Moon over Millington

    My 3 1/2 year old granddaughter mooned me.  It was justified.  She was just waking up from a nap and kinda cranky.  I was teasing and bugging her to wake her up and she reached around and slowly pulled her princess underware down and showed me her bottom.  The look on her face was crystal clear, though she never uttered a sound.  It screamed, “Kiss my lily white baby behind, Gamma.”  We tried not to reinforce her less than lady like behavior, but it was impossible.  We all cracked up.  Of course we strangled the guffaws and immediately spouted all the right things about appropriate behavior, but our spontaneous reaction, no doubt, spoke volumes to her. 
    Where did she learn that move?  How did she know that showing her bottom was an insult?  It made me think about when I was a little girl.  If I wanted to send my sister into orbit I would turn my back to her, bend over and wiggle my behind in her face.  She often returned the favor.  Then we fought until our mother begged us to stop before we did permanent damage to each other.  This made me wonder if the “butt in your face” technique was universal?
    I realize you can find anything on the internet so here I go into www. world.  Ummm exactly what do I want to ask?  The history of mooning?  The use of the buttocks to communicate in a non verbal manner your distain or displeasure with another?  Cultural non verbal communication with body parts?

Excuse me while I surf. (sing the Jeopardy tune, please)

    Wow!  The www never fails to satisfy.  My first inquiry, “the history of mooning”,  hit pay dirt.  I will direct  you to the site for your reading pleasure, but just let me say, my  favorite part is that the Maori people called it whakapohane and tried to entertain Queen Elizabeth with it during her 1986  royal visit to  New Zealand.  I am not sure of the Maori pronunciation, but for me it is Wacky po’heinie and that NAILS it!


http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2012/06/27/mooning_a_history_when_did_people_start_baring_their_butts_as_an_insult_.html

    On to, “Use of the buttocks to communicate in a non verbal manner.”  This was pretty much a washout.  One path led me to a 245 page educational dissertation on how a teacher’s non verbal behavior impacts the classroom.  I will give you the site but I discourage you from clicking unless you are working on a doctoral thesis.  Considering the impetus for my research tonight, I had to laugh at the thought of the impact of a teacher using My non verbal topic on her class.  She would definitely have their attention, but I don’t think it would help her evaluation score.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=10&ved=0CFUQFjAJ&url=http%3A%2F%2Fprr.hec.gov.pk%2FThesis%2F808S.pdf&ei=REskUKi-J4382gXRyoCYDg&usg=AFQjCNHhZjIfHZ95Ygd8SD3ScofSMBSPVQ&sig2=P0rpR3t3VV3yASd62kfE0g

    I cannot leave this line of inquiry without giving an honorable mention to the Japanese “ro-butt” article.  Leave it to the Japanese to bring mooning into the 21st centruy of technology. I am sure I would be just as insulted if I got it from a “ro-butt” as from a random real butt.

http://www.neurope.eu/article/japanese-ro-butt-develop-humanoid-communication

    Finally, there was the inquiry thread of, “Cultural non verbal communication with body parts?”

That did not get me anywhere except to a power point on how to be culturally appropriate in different parts of the world.  It was very interesting and I might actually use it in my classroom.  But it did not further my research. So I modified the question to,  “Cultural non verbal communication with the buttocks?”  That led me to another educational treatise on non-verbal gestures.  I scanned it. Yawn. The only interesting tidbit, nestled deep in educational yadda yadda, was this.  Apparently Europeans not only talk about the Ugly American. They also rag on the Ugly Australian.  It seems that Australian teenage boys like to go to Europe and act the fool.  I quote, “His antisocial behaviour includes drinking to excess, singing, vomiting, and sometimes the baring the buttocks from out of the window of moving vehicles. “.  That was an amusing bit of trivia, but the best part comes in the next paragraph where this learned researcher suggests that we conduct this activity in our classrooms.

Activity: In the classroom break up into small groups and role-play the Ugly Australian. Other nationalities may role-play other characteristics. The Australian groups should try to script a short play that epitomises drunken behaviour in a setting such as an overseas pub or camping ground. Other nationality groups may also try to enact an embarrassing part of their particular culture.

    Yeah, I am going to do that.  Having my student’s role playing mooning behavior is definitely going to get me those 5’s I want on my evaluation.

    So, in summary, the first known instance of mooning was recorded by the famous Roman-Jewish historian, Josephus, in the 1st century .  I found reference to it in many cultures.  I think we can safely absolve Wesley from the time out corner for flashing me a non-verbal clue to what she was thinking.  It is a time honored tradition and besides, it was the cutest little mooney butt I have ever seen.

New I Pad III Upgrade? Horns?

NPR just told me that the new I Pad III is out today and one of the features is faster connectivity. Ummmmm. I presently have immediate and unlimited access to a wealth of information and non. (non? = stuff you don't really need to know but somehow want to know) On a whim, I can wonder about the time I went to see Chorus Line, 30 years ago, and ask, “Who was the 3rd girl from the left in the original Broadway performance?” With a few clicks, my magic technology will tell me the answer.
The only “faster” to immediate, is for the I Pad III to give me information before I know I need or want it. I picture the little rectangular glow waddling over and tapping me on the leg and saying, “Excuse me, but in 10 minutes you are going to wonder what the average Memphis temperature for June is and so I thought I would just go ahead and look that up for you. It is 88.5 degrees.”
I don’t know about you, but that is one upgrade I am not prepared to deal with spiritually. I don’t want anything with welded parts telling me what I am going to think. The I Pad III is obviously from the devil and so, for religious reasons, I have given it up for Lent, Hanukah and Syttende mai .

Tiny Traditions

It is Saturday morning after a Friday night sleepover with 3 yr old Wesley. We are in the kitchen for our traditional pancake breakfast. Wesley and I have our little routines. I mix the pancake batter and she gives it a final magic mix. While she stirs, I get the griddle out and spray it with oil. We both watch the gooey disc sizzle on the griddle until the bubbles pop and Wesley says, “Flip it Gamma!”
This Saturday we were moving right along in the process until I put the pancake on her tray with her bowl of syrup for dipping. Wesley said, “ This is the wrong bowl, Gamma.” I looked down and realized that her syrup bowl was a little white bowl. Oh my, she was so right. This was wrong.
A little background confession (or two) is necessary here. I have a tiny bowl problem. Not a tiny problem but a problem with tiny bowls. I like them. I think they are really, really cute. I see them at Goodwill and at oriental grocery stores and I just have to buy them. Consequently, I have a lot of them. More than any sane person needs. There are several towering stacks tucked away in the cabinet. It is an innocent addiction , a victimless crime, and they are amazingly useful. Just the right size for a dab of this or a smidge of that. The very thing for syrup dipping.
My second sad confession is that I really tried to pass on my love of tiny bowls to my daughter. I gave her a set of tiny bowls at her wedding shower! She was very gracious but oddly unmoved by the momentous occasion of her first, few tiny bowls. Alas, she does not seem to have the tiny bowl gene. I don’t think she even notices them at the Goodwill.
Back to Saturday morning and pancake time. When Wes said she had the wrong bowl I knew exactly what she meant. Somewhat unconciously, I always use one particular bowl for her syrup. It is a small white bowl with a little green flower near an inside rim. Perfectly charming! I don’t remember when it became the syrup bowl in my mind, but it did. Don’t you have a special fondness for patterns and colors from your childhood? Do you ever see a dish or plate at an antique store and say, “Oh those were my grandmother’s plates.” Or, “I always use to have ice cream in a bowl just like that.”
So when Wesley said, “I need the bowl with the little green flower,” my heart leaped with joy. At only three she already realizes the importance of the perfect tiny bowl. I delightfully transferred her syrup to the RIGHT little bowl. Let the pancake dipping begin! (In the tiny bowl with the little green flower.) Just the thing for a sweet little tradition.