rundles who is the first woman to win the Toastmasters International World Championship of Public Speaking contest in more than 20 years! And she’s only the 4th woman to win since the contest began in 1938. Check it out at www.toastmasters.org
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08.17.08
Posted in Humor~General at 9:10 am by Dr. Trina Hess
This week’s Comedy Around the World occurs in Germany, Sweden, and Norway. I ran the Berlin Marathon–my first marathon I finished without hospitalization. And I only managed that because I was buoyed by the warnings of American soldiers I met in Germany: “Don’t let them take you to a German hospital!”
If you have ever finished a marathon–standing, running, walking, or crawling–you know it is grueling and painful. Especially if you run it the way I ran Berlin: “Stopping for water? That’s for sissies!” My macho race strategy proved portentious, because for the next week I was walking like John Wayne. It’s funny how you never really appreciate knee flexion until you don’t have it.
I could tolerate the pain, because I knew my friend would meet me in Stockholm to take me to her place in the eastern part of Sweden. Then I could rest and recuperate.
But, when our train arrived in Stockholm, my friend informed me she had to work the next day and couldn’t pick me up. Couldn’t I find a hotel somewhere? I flew into a panic. Not only was I in terrible pain, I was also carrying all my luggage on my back, and now had no where to go. And the train just left the tracks–figuratively and literally. This was not part of my perfect plan!
Since I knew I was out of control of the situation, I made a snap decision to take an overnight train–something I’d never done, because the bed, little sink, private room, etc. always seemed to be too expensive. As I settled into my bunk and into sleep, I worried less about my messed up plan. Sometime during the middle of the night, I woke to look out at the fast-moving snow-covered scenery of Norway (or was it still Sweden?). The moonlihgt shone on the snow, there were some scattered little houses everywhere. I just smiled at the amazing, wonderful scene–a scene I would never have had if my ‘perfect’ travel plan had been realized.
We think we are in control of our lives, our careers, families, pets, etc. But we can’t even control travel plans. It’s only when we stop the control that everything falls into place beautifully. And then, everything seems to be under control!
“Get Your SHINE Together!” and get out of control once in a while.
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08.16.08
Posted in Humor~General at 7:29 pm by Dr. Trina Hess
Have you been watching the Olympics? I’ve caught a few clips here and there. What is with the Chinese lost-tooth girls? Don’t women usually lie about their age as being less than it is, not more? The Chinese government probably told their athletes, “Here, just write that you are 16. No one can read Chinese anyway, they’ll never know.” And we STILL don’t!
This is happening in the midst of a mini-war in the Russian areas. They are areas because none of us is quite sure where they are, or which ones are actual countries. Apparently those people also aren’t sure. Their president just signed a cease-fire. Apparently with himself, because the opposing side did not sign. Isn’t that dangerous? Or is it just me? And that same president claimed he was an ally of the West. But once he signed on the dotted line, he dissed Russia AND his apparent ally. So does that make us on the same side as Russia?
What is going on with the world? If we can’t laugh at this stuff, what else can we do? One of my favorites said, “The only power I have is sarcasm.” That is really the only power any of us has, no matter how creative or clever we may be.
This making fun of situations and news items isn’t meant to be insulting to anyone. It isn’t even meant to take sides. It IS meant to help us keep our sanity. If we can’t laugh at these situations, we don’t have control over our reactions over them. And in that case, they control us. To be able to laugh at something means that you have dealt with it. Maybe you haven’t completely overcome it, but you have processed it enough to see the irony, the ridiculous, and the funny that exists in every thing.
Now, go and, “Get Your SHINE Together!” no matter what your age!
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08.15.08
Posted in Humor~General at 12:31 pm by Dr. Trina Hess
I heard someone talk about the domination by the Yankees vs. the losing Red Sox team. This person said that there wasn’t much interesting in the Yankees. People rooted for the Red Sox, and for their struggle and courage.
It made me think about how perfectionism is the goal of many people. We’re supposed to WANT to be perfect. But in fact, no one likes people who are perfect. Do you? We are not naturally drawn to perfection in others.
Any casting or modeling agency will tell you, they don’t choose the people who are perfect. They choose the ones who are interesting.
Julia Roberts isn’t perfect. Her facial features are very interesting, though. People who are perfect just seem to blend into the background. The interesting ones are the ones who pop out into the foreground. We are captivated. They represent something about ourselves. We see our struggle in their struggle.
My friend Bill E. once comforted me after I played a song badly during one of my shows. He said, “Trina, people don’t care that you didn’t play perfectly. If they wanted to hear perfection, they’d go to the symphony, not to a comedy show!”
He’s right. People want to see our humanness, not our perfect, flawless selves. Perfection isn’t something that’s desirable. Unless you are competing in the Olympics. Perfectionism pushes you further from people, and prevents you and them from relating. It breaks the connection. It isn’t pretty.
“Get Your SHINE Together!”
How perfect are you? How perfect are you trying to be?
www.yourshiningexample.com
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08.14.08
Posted in Humor~General at 2:56 pm by Dr. Trina Hess
Humor is more than jokes, laughter, sarcasm, and fun. It’s also about opening our minds. It’s about seeing the other side’s viewpoint. It’s about appreciating the opposite side’s view before making a decision or a choice. It’s about seeing the whole picture. The whole truth.
We can picture humor operating like a circle, cut into fourths.
The first left upper quadrant is our view. If we open our minds to appreciate someone else’s sense of humor, we enter the next upper quadrant.
OK, so now we have half the story. From there, the next quadrant consists of discussion, struggle, compromise, etc. Then, in the final quadrant, we choose, we decide, we act–based on the big picture.
If we view and use humor in this way, we can be better informed, better qualified to make a good decision, and have better interpersonal relationships. Now that is the whole truth!
“Get Your SHINE Together!”
What quadrant are YOU in?
www.yourshiningexample.com Let the rest of us hear YOUR side of the story!
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08.13.08
Posted in Humor~General at 7:27 pm by Dr. Trina Hess
Join us this Saturday for a double-header: Junior Women’s Golf Scramble at 9 am, where we will raffle off this hand-made quilt made by my grandma. Women, this is your event, prizes, refreshments, lunch, golfing and fun! Women-only!
Then at 2 pm the Leukemia Society Team In Training Scramble. Benefits patient aid programs, hosted by Katie Jarzab. Katie will be running the Marine Corps Marathon this fall in honor of her two patient-heroes. From 1995-2000 I was a member of the Team In Training program. I competed in marathons in Paris, Bermuda, Anchorage, New Orleans, Athens, and Honolulu in honor of my patient-hero, D.J. Miller. You can learn more about this wonderful program and about Katie’s part in it at:
http://pages.teamintraining.org/wpa/corps08/kjarzab
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08.12.08
Posted in Humor~General at 9:27 am by Dr. Trina Hess
I was listening to some news about the Russian invasion of Georgia. This news report was an audio montage of interviews with various nation’s presidents, along with news anchor’s reports, and punctuated by the sounds of gunfire. Then, in the midst of all this is Ray Charles singing, ‘Georgia on My Mind.’ The song kept playing in the background over all the other bad news. I had to laugh–it was so ironic, sarcastic, inappropriate, and–FUNNY!
That day, I was at the kitchen sink thinking of all this news and wondering what I could do about it. I have no army, I wonder if we will invade, I wonder where Georgia is, actually, I wonder how many other people don’t know about it or don’t care, and how much does gas cost today?
Then all of a sudden, I noticed a hummingbird visiting one of my hollyhocks that is growing out of control outside the window. (Are people supposed to cut the branches? I don’t know; it’s just another thing to worry about so I let it grow free.) Then the hummingbird went to one of the remaining Gladiolas. And guess what–I forgot all about Georgia for a moment, and just focused on that hummingbird and relaxed. And I smiled.
That is what humor can do for you. Whether you are giving a speech announcing bad news, or giving a boring speech that contains necessary information. Whether you are in a conversation that is growing tense, or whether you are just going through a day you consider to be mundane. You have the choice to change the direction of that news report, conversation, speech, or day.
You can punctuate it with humor to wake up your listeners, make them switch directions, make them think, and make them relax and laugh. Once they see you taking this brave step, they can encourage others to, “Get Your SHINE Together!”
P.S. I think gas prices just went down. But is that good news, or bad news? Where is that hummingbird…….
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