Has the Golden Rule become tarnished?

You remember the Golden Rule, right?

No, not the Saturday Night Live sketch featuring Justin Timberlake, Andy Samberg, and Lady Gaga.

I'm talking about doing unto others as you would have them do unto you. (Then again, Justin and Andy may have a point.)

Or maybe you don't remember the Golden Rule.

Or maybe you're a masochist -- or work in customer service at a health insurance company or at the department of motor vehicles. Which, I guess, is pretty much the same thing.

Whatever the case, despite what scientists say about gold not tarnishing, I can't help feeling that the Golden Rule has lost its luster.

And I'm not just talking about awful customer service. Though it always amazes me how clueless or unhelpful or uncaring people who are supposedly in the business of helping customers can be. And these are often the same people you hear complaining about being kept waiting or being given the run around. (Karma much?)

No, I'm talking about basic common courtesy -- like saying please and thank you, responding to phone calls and emails within 24 hours (unless you are on vacation or on a business trip and have no access to email), offering your seat on a bus or on the subway to an elderly or disabled person, giving compliments, praising a job done well or an accomplishment, not showing up late for stuff or texting someone that you'll be late when you are already 15 minutes late.

I get that some people are busy -- and in many cases email and social media and so-called "smart" phones have made things worse not better, bombarding the organizationally challenged with too many inputs. But how long does it take to say please and thank you? How long does it take to reply via email "Hey, got your email. Will respond at length later" -- or just send a quick response? How much effort does it take to say, "That dress looks great on you" or "Great job on that presentation" -- or to make sure you show up on time?

When did we forget or stop caring about the Golden Rule?

President Obama, Standup Comedian in Chief

In case you missed President Barack Obama's set at last night's White House Correspondents Dinner (aka The Nerd Prom), here you go.



You may not agree with Obama's politics or policies, but the guy knows how to deliver -- a joke.

[Control yourselves Republican readers.]

Among my (and Newt Gingrich's) favorite lines (this totally cracked up the Newtster; Callista tried to laugh, but her face began to crack):

I know Republicans are still sorting out what happened in 2012, but one thing they all agree on is they need to do a better job reaching out to minorities.  And look, call me self-centered, but I can think of one minority they could start with.  (Laughter.)  Hello?  Think of me as a trial run, you know?  (Laughter.)  See how it goes.  (Laughter.)

I also liked his line about proposing a toast -- and it dying in committee.

Among the other big laugh lines, Obama remembering when "when BuzzFeed was just something I did in college around 2:00 a.m." And his response to people pestering him to have a drink with Congressman Mitch McConnell: "Really? Why don’t you get a drink with Mitch McConnell?" (That line slayed the crowd. Make that Politico Nerd Prom.)

You can read all of President Obama's remarks at the 2013 White House Correspondents Dinner here.

Tip-toeing thru the tulips

It's tulip time at the New York Botanical Garden! And I just love me some tulips.

There are just over 100 known species of tulip, many of which are currently on display at the Garden.

Here are some of my favorites.

(Place your mouse over the photo to see a brief description of the tulip. To enlarge a photo, click on it. Then use the "back" arrow to return to the post.)

Could it be that spring has come to the Northeast at last?

Keeping up with the Finches

When last we left Mr. and Mrs. Finch, our two little lovebirds, they were keeping watch over their as yet unhatched eggs.

Since that post (from April 12, which I link to above), several of you have asked if the eggs had hatched. So at lunchtime I decided to take a look.

Behold!

I'm not exactly sure what we are looking at here. (I took the pictures on a step ladder, a few feet away from the nest, zooming in with my camera.) It looks like two or possibly three baby house finches and two or three as yet unhatched eggs.

And do you see how the nest is in the shape of a heart? How sweet is that?! All together now: AAAAW!

Here are the proud parents, Mr. and Mrs. Finch (taken using my Nikon D3100 and 55-200mm lens; the other photo I took with my little Canon PowerShot S95):

And here are our cats, Flora and Felix, who every morning rush to the front door to converse with the finches. (Felix, our black cat, has been trying to convince Mrs. Finch that he is really just a big black finch by hunkering down and doing his best house finch impression. So far Mrs. Finch ain't buyin' it, though she seems way more scared of me than Felix, sitting atop that bush just outside our front door and taunting Felix.)

I will attempt to get another shot in a few days. Stay tuned!

It's got a good beat and I can dance to it

I enjoy many types of music -- jazz, bluegrass, Brazilian, rock, new wave, country.... But if my iPod is the true judge of the kind of music I like best (at least to drive or exercise to), I love a pop song with a hard-driving beat that makes me want to get up and dance. (I am still broken up about LMFAO's breakup and disappointed with PSY's latest, "Gentlemen," which is no "Gangnam Style.")

My current fave dance tunes? I like the "Remix" by New Kids on the Block (now known as NKOTB, which makes me think of Hoda Kotb, but whatev -- those "kids" are probably closer to her age than the teenager's).



I am also still into "Thrift Shop" sung by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, even though I still cannot figure out what the f**k they are saying (or rapping), except for all the bad words. (WARNING: This video contains a lot of cuss words. But it is still freaking awesome. I also love the canine version.)



Also on our -- the teenager makes the spouse listen to this song all the time when they are driving together -- playlist, "Scream & Shout" by will.i.am featuring Britney Spears.



Now, now rockin' with J-TWO-O and Britney, bitch.

(Re "Scream & Shout," nothing cracks up me and the teenager more than hearing the spouse say "I want to scream and shout and let it out," a la Rex Harrison.)

So what are y'all listening to?

Watch the birdy!

Welcome to the Earth Day edition of Mutual of J-TWO-O's Wild Kingdom!

Today's episode features photographs of birds the teenager and I spotted while on Sanibel Island (I took all the photos), which is a bird- and shell-lovers' paradise.

And now may I direct your attention to --

Look, up in the sky! It's a bird! it's a plane!

(Actually it was a bird, specifically a brown pelican. Although it looked amazingly like a pterodactyl.)

Meanwhile, back on the beach....

What you talkin' 'bout, Willets?

Now look at the sky. Now back to me. I'm under an osprey.

Question: So is a bird in the sand...

worth two in the bush?

(Okay, yes, technically, it was a tree. Work with me, people.)

My only egret?

That I could not stay longer on Sanibel Island.

Beauty is not just in the eye of the beholder

Women are, by nature, hard on themselves -- about work, about parenting, and especially about how they look. I just never realized how hard we are on ourselves.

Indeed, I was somewhat shocked to learn that according to a survey sponsored by Dove, only 2 percent of women consider themselves beautiful. (Click on the link to see highlights from "The Real Truth About Beauty: A Global Report.")

But don't just read the survey highlights. Check out this new video from Dove, titled "Dove Real Beauty Sketches," which has been viewed nearly 9 million times in the last five days.



I just watched it, twice, and still have tears in my eyes.

It also made me angry, because I just knew that someone, or several someones, either directly or indirectly, had made these women feel un-beautiful. Granted, we shouldn't believe everything people tell us. But if your mother tells you you have a big jaw or offers to get you liposuction for your twenty-first birthday (hi Mom!), or a guy tells you you might look cute if you wore more makeup (hi Larry!) or lost 10 or 15 pounds (hi Michael!), and all the women you see on TV or in fashion magazines look nothing like you, you start to feel... un-beautiful. And even if, later in life, you do lose weight, or whatever, it is very hard to counteract years of being told or made to feel less than beautiful.

But I applaud Dove's Campaign for Real Beauty (in 2011 a whopping 4 percent of women surveyed said they considered themselves beautiful, though that was double the number surveyed in 2004) -- and I love their new tagline, "You are more beautiful than you think."

UPDATED 4/20/13: It was really only a matter of time until a parody emerged*. Herewith, "Dove Real Beauty Sketches -- Men."



"Don't forget, men: YOU aren't as beautiful as you think!"

*Though from personal experience, this video is dead on.