Laurenzo

It is about my mother and I can vouch that I am not the only one who has observed these about to be mentioned irrational traits of hers. The whole family is aware and I was just curious as to what the cause could be for someone to behave this way, so here is the description without further ado:

She is a marvelous cook, she is able to carry conversations normally albeit sometimes she talks too much but here is the truly whacky bit: she tends to repeat whatever she says , sometimes word for word and in other situations, she would simply mean the same thing but in a paraphrased manner. In addition to those speech habits, she also tends to have a selective hearing, not the kind of which we usually only apply to annoying people who prattle on and on but rather, to nearly all of her conversations as if she was only paying attention to her side of the dialogue.

At times you could tell her something in your most crisp voice and she would reply with an ''ah ? ''

as if she could not hear you the first time around. It has become more challenging for me to communicate with her as this mysterious cognitive behavior progresses. Her side of the family has a history of senile dementia so I am hoping that these aforementioned mental characteristics do not denote anything pernicious.

My take is that she just takes most conversations for granted and is not a good listener. Her constant practice of repeating herself might be related to an innate desire to be the center of attraction which originated from her younger years.

There are no rigid moral implications to this question. I would prefer an objective, preferably scientific answer to this enigma but certainly appreciate any general feedback from the community so I could develop a better understanding of her condition (or quasi-condition) and improve my communicative techniques towards her. Thanks in advance peeps!

If lets say you are in a fictional universe and you realize the quirky man named after legumes is your direct neighbor, how would you react to him ? Would you invite him for parties, be a judgmental prude and ignore/ ostracize him or maybe even invite him to church sermons to liven up the hymnals?

This is a perspective from fans to celebrate one of the most famous comedians of our times:)

Trust me when I say there are huge chunks of contenders but nothing even comes close to ''break open'' from the onslaught cycle. It is practically a push for your opinion unless you come up with a really deliberate combo. Besides, the morph mechanic has fallen into disrepair and is now a topic from 2005.

This is just plainly my perspective, because I was most active in the game during the Akroma/ Phage/ Ixidor love fest and took a keen notice on the hopelessness of ''break open''.

Maybe it is just my inapt combo skills but I remember audibly sighing whenever I receive yet another copy of the card (which shows a barbaric hooligan slicing an octopus-like freak) from my booster pack. I actually remember cleaning my uncle's dog's excrement with one because that is exactly how much it is worth to me.

I would really love to hear your stories about what you consider the worst card ever and how it may have screwed you in a pre-release sealed pack tournament or whatever! The most creative story wins points!

Tekla Bądarzewska-Baranowska was a polish composer from the 19th century who was most famous for the classic piece, ''the maiden's prayer''. She passed away very young while she was at the height of her fame. Is there anyone out there who knows what caused her premature death?

Wikipedia has placed her age of death to be 27 but some sources claim that she lived up till her 30s. If Wikipedia's information was credible, that would make her one of the earliest members of the ill-fated club 27 of fallen celebrities. My guess is that she developed some form of notorious endemic disease which was at the time void of vaccines or proper treatment and cure ( scarlet fever /tuberculosis ).

Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) was the father of the psychological school of Psychoanalysis. He was known to have developed famous concepts such as psychosexual theories of development and components of personality. His fixation with humanity's sexual dependence for motivation and largely untestable concepts have produced endless controversy over his techniques.

Other renowned psychologists such as Jung and Adler eventually disagreed with Freud's methods. Up till this very day, Freud has remained relevant in the psychological community and has even entered the realm of pop culture, being the creator of the ''freudian slip'' phenomenon.

In my estimation, Freud was a member of an early branch of psychologists who were not officially introduced to the scientific method of validity, empirical data and repeatability. That being said, it was understandable why the man stood firmly for his radical notions despite the absence of proper evidence.

I personally disagree with the ''dirty old man'' of psychology on human development, preferring the order of a mix between biological, social and cultural influences on the person.Alfred Bandura's socio-cognitive studies had also carried much importance to me. All in all, I still recognize Freud's contribution as something pivotal to the growth of the psychological field because it were these over-the-top beliefs that spurred new generations of academics to work towards developing more coherent or scientifically-sound theories.

Nero means black in italian and it was also the name of one of the most flamboyant and insane emperors from the age of the roman empire. I was wondering if perhaps, there was an association between the two since black has been a shade traditionally used to represent melancholy, sorrow, evil or night.

Nero was so wicked and psychotic that he was said to have fiddled in the comforts of his home while he was aware that a fierce fire ravaged most of the roman city.

In the book of Genesis of the Holy Bible, God is known to have banished Cain from his native lands due to his serious crime of murdering his very own biological brother, Abel.

Cain was afraid that the same fate would fall upon him for his misdeeds, that someone else would come for his life so God assured him that whoever dares try will receive a much more heavier punishment compared to the one he faced (exile) .

So a mark of Cain was placed upon him and it was to be an indicator of God's deal and Cain was sent away to live the rest of his life in a distant land of Nod to the east of Eden.

My question is, what exactly was the mark of Cain? The bible has shrouded its description in its patented enigmatic writting style. Could it have been a grotesque nevus ( birth mark ) , a divine tattoo, a sealed decree that was written and was to be carried at all times or simply an intangible aura of profound sorrow and condemnation that would repel anyone around him who may bear homicidal tendencies.

What could it have actually been?

This is regarding the repair of the Big Ben's second bell which was constructed by George Mears at the White Chapel Bell Foundry. It is said that after 4 years of inactivity due to a crack, the astronomer royal, Sir George Airy was noted to have solved the conundrum by cutting a square into the bell and reducing the weight of its hammer.

I am really interested to know how cutting a square into the bell's frame would actually halt a crack, I am quite assured of the reason behind the hammer's size reduction though, since a lighter instrument would mitigate the impact of the clashes and prevent further damage to the bell from the tolls.