THE TRIGGER OF LAUGHTER

The triggers of laughter

People laugh for various reasons, either because of positive or negative causes. However, according to online dictionary sources, the definition of laughter is: “to express mirth, pleasure, derision, or nervousness with an audible, vocal expulsion of air from the lungs that can range from a loud burst of sound to a series of quiet chuckles and is usually accompanied by characteristic facial and bodily movements.” Also, people have different responses towards different causes. For example, giggles and chuckles happen when the cause is slightly humorous; grins and smiles are often associated with sentimental situations; guffaws and howls trigger when watching a hilarious movie or TV drama. Nevertheless, the definition of any form of laughter can still vary by people.

Humor is the most common factor of why people laugh. Yet, every human being has their own definition for humor. Sometimes, one thing that is funny to you does not necessarily mean it is funny to another person. It is due to the different past life experiences that each individual has been through. Whenever people feel the connection between themselves and the topic, people laugh.

In some other cases, a smile may symbolize happiness or shyness. A smile can be identified mostly in couples where, a slight curve appears on a girl’s face with blood-red blushing on both cheeks. This is a universal sign of being in love. This category of laugh is mild and gentle, which is regularly found quiet, unlike those loud hysterical laughs with a “haha” sound.

Furthermore, people laugh because of embarrassment and awkwardness as well. Laughter often takes place in some uncomfortable situations. Such as, party or social occasions, where people first meet. Those uneasy surroundings often put people in a situation of not knowing how to respond; therefore the best solution is always smiling. It is not like smiling or laughing could break the condensed atmosphere, but it is a spontaneous reaction to these kinds of situations. Also, smiles give people a comfortable and welcomed feeling, even without any words.

Smile is a natural and god-given gift to all human beings. Imagine a world without any laughter and smiles. No more curves would show upon the lips; no more warm welcome from a friendly household. How terrifying it would be if this world was created without such thing called laughter. Even though people do not always laugh for positive reasons, regardless of the reason hidden behind, a smile does always look pleasant and optimistic.

950,000 children worldwide killed by injury, violence

By Elizabeth Landau
CNN

(CNN) -- The summer that her family bought a soft-sided pool, Charisse Nurnberg of Assaria, Kansas, tried to keep her children safe from water-related injuries. She kept all the doors locked and would even have her young son Matt wear a life jacket while he played inside.

Matt Nurnberg was 3 years old when he drowned in a pool at his house in 2002.

But one day in August 2002, 3-year-old Matt got into the pool unsupervised. An ambulance rushed him to the hospital, but it was too late. He had drowned.

"You don't think it can happen to you, you think you've got things under control, and it just happens to other people," Charisse Nurnberg said. "It is just, I think, probably about the most horrible experience a parent can live through."

New reports from the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that deaths by unintentional injury, such as drowning, are a growing problem worldwide. More than 950,000 of those younger than 18 are killed annually by injury or violence; about 830,000 of them die from unintentional injury.

"Even for those of us working in the field, we were taken aback by that number," said Dr. Adnan Hyder, associate professor at Johns Hopkins University's Bloomberg School of Public Health and one of the editors for the WHO report. "Some of that is an underestimate, frankly speaking."

In the United States, an average of about 12,000 people aged 19 and younger died from unintentional injuries each year from 2000 to 2006, the CDC report said. Males' injury death rates were nearly twice as high as those of females, the report said.

Injury rates were highest for American Indian and Alaska natives in the United States and lowest for Asian or Pacific islanders, the report said. States with the lowest injury death rates were in the Northeast.

For nonfatal injuries in the United States, about 9.2 million children per year had an initial emergency department visit for an unintentional injury, the CDC report said.

Generally, in high-income countries, injuries account for 40 percent of all child deaths, the WHO report said. But low-income and middle-income countries bear most of the burden; 95 percent of all child injuries occur in those areas, the report said.

"Something good is happening in high-income countries in terms of prevention, which is not happening in many other countries," said Dr. Junaid Razzak, chairman of the Department of Emergency Medicine at Aga Khan University in Karachi, Pakistan.

Road crashes are the No. 1 cause of injury and death among children globally, claiming 260,000 lives annually, the report said. Drowning follows as the second leading cause of death, killing more than 175,000 children a year, and is the top cause of injury and death in Asia.

Burns, falls and poisoning were also in the top five leading causes of death by unintentional injury, the report said. Africa has the highest overall rate for unintentional injury deaths, 10 times higher than in many high-income countries.

Razzak, who wrote a chapter of the WHO report, said he sees a significant number of children with head injuries sitting in the laps of their parents in cars or motorcycles in Pakistan.

He also mentioned falling televisions as another source of injury or even death among kids in Pakistan. Children also commonly fall from the roofs of buildings while playing, he said.

The WHO report recommends that each country develop a child-injury prevention and control policy connected to other child health strategies, taking into account the needs of all children. It also urges countries to strengthen their health system capacities to provide requisite care to injured children.

Minimum drinking-age laws, seat-belts, motorcycle helmets and graduated driver licensing systems are some proven interventions to promote road safety, the report said.

For drowning, four-sided fencing around swimming pools, personal flotation devices and immediate resuscitation are some ways to prevent fatal injury, the report said.

Nurnberg said that for pool safety, she warns against putting even a drop of water in a pool until there is a fence around it. She also recommends installing an alarm that makes a sound whenever any door opens and said parents should not just rely on watching and listening.

"My husband was actually outside when it happened," she said. "I think we envision with drowning things that we see on TV and in movies, that splashing and yelling, and that just doesn't happen. He didn't hear the break of the water."

RESPONSE:
This article being posted on the CNN website. This article is just horrible, the numbers showing up there are terrifying. Adults do need to take more care and more attention to children behavior, to avoid any unnecessary heart breaking. The numbers stand out particularly, that attracted my attention to this article, and the title too.

MARRY A MILLIONARIE

Marry a Millionaire
by Ethan Cole


I can't name a single person who doesn't have some fantasies about being filthy rich. I'm quite certain that most people also have the same daydreams. Just look at the lines of people buying lottery tickets and you'll see the stars in their eyes. My parents were by no means rich, but not hurting for money. I always wanted the latest trends and my father would tell me that I was going to have to marry a millionaire just to keep up with my demands. While I knew he was joking, it was an idea that I considered. But, how in the world do you marry a millionaire? Do you just walk up to people in the streets, ask them if they're rich and single? It's a great fantasy but not one that most people have the pleasure of turning into a reality.
There are reality TV shows that allow people to compete for the opportunity to win the heart of and marry a millionaire. That just doesn't seem to be the proper way to court and fall in love. But, stuff like that brings in viewers and more viewers ensure profits for TV producers.

If you really want to marry a millionaire, make it happen. Just know that you might have to change your lifestyle before you even attempt to chase that dream. My father also told me that you are who you surround yourself with. If you want to be rich, surround yourself with rich people. Just make sure you are able to fit in. Normal people can't marry a millionaire if they don't play the part. Think about it, millionaires are probably well educated, worldly and live life in a certain manner. Remember Marilyn Monroe's role in "How to Marry A Millonaire"? Pretend you're her. Woo the lady or man that you've always dreamed of. I can't say that just because you may get lucky enough to marry a millionaire, you'll be happy. As much as you may think money buys happiness, and for me it just might, it may have the opposite affect. Perhaps after the ownership of expensive materials gets boring, you may realize how much you don't enjoy your lifestyle. I'm not sure why, so don't ask. But it could happen. You've seen the shows and movies. There's always the lady who does marry a millionaire and has a miserable life. Maybe he's never around. Maybe he has girlfriends all over the place. Maybe she's lonely and empty inside. Maybe they need to spend some of their earnings on therapy.
I certainly didn't marry a millionaire, but she is one in a million. We struggle to pay our bills some months and have arguments about money. Sure, I'd absolutely love to have a huge house and expensive cars, constant shopping sprees and go on exotic vacations. In fact, that's what I think about when I'm waiting behind all of those hopeful people in the lines to buy lottery tickets. I don't need to marry a millionaire, I just need a few lucky winning numbers.


Being incredebly rich over one night or some events, is everyone's dream. But, this is not a thing that can be easily acheieved. This article stands out because it tells a dream of everyone, which will intrigue people to read this article.

OFOSTER'S BEER

(This advertisement may consider to be a little bit inappropriate, because of the revealing that's showing, but I think this advertisement can be an good example of an offensive ad)

I have to mention that i found something pretty interesting when i first found this ad. When i showed girls this advertisement, all the feedback that i received were, beer can't help with diet. But when I showed it to the guys, the feedback were different. What the guys said was, when a guy get drunk, even a woman like that (on the left) can look like the one on the right to them. Which obviously indicates that this advertisement is made for men. Therefore, as a woman, i felt offensive when I looked at this. This advertisement shows absolutely zero respect to woman's body. It shows too much and lack of respect.

FAT WOMAN V.S. COCACOLA LIGHT

This advertisement is extremely offensive to certain group of people. Even though, this advertisement might simply just about overweight people should have coca cola light to lose weight, but still, it doesn't portray it in the right way. So, according to this advertisement, now that the coca cola zero has come out into the market, for the advertisement should they find a fatter person to advertise it? This is just extremely unacceptable.

BAD AD.

I strongly feel that this advertisement should be banned. From any aspect to view this advertisement, it doesn't make sense at all. Why would anyone feed a baby sleeping pills just to avoid noises (realistically). Also, from the subtext, it says "For Peace And Quiet" and at the bottom it says, "The Little Red Silence Pill". No Matter from what aspect to look at this Advertisement, it seems to me a murder campaigne. It teaches people how to put baby in to "sleep". In which, this advertisement is not acceptable for me, and also for general public.

imitation

there seems no question but that the camera is on the way out. nowadays more and more cell phones require a photo taking function which put camera is a bad position. in the future, what people pursue will be convenience, if we are able to take picture from a cell phone, then why bother to buy another camera. also, cell phones have combine a mp3 function, which might have eliminate the mp3 market as well. because it is always more convenient to have everything in one body.

HOW WOMEN'S DIETS REFLECT FEAR OF POWER

THIS IS AN ARTICLE BEING POSTED ON NEW YORK TIMES IN 1981.

(TEXT....)

Why? Why have so many millions of American women, over the last decade, become so concerned about their weight? The subject has not received much attention, except on a superficial level. It deserves better.
There is, for example, the medical explanation: Women diet because of the long-proclaimed correlation between obesity and ill health. Yet that fails to cover the intense upset many women experience because of two or three pounds of overweight. And in any event, medical opinion has changed dramatically in recent years. Dr. Reubin Andres, clinical director of Baltimore's National Institute on Aging, has found, for example, based on his review of 40 worldwide studies involving six million people, that ''there's something about being moderately overweight that's good for you.''
The psychological explanation tends to be shallow, to trivialize the problem, as though women go on periodic binges of eating and dieting simply to relieve the standard frustrations and unhappinesses of their lives. ''Food is so fundamental,'' writes James Hillman, former director of studies at the C.G. Jung Institute of Zurich, ''that it is astounding to realize the neglect of food and eating in depth psychology.''
Even more astounding, perhaps, is the neglect of the modern woman's obsession with weight by today's feminist leaders - this despite the fact that the weight-watching movement and the women's liberation movement both developed during the l960's. Indeed, in my view, this obsession involves some of the most fundamental questions feminists themselves have raised - core issues of women's identity, of the child's relationship to the mother, of the society's response to women's claims for power.

(TEXT...)

I LIKE THIS ARTICLE BECAUSE I FOUND THIS TOPIC VERY INTERESTING. AS A WOMAN, I BELIEVE THIS TOPIC IS CLOSELY TIGHT TO MY LIFE. DIET IS THE MOST COMMON CONVERSATION TOPIC AMONG GIRLLY GOSSIPS. NOT NECESSARILY ABOUT THE METHOD OF DIETING BUT DEFINITELY THE WEIGHT OF SOMEONE. THE AUTHOR USES MANY EXAMPLES AND FACTS TO PROVE HER POINTS. THROUGHOUT THE ARTICLE SHE PRESENTS HER VIEWS ON DIETING VERY WELL.

TOLERANCE

Tolerance is not love, nor like, it is just to put up with people. People who annoyed you in whatever ways. avoiding conflicts or arguments, that is tolerance. recently, i have just read an essay on tolerance by E.M.Forster, and i really like it. he described tolerance in a delicate way. he says tolerance could be either positive or negative, depends on which aspect you are looking at it. Tolerance is a strategy that needs to be learned by people. the example that is given in the essay is about World War 2, that how the Nazi's couldn't put up with the different race of people, therefore, a massive massacre towards Jews began. if people insist on asking for the root reason that caused the Germans kill all the Jews? i will say, there were none. with no tolerance people hold discrimination against each other, to people who have different opinions; different color skins; different races, languages, or even accents. even a tiny bit of difference could cause discrimination. moreover, the fact of having discrimination exists, is that people did not have a big heart, not big enough to accept others. the writer even pointed out that the most important after war reconstruction wasn't the concrete construction of a country but the tolerance lied within people's heart. with tolerance the world could be a better place.

Pain

For me, pain is always something that is too vague to describe. it is hard for me to find a specific way to describe pain. Usually, when i am talking to my friend or a doctor, those vague emotions and feelings are the hardest to describe. Even though i know sentence like "my stomachache is killing me" or "it hurt real bad" have done a poor job describing.
There are two kinds of pian, physically and mentally. In my opinion, I prefer physical pain than mental pain. Because, wherever people get hurt physically, the scars will heal over time, but when people get hurt mentally then the scar might not heal over time. metal pain doesn't have a spesific cure for it. people said that time is best cure for metal injuries, but, that's not for sure.
when i get hurt interiorly, i feel suffocated, and after the suffocation, all that's left is sadness and frustration. I eat and sleep, and sleep and eat. This unhealthy cycle keeps on going till the last tear run out.

What happen if the last tear ran out but the scar hadn't healed yet?　

Aussumed, it will never happened on me.

A LETTER TO MR. NICHOLAS KRISTOF

Dear Mr. Nicholas Kristof:

I just finished reading your article, which is being posted on the "Times", November, 9, 2008. Due to the fact that I am not an American, so i have little understanding of America's politics. However, from what i have heard about President Bush, i hold no mercy to him. The result of 2008 election excited me greatly, because i believe that Mr. Obama will bring America into an new era. Even though the language you used in the article were a bit too strong and harsh, but from an outsider's point of view, I really like it!

-a student-