Category: Fourre-tout

A little bit of everything

My credo

“One person is never as stupid as a group of people. That’s why they have lynch mobs, not lynch individuals.” Ben Horowitz

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I am not a groupie. Possibly a groper, but definitely not a groupie. In fact, I am extremely leery of groups, especially those prone to hysteria.
I can share certain beliefs with a particular crowd, but I am definitely not as extreme as a rock or political groupie.
And I certainly won’t offer any sexual favors to anybody to endear myself to some self-important narcissist.

shaun-the-sheepI don’t care to be a sheep, a lemming, one of the mooing drove…
I refuse to accept a set of beliefs uncritically.
I want to look at things impartially and feel free to voice an opposing view if I disagree.
Is what the preacher said reasonable? Is what the politician asserting true? Does it make sense? Is it prejudiced, not based on actual experience?

I don’t like divisive pins, badges, political or religious symbols. I don’t like slogans, raised fists, raised hand salutes.
I particularly despise turncoats. People who insult you publicly one day and curry favors with you the next… after their camp was defeated.
I don’t believe that “might makes right.”

To be heard, don’t shout. Speak softly… or write. Write cool headedly. Take your time. Measure your words, your sentences, your ideas.
Writings over the years have proven to be more influential than slogans and shouted epithets.
The Bible, the Communist Manifesto, Mein Kempf, The Prince, the Female Eunuch among other books, did more to sway opinions than riots and vandalism.

I want to have friends (just a few), not mendacious political or religious acolytes.
I don’t want a messiah to guide me. I want a human, levelheaded man (or woman) to steer and lead us by example.

“Don’t walk in front of me… I may not follow. Don’t walk behind me… I may not lead. Walk beside me… just be my friend.”
Albert Camus

 Alain

The winds of change

“Conquering the world on horseback is easy; it is dismounting and governing that is hard.” – Genghis Khan

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lady-libertyI am of average intelligence but one week after the facts I still don’t understand…
The last election clearly demonstrated that a lot of people were dissatisfied with the status quo and wanted some change. This I understand.

Their main complaint was about the widening economic inequality between the rich and the poor. This I also understand and agree with.

What still puzzles me though, is why would the downtrodden put their faith in a billionaire who (unlike Warren Buffett, Bill and Melinda Gates, Mark Zuckerberg and Michael Bloomberg among others) has been called “the least charitable billionaire in the world.”
A man who likes to mingle with the rich and famous but who has never shown any inclination to share his good fortune with the underprivileged.
How can such a man be trusted to improve the lot of the unemployed, the low-wage earners?

People yearn for a “gallant knight in a shining armor” who leads by example, and saves maidens (and less fortunate souls) in distress.
As far as I know, the president-elect is not such a man.
And the pungent smell of nepotism presently emanating from the new White House does not augur well.

I wish the new president (and especially America) well, but I have great doubts about the new direction of the “ship of state”.
It seems that instead of using a GPS he is opting to use celestial navigation, a more hazardous form of sailing.

Somebody has said this before, but I think it is worth repeating:
“Fasten your seat belts my friends; it’s going to be a bumpy ride.”

 Alain

 Flash: The Supreme Court has ruled that they cannot have a nativity scene in Washington, D.C. This wasn’t for any religious reasons. They couldn’t find three wise men and a virgin. Jay Leno

The Triumph of Bullshit

raminagrobisLately, I don’t know why, like Joan Of Arc I have been hearing voices.
When sleeping or when in a semi-conscious state, some common American and French sayings have been dancing in my head.

It must be something in the air; I might have inhaled some whiffs of La Poudre de Perlimpinpin that has lately been polluting the American atmosphère.

The powder of Perlimpinpin by the way, is a remedy supposedly miraculous but totally ineffective.

I have been feeling itchy all over. I have the sneaky suspicion to have been “rolled in flour” (avoir été roulé dans la farine) – lied to.

Like the Maid of Orleans, I have heard voices… speaking out with both sides of their mouths.
Saying different things to different people about the same subject.

I have seen a recurrent picture of a cow.
Ce n’est pas la vache qui crie le plus fort qui donne le plus de lait.
English equivalent: It is not the hen that cackles the loudest that hatches the most eggs.

I have seen Le Malin (the Cunning One) dining with Swamps Creatures.
Quand on dîne avec le diable, il faut se munir d’une longue cuiller.
If you are going to dine with the devil, you must use a long spoon.
Meaning: Someone who treats others badly will eventually turn on you.

I have caught sight of smoke and mirrors.
Something that is described as smoke and mirrors is intended to make you believe that something is being done or is true, when it is not.

I have smelled inorganic cow manure.
“Bullshit” is commonly used to describe statements made by people more concerned with the response of the audience than in truth and accuracy.”

I have the feeling that somebody will soon or already have “put water in his wine”
(mettre de l’eau dans son vin) a figurative expression that means ‘to compromise’, ‘to meet someone halfway.’

I think that I already faintly heard where is the beef? an all-purpose phrase questioning the substance of an idea, event or product.

Alain