A Strange Silence

I was teaching a workshop the other day and, shortly after I called a break, suddenly noticed a strange silence.

In the days when we wore animal hides and wrapped our feet in seaweed, breaks were sort of noisy. People would get coffee and chat. Not so in this case. As I scanned the room, I could see person after person checking their smart phones and sending text messages. Most of them did so for the majority of the break. All held a serious expression. There was sporadic conversation, but far less than in the old device-free days. They seemed to be connecting with everyone except the people in the room.

They were present but not really there.

Ready, Aim, and Then What?

We see it in the political realm. A politician gives a speech and thinks that is sufficient action. Quite a bit of work and thought can go into the Ready, Aim portions of projects; so much so that the Fire part seems secondary. It is also a challenge because until Fire takes place, one can cherish the unblemished vision of success. Ready, Aim resembles Faulkner's line about Southerners who could dream of that glorious moment just before Pickett's charge.

Once we Fire, we move from thought to reality and are confronted with the question of whether or not the effort worked. If it didn't, we'd better not linger too long on reassessment. While we are rethinking, reality is readjusting. Targets move.

Quote of the Day

Every society honors its live conformists and its dead troublemakers.

- Mignon McLaughlin

Sunday Treat: Diana Rigg

With his keen eye for interesting posts, Steve Layman of Anderson Layman's Blog passed along this 2011 interview with the great Diana Rigg, who is still marvelous after all these years.

Miscellaneous and Fast

Prince Charles reads the weather forecast.
Life's perspective at View From the Ledge.
The trailer for "Death on the Nile."
Country Hit: "You're the Reason God Made Oklahoma"
Video: De Gaulle and the war in Algeria.
A Simple, Village Undertaker shows the difference between a casket and a coffin.
Rob Long fantasizes about doing to studio execs what they do to writers. 
Der Spiegel: Getting naked to save the world.
World record: Surfer rides 78 foot wave.
The trailer for "Everybody Wants to Be Italian."

Stuff and How to Transport It

FutureLawyer has George Carlin's rant on stuff.

CoolTools has the Big Foot Cargo Bag .

Who Benefits?

I was reviewing an employment problem the other day and had the feeling that you get when you know something is missing. The reason finally emerged. One party in the matter was rewarded if things got better. Another was rewarded if things got worse. This didn't mean that the latter party wanted to make things worse or would not shy away from a chance to make them better. It was simply the case that if the situation worsened, the latter party would assume a greater and more powerful role. Furthermore, it was one of those times when you know that the scenario may not be perceived by the participants. If it were, the accompanying reservations would be quickly put into a drawer because - truth be known - there is not a great deal to be done with them, at least not directly The parties will remain in play no matter what. It is important, however, to know the different incentives and tendencies since they may indirectly affect the proposed strategies.

In short, always consider the reward systems.

Portrait of Churchill

Remember him, for he saved all of you: pudgy and not very large but somehow massive and indomitable; baby-faced, with snub nose, square chin, rheumy eyes on occasion given to tears; a thwarted actor's taste for clothes that would have looked ridiculous on a less splendid man. He wore the quaintest hats of anyone: tinted square bowlers; great flat sombreros squashed down on his head; naval officer's caps rendered just slightly comic by the huge cigar protruding beneath the peak. On grave and critical occasions he sported highly practical Teddy-bear suits few grown men would dare to wear in public. He fancied oil painting, at which he was good, writing, at which he was excellent, and oratory, at which he was magnificent. His habits were somewhat owlish (a bird he faintly resembled), and he stayed up late at night, often working mornings in bed with a lap tray for his desk. (Once, after the war, when I called on him at 11:00 A.M., he inquired whether I wished a drink, ordered me a whiskey and soda, then, reaching for the empty glass beside him, told his manservant: "And bring me another."

- From World War II by C.L. Sulzberger

Quote of the Day

Those who write clearly have readers; those who write obscurely have commentators.

- Albert Camus

Dream Stompers

Wally Bock gives some weekend imagination igniters along with a powerful story.