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Tiny Tooth Horror

Tiny Tooth Horror

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It’s a matter of aesthetics. I simply find certain kinds of mouths repulsive. For me, it all has to do with the teeth.

The worst mouth? The one where you have to wonder whether or not there are any teeth at all. The person hardly ever lets you see them. I dislike the bulldog expression – the bottom teeth appear, but the top teeth do not. I dislike very small teeth – they look like corn on the cob.

If you add tension, smirking, and other strange manneristic muscular signals to the secret-teeth, bottom-teeth-only, or corn teeth, then I have a very primal sort of reaction.

It’s a kind of prejudice – it is certainly a preference. Back in the day when I was basically a serial monogamist, all of my boyfriend/lovers had medium-to-large white teeth (not that it matters here, but I am also partial to strong chins and warm expressive eyes). My husband shows his nice white teeth. My whole family has big white gleaming teeth. Maybe it’s a narcissistic tribal affiliation.

Perhaps it is a coincidence, but my Dad lost all his teeth when he was young. I had the most trouble relating with him when his dentures were rather small. Later, when he was older, the dentures were (or at least seemed) bigger, and he smiled more often (and more naturally). We got along better – but that was probably for other reasons altogether. Still – I wonder if this sort of thing could really be a subliminal/unconscious factor i our responses to others?

I don’t care about skin color or language or class or sexuality – but I just don’t like those scary little teeth set in those hard unfeeling mouths. In such a case I may have to admire him (usually it’s a him I mean) in spite of teeth capacity or expressive usage. Someone would have to be so brillant or witty or creative that I would overlook the scary teeth situation, like say… Anthony Hopkins.

I never realized this about myself until now. I know this is a really odd thing. I wonder if I am alone in feeling this way. Having realized this, I’ll have to be more conscious of it in my daily interactions with people. It may be unfair, maybe, may… be.

I like big clean white teeth that show up and make a strong appearance. Americans are known all over the world for our big white honest teeth. Sometimes the teeth may suggest some sort of aggression, like a tiger baring its teeth, but I still prefer that to the scary little teeth. I’m very welcoming to Mormons at the door despite having been a door-to-door cousin Jehovah’s Witness – for some reason they tend to have great teeth (and they are so wonderfully earnest).

Actually I think there are people who prefer the secret teeth, the corn on the cob, show-the-bottom-teeth like a bulldog kind of thing. Maybe they are equally repulsed by people who show their upper teeth. Maybe they are self-conscious about their own teeth. I can’t say that I have the answers on this.

Could there be a political divide – could teeth actually be a factor?

I started having wild thoughts about this. JFK and Jimmy Carter showed teeth. The Clintons have the teeth and so does Kerry. Hollywood people are, of course, big teeth-showers. I’m sometimes undecided about Ahhnold – I like his teeth – but I notice that he doesn’t show them much when he is around the President.

It seems like such a shallow sort of thing, but I wonder if there really are any perceptual differences or other psychological effects across populations based on tooth preferences. I have really gotten to dislike the white male republican kind of mouth. Here’s what I mean.

Nixon had a nice smile:

nixonteeth.jpg

But is that how we remember him? No, here is the mouth I think of…

nixonbotteeth.jpg nixonbottteeth.jpg

Bush is more attractive to me when he shows his teeth.

bushteeth1.jpg See? This is nice.

But here is how I see him in my mind’s eye:

bushmouth.jpgbushmeet.jpg bushnoteeth.jpg bushdebate.jpg bushmon.jpg

It’s probably not a consistent thing. I’m sure there are lots of attractively-toothed Republicans and some scary little-toothed bulldog-underbited Democrats. Condi has a big toothy smile, but that one is a bit terrifying. Zell Miller looked like what he really was, a DINO. Joe Leiberman is borderline – smallish teeth but he shows them sometimes.

Still, here are a few examples of mouths with expressions that I find particularly unattractive.

cheneyteeth.jpg Cheney

rumsfeldteeth.jpg Rumsfeld

roveteeth.jpg Rove

tomdelaymouthm.jpg DeLay

perduemouth.jpg Perdue (GA Gov)

chamblis1.jpg chamblis2.jpg Chambliss (GA Sen)

Man O man, show me thy teeth.

Popcorn and Woolworth

Popcorn and Woolworth

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Today in history is brought to you via my emails from Centrum.  On February 22:

1630: A Native American named Quadequina brings popcorn to the first Thanksgiving celebration, introducing the English colonists to the popping kernels that had been grown for more than 1,000 years on the North American continent.

Hey, Centrum, how about letting us know the name of the tribe? Googled it – it’s the Wampanoag tribe. Ok, the leadership of Quadequina and his brother Massasoit was what allowed for the umbrella of friendship and protection afforded the Pilgrims.

They had popcorn??? Why isn’t that part of the Thanksgiving tradition?

Isn’t it about think we reexamine America’s Thanksgiving holiday?

There are so many questions about this odd holiday, and so little that is actually taught or celebrated – or acknowledged – about the truths of it.

1879: Frank Winfield Woolworth opens his Great 5 Cents Store in Utica, New York. He pledges to sell everything for a nickel or less. Woolworth went on to open "five and ten" stores across the nation.

I always heard it as "five and dime" – although that doesn’t make sense.

Instead of the wonderful Woolworths stores I remember with great fondness, we now have junky "dollar stores."

I much preferred the five and dime.

Opossum in Yard

Opossum in Yard

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Opposum – Originally uploaded by mountainpath2001.

I was just outside and heard something rustling in the leaves in the back yard. Grabbed a flashlight, and went to investigate. It was an opposum, bigger than the one above.

Every once in a while, I find an opposum out on the deck eating cat food. Normally there is a mutual I’m-eating-leave-me-alone policy between the ‘possum and the cats.

Usually it scurries off into the fig tree and pretends I don’t see it. It will hang around for a while if I talk to it (quit yer laughing). You have to respect the only North American marsupial; its ancestors were stealing food from dinosaur backyards millions of years ago. It has thumb-like structures on its back feet, and a decent prehensile tail. The white face is striking against the gray fur. And, get this – not only does the female have two uteri, but the male has a double-pronger to match. Humans, dogs and big owl are its only real predators, and it will eat practically anything. I’m always fascinated by the froglike webby hands. Even with few real defenses, it is a true survivor. Still – it’s a very strange creature.

Tonight this one looked right at me with bared teeth, moving its head from side to side like a cow, and growled at me in a very odd and menacing manner. I wondered for a moment if it might be rabid – but rabies is extremely rare in ‘possums. I didn’t get too close. Little One and Zoom (the cats) didn’t seem at all perturbed. The possum held its ground. I wonder whether it might have stashed some food under the leaves or something like that.

It wasn’t quite frightened enough to "play possum" by feigning death.

After watching it for five minutes or so while with the flashlight lowered, I came back inside. A bit later, it was gone.

Hacker Watch

Hacker Watch

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HackerWatch Map

I’m getting several attempts on my computer every day. I report these hacker attempts with my firewall software.

They analyze corporate and individually-submitted data like mine to track patterns of attacks, hacking attempts, and disruptions. Once a pattern is mapped, the appropriate authorities and ISP carriers can be notified.

I just looked at their sourcemaps for the first time today.

Significant incidents recently reported:
24 Hours – 78,541,667
7 Days – 547,791,660
30 Days – 2,356,379,550

It shocks me to see that the sources of the attacks are mostly in the US and Northern Europe.

Wow! Look at Texas! What does it mean?

GG Experiment

GG Experiment

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An interesting take on spiral symbols. Spiral imagery is universal – it doesn’t usually symbolize this, but why not?

The claim is overstated, but it’s a great little flash movie and a set of very ancient ideas in a neat package. I like the viral experiment aspect, of course.

Give Me the Master Key

Note: I think “master key” was a bad choice of words…