Random Notes from a Crank

The BBC has an interesting article about the world's safest countries: "Five of the World Safest Countries for 2025." The article also provide the top ten but just features the top five in detail. 

There were some surprises for me. Neither Norway nor Sweden are in the top ten. Ireland was a bit surprising to me, but Denmark and New Zealand are usually in the top ten of most lists of countries where people are happy and safe. And I've heard good things about Portugal. 

This week's Existential Comic is a good one. It's a commentary on imperialism and the rationales people have used for conquering countries: "The Philosophy of Julius Caesar." 

The character asks a great question of Caesar: "How do you justify it philosophically?"

James McMurtry is a great songwriter. On his most recent album, The Black Dog and the Wandering Boy, he has a song about Pinocchio as an adult: "Pinocchio in Vegas." 

Today is National Dog Day. Treat your dog/s right. 

Musing of the Moment: "Up and Not Crying"

Mrs. Nasty posted a reel from "wanderingbird.adventures" on social media that I also posted after I saw it.

Here's what it says: "In Norway 'up & not crying' is a standard response to 'How are you doing?'--and I think that's a very reasonable standard to hold oneself to these days." 

I agree.

I've read or heard that Norwegians have a reputation as the Scandinavians who are the most depressed. So that response "up and not crying" tracks. And I guess you can tie in seasonal affective disorder. 

Yet the saying flies in the face of the reputation of Nordic countries scoring the best on happiness surveys, which they do according to the World Happiness Report.

An article in The Guardian from 2018, "Nordic Countries 'Happy' Reputation Masks Sadness of Young, Says Report," shows some figures. And the numbers support that those countries are doing much better than other countries in Europe. 

Regardless, I like the black/dark humor of the saying.  

Stay Positive: The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative

I've praised the work of Florence Williams in a previous post, but I thought I'd do a Stay Positive post about her book, The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative. 

Starting with E.O. Wilson's biophilia hypothesis, Williams investigates the scientific support why humans are drawn to natural settings and how they positively affect our emotions, intelligence, and cognition. 

She travels to places across the world to talk with researchers and be part of research experiments in some cases. 

Here are some quotations of note, some of which I'll be transcribing into my commonplace book: 

• "When we are relaxed and at ease in our environment, our parasympathetic system--sometimes called the 'rest and digest' branch--kicks in" (25). 
• "It sound totally hokey, even unbelievable, that evergreen scents--not unlike the thing that dangles from taxicab rear-view mirrors--could help us live longer" (29). 
• "Moreover, task-switching, which is something we do an awful lot of these days, burns up precious oxygenated glucose from the prefrontal cortex and other areas of the brain, and this is energy we need for both cognitive and physical performance" (44). 
• "At least one MRI study (using photographs of nature) show it's ["the neural growth factor BDNF"] going to parts of the brain like the insula and the interior cingulate that are associated with pleasure, empathy, and unconstrained thinking" (53). 
• "Noise may well be the most pervasive pollutant in America" (87). 
• "There's some evidence that more introverted or neurotic people are more annoyed by loud noises" (93). 
• "To the extent that nature sounds are soothing to most humans, three in particular stand out: wind, water, and birds. They are the trifecta of salubrious listening (favorite music and the voices of loved ones are perhaps the happiest of all, engaging almost every part of the brain, according to neuroscientist and musician Daniel Levitin, in This is Your Brain on Music" (98). 
• "our brains are surprisingly similar to parts of birds' brains that hear, process, and make language. Humans share more genes governing speech with songbirds than we do with other primates" (99).
• "Finland scores high on global scales of happiness. Many people assume this is because there isn't much income disparity here. But perhaps it's also because everyone has access to what makes them happy--a bunch of lakes, forests and coastlines, combined with ridiculously long, state-sanctioned vacations and a midnight sun" (135). 
• "Physical activity changes the brain to improve memory and to slow aging; it improves mood and lowers anxiety; in children, it increases the capacity to learn; some studies show it is as effective as antidepressants for alleviating mild depression without the unwanted side effects" (151).

I was going to provide what she offers at the end of the book, which she calls "essential take-homes," but you should buy the book. Support writers and good writing, people. 

However, the quotations above offer me some take-homes, or should I say "take-outsides"? 

• Get candles that waft evergreenish, lavender, and rosemary scents. 
• Stop multi-tasking. 
• Embrace silence more often when I can find it (I'm introverted and one might describe me as neurotic sometimes). 
• Exercise.
• Go outside more often, especially the trails around Lake Charleston.

Stay Positive: Bloom County

As related by NPR, the New York Times, the Huffington Post, among other outlets, Bloom County by Berkeley Breathed is back. 

I'm loving this fact because it is one of my favorite comic strips of all time. 

Because the strip ended with Donald Trump buying the strip and replacing the characters, it'll be interesting to see how Breathed plays with Trump now that he's a presidential candidate. I suspect Mr. Breathed is going to have a lot of fun with the upcoming presidential race. 

Regardless of all that, I'm happy to have the strip back because of its mixture of political and social satire and low humor. 

He's going to publish the strip through his Facebook page, so I'm a bit concerned I'll miss some of the installments. I guess I'll just have to be more disciplined with my Facebook activity.

Random Notes from a Crank

This recent strip about happiness from Existential Comics is worth a read. In the bald guy's last counter-example, he's wrong. Happiness can be a both/and deal. The young man who enjoyed "reckless hedonism" was happy then, and the same man but now older with "a life of responsibility" is also happy. He's just a different man with different goals, desires, and aspirations. Happiness is contextual and relative to what that person is like and time. 

Or maybe I was once a fan of "reckless hedonism." 

The other day I was told a person got a divorce. It reminded me of one of my fraternity brothers who liked hearing when someone had gotten a divorce because in his mind, that data point (another person getting a divorce) increased his chances that he wasn't going to get a divorce. 

That's one way to look at it. 

I'm a fan of an interesting map. For your viewing pleasure, check out the Tax Foundation's "The Real Value of $100 in Each State." It's not all that surprising, but for a cheapskate, miserly, frugal person like me, if I ever aim to move, Arkansas, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Indiana are on my radar.