matching tracksuits

Including this

Last Satuday (21 April) the folks and I took J, K, and L on an outing to the old homestead.

(The somewhat cheesy music is Brian Eno, surprisingly enough. I used it because of the title: “Deep Blue Day.”)

How easily are people manipulated? How quickly can someone change a complete stranger’s will? Just how fragile are we, mentally speaking? A few videos from skeptic Derren Brown shows just how easily someone with skills can manipulate people.

• Cold Reading/Predictability
• Instant Conversion Part I
• Instant Conversion Part II
• Russian Scam
• How mediums work
• Voodoo

But by far, the best (a tie):

• Subliminal Advertising
• The Birthday Gift

It’s something every parent eagerly awaits, I suppose — early laughs. Unlike early “smiles,” which are often the result of baby’s gas, laughs come from a sense of humor, and not a pressurized digestive system.

L has been laughing here and there, but only for a few moments, and then it’s just smiles. Recently, however, she has begun laughing for extended periods of time. Not extended enough for all of us huddled around her, but more than a few isolated seconds.

Not only did I not provide the link to the video the first time. It turned out that the video hadn’t even uploaded properly.

So, second try.