Jonesing for? What's that mean?

What does jonesing mean?  It means "a strong desire or craving for" something.  I came across the word in a comment about Mark Reutlinger's cozy mystery Mrs. Kaplan and the Matzoh Ball of Death.  I don't remember hearing this word before, so I looked it up even though I could tell in context what she meant by her comment:  "And now I'm Jonesing for Motzah Ball Soup."  (Yes, she misspelled "matzoh," and "jonesing" doesn't need a capital letter.)

Backspacing ~ think again

Imagine we are all characters in a book.  Can you do it?  Are you the main character?  Or am I?  Maybe neither of us, but then who is the main character here?

Here's another thought:  "We are what we think.  All that we are arises with our thoughts.  With our thoughts, we make the world." ~ Buddha

As the song says, we've got personality

Colleen posted this on her blog:  "INTJs are analytical.  Like  INTPs, they are most comfortable working alone and tend to be less sociable than other types.  Nevertheless, INTJs are prepared to lead if no one else seems up to the task, or if they see a major weakness in the current leadership.  They tend to be pragmatic, logical, and creative.  They have a low tolerance for spin or rampant emotionalism.  They are not generally susceptible to catchphrases and do not recognize authority based on tradition, rank, or title. — Meyers Briggs"

In a comment, she added:  "I already knew I was a INTJ from other tests."

I left her this comment:  "Ha!  I am also INTJ, according to an official Myers-Briggs test I took with a work group decades ago.  I definitely fit the profile.  I was told, though, that I was right on the cusp for one category:  the I or the E.  When I asked, the person who administered the test said it's all about how I would go about refreshing my energy.  I realized I definitely want to be alone to recharge (like an Introvert) because a party with lots of people tires me out (unlike an Extrovert).  We are kindred spirits, Colleen!"

The Myers-Briggs personality test was developed in the 1940s  — to classify the various ways people perceive their environment and behave accordingly.  The test has four categories: introversion or extroversion, sensing or intuition, thinking or feeling, and judging or perceiving. Each individual is assigned one of the two traits in each category, which produces the 16 different MBTI personality types that we know today –– such as INTJ or ESFP.  Here are the people shown on the illustration:

• INFP = A. A. Milne
• INFJ = Mahatma Gandhi
• INTJ = Ayn Rand
• INTP = Albert Einstein
• ISTP = Frank Zappa
• ISTJ = George Washington
• ISFJ = Mother Teresa
• ISFP = Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
• ESFP = Peter the Great
• ESFJ = Henry Ford
• ESTP = Winston Churchill
• ENTP = Benjamin Franklin
• ENTJ = Napoleon Bonaparte
• ENFJ = Martin Luther King, Jr.
• ENFP = Oscar Wilde

I've written about Myers-Bringgs before, so go ahead and explore what I said in 2013 and in 2021.  It's a fascinating subject.  Click HERE if you want to learn more.

A book, a video, and construction

Homesick: A Memoir ~ by Sela Ward, 2002, memoir, 272 pages

Millions of TV and film viewers know Sela Ward as the Emmy-winning star of the series Sisters and Once & Again.  But before she became a successful actress, Sela was first and foremost a small-town girl, the daughter of a family that lived for generations in a Mississippi homestead they called "Homeward."  It was there, within a tightly knit community of neighbors and kin, that Sela learned ways that would remain with her through life — humble virtues, like generosity, selflessness, and respect, that are "forged in the hearth of a loving home."  Now she has woven together nostalgic reminiscences, stories from throughout her life and career, and lessons on drawing strength and wisdom from a simpler place and time, to give us a very special book on the challenge of raising a family, maintaining perspective, and carving away time for happiness amid the challenges of modern life.

Did you also love the "Sound of Music" movie?  Here's a YouTube video of the cast returning to Salzburg for a 50th Anniversary Celebration.  (And here I am, wondering how it could possibly be 50 years since this movie came out!  It seems like yesterday.  Well, a year or two ago?  Some things just don't seem "long, long ago," you know.)

On Monday, I shared a time lapse video of the construction of our new building here at the Crown Center.  Here's a couple of drone photos, which were taken this past Tuesday.

Sunday Salon is hosted by Deb at Readerbuzz.

What I'm reading now

The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man ~ by James Weldon Johnson, 1912 (my edition, 2011), fiction with biographical introduction, 118 pages

First published anonymously in 1912, this is James Weldon Johnson's fictional account of a young biracial man living in America during the second half of the 19th century and early part of the 20th century.  The so-called "ex-colored" man makes his living as a jazz pianist playing ragtime music at a popular New York club.  It is here that he catches the attention of a wealthy white gentleman who takes a curious interest in him and employs him to play at his parties.  Although he becomes friends with the man, a feeling of subservience reminiscent of slavery prompts him to part ways.  He travels to the South, where he intends to work on his music in an attempt to glorify the artistry of his race.  However, after witnessing a terribly horrific lynching, he abandons his desire to embrace his black heritage, opting instead to "pass" as a white man.  This book explores the complexity of race relations between whites and blacks in America and the search for racial identity by a man of mixed ethnicity.  Through the experiences of its unnamed protagonist, the issues of class, race, and discrimination are discussed with an openness that was unusual in the literature of the time.

* Click on the book's title to read what I posted about this book in February.

** Footnote added after reading the book:  The author used the word "mulatto," now considered outdated and offensive, three times in this book (my Kindle search shows).

Beginning ~ with bread and jam

Beginning

September 1952 ~ Isaac Moore sat on the porch steps, stuffing the last bit of bread and jam into his mouth.  Most days he walked home with his little sister, but today he was hungry, and he had run ahead.  Ada should have been home by now.

The Obituary Society ~ by Jessica L. Randall, 2014, cozy mystery, 196 pages

When Lila Moore inherits her grandfather's house, she finds herself in a small Midwestern town where margarine is never an acceptable substitution for butter, a coveted family recipe can serve as currency, and the friend who will take your darkest secrets to the grave will still never give you the secret to her prize-winning begonias.  Lila is charmed by the people of Auburn, from the blue-eyed lawyer with the southern drawl to the little old lady who unceasingly tries to set Lila up with her grandson.  But when spooky things begin to happen, Lila realizes some of her new friends are guarding a secret like it's a precious family heirloom.  It's a dangerous secret, and it has come back to haunt them.  Lila is caught in the middle, and her life may depend on uncovering it.  But even if she can, can she stay in Auburn when not everyone is what they seem, and even the house wants her gone?

Gilion at Rose City Reader hosts

Book Beginnings on Fridays.

Let's create a kinder world

I received those words in the title ("Let's create a kinder world") on my smart phone from the Action for Happiness folks, and then I found this illustration on another site that asserts that "practicing kindness and compassion can bring real meaning and true happiness to yourself and others."  Today, let's all try to make our world kinder by taking at least a step or two in the right direction.