Talk

I N S T R U C T I O N S F O R L I F E

1. Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.

2. When you lose, don't lose the lesson.

3. Follow the three Rs:

Respect for self
Respect for others and
Responsibility for all your actions.

4. Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.

5. Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.

6. Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.

7. When you realise you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.

8. Spend some time alone every day.

9. Open your arms to change, but don't let go of your values.

10. Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.

11. Live a good, honourable life. Then when you get older and think back, you'll be able to enjoy it a second time.

12. A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for your life.

13. In disagreements with loved ones, deal only with the current situation. Don't bring up the past.

14. Share your knowledge. It's a way to achieve immortality.

15. Be gentle with the earth.

16. Once a year, go someplace you've never been before.

17. Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.

18. Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.

19. Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon.

Life

Goes on. Evolves. Moves on. Punctuated Equilibrium? Regression to the mean. Insecurity. Supercilious. Vacuous. Vituperative harangue anyone?

Center. Alive. Aware. Awake. Boredom. Cherish. Independence. Re-hash. Spin. Cycle. Repeat. Swear. Irrelevant. Irreverent. Intoxication. Vacillation.

Road not taken. Does it matter. Recall. Selective memory. Repetitious.

Disaster. Self-Esteem. Respect, lack thereof. Accommodation. Space. Give in.

Walk away. End. Fin. Good bye. Done. Enough. Full. Finito. Bas.

A Life - what is it worth?

Fry Scott Peterson.
Save Terry Schiavo.
Stop Abortion.
Execute the mentally retarded.

Why are the divine rules for preserving life accepted without question?

Et Vous

The insouciance of a craven marionette breaking into a party of irascible lotus-eaters with three bottles of Tignanello Antinori

Too much sex doesn't sell?

There are a plethora of advertisements that resort to sex to attract the attention of the hapless consumer in 30 seconds. Everything from shampoos that make the user moan loudly to breath freshners that spark instant romance, sex has become the lingua franca of commerical conversation.

However, recently it occurred to me the ultimate sexual product - that blue pill that eradicates sagginess, viagra is different. Ads for viagra never use graphic images or suggestions. Its usually a race car driver or someone who is asked a million questions by friends about his - haircut, workout, diet, etc.

Obviously the target audience (the intended target audience at least) is a group of older couples, mature men. (Not young sexaholics who intend to last the night). Is it the case that making the ad more sexual would turn these people off? Why? because if they need it then they're already sensitive to it. Further, since they already have ED, a graphic and suggestive picture or pose would have no effect!

Would you like to join us?

32,000 feet up in the air. The cramped first class cabin of American Airlines flight 591 was full of tired business travelers heading home for the weekend. In her dark blue dress and blonde highlights in her hair the stewardess made her walk through the cabin. In her right hand a clipboard contained the list of the passengers. She flashed her smile and said:

"Mr Hudgeons, Will you be joining us for dinner this evening"

I am unsure why I find this interchange so interesting. Marx said that we were caught in a super structure of socio-economic bondage. The hired thugs (known as police) maintain and propogate this slavery. An individual in the structure considers himself free because he is unable to look out of the structure. At 32,000 feet the choice of eating food or not eating food does exist. However, the phrasing the sentence as "Would you like to join us for dinner" to me conveys the incredulity of our regular life. We are caught up in a world where our choices are very well defined (for people who don't realize the absurdity of our situation). Yet, we envision freedom?!

Aphorism

Not to sound too arrogant or anything (reference to Nietzsche's aphorisms is implied), but I've started a new category called aphorisms.

I've noticed that I rarely have the time/ability to re-write notes till I've polished my initial thought. Instead I've decided to capture the half baked spotaneous thoughts that arise in my mind.