Recently, a couple of people I know have seen fit to pass judgement that I’m taking life a little too seriously. That by some miracle, I have grown a social conscience. One even accused me of growing up! My last few posts have been of the political feel, which is (to a certain, grudging extent) unusual for me. Apparently it’s my ‘new interest for the next six months’, whatever that means. While I may never have discussed it, politics always vaguely interested me, as long as it was happening in someone else’s country.

On the lighter side of life, I happened to stumble across a blog that puts my own attempts at intelligent thought to shame. Perhaps it goes a long way to explaining a few things about our resident monkey in the house. Love the ID pic though…

But it was courtesy of this amazing little simian that I also stumbled across this little giggle. Just one question: when will we reach saturation point on this joke?

Just one last thing, I’m glad I work in a small business. This little gem is great for a laugh and really makes me appreciate the fact I only have to deal with five staff members. I must sympathise - people who use permanent markers on whiteboards should really be excluded from breeding.

(What’s the go with this logo…hmm)

Now this is probably something you might think is more suitable on a blog like brandkudos or 21st Century Marketing (given Monkeyboy’s affixiation with PUMA) but I think it is worth a mention here. Puma have launched an interesting marketing campaign and you guessed it, they are blogging! Check out the site here.

Now before you go running down the hall screaming “Press release”, I would like to get one thing straight. This post is not merely a “have a look at this..”entry, but more an invitation for the 12 German Adoptees to say hello on beezhouse.com.

Considering Australia has now finally qualified for the World Cup, I think we finally have legitimate reason to participate in the pre-competition hype. So German Adoptees, we like what you are doing (so far), we like that Australia is in the World Cup and we like the fact that Germany will not win…what do you think of that?

On first impressions this is a good concept. As far as support the “World Cup” sites go, Puma have dared to take a different approach (according to Monkeyboy, this is not a usual thing in Germany) and I think this sits well with all of us at beezhouse. However I am not completely sure I understand the objective of the 12 blogs? From what I can read, it seems as though these guys all travel together to spruik the World Cup and Puma, so why 12 different blogs? Secondly as Random Culture points out, I would have much preferred 12 different blogs individually and originally designed by the blogger. The PUMA branding although rather subtle, smells of “Corporate Rigidity”

Lastly, the most important issue…Why was our very own Monkeyboy in Frankfurt not selected? He must be most devasted!

Have you ever wondered why superstitions exist? Well, it’s not through documented incidents otherwise they’d be facts, right? Would it surprise you to know that a lot of our superstitions are actually derived from religion? I’m sure that Buddhists and Hindus, Muslims and Jews all have their own superstitions. I’m interested in those that have been segregated into western society by the Roman Catholic Church.

No, this is not the new conspiracy theory bestseller by Dan Brown. I had an old book years ago that delved into the religious significance behind current day superstitions. Unfortunately, I lost it and can’t remember the title (a chorus of skeptics suddenly cries out “How bloody convenient”). I’m still really upset about it. Still, I vividly remember one explanation that fascinated me – which shoulder you throw spilt salt over and why you do it.

Throughout the church history, salt was regarded to the most Godly of earthly minerals. To spill it was to desecrate something divine. Of course, this desecration was seen to be an invitation for the devil. Kinda like a party invite. So how does one ensure the devil is ‘uninvited’? Well, the devil always attacks us from our weakest point, which is our left side. Do you think it’s a coincidence that the Latin for left is sinister? Don’t get me started on the religious persecution of the left.

But what does this have to with throwing salt over your shoulder? As salt is the Godly mineral, it stands to reason you throw it at the devil, over your… you guessed it, left shoulder. By throwing a Godly substance in the eyes of the devil, he will be blinded and danger has been averted. You have been saved.

If anyone out there knows of the book to which I am referring, please let me know. I think it was published in the seventies and it had a green cover with a red title. For more superstitions, check out this site.