3 TOPICS DEALING WITH LEISURE

All work and no play are bad, so now it's time to play!

3.1 CHARADES
         SIGNALS
         CONSIDERATIONS FOR HOSTING CHARADES
3.2 MENSA
3.3 ENCORE AND MISCELLANEOUS GAMES
3.4 HIKING
3.5 MUSIC AND ART

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3.1 CHARADES


SIGNALS:

I learned a set of signals that some friends used in charades sessions.  Later I searched the web for signals, and I found some differences.  There is no universally used set of signals, so I combined what I consider the best from all the sources, to produce two pages of signals for charades.

If you have arrived at this section only because you want to see the signals, you can click the link above and then ignore the rest of this Charades section of my web site.

Here are other web sites that deal with charades:
Here is some of the rationale for my decisions on signals:  My friends used the drawing of a curved curtain for a play, tuning knobs or a V-shaped antenna for a TV show, and the drawing of a rectangle for a picture.  Other web sites' signals use the pulling of a rope for a play and the drawing of a rectangle for a TV show, and they do not mention a picture.  I decided to use those popular signals for a play or TV show.  Then I could no longer use a rectangle for a picture, so I use a paint brush.  For the name of a person, my friends used pointing to where a name tag would be, but several sites use hands on hips, so I decided to use hands on hips.  My friends used drawing a line on the forehead for a headline (☺), and several sites use pointing to a watch for an event.  I decided to use drawing a line for either a headline or an event.  Several sites have signals for “stop; you're on the wrong track,” but I think that simply shaking your head “no” suffices, and I don't even list it in my set of signals, because it's obvious.  Some sites have a signal for “synonym,” but I think that the “continue” and “sort of” signals suffice.  The karate chop for “shorten” and the stretching for “lengthen” are popular, and I followed one site's practice of distinguishing between doing those things at a word's beginning and at its end.  Some sites use a karate chop for a single letter, but I don't want the karate chop to have two meanings, so I use a different signal for a single letter.  My friends use saluting for a color (saluting the colors ☺) and pointing to the tongue for a foreign language.  Some sites use pointing to the tongue for a color, but I keep my friends' signals.  I invented very few signals:  stepping backward (for back up) and using a paint brush (for a picture).

CONSIDERATIONS FOR HOSTING CHARADES:

Here are my suggestions:
Some charades parties randomly divide the players into two teams for competitive play (after the entries have gone into the bag), and some play charades noncompetitively.
Some people prefer competitive charades.  I think that novices would feel more comfortable with noncompetitive charades.  If your charades group is just beginning, I suggest noncompetitive charades for the first few parties, and then (after gaining experience) you can try competitive play if the players want it.

3.2 MENSA

 

Mensa is an international society that was founded in 1946 in Great Britain and that has groups in many countries; I will concentrate on American Mensa.  The sole requirement for membership is a score in the top 2% of the general population on any of various intelligence tests.  American Mensa's web site says that members range in age from 4 to 100.  I (and, I suspect, most members) view Mensa primarily as a social organization, but the official goals are broader:  “to identify and foster human intelligence for the benefit of humanity, to encourage research in the nature, characteristics and uses of intelligence, and to promote stimulating intellectual and social opportunities for its members.”

American Mensa has many local groups.  Examples are Boston and San Francisco.  There are some national activities, including a monthly magazine and an annual convention (with speakers, games, and other activities), but most social activities are within the local groups.  The types of social activities vary among different local groups.

Here are examples of Mensa activities:  potluck dinners, games (charades, Encore, Scrabble, bridge, Boggle, Trivial Pursuit, Pictionary, Puerto Rico, Bang!, Settlers of Catan, Alhambra, Cranium, etc.), restaurant dining, videos in members' homes, movies at movie theatres, sing-alongs, wine tasting, miscellaneous parties, discussions, speakers, hiking, target shooting, self-defense classes, and annual local conventions.  These are activities that many people (not just Mensans) would enjoy, and you should not expect to find elitism at Mensa.  A few aspects of Mensa (e.g., some discussions, colloquia, and one journal) do have a more cerebral tone, and there are some community service activities.  If you join Mensa, you can start an activity!  You might even attend an afternoon activity and an evening activity in the same day -- the American two-party system! ☺

The web sites for local groups list local officers to contact and (for many local groups) list calendars of events.  Some local groups list a “Mensa phone,” where you can leave a message to request information.  Many but not all events welcome prospective members who want to experience Mensa events before deciding whether to join Mensa; contact the event's host if you are unsure whether an event welcomes people who are not yet members.

You would join through American Mensa, not through a local group.  If you move between local groups, your membership moves with you.  Mensa accepts many tests.  For example, if you scored at least 1300 on the SAT taken before September 30, 1974 or at least 1250 on the SAT taken from September 30, 1974 to January 31, 1994, you qualify; scores on later SAT test dates are not accepted.  Local groups tend to offer tests periodically, or you can go to a private psychologist.

As Alka-Seltzer advertised, “Try it, you'll like it” (but you will not get indigestion).

3.3 ENCORE AND MISCELLANEOUS GAMES

   

Encore is a board game for two teams that like to sing.  You do not need to sing well; you only need to remember song lyrics.  Some people love Encore, and some have a very different opinion.  Each card in the deck has 6 colors, 5 of which have words and 1 of which has a category.  Each position on the board has 1 color, to indicate which word to use (or whether to use the category instead).  One team must sing at least 8 consecutive words of a song that includes the word or category, then the other team must, then the first team must, etc..  For example, if the word is “life,” a team might sing “I tell you life ain't easy for a boy named Sue” (from the song “A Boy Named Sue”).  If the category is “musical instruments,” a team might sing “just this old guitar and an empty bottle of booze,” which is also from “A Boy Named Sue.”  A word in a song can match a category even if the word has a completely different meaning in the song's context; the rules' example is the category of “automobile names” and the song excerpt of “Climb every mountain, ford every stream, follow every rainbow.”  Some people (e.g., the owner of this web site) enjoy such outrageous double meanings, and some do not.  There are two editions of Encore:
In either edition, a team that reaches the end of the board has an opportunity to win the game via a special set of singing, described in the rules.

Crossword, mathematical, and logic puzzles are good mental exercises that can be hard to put down. I do the Boston Globe crossword puzzle.  When I lived in San Jose, I did the New York Times crossword puzzle in the San Jose Mercury News.

I haven't played Monopoly in many years.  Apparently it has been brought up to date.  I saw a current edition, in which one “Go to jail” card says that you have been arrested for insider trading.

3.4 HIKING



The National Park Service (NPS) has a great collection of parks.  You can save time on the day(s) of your visit by planning your visit in advance.  Information is available on the web, and if you need more information, you can call the park to ask about obtaining additional information.

One good hiking trail, the Appalachian Trail, extends from Maine to Georgia.

In Massachusetts, the Department of Conservation and Recreation provides many hiking trails.  Also, here's a book:  C. W. G. Smith, Massachusetts Trail Guide, Appalachian Mountain Club Books.

In Silicon Valley, Santa Clara County's Department of Parks and Recreation provides many hiking trails.  Also, here's a book:  T. Taber, The Santa Cruz Mountains Trail Book, Oak Valley Press.

As a substitute for hiking, an exercise bicycle by itself is not very interesting, especially for those of us who like breathing fresh air and seeing animals, plants, rock formations, and scenery in general.  However, an exercise bicycle has the virtue of not occupying your eyes, ears, or hands.  Therefore, if you were planning to read something, watch TV, or do some other interesting things, adding the exercise bicycle adds the benefits of exercise but does not add a significant amount of time to the interesting things that you were planning to do.  Of course, another virtue is immunity from extreme temperatures, precipitation, and effects of precipitation (mud, snow, and ice).  I like to use an exercise bicycle whose seat has a back, unlike a bicycle-style seat.

3.5 MUSIC AND ART

 

When using a search engine to find the lyrics of a song, inclusion of some of the lyrics (not just the title) in your search criteria will concentrate the results on sites that list the lyrics, as opposed to sites that just mention the song without listing the lyrics. There are many web sites that include lyrics. Some but not all also include guitar chords. I make no promises about the accuracy of the lyrics or chords on the web sites. You will find cases where two sites differ on the lyrics and/or differ on the guitar chords. That's life! Buying the sheet music or photocopying it in a public library can give you the melody, the harmony, the guitar chords, and probably the official lyrics.

Here are some but not nearly all of the sites:

When I took a drawing class, I concluded that learning how to observe is a large part of learning how to draw.


Forward to Section 4. Miscellaneous Topics.

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