Merry Christmas (Eve)! Traffic usually slows down dramatically here this time of year so I won’t be introducing any serious topics until after the new year. Instead I’ll share search engine terms that have lead new readers to On the Other Hand. Feel free to leave your own responses to them in the comment section.
Dogs don’t care about your politics. Nope, probably not.
Why [don’t] anthropologists wear makeup? They’re too busy figuring out why you do.
My friend is stealing my personality. Step one: figure out what topics annoy, bewilder or bore your friend. Step two: develop a sudden interest in that area of life. Ensure that every conversation drifts back to whatever it is your friend normally dislikes. Step three: sit back and watch his or her head explode.
Should you respect your elders when they are being mean? Yes, but sometimes the most respectful thing you can do is call someone out on their bad behaviour and/or spend less time with them until things improve. Age isn’t a free pass to do anything you’d like, and actions have consequences whether you’re 5 or 105.
Does a winter solstice mean more snow? I once read that we get twice as much snow during the years in which the winter solstice fails to arrive.*
When did you first grow up? When I was four years old mom read a book to us about how babies are made. She was pregnant with Aaron at the time and Jesse and I had a lot of questions about her condition. One of the pictures in the book showed a man and woman gazing lovingly into each other’s eyes as they embraced. I remember thinking it looked like such a boring way to spend an afternoon and wondering why adults bothered with it.
I changed my mind about that eventually but it was my first glimpse into one of the many differences between childhood and adulthood.
Can I go see a movie alone on Thanksgiving afternoon? Yes. For the sake of the people working there I’d recommend renting a movie and watching it at home, though. Movie theater employees need holidays just as much as the rest of us.
Do quiet people get married? Only when our dark lord demands it.*
What [should I] tell extended family when asked for gift ideas for child? Depending on their budget, the kid’s age and how close you live to one another I’d recommend stuff like:
- A day or family pass to the zoo/aquarium/museum/theatre.
- A tin full of homemade candy.
- An offer to teach the child a new skill – baking, fishing, woodworking, underwater basket weaving, etc.
- A recording of your favorite childhood memories. My grandfather did this for us once. It was the best gift he ever gave to his first three grandchildren.
- One of those obnoxiously loud musical toy…but only if you offer to keep it at your house.
Should you forgive a player? Readers, how would you answer this one?
*not intended to be a factual statement.
Filed under Uncategorised
Tagged as Humour
Is there a dark side to Mother Teresa’s work? In 
How would you react if a deadly disease broke out in your community? Would you flee to safety or stay behind to nurse the sick and dying? 