Spunk, Moxie Or Gumption? You Decide.

September 10, 2015May 6, 2021 / Ally Bean / 16 Comments

Because sometimes the light that shines within me gets curious about things, I researched the following three words after I thought of them while watching a certain video.

Thinking that these three word meant the same thing, I can now tell you that ~~I was righ~~t according to the dictionary these three words mean different things.

Sort of. [I guess.] In a very nuanced way.

~ ~ • ~ ~

SPUNK = courage and determination

MOXIE = force of character or nerve

GUMPTION = shrewd or spirited initiative and resourcefulness

~ ~ • ~ ~

The following video of Monkey the Cat, who just happens to look like one of my dearly departed pussy gatos, demonstrates for us the above concepts.

It shows that…

Monkey’s gumption helps him have the spunk to use moxie to get the kibble.

Or to put it another way…

Monkey’s spunk combined with his moxie gives him the gumption to play the game that gets the kibble.

Or perhaps it tells us that…

Monkey’s moxie influences his gumption so that he has the spunk to find the ball to get the kibble.

WHATEVER.

Instead of focusing on the syntax of a perfectly crafted sentence, like I have here, I suggest that you, gentle readers, watch the video and learn, as Monkey the Cat shows us what spunk or moxie or gumption is all about.

You will be amazed.

~ ~ • ~ ~

Kindness Deconstructed, A Fun With Foibles Post

August 20, 2015March 31, 2017 / Ally Bean / 30 Comments

John the CincyZooLion is not pleased that Ally Bean was dissed. *growl*

# # #

I’VE ALWAYS OPERATED UNDER THE ASSUMPTION that kindness is a good thing.

This, of course, is a simplistic point of view. One that along the way has gotten me into more trouble than you might imagine, allowing me to perfect my eye-rolling technique.

From what I can tell, if someone, for some reason, does not believe that they deserve kindness, then anyone who shows them kindness becomes a problem.

And it’s time for a squabble.

# # #

TO WIT, LOOKING OUT MY WINDOW I remembered that a former neighbor here in the midwest, who now lives on the other side of the country, used to love this time of year.

So, spontaneously, without any expectation of reciprocity, I sent her a fast, sincere thinking-of-you email.

A random act of kindness.

A note saying someone cares about you.

A positive little message.

# # #

WITHIN THE HOUR SHE WAS ON the phone, not calling to thank me, but to tell me how bad she felt about herself after receiving my kind email.

That I made her feel like a failure because she never thought to send anyone a thinking-of-you email.

And why did I bother with this email, anyhow? Was I trying to make her feel guilty?

What was my real motivation?

And my only response, which was the truth but it seemed to irritate her, was that I was thinking. of. her. She liked this time of year in the midwest and I remembered that.

I was just saying “hello.” Nothing more.

*eye roll*

# # #

WHILE THE GOLDEN RULE MAKES SENSE to me, I’ve come to discover that occasionally doing unto others what you would want for yourself, can lead to resentment among others.

Somehow, it would seem that some people with low self-esteem, or perhaps the inability to understand generosity of spirit, misinterpret kindness to mean manipulation.

Or showing off.

Or sanctitude.

Or, I guess, some other off-putting behavior, sneaky and weird, that doesn’t say friendship to them.

Meaning that, if you’re primed to believe that the golden rule is suspect behavior, then my kind email marked me immediately as an untrustworthy human being.

Twisted logic, huh? Go figure.

# # #

“Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity.”

~ SIMONE WEIL

# # #

And Now, Class, We’re Going To Learn About The “Bee’s Knees”

May 28, 2015May 6, 2021 / Ally Bean / 27 Comments

[Occasionally when I’m researching Serious Subjects For Important Projects, I stumble across Fascinating Other Things To Know. The following, my gentle readers, is a non-serious thing that I have learned & will now share with you.]

• • •

{ Source: The Bee’s Knees Cocktail }

SO LET’S SAY THAT I’m a flapper, which isn’t that big of a stretch because if this was the 1920s you know that I’d be one.

Free spirit. Flapper. Very similar.

And let’s say that I wanted to tell you that someone or something was OUTSTANDING – ADMIRABLE – COOL. Then there’s a good chance that I’d say that he or she or it was the BEE’S KNEES.

Unless, of course, I was using other slang from that era. In which case I’d probably say that he or she or it was the:

cat’s meow,
monkey’s eyebrows,
skeeter’s elbow,
cat’s pajamas, OR
eel’s ankles.

HOWEVER BEING THAT I AM Thoroughly Modern Ally I think that I’d go with bee’s knees because it sounds cute to say and because there’s an actual logic behind the saying.

You know how I am about lurving the logic.

So to wit, and in conclusion of, what has turned out to be a rather lengthy post about an antiquated, but memorable, slang phrase, I give you this bit of information [from an unexpected source]:

“‘The Bee’s Knees’ is a term indicating excellence – the highest quality. Because bees carry pollen back to the hive in sacs on their legs. The allusion is to the concentrated goodness to be found around the bee’s knee.”

~ San Diego Bee’s Knees Business Guide

Candy Crush Soda Saga OR Lumosity: A Quiz To Determine Which One Is For You

May 12, 2015August 29, 2018 / Ally Bean / 20 Comments

:: THE QUIZ ::

Q1: Do you like to eat chocolate? Y or N

Q2: Do you resent being asked, every stinking day, how many hours you slept last night? Y or N

Q3: Do you enjoy searching for cute bears hidden underneath things? Y or N

Q4: Are you indifferent to the migratory patterns of flocks of black birds on a screen? Y or N

• • •

Q5: Are you always up for a colorful, cheerful game with lots of groovy fish that make things blow up? Y or N

Q6: Do you think that doing arithmetic problems, that fall randomly down your screen, are the real reason you have begun to have nightmares about 5th grade again? Y or N

Q7: Do you think that when you lose a game seeing the message “You’ll get it next time!” is encouraging? Y or N

Q8: Do you think that when you encounter the opportunity to make words starting with two random letters, it’s best to make a long multi-syllabled word and that it’s poor manners to scold someone for not making a short three-letter word? Y or N

• • •

Q9: Do you like to eat honey? Y or N

Q10: Do you think that any game, for which you cannot find an unauthorized website of cheats + hacks, is of dubious value because you’re not learning how to advance in the game? Y or N

Q11: Do you think that you did your time as a waitress in college and need not relive that experience by serving pretend food + beverages to cartoon people, with specific names, at a nondescript virtual beach cafe? Y or N

Q12: Do you think that you can keep your brain healthy and sharp by playing a free game; rather than challenging your cognitive abilities by playing games that have a monthly fee? Y or N

:: SCORING ::

The more you answered YES, the more you will like CANDY CRUSH SODA SAGA.