Six Word Stories

Maybe you’ve heard of the six word story?  It’s the shortest sort of flash fiction out there, and they are a lot of fun to read, write or share with friends.  So, I’m challenging everyone who reads this to have a go at it.  Write your own six word story!

To get you started, here’s an example of a famous one by Margaret Atwood.

“Starlet Sex Scandal.  Giant Squid Involved.”

My own meager attempt will be posted in the comments section.  Don’t judge me by that!

How To Live Longer: Get Happy!

Ahhh…sweet validation!  Scientific research has shown that if you read Bright Calliope every day, you’ll live longer.  Well, sort of.

A recent study by Dr. Ryan T. Howell of the University of San Fransisco indicates that “positive psychological well-being” will reduce the risk of mortality in both healthy and sick populations.  So a blog like this one, dedicated to helping you find happiness (or just making your day a little brighter), is actually good for your lifespan.

So take your vitamins, get your 30 minutes a day of exercise, and subscribe to my RSS or e-mail listing for a longer life!

Students, always cite your sources.  If you’re interested, you can read the research at:  http://bss.sfsu.edu/rhowell/Pubs%20-%20PDF/ebmh9025.pdf

What do you think of that?

Wonderful Word: Melissophobia

Maybe it’s a bit weird to have a phobia as one of my wonderful words, but this one just sounds so nice!  Melissophobia = the fear of Melissa.

Really.  I promise!

In Greek, “melissa” is the word for honey bees, so Melissophobia is the fear of bees. It’s one of the more common phobias, though I’m not a sufferer.  I’ve got a healthy fear of roaches, but bees don’t bother me too much.

To help you remember the word, let me tell you a story.

Picture this: Easter.  I am twelve years old, sweet and innocent. (Hey, it’s my story!  So what if I was an obnoxious adolescent?)  We go over to the neighbors’ farm for an old fashioned egg hunt.  Lots of fun.  I find some plastic eggs. Yay!  I’m horrible at Easter egg hunting, so this is a big achievement.   I open one to get the jelly beans.  Because, you know, Easter eggs are always full of jelly beans.  But, they are not full of jelly beans.  My neighbors have a slightly dark sense of humor.  A bee flies out of the egg and chases me.

I scream and flap my arms and stomp my feet.  My family takes pictures of me.

The End (of the story, not the post, there’s a little more of that!)

So now I’m wondering if you’ve got a story to share?  What’s your favorite phobia?  Or, what’s one that causes you problems?

Happy Tip: Soak Up Some Sun

Here’s another tip on how to be happy.  You may have heard by now that people tend to be         more prone to gloomy thoughts in the winter due to the lack of natural light.  This seems to        hold true in my experience.  If I spend all day indoors, I do start to feel kind of down.

Quick perk-you-up tip: Find a sunbeam in a convenient location.  It’s not freezing cold here in winter, so I can go outside for a little while; but if you live where it’s really frigid you might just settle yourself near a sunny window.  Stay in the sun for just 10 minutes or so.  It’s crazy how much better you’ll feel!   Or maybe it’s just me who likes to play at photosynthesis?

So tell me…does your environment ever get you down?  Florescent lights, gray days, stuffy apartments, cubicles — they can all contribute to a rotten mood.  What do you do to make your atmosphere happier and healthier?

Boil Water in A Paper Cup

I don’t suppose that this is a new trick to many of you, but just in case you didn’t know, I’ll let you in on the secret.  It’s possible, even simple, to boil water in a paper cup.  You can do it yourself like this:

1.  Take a paper cup (not waxed or plastic or anything, just paper) and fill it with water.

2.  Apply heat.  I suggest using your stove (with the cup in a small pot just in case it tips over), but I’ve heard it works just as well with open flame, i.e. a lighter or a candle.

3.  BE CAREFUL.  The cup may not burn, but your fingers could.  Use common sense, and make sure there’s no way you can spill the hot water on yourself or set yourself on fire.

4.  The water will boil, but the cup won’t burn.  It works, I think, because the water turns to steam before it can get hot enough to let the paper burn.

5.  Admire the fact that you’ve learned something new, and possibly profitable.  (Hey, Jimmy!  I bet you a dollar I can hold this paper cup over a candle and it won’t burn.)

6.  Dispose of cup (unless you want to make yourself some instant hot cocoa.)  Turn off heat, or blow out the candle or whatever.

**IF YOU’RE NOT OF LEGAL AGE, THEN DO NOT DO THIS WITHOUT ADULT SUPERVISION.  Because, you know, hot stuff is dangerous. **

Happy Tip: What do you like about you?

Do you know that song, “My Favorite Things,” from the movie  The Sound of Music?  Well, if not, go watch the movie.  You’re back already?  Alright then.  The idea is that listing your favorite things makes you happier.  I agree.  That’s what Bright Calliope is all about.

Here’s a slightly different take on the exercise: Take a minute or ten to write out a list of all of your favorite things about yourself.  It sounds a little silly, but if you’re having one of those days when you feel like you can’t keep up, give it a try.  The only rule is that you have to write something.  If all you can come up with is “I have cute toes,” go with it.  Describe your toe-awesomeness in detail.

And while I don’t recommend bragging on yourself (or your toes) to anyone else, I’d love it if you did it a little bit in the comments for this post.

Riddle

Here’s a quick fun thing to stimulate your mind.  What does this say?  Post a comment if you know!  (No cheating!)

YYURYYUBICURYY4ME

Happy Tip: Do Something Out of the Ordinary

It’s a long walk to my classes when it’s cold and rainy outside like it was today.  I was in a pretty good mood with my rainbow umbrella keeping me dry and my ipod playing Frank Sinatra, but the vast majority of the college population didn’t seem to share my feelings.  Soggy and shivery classmates aren’t happy ones.  So, I was pleasantly surprised when I passed two drippy umbrella-less guys who were nevertheless in high spirits.

Picture It: Strolling down the sidewalk on a gloomy day are two young men.  One holds out a red plastic Solo cup (of the “No, Mom.  I’m drinking water in my Facebook picture.  Honest!” variety) and another carries a guitar.  Both of them are grinning from ear to ear and singing.  Loudly.  Their song is about how very poor they are, and how, if you had any human decency, you’d put change in their beautiful plastic goblet, because don’t you see that they’re suffering here!  They are poor college students who need to buy alco…errr…textbooks.

It was a bit shocking but highly amusing.  What really impressed me?  They were having too much fun to notice when a couple of girls actually dug through their purses to get them the money that they requested in their song.  I don’t think those guys got rich, but they sure had fun trying.

To boost your own happiness a bit, make a conscious effort to do something out of the ordinary!  You don’t have to sing or beg for money.  Maybe just call someone on the phone you haven’t heard from in years, or wear really weird socks, or dig through your drawers for some old stickers and pass them out to your coworkers.  Whatever.  The wackier the better.  Mix things up, and see if it doesn’t brighten your day.

Wonderful Word: Tintinnabulation

Really good words are one of the things that make me happy, and I hope many of you feel the same way.  With that in mind, I’ll occasionally post a word I think is wonderful.

Tintinnabulation — a ringing, tinkling noise like that made by bells.

So there you have it.  I hope you can use it in a sentence today.  Make someone else smile. =)

Why Bright Calliope?

A couple of years ago, an acquaintance asked me for the name of “that weird instrument that they play at the circus.”  I had to do a bit of mental dredging myself, but after a moment I remembered the calliope.  And I smiled.  I realized then that I really like calliopes.  I like the toot-toot of steam through the pipes.  I like the festive, silly atmosphere they conjure.  Maybe most of all, I really love the sound of the word.  Kuh-lie-oh-pee.  Beautiful, whimsical, weird.   And if all that isn’t enough, there’s also the Greek Muse to think of; nothing wrong with a bit of inspiration whether you’re writing epic poetry or blogging not-so-epic prose.

In short, every time I hear a calliope, or even just the word calliope, it makes me a little happier than I was a moment before.  It’s one of any number of little things that make my world a brighter place.  This is a blog about simple happies.  It’ll be busy and bright and a little nutty and occasionally educational.  If it makes a rotten day a little less rotten, I’ll post it here.  So whether you’re working on your fourth load of dirty laundry or you just flunked the fourth grade, stop by for a while.  I’ll see what I can do to make you smile. 

So my only question is this:  What’s your calliope?