As Baudelaire says, “the greatest trick the devil ever played was convincing the world that he did not exist”.

Read more:  http://runesoup.com/2013/10/do-you-have-the-devils-backbone/#ixzz3efGriWnQSmirk: Slight, often fleeting upturning  of the corners of  the mouth, completely voluntary and controllable;

Smile: Silent, voluntary and controllable, more perceptible than a smirk; begins to release endorphins;

Grin: Silent, controllable, but uses more facial muscles (e.g.,  eyes begin to narrow);

Snicker: First emergence of  sound with facial muscles, but still controllable (if  you hold in a snicker, it builds up gas);

Giggle: Has a 50 percent chance of  reversal to avoid a full laugh; sound of giggling is amusing; efforts to suppress it tend to increase its strength;

Chuckle: Involves chest muscles with deeper pitch;

Chortle: originates even deeper in the chest and involves muscles of torso; usually provokes laughter in others;

Laugh: Involves facial and thoracic muscles as well as abdomen and extremities; sound of  barking or  snorting;

Cackle: First involuntary stage; pitch is higher and body begins to rock, spine extends and flexes, with an upturning  of  head;

Guffaw: Full body response; feet stomp, arms wave, thighs slapped, torso rocks, sound is deep and loud; may result in free flowing of  tears, increased heart rate, and breathlessness; strongest solitary laughter experience;

Howl: Volume and pitch rise higher and higher and body becomes more animated;

Shriek: Greater intensity than howl; sense of  helplessness and vulnerability;

Roar: Lose individuality; i.e., the audience roars!

Convulse: Body is completely out of  control in a fit of laughter resembling a seizure; extremities flail aimlessly, balance is lost, gasp for breath, collapse or  fall off chair;

Die laughing: Instant of total helplessness; a brief, physically intense, transcendent experience; having died, we thereafter report a refreshing moment of  breathlessness and exhaustion with colors more vivid and everything sparkling; everything is renewed.

 

 

• Quiescent - a quiet, soft-spoken soul.

• Chimerical - merely imaginary; fanciful. 

• Susurrus - a whispering or rustling sound. 

• Raconteur - one who excels in story-telling. 

• Clinquant - glittering; tinsel-like. 

• Aubade - a song greeting the dawn. 

• Ephemeral - lasting a very short time. 

• Sempiternal - everlasting; eternal. 

• Euphonious - pleasing; sweet in sound. 

• Billet-doux - a love letter. 

• Redamancy - act of loving in return.

 

Terence McKenna: Culture is a simplification and a lie. It’s the currency by which fools navigate.

 

As Baudelaire says, “the greatest trick the devil ever played was convincing the world that he did not exist”.