"A rose is a rose is a rose, and by any other name it would still smell." -- Gertrude Stein
We don't buy stuff. We have a purchasing experience.
Concept marketers often change words and phrases, usually from plain English to longer, Latin-based words in attempts to make some crude or costly more acceptable.
Examples: A gas company just sent a notice to customers advising that we will no longer get monthly charges. Instead, we will be provided with "an exciting billing experience."
We no longer buy a used car. Instead, we acquire a "previously owned vehicle" through a pleasant "purchasing experience."
We don't eat out. We have a "splendid dining experience."
Hippies don't get stoned. They have "a pharmaceutical experience."
Government agents don't use torture. They utilize "enhanced interrogation techniques."
When you redefine your term, you can define it out of existence.
Tell that to the Spanish Inquisition, when they redefined their techniques so that anything short of bloodletting was an acceptable means of squeezing out a confession.
But then, the CIA would hardly expect to be compared to the Spanish Inquisition.
Nobody expects that.
Friday, December 26, 2014
Wordsmithing
Words are tools. They can be use to help or hurt, educate or eliminate, propagate or punish, amuse or attack, calm or chasten in as many ways as there are word combinations in any language.
Writing is also hard work, and anyone who says otherwise is delusional. There are a few, however, to whom ideas come early and easily, and these folks are able to transfer their thoughts and ideas to paper in a reasonably coherent fashion. But they are a rare few.
Most of us struggle to snatch ideas from our mental ether and then struggle further with the procession of expanding and organizing an idea and related thoughts and concepts to paper.
Some can verbalize extemporaneously, which can sound good while they're talking, but often this process is merely being glib. If you sound like you know what you're talking about, people will assume you do. Not always a valid assumption, since the talkers may be just "Blowing Smoke." (Note the capitalized letters.)
Writing is also hard work, and anyone who says otherwise is delusional. There are a few, however, to whom ideas come early and easily, and these folks are able to transfer their thoughts and ideas to paper in a reasonably coherent fashion. But they are a rare few.
Most of us struggle to snatch ideas from our mental ether and then struggle further with the procession of expanding and organizing an idea and related thoughts and concepts to paper.
Some can verbalize extemporaneously, which can sound good while they're talking, but often this process is merely being glib. If you sound like you know what you're talking about, people will assume you do. Not always a valid assumption, since the talkers may be just "Blowing Smoke." (Note the capitalized letters.)
Wednesday, December 24, 2014
Great American Novels
"A house divided against itself cannot stand." -- Abraham Lincoln
"Can't we all just get along?" -- Rodney King
"The" Great American Novel has not yet been written, and probably never will be. Why? Because America is too diverse. It has been called a "Great Melting Pot," suggesting that all who come here adapt and become like all others already here. But that has not happened.
America is instead a "Great Tapestry," with many regions and cultures developing and retaining their own customs, appearances and beliefs. To expect a single novel to cover all these segments in a single book perhaps is too much to seek. It's possible, of course, but while America is indeed "one nation," daily reports of ethnic, religious, cultural and racial clashes show that it is not "indivisible."
Meanwhile, there are already several Great American Novels, each dealing with one region or cultural group, and sometimes its clashes with another group, or its efforts to mesh with a dominant group in its area.
Here are some examples, in no particular order of merit or importance: "The Godfather," by Mario Puzo; "Gone With the Wind," by Margaret Mitchell; "The Jungle," by Upton Sinclair; "Grapes of Wrath," by John Steinbeck; "Huckleberry Finn," by Mark Twain; "A Confederacy of Dunces," by John Kennedy Toole; "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings," by Maya Angelou; "To Kill a Mockingbird," by Harper Lee.
There are many others, of course, that are candidates for this very incomplete list, just as there are many cultures that make up the Great American Tapestry.
Each is A Great Novel, and each tells great truths about individuals, groups and cultures in various social, regional and economic areas. But all are vastly different, just as various parts of America are vastly different. No single one represents every area or aspect -- social, geographic or cultural -- of American life. Nor should we expect it to.
"Can't we all just get along?" -- Rodney King
"The" Great American Novel has not yet been written, and probably never will be. Why? Because America is too diverse. It has been called a "Great Melting Pot," suggesting that all who come here adapt and become like all others already here. But that has not happened.
America is instead a "Great Tapestry," with many regions and cultures developing and retaining their own customs, appearances and beliefs. To expect a single novel to cover all these segments in a single book perhaps is too much to seek. It's possible, of course, but while America is indeed "one nation," daily reports of ethnic, religious, cultural and racial clashes show that it is not "indivisible."
Meanwhile, there are already several Great American Novels, each dealing with one region or cultural group, and sometimes its clashes with another group, or its efforts to mesh with a dominant group in its area.
Here are some examples, in no particular order of merit or importance: "The Godfather," by Mario Puzo; "Gone With the Wind," by Margaret Mitchell; "The Jungle," by Upton Sinclair; "Grapes of Wrath," by John Steinbeck; "Huckleberry Finn," by Mark Twain; "A Confederacy of Dunces," by John Kennedy Toole; "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings," by Maya Angelou; "To Kill a Mockingbird," by Harper Lee.
There are many others, of course, that are candidates for this very incomplete list, just as there are many cultures that make up the Great American Tapestry.
Each is A Great Novel, and each tells great truths about individuals, groups and cultures in various social, regional and economic areas. But all are vastly different, just as various parts of America are vastly different. No single one represents every area or aspect -- social, geographic or cultural -- of American life. Nor should we expect it to.
Saturday, December 13, 2014
Animation
Pope Francis made Page One news when he assured a boy whose dog had died that "Paradise is open to all God's creatures." Therefore, dogs may well go to Heaven.
The problem, for some experts on church teaching, is that this contradicts the long-held official policy that animals don't have souls, and therefore cannot go to heaven.
Except for the idea that the word "animal" is derived from the Latin "anima," which means soul or spirit.
So regardless of what the ecclesiastical academic "experts" may claim, anyone who has loved and been loved by a dog, cat, or any other creature who is animated by breathing, the spirit of life, knows better.
And for those who feel they need it, they now have official confirmation by the Pope.
The problem, for some experts on church teaching, is that this contradicts the long-held official policy that animals don't have souls, and therefore cannot go to heaven.
Except for the idea that the word "animal" is derived from the Latin "anima," which means soul or spirit.
So regardless of what the ecclesiastical academic "experts" may claim, anyone who has loved and been loved by a dog, cat, or any other creature who is animated by breathing, the spirit of life, knows better.
And for those who feel they need it, they now have official confirmation by the Pope.
Friday, December 5, 2014
Standalone Economy
The U.S. economy is improving, but stormy winds still blow across Europe and Asia. So the question becomes this: Can the U.S. go it alone as a self-contained system, immune from economic infection from the rest of the world?
American workers found more jobs last month, increasing payrolls across the country by 231,000, with the unemployment rate below 6 percent. Along with this, the housing market is responding with positive signs as families feel more secure with their jobs and income.
Exports from American firms rose by $2.3 billion in October from the month before, outpacing the dollar value of imports. Result: A reduction in the international trade deficit.
The Federal Reserve reported that national economic activity continued to expand in October and November. Separately, sales of new single-family homes totaled 458,000 in October, up 0.7 percent from September and up 1.8 percent from a year ago, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. And personal income increased 0.2 percent, with spending rising at the same rate, the government said.
Overall, GDP in America -- the total value of goods and services -- increased at an annual rate of 3.9 percent, according to government statistics.
And now here comes the but. The 18 nations of the European Union are still struggling to achieve solid economic growth, and the European Central Bank said it will try again to stimulate the stalled economy. Central banks in Japan and England have already been attempting to boost growth by making more money available, thus lowering interest rates. One problem, of course, is that interest rates are already near zero in those countries, and there is the danger that more money will only raise prices -- also known as inflation. Moreover, in many parts of the world, this tactic isn't working.
In America, the Federal Reserve has drawn interest rates down to near zero, and the Fed has suggested it may pull back from its "quantitative easing" as the economy recovers. The economy does seem to be recovering, but whether it's doing so on its own or as a result of Fed actions may be arguable.
Now back to the question. Can the U.S. continue its upward trend as a standalone economy? And is it strong enough to build not only its own strength but that of the rest of the world as well?
True, U.S. exports have been increasing faster than imports, which means that American firms and consumers are selling more stuff than they buy. This, of course, is good for America, but if other nations flag their purchasing rate even as U.S. firms trim their own, the result can only be trouble.
A related issue is inflation. A little bit is a good thing, according to conventional economic wisdom, since it encourages people to buy now before the price goes even higher. But when the reverse happens and deflation -- meaning lower prices -- sets in people tend to hold off on purchases in the expectation that prices will fall even further. This is especially true when jobs are scarce.
Superpatriots will wave the flag and insist that they don't need anyone else in order to prosper. Close the borders, they say, and we'll bootstrap ourselves to prosperity. However, history teaches otherwise. And those who do not learn from history are condemned to repeat it. Remember the Smoot-Hawley Act, which erected stiff tariff walls to protect American producers? Unfortunately, many other countries did the same, and the result was a worldwide Great Depression.
American workers found more jobs last month, increasing payrolls across the country by 231,000, with the unemployment rate below 6 percent. Along with this, the housing market is responding with positive signs as families feel more secure with their jobs and income.
Exports from American firms rose by $2.3 billion in October from the month before, outpacing the dollar value of imports. Result: A reduction in the international trade deficit.
The Federal Reserve reported that national economic activity continued to expand in October and November. Separately, sales of new single-family homes totaled 458,000 in October, up 0.7 percent from September and up 1.8 percent from a year ago, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. And personal income increased 0.2 percent, with spending rising at the same rate, the government said.
Overall, GDP in America -- the total value of goods and services -- increased at an annual rate of 3.9 percent, according to government statistics.
And now here comes the but. The 18 nations of the European Union are still struggling to achieve solid economic growth, and the European Central Bank said it will try again to stimulate the stalled economy. Central banks in Japan and England have already been attempting to boost growth by making more money available, thus lowering interest rates. One problem, of course, is that interest rates are already near zero in those countries, and there is the danger that more money will only raise prices -- also known as inflation. Moreover, in many parts of the world, this tactic isn't working.
In America, the Federal Reserve has drawn interest rates down to near zero, and the Fed has suggested it may pull back from its "quantitative easing" as the economy recovers. The economy does seem to be recovering, but whether it's doing so on its own or as a result of Fed actions may be arguable.
Now back to the question. Can the U.S. continue its upward trend as a standalone economy? And is it strong enough to build not only its own strength but that of the rest of the world as well?
True, U.S. exports have been increasing faster than imports, which means that American firms and consumers are selling more stuff than they buy. This, of course, is good for America, but if other nations flag their purchasing rate even as U.S. firms trim their own, the result can only be trouble.
A related issue is inflation. A little bit is a good thing, according to conventional economic wisdom, since it encourages people to buy now before the price goes even higher. But when the reverse happens and deflation -- meaning lower prices -- sets in people tend to hold off on purchases in the expectation that prices will fall even further. This is especially true when jobs are scarce.
Superpatriots will wave the flag and insist that they don't need anyone else in order to prosper. Close the borders, they say, and we'll bootstrap ourselves to prosperity. However, history teaches otherwise. And those who do not learn from history are condemned to repeat it. Remember the Smoot-Hawley Act, which erected stiff tariff walls to protect American producers? Unfortunately, many other countries did the same, and the result was a worldwide Great Depression.
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