Entries from April 2007
Most teenagers are embarrassed of their parents at one time or another, but this girl in China decided to do something about it. In elementary school, Pingping had been humilated by her mom’s gaucherie. So, she determined that her mom could not be allowed to be such an embarrassment in front of her friends and teachers again. Thus, a plan was hatched.
In the summer before Pingping went to middle school, she met her friend Yingying’s aunt who works in a securities company. Pingping thought she had good taste in dressing and her manners classy.
Then Pingping decided to conjure up a story with Yingying, in which Pingping’s parents were divorced. Her mother had gone abroad, and her father was too busy to come to the parents’ meeting. Pingping was given extra care while she was in the primary school, but that also made her feel uneasy too. She wanted to be treated equally, and not get sympathy from others. Pingping longed for a new start when she entered middle school, wishing for a “mom” to attend her parents’ meeting, too.
Yingying’s aunt was moved by Pingping’s story, and promised to attend every parents’ meeting for Pingping in middle school. She was so ecstatic that every time Yingying’s aunt attended a meeting, Pingping paid her niece 50 yuan to keep the secret.
In a new school with new classmates, Pingping got a new “mom”, who also never failed to appear and impress the Pingping’s classmates and their parents.
Categories: Human Behavior
Slate has an article about the latest study of how much difference there is between the amount of work men and women do. According to this study,
The 24 hours we all have each day can be divided into four broad activities: “market work” that is, work for pay, typically outside the house; “homework,” including housework and child care; “tertiary time,” including sleep, eating, and other biological necessities that people can do only for themselves; and the time left over, which is leisure. Leisure is not essential to survival, but we like it.
Throughout the world, men spend more time on market work, while women spend more time on homework. In the United States and other rich countries, men average 5.2 hours of market work a day and 2.7 hours of homework each day, while women average 3.4 hours of market work and 4.5 hours of homework per day. Adding these up, men work an average of 7.9 hours per day, while women work an average of—drum roll, please—7.9 hours per day.
The Slate writer observes, “Although men in many rich countries do not work less than women, they do enjoy about 20 to 30 minutes more leisure per day (over an hour more in Italy) because they spend less time on sleep and other biological necessities. Men spend almost all of this additional leisure time watching television.”
Categories: Human Behavior
Back in January, The Telegraph had an article about a survey conducted by Muso, a new magazine for the hipper, younger classical music fans. Muso’s survey attempted to glean some facts about the sex lives of musicians.
Viola players, it seems, are “most likely to have sex on a first date”, “most likely to have had sex three or more times in the last week” and “most likely to have had 10 or more sexual partners” (presumably not all at once).
Perhaps it’s because they have so little time left to practise that violists are the constant butt (forgive me) of jokes such as: “How do you know when a viola’s being played out of tune?” Answer: “The bow is moving.”
Predictably, guitarists were “the most likely to have had a one-night stand” and tuba players not only played “the least sexy instrument” but were also “most likely to be single”.
As for the answer everyone wanted to know: “Which musicians make the best lovers?” – cellists.
Now Ken Russell – yes, that Ken Russell – has announced that he is publishing four novel-biographies, in two sets, about . . . well, it’s not hard to figure out once you see the titles: (Volume 1) Beethoven (Confidential) & Brahms Gets Laid ; (Volume 2) Elgar: The Erotic Variations & Delius: A Moment with Venus .
Categories: Human Behavior
A “small” study commissioned by the BBC claims that the “Napoleon Complex” is a myth. Shorter men do not compensate for their diminutive size by being more aggressive than their taller counterparts.
Men of different heights duelled with wooden sticks but one of the subjects deliberately provoked the other by rapping them across the knuckles.
The subject who did the provoking had been briefed to do so by the scientists.
The other men were under the impression they were being tested for physical attributes, reaction times and eye-hand
Heart monitors revealed it was the taller men who flew off the handle more quickly and hit back.
Dr. Eslea, the study’s author concludes, “When people see a short man being aggressive, they are likely to think it is due to his size simply because that attribute is obvious and grabs their attention.” There is no “short man syndrome,” only a bad rap.
Categories: Human Behavior
