Friday, January 05, 2007

Behavior

BEHAVIOR, n. Conduct, as determined, not by principle, but by breeding. The word seems to be somewhat loosely used in Dr. Holobom's translation of the following lines in the Dies Irae:
Recordare, 'Jesu pie,
Quod sum causa tuae viae.
Ne me perdas illa die.
Pray remember, sacred Savior,
Whose the thoughtless hands that gave your
Death-blow, Pardon such behavior.

2007 Update: Activity, regulated to separate the enlightened modern from brutes, savages, friends and family.

41 comments:

Charlene Amsden said...

behavior according to my students, any of their actions someone else is responsible for.

Minka said...

I am going to be on my best behaviour and not tease people about taking my spot. *nudges Quilly slightly in the arm when noone is looking*

*grins widely*

behavior, if it´s bad I am sure it is linked to the Y-Chromosome!

Charlene Amsden said...

"First? My what a pleasant surprise," she said sedately. Then she did the happy dance and exhibited other exhuberant behaviors unbecoming a sedate and mild mannered Sunday School teacher.

Charlene Amsden said...

Oh, sorry, Minka. didn't see you waiting there. :)

Anonymous said...

sit, Douglas

ifvgwtm: if Viagra works tomorrow

Anonymous said...

Behavior: Shaped incessantly by advertisers last December, ours will soon be judged good our bad by their accountants.

The amoeba said...

The XX made me do it, Minka!!

"... from brutes, savages, friends and family." And from WA commentators, Doug?

Anonymous said...

what kind of berries go into a Jesu pie? can it be topped with whipped cream before tossing it into someone's face?

The amoeba said...

BEHAVIOR, n. Blogger being Blogger. Which I'm sure somebody, somewhere, is going to blame on a Y chromosome. If only because of a lack of periodicity.

;)

ehardjz - man, they're doing everything online now.

Anonymous said...

Behaviour: behavior that just seems better because of the British accent.

Anonymous said...

Behavior: What people show their very best of when on a first date.

Puppybrose, you're funny.

Charlene Amsden said...

OC -- shame on you. Careful your behavior doesn't land you in time out.

TS -- I've been on a couple of first dates that lead me to argue that point (because if that was their best behavior I really don't care to see them again).

Anonymous said...

Quilly, ...and thus you were saved from future anquish, having determined that your new companions were unsuitably unable to modify their expected behaviour

Anonymous said...

Behavior: What others expect of you which you can never get right!

Oh, so true.

Happy 2007 dear Doug! Don't forget to stop by my new fictional blog and tell me what you think :)

Madison's Revenge - http://madisonsrevenge.blogspot.com

The amoeba said...

Time out? Who didn't go to the grocery store, then? That's not very responsible behavior. My red sauce will suffer for it.

Doug The Una said...

Quilldancer, if only someone would teach those kids.

Sure, Minka. Or the gene for penguinity.

Quill, I'm sure Minka share my joy at your joy. Never mind the pencil in your back.

K, *puts down favorite shoes*

Al, I'm hearing no complaints.

OC, we're practically sharing a petri dish. Cherchez les x?

Puppybrose, if only missionaries wore whipped cream there would be more faith in the world and fewer would starve.

OC, I'm laughing.

Haha, Puppybrose. Avarice, gluttony, cowardice and pride all seem like virtues behind a stiff upper lip, don't they?

Terry, that's why I only show up for the first and the third.

Soup-slurping, Quill?

Or the curse of a sincere man, Terry.

I'll be by, Sophisticated. Thanks for retraining me.

O Ceallaigh, I think that must be an in joke on a public site. Wanna review the word for today?

Anonymous said...

Behavior... that which i'd better be on my best of. o:>)

Anonymous said...

Al's comment: behavior being judged soon by accountants?
That's why I'm going away in January so I can face being
judged

Behavior: she has made her feelings and some behaviors too public
in that thing called a blog and is fearing the wrath of the
behavior living gods. As opposed to the big one that might or might
not come after

Anonymous said...

Behavior: what you get out of the Skinner box.

Sorry, only psychology students will understand that. Maybe even not them.

Doug The Una said...

Karen, didn't I read somewhere that history is rarely made by well-behaved women?

Pia, Mexico will be a great place to be when the December bills come. Look for me.

Actually, Indy, the Skinner box was a topic here before. I think between a chemist and social service administrator. What I don't understand is why they aren't more popular.

Jamie Dawn said...

Oh behave!

I can vouch for well-behaved women. We are a necessary anomaly. We hold this whole world together without making history.
Behind every great man and kid...

My son was displaying annoying behaviour last night while we played a game of Quiddler. I nearly strangled him, but I remembered that well-behaved ladies don't do such things.

Be good today.

Anonymous said...

let's just say i've heard stories about the benefit of stiff upper lips in regards to a number of behaviors, and leave it at that.

Anonymous said...

Doug, yeppers! just thought i'd better watch my p's & q's once in a while over here; it's more fun that way! {grin}

Anonymous said...

and JD, your Austin Powers reference (which i assume you were making, but even if you weren't, in my head, you DID) gives "rise" to another option (think "pump") with regards to a behavior (or lack thereof) Karma delicately mentions in her latest-and-oh-so-hilarious post.

d'oh! and why am i now laughing at the fact that my veri is "grbyl"?? oy, it's time for me to go back to my corner, isn't it?

Sar said...

Boisterous
Exemplary
Haughty
Attentive
Vivacious
Instigating
Ornery
Rebellious

Anonymous said...

Behavior: The twitching of muscles and the contraction of spirit.

I will meet you all in Huatulco. Que tengan un buen fin de semana...

TLP said...

Behavior: What you do rather than what you think or feel. When you think about what some people actually do, it's pretty scary to wonder what awful things they must think.

Charlene Amsden said...

Doug -- had the problem been soup slurping I wouldn't have walked home sans one shoe, which I left in what --for my handy date -- may have been an uncomfortable place.

Also, OC's joke wasn't private, just obsure. Think thyme.

Skinner boxes these days are called Play Stations.

Great poem, Sar. Teacher gives you an A+.

Anonymous said...

BEHAVIOR: the action, the reaction, the reaction to the action, and the ringing bell and/or pie in the face that started the whole thing in the first place [see also: "He did it first!" "No *he* did!" "Uh-uh!" "Uh-HUH!"]

and Sar, i thought your acronymic-ish (i think i just made that up) use of the word showed great form. that said, some behavioral psychologist might have a field day with your use of "instigate" over "intelligent" for the letter "I" (unless that clever piece was about Doug, in which case... nevermind.)

Mutha said...

Behavior: All I know is when the bell rings, I get a cookie.

Mutha said...

Which is good enough for me.

Doug The Una said...

Jamie Dawn, Quiddler is a game in which you strangle people? Is it at Toys-R-Us?

Bad puppy!

I see, Karen. You're luring us in. Never mind, then. Continue.

Bad puppy! Why can't you be wholesome like Karen?

Sar, that was terrific.

Pure poetry, Mule. Buen viaje, amigo!

TLP, "I'm hungry" explains most of it. "I'm sleepy" the rest.

Oh, good grief. Thanks for translating from the original scientist. Just because I'm curious, are bad puns a shoe-between-the-kneesable offense? Fantastic line about the playstations. I agree.

Good puppy!

Mutha, what else do you need to know?

Anonymous said...

what'd I do?? yeesh... make one little sacrilegious crack about Jesu pie, follow it up with a small, semi-provocative play on "stiff-uppers", and you get your pants in a wad (or is that a thong? can't really tell from here). i'm just trying to demonstrate the full range of YOUR word, bub, so, really... this is all *your* fault.

Sar said...

My fine feathery friend - my first A+ of the semester, woohoo! Can I get a records transfer, Quilly?

My fine Freudian snuppy - ACRONIMish is my long standing (albeit overdue) specialty around here, and ribbing our curmudgeon host in the process is always a bonus.

Doug - thanks for the kudos (*curtsies*) and for tolerating my sudden instinct to flex my hostess with the mostess muscle here. :)

Anonymous said...

behavior: always learned.

Charlene Amsden said...

Doug -- I have no idea why I come to this site when I am eating my dinner. You have made me spit more food on my computer screen than all the other people I talk to combined. For the record: I like bad puns.

Sar -- I can get you an offical transcript -- of course it will only be good for 5th grade, and before I can make print it out, I will need to see proof of Nevada residency and your domicile will have to be within our school zone.

Alana said...

Indie: I got it. Course I was a psychology major.

In fact, I wear the scarlet letter "B" (for behaviorist), which makes me loathed by people who have never met me and make all kinds of assumptions about us ABA consultants.

SO anyways, my theory as a behaviorist:

Beahavior=Communication

Some just make better translators than others.

Anonymous said...

Tis a tragedy I didn't make it in yesterday on the word behavior and skinner boxes being bandied about. Nothing to do with word aversion I can assure you as I'm always on my best (when I'm not on my worst).

Doug The Una said...

Puppy, you know perfectly well what you did. A whistling joke? On this site?

Sar, it's a pleasure. I was thinking of adding a muscle girl contest, anyway.

Alice, even breast-feeding?

Quilly, you run a tight ship.

Square, I guess to a hammer nail=communication.

Right, G! Skinner boxes are us. How's that working in your home?

Anonymous said...

The show that the audience sees while completely unrelated events occur in the wings.

Anonymous said...

Behavior: Something psychologists study but still fail to comprehend.