Thoughts on COMEDY & TRAGEDY ...

The words COMEDY and TRAGEDY commonly refer to the ways in which dramatic conflicts are resolved (inside of and outside of theatre)...

Whenever a tragedy occurs, the inherent confusion cannot end until such time as everyone affected has recognized what had taken place ...and has: learned, forgiven, forgotten, and re-established (his or her) identity within a functional social group.  

Whereas a comedy typically ends within a "group celebration" -- e.g. a betrothal or wedding (accompanied by music and dance). The emphasis is on integration inside of the group. It's a recommitment to the sharing of life, together. If there has been a disruptive presence -- a source of anti-social discord, then that person typically has to reform their ways -- else be punished, or banished from all celebration by the group.

Thus, a "comic celebration" is looking forward to a more meaningful communal life, hence the ubiquitous ending for romance novels (romantic comedies) ..."and they lived happily ever after."

Me Thinks

Some people are too darned turbid!

'Tis not my intent to muddy things-up, but some people are so darned turbid, that they don't know their hole from an ass in the ground!



Know wadda mean?


Copyright (c)2010 - Robert C. Kuhmann - All Rights Reserved. (All Wrongs Avenged!)

No more questions...

People are living smaller - everywhere. The economy is bleak and it is going to deteriorate. As an optimist, I do not announce such things as idle talk. Still, I am present and a participant - grateful for the joys of life, big and small. The future is definitely going to be a challenging time.  Meanwhile, albiet that (in general) people do not choose whom they love, they may love whom they choose - and there are many ways to do that. How may I help (love) you? 

No more questions (for today)...

Thinkology of LOVE, the inevitable...

Some authors would have you believe that a good romance is the equal of a marriage of the heart and mind... (AKA "chemistry")?

A "thinkologist" however is busy at rehash, preoccupied by a "theory of everything" (on one's mind and sometimes, below one's belt).

For those of us, for whom, "thinking" is both an inevitability and a part of the daily diet... 

Picture this:

If you toss two really bright people into one room (a male, a female), and then leave them there long enough... The fundamentals of today's theory are: that they WILL mate, fall in love, and that a romance will ensue!  Alas, I've spent time in one or two rooms decorated to those precise "House Beautiful" norms. Somehow, the physical coitus never seemed to supplant or offset the, "cogito, ergo sum" (I think, therefore I am) component of the intellectual copula that was ALWAYS well underway, and first. Does such a "union" make thinkers into part-time lovers, or part-time lovers into thinkers? 

When romance reunites people who have been "thus" united, then separated, and then re-united (after a certain time), is their reunion (also), once too often?

I always try to engage my readers with a tone of sarcasm (nobody ever really believes everything I say anyway)...  Am I wrong (rhetorical)?  ;-)

This sort of amusement invites everyone to laugh at the many easy foibles of our lives and our living.  A "thinkologist" makes observations about the most rigorous, purely formulaic alternatives - as well as the unpredictable nature of LOVE.  The objective being ...to make whatever one thinks about LOVE (thereby), a joy to read (and to experience)? 

Romance is a love story told in such a way, that it appeals to men (stiffened) and it appeals to women (swollen). Love's most primitive allures engage both the naive and the jaded - from Algebraic Number Theorists, to Professional Violinists - and (likewise) all those manic enough to harbor phobias towards either endeavor.  Patience comes to the penitent...

If I'm not being funny or clever here (nor original, in a way that pulls, you the reader, "in"), then blame me - for I am the only farcical, hugely entertaining, and equally as modest author of this strangest of stories.

LOVE is a Greek Classic (and oft-times, as lyrical): "boy meets goddess"; "girl meets a god"; "boy or girl loses the other god". Along the way, the two engage in playful eros romps that out-perform the soggiest TV-soap (and) every made-for-Broadway satirical play, ever written.  Pass the hankies, to wipe my wetted eyes... 

Each of those compositions become somewhat more accursed (as entertainment) than the other (...akin to a trash-talk, romance-novel - composed for, and targeting lonely, generally rather unattractive women whom men date once, at best).  In general, men aren't into romance (no, not even the unattractive guys). 

So, as YOU read this, weep with me...

As YOU become an active THINKOLOGIST yourself...

Soon enough, there will be thunderbolts raining down from your own Mount Olympus, as the gods drink themselves into a carefree stupor on cheap sex ...and cheaper wine.

Align yourself to "thinkology".

Save CIVILIZATION as we never knew it! Lock yourself up in an empty room with someone who thinks the way you do. Do it today!  It's the cerebral version of, "getting laid".

There is a spiritual teacher who states, that "if you fight against reality, you suffer". The object is to "come into acceptance".  Small words, big concept.

Difficult at times,
Me Thinks.

P.S. My next entry will be about "missed opportunities" in life...

MeThinksThinker

MeThinksThinker is also my MATCH and FACEBOOK pseudonym.  And since you've gotten this far: here's my website [link] and email [link].

Me Thinks

R-U the Owner of a Broken Heart?

Sometimes it is hard to identify the dividing line - where just-caring ends, where true love begins - and (maybe) also (and exactly) what that difference REALLY is! Some of us think that we allow ourselves to love, some opt to control who not to love. Some of us have been hurt. Some, burned. Some people just seem to open their hearts more than all others. Some maintain their feelings for a lifetime. Some break-up with those they have loved, because each thought that the other, was the wrong person.

But often, we don't end the feelings nor the sense of connection which comes subsequent to our individual investments of "self" (in such dearly beloved, unique persons).

We were very busy. We were even busier. We are probably always as busy. Maybe each felt it is necessary to terminate the connection (the love, the growing friendship), or to put an "us", on hold? Whatever it was, it sometimes doesn't make much sense.

Most earn their "keep" - by becoming life-long friends - such that they're, "kept"? And doesn't love have much to do with being the BEST of friends?

The loves of one's life tend to remain (live on) in the heart (in the soul). Some loves more than others, some less. As we get older, we might opt to make a habit of telling everyone just how much they mean, and to outline what their contribution has meant to our existence - because (for better for worse) some of us, never seem to stop caring.

Somehow the caring grows more important now. And maybe our mothers (living or gone to the hereafter) would call all of this, "Mushy"? There are an incredible number of lonely hearts out there. What a shame when a LOVE dies.

What a shame.

(An offering to friends, from friends...)

Have a 'good' day at the Office, honey?

These are trying times ...challenging times. As for you and your job - don't let inept company management get you down. Inept management doesn't go away, the badly managed company goes away.  Don't let the riffraff get to you!

Gettin' a Life?

If what others think of you is a constant source of worry, take heart in knowing that they rarely ever do.

Give "pause" to all Importance & teach Humility

"The Place of Mankind within the known Universe"

The Universe comprises everything we perceive to exist physically, the entirety of space and time, all forms of matter and energy.  We live on a blue planet, called Earth.  It is but one of several planets orbiting an average star, our Sun.

Are there extra-solar planets (planets that orbit around other stars)? Yes. As of 19-March-2010, 443 extra-solar planets have been confirmed.

Has life been found on any celestial body other than Earth?
[ Not yet! ]

Mankind is comprised of 6.8 Billion souls who share the blue planet, compared below. We are traveling through Space with trillions upon trillions of other living things.

What is the size of our planet?
The diameter is about 7,926 miles (12,756 KM) at the Equator, see below.

Many stars retain a solar system of orbiting bodies - ranging in size, from dust, to asteroids, to planets.  Almost all the stars in the known Universe have collected or gathered into galaxies.  An average galaxy contains between 10 to the 11th and 10 to the 12th stars.  In other words, galaxies on average, are comprised of between 100 billion and 1 trillion stars.

Astronomers estimate that there are approximately 100 billion to 1 trillion galaxies in the known Universe. So if you multiply those two numbers together, you get between 10 to the 22nd and 10 to the 24th stars in this Universe.

That's 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 lights in our skies. That's more stars than there are grains of sand on every beach and in every desert of Earth.  How many stars?

There are (at least) between 10 sextillion and 1 septillion stars in the known Universe.  That's a large number, yet quite small - compared to Infinity. We live on a speck of dust that orbits but one of those many stars.

Throughout our lives, we are moving (on the Equator) at about 1000 MPH (1620 KMH) due to the rotation of the Earth. The Earth is also moving around the Sun (our star) at about 67,000 MPH (108,500 KMH).  The Sun is rotating within the Milky Way (our Galaxy), at about 486,000 MPH (758,000 KMH).  The Milky Way is moving through Space towards other clusters of Galaxies, at about 667,000 MPH (1,080,500 KMH).

Due to relativity, the speed of the Milky Way varies when compared with different objects in space. The speed of the Milky Way galaxy is actually not one number, its value is relative to the speed of all other objects.

Is the known Universe expanding?

Yes.

Is it expanding at a constant rate?

No, it is accelerating!

How can that be?

No one knows.

And all of this star stuff has been moving and changing ...

For a long, long, LONG time, indeed.

Does everything have a Beginning?

Does everything have an End?

Maybe, yes.  And perhaps, no.

How large is the Universe?

No one really knows.

What is the age of the Universe?

Current scientific thought is that the Universe is 13.73 (+/- 0.21) Billion years old.

How many dimensions are there (height, width, depth, time, and...)?

The scientific community has included 11 dimensions into the attributes of String Theory.

Are we alone?
It is far more likely that we are not alone. Science believes that parallel Universes, exist.

What am I made of?
Star stuff that is as old as the Universe itself.

Why are we here?
No one knows for sure.

What is life?
Self-perpetuating, replicating organisms.

What defines true intelligence?
The ability to inquire.

How much longer will all of this endure?
No one knows.

How large is large?
It's relative.

How small is small?
It's relative.

What it Time?
Answer that question completely to become very (VERY) famous.

Is there life after death?
It is a matter of spiritual beliefs.

And so it is.

-ooOoo-

Copyright ©2010 - Robert C. Kuhmann - All Rights Reserved.

Once in a Generation...

When the 2008 elections came along, political participation became "trendy", some might say, "cool"....

During a few extrordinary months,  the Democratic primary became the must-watch reality-TV show of the year... The general election tossed-up the very real possibility of an Obama Presidency - literally a new face for the body-politic (a young, liberal, charismatic, African-American man who'd started his career as a community organizer). Incredible!

Suddenly, everyone was talking, living, and breathing electoral politics.

Voter participation sky-rocketed: first the numbers of those "emotionally invested" in the election, mushroomed - then the number of campaign volunteers soared into the stratosphere. And finally (on election day), the numbers of young people and poor people (who stood in line to vote – the very individuals who had "sat it out" in the past), hit levels not seen for generations!

Opinion poll numbers showed large spikes in confidence - indicating that government could "do the right thing by" ordinary Americans.

And yet (now, 15 months after Obama's election), 62% of the US population is convinced that the country is on the wrong track, and most Americans seem to believe that the government isn't looking out for their best interests afterall...

The growing suspicion is perhaps, this: that 2008 wasn't quite the clean break many thought it to be... Would such a notion explain just why so many Obama voters sat-out the recent "special election" (in Massachusetts)? And also - why so many others voted for Scott Brown – and yet bizarrely also, why so many told pollsters that they wanted Brown (a Republican) to "work with" Democrats (to implement some version of healthcare reform)?

The polls of early 2009 indicated that a majority of voters were willing to give Barack Obama "years" (to turn the "broken economy" around). Now, those polls have been updated, and most reveal that increasing numbers of Americans are deeply impatient with, and resentful of, the still-sluggish pace of economic recovery.

Obama's great dilemma is that he used the language of "hope and change" to set the "bar" almost impossibly "high" for his Presidency.

His rhetoric was skillfully used to energize his audience (one that exhibited more enthusiasm than stamina, one that WANTS change to be both: instantaneous and easy). It has proven to be anything but. After all, a President can set the tone, but when it comes to domestic policy reforms - only Congress can pass Bills - not the sitting President!

The compromises made with various Senators (to secure their support on healthcare), has smacked of a political, "business as usual" climate. And the Public reacted accordingly – growing increasingly angry at the "Washington, DC mentality". Some have responded by jumping from Obama's vision of "change" to that indignities of their "Tea Parties". Others reacted by reverting to historical "apathy" and (once more), by removing themselves from the political process altogether.

Now, robbed of a "filibuster-proof" majority in the Senate, healthcare reformers can only watch - as their "moment for change" slips through their fingers....

The combined effect has made the overall political climate all the more unpleasant. Example: the recent Supreme Court ruling eviscerated spending-limits that Corporations can hand-out (to influence elections). That alone means there's going to be a strong likelihood that politics will become even uglier, messier, and more "beholding" to special interests - than it has been in the past.

All of which prompts an observation: commentators told the once-apathetic that they had "no right" to complain (if they weren't going to participate). And so (in 2008), they finally participated. They helped elect a progressive President, and gave the Democratic party the biggest Congressional majority seen, in decades. They put in place a foundation for the sort of across-the-board change - not seen since the "Great Society" years, or perhaps even, since "The New Deal".

And the result?

We're a year into a new administration's rule. We've got political stalemate. Instead, of leadership, we've disoriented Congressional would-be leaders. Moreover, there is no clear leader (especially when it comes to fighting for healthcare reform, some version of which a clear majority of Americans, want). There is a growing sense that the plutocrats -- the bankers, the great corporations, the holders of vast fortunes – will always win, that the political system is fundamentally "fixed", to be stacked-against the "little guy".

That's a dangerous caldron of hot soup...

Too many of the ingredients of the moment in in the mix: anger, rage, frustration, fear of economic calamity (loss of home, loss of job), and in particular ...a sense of hopes betrayed and promises broken, of having been sold a bill of goods! People are bitter, and embittered politics tend to generate two things: apathy and/or authoritarianism.

One can only hope that the Democrats will find their sea-legs soon, and that Congress can follow-through with "genuine promise" (for the transformations that were embodied by Obama's candidacy in 2008). If they don't; if they duck and weave; and hope that small-bore changes will suffice to meet the towering needs of the moment - then politics will likely take some particularly "ugly turns" in the years ahead.

In the election campaign, Obama repeatedly talked of "the urgency of now."

That urgency is still there, as are the transformative ambitions and instincts of President Obama. In 2010, Congressional Democrats need to find a way to harness the "urgency", and to implement "big-picture" reforms akin to those that the Obama election promised to usher-in.

If they can't, or don't - they will have lost a "once-in-a-generation" opportunity.
Me Thinks

That hopey, changey thing...

NPR's "Weekend Edition" (interview aired, Sunday 07-Feb-2010):  a year after the Innauguration of President Obama, Sarah Palin said, "I gotta ask the supporters of all that...", "How's that hopey, changey thing working out for ya?" 

Our (colloquial language) reply, "for ya": FACTUALLY (subsequent to 1-year in office - 25% of his 4-year term thingie): 

• President O has kept, compromised, or has "in the works": 399 (of his 503 announced "promises") - i.e. 79.3% are underway or completed!
• President O broke (might not be the suitable label) his "word", 15 times (2.9%).
• President O has 87 items "stalled" (due primarily to bi-partisan, politically-motivated squables within the House and Senate - "bought" by the lobbyists who represent Big Money).
• President O is a man for The People, by The People?

History will tell the tale...  The political facts? [click on this link]

N.B. It is suitable to mention that the (above) Florida-based website, has [historically speaking] some (very) clear-cut right-wing, Conservative leanings...

And so it is, Ms. Sarah (whacha thinkin'...)?
Me Thinks

TOYOTA "Seppuku" (the historical way?)

TOYOTA Motors chief executive, Akio Toyoda apologized (today) for the company's massive vehicle quality problems, but did not announce another "recall".

Apparently, the days of "falling on one's sword" are in the past...

Dōmo arigatō! (doh-moh ah-ree-GAH-toh)

Me Thinks

Unscrupulous Souls

American business was once riding a euphoric high, but with good times come the bad. Many unscrupulous souls are out there. They prey upon unwitting consumers and are looking for easy "openings" to bilk, swindle, and entrap ...YOU!  Save more, spend less and avoid rip-offs!

Need a source of good advice and great ideas? [link]
 

INCOMPETENCE: In the Workplace?

Do you spend portions of YOUR time, compensating for the INCOMPETENCE of others? 

Ever heard of the "Peter Principle"? It's a theory originated by Dr. Lawrence Peter which states that employees within a hierarchical organization advance to their highest level of competence, are then promoted to a level where they are incompetent (and then stay in that position).  It is now 40 years since Dr. Peter introduced that idea...

When viewed from the inside (of almost any organization), there's ALWAYS a weak link. Inevitably, s-o-m-e-o-n-e who makes life more difficult for everyone else.  That someone has influence that holds-back the rest of the group. It's a simple fact:  not everyone can do the job. 

"Incompetence" is defined by mistakes. Everyone makes the occasional error or bad decision or lapse in judgment. Most go unnoticed. But at some point, FAILURE becomes the norm, and (more often than not), even that person's defining "deficiency".
 
Are workers more incompetent today than in the past?
 
In general, probably yes.  Let us consider the "ruler" (measurement) of education. The USA has "lowered the bar" with respect to international standards for College/University acceptance. A disconcerting reality: there are more Honor Students in China, than the USA has, as students. Still, there is no reason to think that people today are fundamentally less capable than in the past, but more is demanded of workers - less in terms of the sheer amount of work, than of different types of highly-qualified work.  Relatively speaking, the workforce is less qualified.  Even the most essential skills of: Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic are painfully in decline.  How many of your colleagues: can't write; can't spell; don't know grammar; utilize a colloquial dialect of the English language; or chronically plagerize from the works of others?  If the politics of your workplace fall within the mainstream, the answer to that question is staunchly (and frankly), appalling.

The working-world is increasingly complex. Many of us are required to take-on more responsibility, and more difficult roles. That's an inevitable result of accrued technological expansion, and of specialization.  For example, the proliferation of powerful types of software on computers, and the inherent organizational de-layering of the modus operandi of traditional bussiness management.  Projects have ever-broader scopes and grander mandates, but fewer "warm bodies" to complete the tasks.   That means ...every time there's a new project or initiative, the prerequisite commitment of time and energy gets added to someone's already-long, "to-do" list. Everyone is expected to do a bit of everything.  Furthermore, there is the issue of "multitasking", which can turn almost anyone into a forgetful fool (or worse).  Failures soon ensue...
 
It's not solely the modern workplace that creates INCOMPETENCE - the "Principle" holds that the hierarchy itself, through promotions - tends to transform capable workers into incompetent bosses.  Alas, INCOMPETENCE begets INCOMPETENCE: Managers with poor judgment hand-out assignments to the wrong people; delegate tasks to those who can't handle them; and force others outside of their realm of competency. 

Companies put the wrong people in charge. At some point, every boss was promoted to a position of responsibility, and too often - straight into INCOMPETENCE - ad infinitum.
 
Incompetence in the workplace has always existed.  Make certain that hires are apt to be competent to perform their assigned duties.  Failure to apply a suitable ruler (to cull-out the "losers" beforehand), is always the first mistake!  Which is (in and of itself), a form of INCOMPETENCE!
 
Me Thinks!

Another day older, and deeper in Debt?

If you need a nice break from reality - don't look at yourself in the mirror.

Me Thinks!

Washington Politics (as usual)...

The White House proposes.
The Congress disposes.

Don't be where you're not!

Welcome, but not wanted.
Here, a Good person is both.
I won't be where I'm not.

Blue Moon (tonight)!

Tonight will be, the first "Blue Moon" (occurring on a 'New Year's Eve') since 1990, but don't hope to see the moon in shades of "navy", or any other color for that matter. A 'blue moon' is a creation of folklore," because it's simply a chronological, second full moon within a calendar month.

The 'blue moon' myth adds to a host of misconceptions about our lunar neighbor. Among the more interesting things to ponder as you gaze skyward (weather permitting), at the not-blue, 'blue moon'...

There is no "dark side" of the moon. There is, however, a "far side" that we can't see, because as the moon goes around the Earth once, and spins on its axis once (all in the same amount of time), it thus reveals but one surface of (always) the same face - when viewed from the surface of the Earth.

There is no scientific evidence that the full moon affects human behavior. Reliable studies comparing the lunar phases to births, heart attacks, deaths, suicides, violence, psychiatric hospital admissions and epileptic seizures have found little or no connection.

The moon is moving away from Earth. It's drifting out into space by about 1.6 inches (4 centimeters), per year - about 10 feet during an average lifetime!

The moon is never really full. It is illuminated by reflected sunlight. So for the face of the moon to be 100 percent lit from our point of view, Earth would have to be exactly between the sun and the moon. But when that happens, an eclipse occurs as the moon falls behind the shadow of the Earth.

Speaking of eclipses - skywatchers in Europe, Africa, and Asia will have a chance to see a partial lunar eclipse tonight. A distinct but modest scallop of darkness will be visually carved from the moon. A bite of 'blue cheese', perhaps?

And so it is.

INCOMPETENCE: State Government?

Contact the WI DWD (Wisconsin Workforce Development Department) to present a legitimate complaint related to: Discrimination, Wages, or ANY form of ABUSE by an employer. The DWD staff will invest more energy - to do NOTHING - than to take the claim presented seriously.

Try calling the WI OCI (Wisconsin Office of the Commissioner of Insurance) to present a case related to abuse of Federal Privacy Law. Once your proof has been provided, the administrator will effectivel take NO ACTION and let the perp run free (to commit the same crimes). Their excuse will be carfully explained, no Wisconsin laws were violated.

Care to hear about more such State level examples of INCOMPETENCE?

Just ask.

INCOMPETENCE: Federal Government?

Homeland Security Secretary, Janet Napolitano conceded today that airline security failed - when it allowed a Nigerian (on a terror watch list, and allegedly armed with explosives) onto a Detroit-bound flight from Europe.

The concession was a turnaround from her declaration a day day earlier - that "the system worked."

The secretary's comment (on Sunday) was widely criticized, given that suspect Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was foiled because his explosive mixture did not properly detonate and he was stopped in his tracks by vigilant passengers (who were forced to take the law into their own hands)...

My opinion? Janet is incompetent and she should resignm Me Thinks.