Mud, Mud, glorious MUD!
WHY THIS?
Chris and Joanna met when they were both 23 years old at Beauvoir School Summer Camp in Washington, DC, and this was the song Chris led the kids in singing most mornings. We are fond of it—we think it’s perfect for hwp, and we hope you will join us in singing...
A bold hippopotamus was standing one day,
On the banks of the cool Shalimar.
He gazed at the bottom as it peacefully lay
By the light of the evening star.
Away on a hilltop, sat brushing her hair
His fair hippopotami maid.
The hippopotamus was no ignoramus
And sang her this sweet serenade.
Mud, mud, glorious mud,
Nothing quite like it for cooling the blood.
So follow me, follow, down to the hollow
And there let us wallow in glorious mud.
Now more hippopotami began to convene
On the banks of that river so wide
I wonder now what-am-I to say of the scene
That ensued by the Shalimar side?
They dived all at once with an ear-splitting splosh
Then rose to the surface again
A regular army of hippopotarmy
All singing this haunting refrain…
Why Chris and Joanna stand for human words:
Chris came to talk to Joanna one day about an idea he had, and, as often happens, we had been thinking about the same thing. We were both concerned about all the ways that AI is going to change the way people think and relate.
We wanted to do something about it—because we LOVE human words. We love using them, making them, speaking them, and singing them. And so we decided to commit to the celebration, playfulness and power of human words, and to make a place for others to come with us and start a movement. We believe that with the rise of AI-generated words in all aspects of our life, we are in a Sputnik moment, a total paradigm shift in history. We are called by this to reflect upon, engage, and empower authentic human words—to make a stand for them.
We hope this site will heighten awareness, spread the messsage of what 100% human words bring to the world, and grow a movement with impact. Human words are in the body and of the body—they contain spirit, location, environment, and culture. They connect human to human, they are intricately woven from the history and beingness of all of us.
Please dive into this site: read, share, respond, and join the community so we can build on this message. Talk to other humans…and help us help this movement grow!
Chris is a teacher, professor of education, drummer, and manual typewriter enthusiast. More about Chris’s work at WhatSustains.com
Joanna is a therapist, painter, and poet. More about Joanna’s work at shedrawshercircle.com.
HUMAN WORDS FROM ACROSS THE WORLD:
Ideally this idea will light fire in you or someone you know who lives in another country to start other human words projects in other languages and cultures. Please reach out and let us know!
VISIT ALL THE PAGES OF THIS SITE TO READ, LISTEN, GET INSPIRED, AND CONNECT!