No Laughing Matter

Apparently, there is a rule you need to post on your blog regularly or you should shut it down. So from now on I'm going to post random nonsense on a regular basis so as to uphold this rule. Is quantity over quality valued in blog culture?

Anyway, one thing I've been thinking about writing (when life isn't getting in the way) is a post on laughter; my laughter in particular. I think we can agree that each person has a characteristic laugh; it's a unique mannerism which we can use to identify that person. This means a person's laughter is constant over time. There may be variations in their laughter, depending on how hard they are laughing, for example, but even the variations are consistent.

One thing I have noticed about myself, though, is that my laughter has changed over time. Every so often I adopt a particular style of laugh and try it on for size over a few years. For instance, in my late 20s, snorting became of my laughter. This fell away in my early 30s (thankfully). The last noticeable change in my laughter happened this past Christmas. I have adopted a "heh heh" kind of laugh and it's still going strong 4 months later.

What's with that? Why is my laugh changing? What ~is~ my characteristic laugh, or did I ever have one? What does this mean about me and my identity? So many questions. My question for anyone reading this blog: Has your laugh ever changed over time? If so, can you identify why this has happened to you?

Oscar

I'm about to watch the Oscars tonight. Just watched a Barbara Walters' interview with Jennifer Hudson (nominated for an Oscar for her role in Dream Girls). As a build up to the interview, they showed a key singing scene from the movie in which Hudson was absolutely amazing. During the interview, Barbara asked her to sing, to which she belted out this beautiful, soulful song. I was expecting a soft, pretty song, but she sang like she was auditioning for American Idol and had to give it her everything. She surprised Barbara and probably most viewers. Ironically, Hudson was a top 12 finalist for American Idol and Simon Cowell had criticized her as "lacking depth." Who's laughing now? She sounded really down to earth. Haven't seen Dream Girls, but I plan to now.

For best movie, I have seen "Babel" and "The Departed." They were both very good movies, although the ending for "The Departed was disappointing. Not sure what will win, but I am betting that Helen Mirren will win for "The Queen." She's been winning awards and accolades everywhere else and she has been around for decades, so I'm thinking she's due. (I haven't seen "The Queen," but I plan to watch this as well.)

I hope this satisfies my "fans" who have been complaining I don't blog enough! I'll do my best to prevent blog rot.