DI*T

There was an ad on the subway. In big letters it read: DI*T. In my mind I filled it in as DIRT. Even read I read the text, "Di*t is a four letter word..." and saw that it was from Weight Watchers it took me a while before I realized they intended it to be DIET. Makes me think of two psych things--how hard it is to shake a first impression/idea i.e. you call someone the wrong nsme and it's the one that comes to mind when you see them again; and how you may be sensitized to see certain things. One classmate had a sudy where he showed after a certain manipulation people are more likely to fill in M_D as mad rather than mud, etc.

The science section of the NY Times had two interesting study summaries this past week. One showed that sugar water helped decrease distress among infants who got shots. The other showed that loud noises such as a snoring spouse or a plane passing overhead during sleep increase blood pressure even if they don't wake a person up. People don't acclimate to the noise as the evening progresses--it continued to have the same effect. I swear I can feel my blood pressure rising every time a truck passes by.

The other day I looked out the window and realized that a truck had crashed into two parked cars...wouldn't you hate to return to this:




Asian themed historical fiction--enjoyed Gail Tsukiyama's The Street of a Thousand Blossoms mucho mas than Lisa See's Peony in Love.