03.30.10

Perfect Pitch

Posted in Humor~General, Humor~Health & Goals at 2:11 pm by Dr. Trina Hess

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Humor is all about being AWARE. And then ACTING on that awareness. Then ACCEPTING the results of our actions.

One of my friends is well aware of the tiniest detail when it comes to speaking. Lynda Stuckey, The Speech, Accent and Voice Expert at ClearlySpeaking offers weekly tips on vocal use, care of the voice, and other fascinating topics that someone outside her field may miss entirely.

In her last newsletter, she brought up the concept of Asking Questions with Downward Pitch. What? Don’t we always ask with an upward pitch??!!
Here’s what Lynda has to say about it:

“Not all questions are asked with a rising pitch inflection; many questions have a falling pitch at the end. This could be confusing to non-native English speakers. The way to determine if a question has rising pitch is to remember that “Yes/No” and clarifying questions require a rising pitch:
Are you going to eat with me?
When are you leaving for France?

“But a question requiring more of a verbal response often ends with the downward pitch:
What is your new address?
How are you doing?

“When there are two choices in the question, the first choice gets rising inflection and the second one falls:
Do you want pizza (rising inflection), or hamburgers for dinner? (falling pitch)

“How do you ask tag questions? Try the following sentence with both falling and rising inflection. Could it go either way depending on the context?
You are taking vacation tomorrow, aren’t you?

“How do you know which way to go with your pitch? In this case, it depends on how certain you are of the response.

“Read new articles posted weekly at my blog: http://lyndastucky.wordpress.com/
Quick Links…
Email: lynda@clearly-speaking.com
Website: http://www.clearly-speaking.com
Sound Matters Blog: http://lyndastucky.wordpress.com/”
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03.13.10

HumoR Resources

Posted in Humor~General, Humor~Research, Humor~Social Media at 6:52 pm by Dr. Trina Hess

Thanks to Bill O’Brien for giving us so many entertaining and educational resources at our teachers’ in-service day Friday. Here are some of the Web 2.0 applications to experiment, test your creativity, and promote learning. Try one today!
Bubbl.us-Tool for Brain Storming, including option for Flow Charting
Wordle - www.wordle.net- Generates a word cloud / Spelling / Vocabulary / Analyzes for over used words.
Glogster - www.edu.glogster.com - Digital Poster - Persuasive Writing
Voice Thread
Blabberize - Make any picture talk
Toondoo - Create your own cartoon comic strip - www.toondoo.com
GoAnimate - Create Animated Cartoon - www.goanimate.com
Create a Graph- Easy to use online graph creator
Animoto Education-Create Video slide shows
www.scribelink.com Online White Board
http://dabbleboard.com

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02.28.10

Thanks For a Great Show!

Posted in Humor~General at 5:10 pm by Dr. Trina Hess

Thanks to our director, Roger Baker and producer, Cindy Jarzab for a great show, fun songs, wild story line and a chance to connect. Also thanks to our great audiences, who let nothing stop them from coming out to support us–not even the 6″ of snow that fell all night. You make our job easier, thanks for all your laughter as we “Remember When…”

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02.21.10

What’s Your Temperature?

Posted in Humor~General, Humor~Inspirational at 6:03 pm by Dr. Trina Hess

Today on the radio, the DJ’s were talking about how hot is was outside. Somewhere around 39 degrees F. One DJ said that because the sun was shining, she was wearing a T-shirt outside. Normally, she said, if it were 39 and cloudy, she’d have worn a coat.
That’s what our perspective does for us. Or to us. It guides our
attitude–> which affects our actions.
With an attitude of lightness, openness and expansiveness–> we’ll perform the acts of courage, creativity, and confidence.
What’s the temperature in your world today?
How does that affect what you will think and feel?

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02.14.10

Ohno Not Again?

Posted in Humor~General, Humor~In The News, Humor~Inspirational at 4:45 am by Dr. Trina Hess

Tonight I watched the Winter Olympics. The short track speed skating event was fascinating. Not only because it seemed reckless and dangerous, but because of the stragegy.

In one of the heats, Apolo Ohno was at the back of the pack for almost the entire race. Then, with a few laps to go, he seemed to merely glide effortlessly past all the other competitors.

Think of how humor-rich that illustration is. The event, like life, holds many reckless and dangerous curves. But when we have our strategy set on humor, we can be like Ohno.
We can appear calm and collected. We can conserve our energy, even if we aren’t in the lead. We are acting rather than reacting.

Because our vision is clear, we can see our chance. To move ahead. To leave the competition behind.
What is your seamless strategy?

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02.11.10

PAWS and Think About This:

Posted in Humor~General at 2:14 am by Dr. Trina Hess

Dear Friends of Clarion PAWS
Help Clarion PAWS win a $10,000 grant!
Please vote for us at
http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/clickToGive/shelterchallenge.faces?siteId=3
and Clarion PAWS could win $10,000 to help pets in need.
Voting is absolutely free! You can vote once a day, every day, from January 18th through April 18th, 2010. Every time you vote, or tell a friend to vote, you are making a huge difference for us. Won’t you please vote today!

Clarion PAWS is an all volunteer 501c3 organization serving Clarion, Forest and Jefferson Counties. We have introduced the first ever in our communities, Trap, Neuter, Return program for feral & stray cats, the first ever low cost, high quality spay/neuter program for low income owners of pets, and the first ever food bank for distribution of pet food to low income individuals. We also have a foster based rescue. Our long range goal is to build a modern, state-of-art companion animal shelter building. Visit us at www.clarionpaws.org

Remember, the Animal Rescue Site $100,000 Shelter+ Challenge with Petfinder.com lasts from January 18th through April 18th, 2010.

Don’t forget to click everyday to help rescued! Donate free bowls of food to animal shelters http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/clickToGive/home.faces?siteId=3

Don’t forget to ask all your co-workers, family and friends to support Clarion PAWS by voting daily. It’s free and an easy way to “Help Us, Help Them”

Thanks so much for your continued support.
Pet Adoption & Welfare Society dba Clarion PAWS
Clarion PAWS
PO Box 804
Clarion, Pennsylvania 16214
Read the VerticalResponse marketing policy.

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02.09.10

Are You A Comedy Catalyst: How to make friends and influence people WITHOUT trying

Posted in Humor~General at 6:52 pm by Dr. Trina Hess

A catalyst isn’t a rock star. A catalyst is usually in the background. Moving like water. Connecting people, being a visionary. In a word, influential. And then, after they have motivated the masses, the catalyst gets out of the way.

I’m reading the book, “The Starfish and the Spider: The unstoppable power of leaderless organizations,” by Ori Brafman and Rod A. Beckstrom. In Chapter 5, “The Hidden Power of the Catalyst,” the authors explain what makes a catalyst.
See if these sound familiar in the world of humor:

1. Genuine interest in others (listening to the other’s point of view)
2. Loose connections (breaking the ice with strangers)
3. Mapping (smashing ideas together and joining people together)
4. Desire to help (lightening the environment)
5. Passion (having something to say)
6. Meet people where they are (expressing, not converting)
7. Emotional intelligence (knowing when and how to do clean comedy)
8. Trust (in your self and your style)
9. Inspiration (awareness and listening)
10. Tolerance for ambiguity (”I don’t know and that’s O.K.”)
11. Getting out of the way

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02.08.10

You Can Be On Seinfeld!

Posted in Humor~General at 6:09 pm by Dr. Trina Hess

The Marriage Ref is finally here! All the test shows are over and now the fun begins.
Join us for the first season of The Marriage Ref! Jerry Seinfeld is back and in the producer’s chair for a funny and revealing series about the unpredictable and hilarious institution we call marriage.

In his celebrated NBC sitcom Seinfeld, Jerry and friends became household names by highlighting humorous and relatable situations surrounding single life in New York City. In Jerry’s new primetime venture, married life takes center stage as celebrities, comedians and sports stars candidly comment, judge and decide who’s right and who’s wrong in real-life disputes between real-life spouses.

Revealing. Controversial. Downright funny. The Marriage Ref vows to look at relationships unlike anything you’ve ever seen on TV.

Hosted by: Tom Papa

Appearances by: Jerry Seinfeld, Kelly Ripa, Alec Baldwin, Martin Short, Charles Barkley, Sarah Silverman, plus more…

To request your free tickets, please visit www.1iota.com

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Super Bowl Sunday

Posted in Humor~General at 12:58 pm by Dr. Trina Hess

This week’s Comedy around the World goes to the Super Bowl! What better example of humor’s M.O. than the Super Bowl. Tonight I gathered with a group of friends, some old some new. Since the Steelers weren’t playing, none of us were invested in which team would win the Super Bowl. We weren’t personally competitive or particularly worried.
Instead, we enjoyed the environment created by the hype about the Super Bowl. We laughed at some of the clever commercials. We enjoyed seeing The Who play the half-time show. We talked, ate, and enjoyed each other’s company.
Humor operates in the same way. It creates that environment where everyone can feel at ease. Where everyone is open to contribute. In this type of atmosphere, every team wins.

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02.07.10

Samuel J Comedy Benefit Reminder

Posted in Humor~General at 2:33 am by Dr. Trina Hess

Our Sixth Annual “Laughter Is The Best Medicine” Comedy Benefit for our Pediatric Brain Tumor Fund is scheduled for 8 PM on Saturday, March 6, 2010, at the Radisson Hotel in Greentree. Scheduled to appear are nationally touring comics Chuck Mignanelli, and Matt Wohlfarth(aka Buzz Nutley), as well as Local comedian PJ Williams. Tickets are now available, and are only $20 in advance and $25 at the door. You can also reserve a table(10 seats/tickets) in advance for $200. You can order your tickets directly from our website at http://www.samuelj.org , or by mailing your payment, along with a stamped, self-addressed envelope to Samuel J Foundation, P.O. Box 75, Oakdale, PA 15071. Payment for reserved tables must be received by March 1, 2010.

We’ll be having alot of great ticket auction items(including Pirates, Steelers and Penguins items) as well as a cash raffle and cash bar with drink specials(including buckets of beers and wine by the bottle),snacks and finger foods.

RIVERS RESTAURANT BUFFET
If you’re thinking about getting dinner before the show, the Radisson will be offering an Italian buffet dinner special in their Rivers Restaurant as a convenient dining option. It includes soup, salad, several entrees, vegetables and dessert for $17.95, including tax. They’ve offered this same deal to our guests for the past 2 years, and it has been pretty popular. You can make reservations by calling (412)920-8011 or (412)920-8026.

The Radisson is also offering a limited number of guest rooms at a special rate of $90 for our guests the night of the show. Reservations must be made by February 13th by calling (800)333-3333. Make sure to use code SJF10 to get the Samuel J Foundation group rate.

We’re still collecting raffle donations. Call me at (724)693-9901 or send me an e-mail if your interested ASAP. Your support would be greatly appreciated. Business card size ads are also available in our program for $25. Contact me for details. The deadline for ads is February 19th.

Please come and join us for a night of fun to support a very worthy cause.

Thanks!

Kelly
Kelly Johnson
http://www.samuelj.org

random acts of kindness are cool….

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