Day 2140: I can’t even

I can’t even express my enormous gratitude for my readers and for the comments on yesterday’s post, Day 2139: I Can’t/I Can.    I can’t even resist repeating this photo from yesterday

… and sharing this online definition of “I can’t even.”

About
“I Can’t Even”is an Internet slang expression used to indicate that the speaker is in a state of speechlessness, either as a result of feeling overjoyed or exasperated, depending on the context in which it is said. Due to its incomplete sentence structure, the adverb “even” in the expression can be interpreted as a substitute verb for “manage.” On Tumblr, the phrase is often used to caption reaction images in which the subject collapses in frustration or bewilderment.

Origin
The earliest known use of the incomplete phrase “I can’t even”  was submitted to Urban Dictionary[1] by user JJFADS on January 7th, 2005, defining it as an expression used to indicate a “breaking point.”

I can’t even believe that I had to edit that online definition by adding an “even” to “I can’t” in the second paragraph.

I can’t even explain this coincidence:  yesterday, in a therapy group, we discussed how people can become speechless and stunned when encountering thoughtless behaviors from others  that are so different from what they would do in a similar situation.

I can’t even count the number of times I’m in a state of speechlessness, these days, when I look at what’s going on in the world.

I can’t even manage my photos because there are so many of them, including these:

I can’t even say how much I love my sister Ellen, whose birthday is today. However, I could even text her that last photo yesterday.

I can’t even share all the YouTube videos there are about “I can’t even” including this one

… and this one.

I can’t even believe how that SNL skit literally focuses on how thoughtless people can be (as was discussed in my group yesterday).

I can’t even ask for more comments from my busy readers, but I will.

I can’t even express all my thanks to everyone who helped me create today’s post and to those who are reading it, including YOU!

Day 2130: Historic

In the entire history of this blog, I’ve never used the word “historic” in a title. Does that automatically make this post historic?

Let’s check the definition:

his·tor·ic
/hiˈstôrik
adjective

famous or important in history, or potentially so.
“we are standing on a historic site”
synonyms: significant, notable, important, momentous, consequential, memorable, newsworthy, unforgettable, remarkable

Perhaps.

Here’s the historic inspiration for today’s post:

When you use the word “historic,” what do you mean?

Do you see anything historic in my other photos from yesterday?

 

Here’s “Domestic Violence Awareness” by Gremlin:

Thanks to all who helped me create this “historic” post and — of course! — to YOU.

 

 

Day 2118: Having too much on your plate

Yesterday, in my therapy groups, people talked about having too much on their plate.

I don’t have too much on my plate to share the meaning of that idiom.

Idiom – Too much on my plate or A lot on my plate or Enough on my plate. Meaning – To be too busy. To have too many things to deal with or a lot of things to worry about. This expression is used to signify that a person has too many different things to cope with.

Coincidentally, there were paper plates in the group room, because of a retirement party earlier in the day. I suggested that people take a plate, write and draw what was on their plate, and then, if they wished, throw the plate away. People threw away plates heaped with politicians, responsibilities, stress, fear, guilt, anxiety, shame, self-doubt, bureaucracies, traffic, abusers, unhelpful thoughts, and (on one plate) Florida.

I had too much on my plate yesterday to take pictures of the plates people created and threw away, but I can share these:

If I didn’t have too much on my plate right now (physical therapy for my shoulder, work, a presentation about my groups, and a live performance of “So You Think You Can Dance”), I’d come up with a pun about home plate.

Do you have too much on your plate to watch this video?

https://youtu.be/qSshr-EQmLM

I never have too much on my plate to thank all those who help me create these posts and — of course! — YOU.

Day 2105: Politics

Was it politics last night when I added these lyrics to my latest original song, “Triggers”?

Everybody has a trigger,

Some are long and some are short.

Now a trigger who is bigger

Might be on the Supreme Court.

Actually, a more accurate line about current U.S. politics would have been “Now a trigger who is bigger WILL be on the Supreme Court.”

Here’s  a definition of politics:

POLITICS  noun, plural in form but singular or plural in construction
pol·i·tics | \ ˈpä-lə-ˌtiks \
Definition of politics
1a : the art or science of government
b : the art or science concerned with guiding or influencing governmental policy
c : the art or science concerned with winning and holding control over a government
2 : political actions, practices, or policies
3a : political affairs or business
especially : competition between competing interest groups or individuals for power and leadership (as in a government)
b : political life especially as a principal activity or profession
c : political activities characterized by artful and often dishonest practices
4 : the political opinions or sympathies of a person
5a : the total complex of relations between people living in society
b : relations or conduct in a particular area of experience especially as seen or dealt with from a political point of view

Here are the politics of  last night’s debut  performance of “Triggers.”

Any politics in my photos from yesterday?

To make myself happy, I’ll be experiencing the politics of Orlando’s Disney World in January.

As alway, I practice the politics of gratitude.

Day 2090: Circular Reasoning

1,560 days ago (but who’s counting?) I wrote another “Circular Reasoning” post.

Because many of my recent photos include circles, I’ve circled back to that title.

As I look around that previous post, there’s no definition of circular reasoning.

Circular Reasoning
circulus in demonstrando

(also known as: paradoxical thinking, circular argument, circular cause and consequence, reasoning in a circle)

Description: A type of reasoning in which the proposition is supported by the premises, which is supported by the proposition, creating a circle in reasoning where no useful information is being shared. This fallacy is often quite humorous.

Logical Form:

X is true because of Y.

Y is true because of X.

Example #1:

Pvt. Joe Bowers: What are these electrolytes? Do you even know?

Secretary of State: They’re… what they use to make Brawndo!

Pvt. Joe Bowers: But why do they use them to make Brawndo?

Secretary of Defense: [raises hand after a pause] Because Brawndo’s got electrolytes.

Explanation: This example is from a favorite movie of mine, Idiocracy, where Pvt. Joe Bowers (played by Luke Wilson) is dealing with a bunch of not-very-smart guys from the future. Joe is not getting any useful information about electrolytes, no matter how hard he tries.

.

.

.

Exception: Some philosophies state that we can never escape circular reasoning because the arguments always come back to axioms or first principles, but in those cases, the circles are very large and do manage to share useful information in determining the truth of the proposition.

Tip: Do your best to avoid circular arguments, as it will help you reason better because better reasoning is often a result of avoiding circular arguments.

If you circle over to logicallyfallacious,com, you’ll find that explanation of “Circular Reasoning.”

Have you noticed any circular reasoning from not-very-smart-guys in our present?

Do your best to see circles in my photos because seeing circles in my photos will help you do your best.

 

OOOO!  I get to share one of my favorite circle tunes: Pat Metheny’s “First Circle.”

I’ll circle back later and see if there are any circular comments.

Circular thanks to all who helped me create today’s “Circular Reasoning” post and — of course! — toooooo  yoooooooou!

 

Day 2089: Duh

Yesterday, I wrote and read “DUH!” in a therapy group.

Would it help for me to share why and how I did that?  Duh.

Things that are right side up are, duh, easier to read.

What does “Self Care” mean to you?  It means taking care of my self.  DUH!

Self Care also means balancing my needs with other people’s needs and, duh, this:

Well, duh!  It’s time for a definition of “duh.”

duh

interjection
\ ˈdə , usually with prolonged ə \
Definition of Duh
1 —used to express actual or feigned ignorance or stupidity
Duh, I don’t know.
2 —used derisively to indicate that something just stated is all too obvious or self-evident
Well, duh!
Examples of Duh in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web

Lee and his family are buried there, his marble, recumbent statue adorning the campus chapel known as, duh, Lee Chapel.
— Cincinnati Enquirer, Cincinnati.com, “Doc: No clear solution to offensive symbols,” 22 Aug. 2017
Well, duh. Prescott ranked third in the league in passer rating, ahead of Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees.
— Pat Fitzmaurice, SI.com, “Dallas Cowboys Fantasy Football 2017 Preview: Can Elliott Repeat Breakout Season?,” 2 Aug. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word ‘duh.’ Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

That definition of “duh” is, duh, from Merriam-Webster.   How would you define “duh”?

You’re probably asking yourself if I have any other photos today.  I didn’t have enough time yesterday to include all my photos and I’ve taken more photos since so, duh.

Michael cooked me a delicious meal yesterday. Duh.

Are there any “Duh” videos on YouTube?  Duh.

No Duh.

I love comments. Duh.

Thanks to all who helped me create today’s “Duh”  post and — of course (duh!) — to YOU.

Day 2032: Synchronicity

Despite five and a half years of blogging synchronicity, I am just now creating a post about synchronicity. Why now?  Because of the synchronicity of this sign:

I saw that in the synchroni-city of Boston, last night.

Here’s a definition of “synchronicity”:

syn·chro·nic·i·ty
siNGkrəˈnisədē
noun

the simultaneous occurrence of events that appear significantly related but have no discernible causal connection.
“such synchronicity is quite staggering”

Are you ready for the simultaneous occurrence of photos that appear significantly related but have no discernible causal connection?

Here‘s “Synchronicity” by The Police.

Ooops!  Wrong Police.  Let’s try that again.

I look forward to the synchronicity of your comments.

There’s a lot of synchronicity of gratitude here for all those who help me with the synchronicity of my blogging and — of course! — for YOU.

Day 2030: Won’t You Be My Neighbor?

Yesterday, I saw “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” — the documentary about Fred Rogers.

As I messaged my sister beforehand, “I think it’s going to help me feel better about humankind.”

And it did.

Immediately after I saw the movie, I noticed this sign:

Here’s Fred Rogers testifying in 1969 to a Senate Subcommittee that was on the verge of removing the funding for public television, which would have prevented lots of neighbors from seeing  his show, Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood.

I agree with what Fred Rogers says there — including “We’ve got to have more of this neighborhood of care” —  and I’m glad that Senator Pastore was swayed by his testimony.

I think the world needs more neighbors like Fred Rogers and fewer ones who send out hostile tweets to and about all sorts of neighbors.

What’s a neighbor, anyway?

neigh·bor
ˈnābər
noun
1. a person living near or next door to the speaker or person referred to.
“our garden was the envy of the neighbors”
verb
1. (of a place or thing) be situated next to or very near (another).
“the square neighbors the old quarter of the town”

We all live near to each other on this small planet, so we’re all neighbors.

Won’t you be my neighbor as you look at these other photos from yesterday?

I’m glad that the new trees in Cambridge won’t be leaving.

I want to share one of the many songs Fred Rogers wrote, which he sings here to Jeff Erlanger.

It’s you I like, neighbor.

Thanks to all my neighbors who helped me create today’s post and who are reading it–  including YOU, my neighbor.

Day 2025: Backbone

The first photo I took yesterday showed some backbone.

Here‘s a definition of “backbone”:

1 : spinal column, spine
2 : something that resembles a backbone: such as
a : a chief mountain ridge, range, or system
b : the foundation or most substantial or sturdiest part of something
c : the longest chain of atoms or groups of atoms in a usually long molecule (such as a polymer or protein)
d : the primary high-speed hardware and transmission lines of a telecommunications network (such as the Internet)
3 : firm and resolute character

I hope I’m exhibiting firm and resolute character as I send you this blog post over the primary high-speed hardware and transmission lines of the internet.

Do you see any backbone in my other photos today?

 

 

There are several “Backbone” songs on YouTube, including this one:

Feel free to show some backbone in a comment, below.

Gratitude is a backbone of this daily blog, so thanks to all who helped me create today’s post and — of course! — to YOU.

Day 2022: Raise the bar

Let’s raise the bar in this blog today and look at two definitions of “raise the bar.”

raise the bar
To raise the standards of quality that are expected of or required for something. “Since higher education became available to a greater number of people, businesses have increasingly been raising the bar for entry-level employees.”
See also: bar, raise
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2015 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
raise the bar
Fig. to make a task a little more difficult. (As with raising the bar in high jumping or pole vaulting.) “Just as I was getting accustomed to my job, the manager raised the bar and I had to perform even better.”
See also: bar, raise
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Somebody raised the bar in my neighborhood with this:

I agree that our nation could use some bar raising these days.

I shall now attempt to raise the blogging bar by sharing all my other photos from yesterday.

I think that church sign raises the bar, don’t you?

Here‘s “Raise the Bar” by The High Strung:

 

I’m sure you’ll raise the bar in the comment section, below.

Thanks to all who raise the bar as best they can, including YOU.