4th of July

We all know about fireworks and such, but here are some other thoughts for 4th of July weekend.

Read individually, or as a group, the Declaration of Independence.
http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/document/index.htm

Watch Yankee Doodle Dandy, Stars and Stripes Forever, 1776, Born on the 4th of July or some other interesting and topical movie.

Dress in red, white and blue.

See if you and co-workers can create a human American flag.

Other ideas?

Why NO FUN at work?

This is a serious question and I'd really like to engage you in considering answers. I have done a little research - and I admit to not being especially skilled - to find publications that can explicate and enumerate reasons for no fun at work. And I haven't found very much.

Here are some of the reasons that I have seen articulated:

• There is no time for fun. 
• Fun is counterproductrive (if not unproductive). 
• Business is serious. It is not professional to have fun. 
• Fun is disruptive. 
• There is a workplace, not a play ground; there is a workforce not a play force.
• Fun requires people to participate whether they want to or not.
• Fun carries the risk of offense to colleagues.

There are probably other reasons and rationales. One that comes to mind is that leadership is not comfortable with the idea of fun at work. 

So help me out, please. Why is fun at work such a hard sell?

Play Therapy

I found a pamphlet for an organization called Association for Play Therapy (http://www.a4pt.org/) and they seem to be a real and reliable organization. They offer some outcomes for play:

• Builds trust and mastery
• Fosters learning and acceptable behaviots
• Regulates emotions
• Reduces anxieties
• Promotes creative thinking and problem-solving
• Encourages open communication
• Elevates spirit and self-esteem

In short, play is a good thing. Not all the time, to be sure, but every now and again. Perhaps we should consider adding play as a part of our personal and professional lives.

June 6 -- D-DAY AND National Doughnut Day

June 6th is the 70th anniversary of D-Day and deserves to be celebrated with great appreciation for the men and women who participated in the landings. And here are some anagrams to solve to help remember:

HEROINESWE
DSORW
NUJO
HAAMO
LOGD
HUTA
INSOVAIN
RORDLVEO
SODAGENTLY (2 words)

June 6th is also National Doughnut Day.

http://www.daysoftheyear.com/days/doughnut-day/

I plan to pick up some deep-fat tasty treats and bring them to the cigar store where my dad and I occasionally hang out and eat one and smoke a nice stogie. How do you plan to celebrate? (Checkout the Kresge Business School Library - they own this day!)

Liza Doolittle Day: May 20

Here's a bit of the lyrics from Just You Wait, 'enry 'iggins, from My Fair Lady. (Full lyrics can be found at: http://www.metrolyrics.com/just-you-wait-lyrics-my-fair-lady.html)

One evening the king will say, "Oh, Liza, old thing
I want all of England your praises to sing"

Next week on the twentieth of May
I proclaim Liza Doolittle day

So, next Tuesday is May 20 and as King of this blog I proclaim Liza Doolittle Day. 

• Speak with a cockney accent;
• Dress as a flower seller;
• Dance all night;
• Find a 'enry 'higgins and tell 'im what you'd like to do to him;
• or whatever else strikes your fancy and fires your imagination

'ave fun!

Fun Ideas for a Staff Retreat in May

Feet Don’t Fail Me

a)      Everyone goes barefoot for the day;

b)      Paint or stick happy faces on toes and create and dance a happy foot dance;

c)      Paint or stick roses on toes and dance to Moses Supposes His Toeses Are Roses from Singin’ in the Rain. (http://www.zazzle.com/red_rose_sticker-217982755706889259)

Liza Doolittle Day: May 20th

a)      Dress like the flower girl as Liza is/was;

b)      Speak in a Cockney accent;

c)      Find a likely ‘enry ‘iggins to be subjected to Liza’s wrath

Library Limericks

a)      Have each unit compose a limerick suitable for their functions, skills, etc. or for the library in general, i.e.

Our library is really a fun place,

There are many smiling work faces,

There’s no end of glee,

We often go Te-Hee-Hee,

Our building is the coolest of  places.

b)      Have a contest to create a limerick for the retreat.

The retreat we are on is a cool one,

Who knew retreating could be so much fun,

As we share and we learn,

To one another we turn,

And say we are almost sorry the day’s done.

Human Croquet (http://strange-games.blogspot.com/2006/05/human-croquet_114799450890208568.html) – There is a literary tie-in here to Kate Atkinson’s novel of the same name

Limerick Day: May 12

Coming Monday, May 12, it is Limerick Day :)

http://www.daysoftheyear.com/days/limerick-day/

This form is credited to Edward Lear and popularized in his A Book of Nonsense. Here's an example of his craft:

There was an Old Man with a beard,
Who said, 'It is just as I feared!
Two Owls and a Hen,
Four Larks and a Wren,
Have all built their nests in my beard!