7 Fascinating Love Letters

Posted by Queuebot in Funny, Odd News on October 7, 2009 at 6:58 pm

Have you ever written a love letter? How did it turn out? Sappy or clever?

I betcha it’s not as awesome as this one sent about 100 years ago by William Weightman. He wrote the entire thing in rebus (for example, the word "dearest" is formed using a picture of a deer followed by the letters "est.")

That’s just one of 7 fascinating love letters in this post by Shaun Usher (the guy behind deputy dog and Letters of Note blogs)

Link

From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by Eavesy.

 
Comment (2)    Permalink   Please share:  email this         


Neatorama Shop » Computer & Office » Road Mice

Why settle for a boring computer mouse when you can surft in style with Road Mice, a cool wireless computer mouse that looks just like the car of your dreams?

Road Mice is available in various Chevy, Chrysler, Dodge, and Ford models including the popular Dodge Viper shown to the left.

It's the perfect gift for the auto-enthusiast in your life!

See more Road Mice »

Is Conditional Parenting Bad For Children?

Posted by Alex in Baby & Kids on September 15, 2009 at 1:01 pm

Should you love your children unconditionally or should you dole out love only when they behave? Do your children become better adults if you are selective about your approvals – like many of the new parenting advice books say?

Author Alfie Kohn wrote an interesting article for The New York Times wrote about some interesting studies on conditional parenting:

In 2004, two Israeli researchers, Avi Assor and Guy Roth, joined Edward L. Deci, a leading American expert on the psychology of motivation, in asking more than 100 college students whether the love they had received from their parents had seemed to depend on whether they had succeeded in school, practiced hard for sports, been considerate toward others or suppressed emotions like anger and fear.

It turned out that children who received conditional approval were indeed somewhat more likely to act as the parent wanted. But compliance came at a steep price. First, these children tended to resent and dislike their parents. Second, they were apt to say that the way they acted was often due more to a “strong internal pressure” than to “a real sense of choice.” Moreover, their happiness after succeeding at something was usually short-lived, and they often felt guilty or ashamed.

In a companion study, Dr. Assor and his colleagues interviewed mothers of grown children. With this generation, too, conditional parenting proved damaging. Those mothers who, as children, sensed that they were loved only when they lived up to their parents’ expectations now felt less worthy as adults. Yet despite the negative effects, these mothers were more likely to use conditional affection with their own children.

Link

 
Comment (15)    Permalink   Please share:  email this         



Sleeping In Separate Beds May Help Marriages

Posted by Jill Harness in Odd News, Science & Tech on September 9, 2009 at 2:50 pm

73535557 A new study shows that sleeping in separate beds can help your health and your relationship. Dr. Neil Stanley, a sleep researcher, believes that by not sharing a bed with your partner you may be decreasing the risks of divorce, heart problems, stroke and suicidal behavior.

“Intimacy is important for emotional health. But good sleep is important for physical, emotional and mental health.”

What do you guys think? Would you sleep away from your love so you can actually improve your sleep?

Link

 
Comment (48)    Permalink   Please share:  email this         



Post-It Love, an Office Romance Told With Post-It Notes

Posted by Alex in Everything Else on June 19, 2009 at 4:27 am

There’s office romance, and then there’s post-it office romance! Here’s a cute short film by Academy Film’s directors Simon Atkinson and Adam Trowley (better known as Si & Ad) about how two office workers express their love for each other using office supplies.

Cute! Link [embedded YouTube]

 
Comment (11)    Permalink   Please share:  email this         



Why Love is Like Pi

Posted by Alex in Science & Tech on May 22, 2009 at 2:17 am


Photo: andrew.le

Though I missed this one for Pi Day, I find Andrew Le’s take on why Love is like Pi too cute (and true) not to post!

 
Comment (9)    Permalink   Please share:  email this         


Neatorama Shop » Food & Drink » Offbeat Mints & Candies

Mexico City Breaks Kissing Record

Posted by Jill Harness in Odd News, Travel & Places, World Records on February 16, 2009 at 10:06 pm

After a year of drug wars that have taken the lives of at least 6,000 citizens, Mexico opted to fight violence the way the Beatles preached -with love. Almost 40,000 people gathered together on Valentine’s day to break the world record for most simultaneous kisses.

Link Via Weird Stuff News

 
Comment (4)    Permalink   Please share:  email this         



Duct Tape Roses Instructable

Posted by Jill Harness in Arts & Crafts, Everything Else on February 15, 2009 at 1:25 am

If you like the roses above, or just forgot about Valentine’s Day until all the roses were sold out, there’s an easy to follow instruction guide for them over on Instructables right now.

Link

 
Comment (2)    Permalink   Please share:  email this         



The Biology of Romance

Posted by Miss Cellania in Science & Tech on February 12, 2009 at 10:35 am

A group of researchers are studying the biological basis of romantic love. No matter how much we talk about love from the heart (or other organs), they’ve found it really is all in your head.

In humans, there are four tiny areas of the brain that some researchers say form a circuit of love. [Dr. Bianca] Acevedo, who works at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, is part of a team that has isolated those regions with the unromantic names of ventral tegmental area (VTA), the nucleus accumbens, the ventral pallidum and raphe nucleus.

The hot spot is the teardrop-shaped VTA. When people newly in love were put in a functional magnetic resonance imaging machine and shown pictures of their beloved, the VTA lit up. Same for people still madly in love after 20 years.

The VTA is part of a key reward system in the brain.

“These are cells that make dopamine and send it to different brain regions,” said Helen Fisher, a researcher and professor at Rutgers University. “This part of the system becomes activated because you’re trying to win life’s greatest prize – a mating partner.”

Link -via Geek Like Me

(image credit: Larry Young, PhD.)

 
Comment (0)    Permalink   Please share:  email this         



The Crosswalk of Love

Posted by Alex in Pictures, Travel & Places on February 5, 2009 at 9:20 pm

Just in time for Valentine’s Day – traffic officials in Chengdu, China, came up with this idea of making crossing a road more romantic:

A spokesman said the local traffic bureau wanted to give the crossing a romantic atmosphere because it was close to the Hejiang Pavilion, a popular dating venue for young couples.

"We want to make everybody who walks on it feel warmth and love from others," said the spokesman, adding that it was believed to be the first crossing of its kind in the whole country.

"We have two wishes – one, that all who walk on it experience long-lasting love and, two, that they obey traffic rules and cross safely."

Link

 
Comment (6)    Permalink   Please share:  email this         



Artistic Murder Weapons Slay Me

Posted by Jill Harness in Arts & Crafts, Everything Else, Funny on February 5, 2009 at 12:40 am

Artist Liz McGrath is selling personalized painted butcher knives just in time for Valentine’s Day. There are two designs, the one shown and one with a cute little mouse on the blade. Each cleaver comes with its own box. They’re only $25 and the perfect way to tell that special someone “till death do us part.”

Link Via BoingBoing

 
Comment (0)    Permalink   Please share:  email this         


Neatorama Shop » Funny T-Shirts

A Rat on A Cat on A Dog

Posted by Jill Harness in Animal, Pictures on January 10, 2009 at 3:28 pm

Here’s a great picture of a three-layer love fest. I almost wish there was a tiny flea on the rat just to make things even better. Best. Picture. Ever. I especially love that it wasn’t staged, the photographer just happened across this freak occurrence.

Link

 
Comment (25)    Permalink   Please share:  email this         



Can True Love Last Forever?

Posted by Alex in Science & Tech on January 6, 2009 at 12:09 am

Can true love last forever? Scientists at Stony Brook University used brain scans to find that indeed, true love can last a lifetime:

Scanning the brains of people who have been together for 20 years, the scientists found that about one in 10 couples still display elements of “limerence”, the psychologists’ term for the obsessive behaviour of new lovers.

They enjoy “intensive companionship and sexual liveliness” but without the anxieties and tensions of early love. They are generous, calm and deeply attached. The scientists call them swans (swans mate for life).

This is good news for the 10%, if not for the remaining 90% gripped by marital fatigue. But Arthur Aron, leader of the researchers, says the majority can learn from the minority. One clue he has found is that the swans share experiences and avoid stress. This may be a symptom rather than a cause, but Aron, 64, and his wife are copying the swans anyway in the hope of enjoying a little limerence themselves.

Link

 
Comment (14)    Permalink   Please share:  email this         



Hamster On A Piano Eating Popcorn

Posted by Jill Harness in Animal, Food & Drinks, Music, Video Clips on December 15, 2008 at 4:06 pm

I have to say, this song, like the wiener dog song, will be in my head for weeks to come. But it is so worth it just to see the little hamster in critter heaven munching on his popcorn no matter what else happens.

Link Via Laughing Squid

 
Comment (16)    Permalink   Please share:  email this         



In the Macho Sport of Football, Coaching Love Wins Over Violence

Posted by Alex in Sports on November 24, 2008 at 3:33 am

When most people think about the macho and violent sports of football, they don’t think about love. But that’s exactly what coach and former NFL defensive lineman Joe Ehrmann has taught his high school football team.

And if you think that made one weak team, think again: Link [embedded YouTube clip]

(In 2004, Jeffrey Marx wrote a book about the football team, titled Season of Life, that won the Pulitzer Prize)

 
Comment (1)    Permalink   Please share:  email this