Category: Fourre-tout

“If you got it flaunt it, but if you don’t, move your ass with class.”

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Humans unlike other living creatures share a unique common trait; instead of merely picking objects, they compare. They look closely at (two or more people/things) in order to decide which one is more attractive or more valuable.

That’s why (especially on the dating scene) you should never present yourself in a negative light when compared with one of your friends.
Your wingman (or wing gal) should never outshine you.

If you are not a “looker’, you might try to recruit somebody (maybe an over-the-hill stripper) to accompany you on your social forays and make you look good by comparison.

If you are short, you should not be seen with a tall person.
If you are fat, you should not associate with a skinny creature.
If you are flat chested, you should not pal around with an over-endowed ingénue.

Unless… You can outshine the competition with a killer trump card.
Even a great looking guy will be no match for a chap with a razor sharp wit.
In Cyrano de Bergerac, good-looking Christian got Roxane, but in reality Roxane would have dumped dim-witted Christian for intellectually superior Cyrano.

By the same token, if you are a classic female beauty, you might not prevail over a skinny contortionist who can twist and bend her body into strange and intriguing positions (there are kinky thoughts in all of us my friends).

To compete, nerds have to try harder, and they usually do. To succeed they have to hustle. And maybe that’s why you see so many tattoos and rings nowadays.
Ear ring, nose ring, lip ring, nipple ring, unmentionable rings…
The ring is the hook. It is a conversation piece.
Let me take you home and show you my nipple rings.,,
Who could resist to such a tantalizing invite?

But seriously, be aware that you are continuously evaluated and compared to your peers.

On the other hand, you could also say: Screw it! Let me be me. Like beer, I am an acquired taste. Try me, you might like me.

“Care about what other people think and you will always be their prisoner.” – Lao Tzu

Alain

You are beautiful… you are smart… you are sexy… I love your eyelashes…
Aren’t those words music to anyone’s ears? Of course they are.

“I can live for two months on a good compliment.” Mark Twain

We humans love compliments and demagogues are well aware of that. They are master manipulators. They will cajole voters and appeal to their prejudices rather than using rational arguments to make their point.

I will make America great again.
How? I am not sure but to me it sounds eerily similar to:

“I intend to set up a thousand–year Reich…
Remember that little fellow with the toothbrush mustache?

This kind of rhetoric usually appeals to disgruntled people who need scapegoats to excuse their own failures and inadequacies.

If they are not rich and successful, it is not their fault. The system is rigged!
And a demagogue will gladly rejigger the system to benefit everybody (except of course the Mexicans, the Muslims, the Gypsies, the gays, the transgenders, the liberals, the pesky press, and a slew of other Untouchables).

Many people in the past have succumbed to the sirens songs of famed demagogues such as Lenin, Hitler, Mao, Joseph McCarthy.
When they realized that they had been duped, they were on a one-way ticket to “internment camps”.

To succeed, a demagogue will make extravagant claims.
French President François Hollande said that he hated the rich and if elected he would soak them to make them pay for all the miseries that are burdening the French people.

He got elected and proved totally, hopelessly incapable of fulfilling any of his promises.
This is usually the lot of demagogues. Silver tongue and lead boots.

Demagogues seldom improve the lot of their constituents. Most often, they blame their inadequacy on the opposition and use brutal force to crush dissent.
I am pretty sure that everybody heard our Demagogue-in-chief declare:

 I’d like to punch him in the face!

So before trekking to the urns in November, have a good look at the ballot and think twice before casting your vote for somebody who promised you the moon.

Demagogues are often like rockets. They suddenly crash and burn midway to their destination.

Alain

Le Corbeau et le Renard

Maître Corbeau, sur un arbre perché,
Tenait en son bec un fromage.
Maître Renard, par l’odeur alléché,
Lui tint à peu près ce langage :
“Hé ! bonjour, Monsieur du Corbeau.
Que vous êtes joli ! que vous me semblez beau !
Sans mentir, si votre ramage
Se rapporte à votre plumage,
Vous êtes le Phénix des hôtes de ces bois.”
A ces mots le Corbeau ne se sent pas de joie ;
Et pour montrer sa belle voix,
Il ouvre un large bec, laisse tomber sa proie.
Le Renard s’en saisit, et dit : “Mon bon Monsieur,
Apprenez que tout flatteur
Vit aux dépens de celui qui l’écoute.

Master Crow perched on a tree,
Was holding a cheese in his beak.
Master Fox attracted by the smell
Said something like this:
“Well, Hello Mister Crow!
How beautiful you are! how nice you seem to me!
Really, if your voice
Is like your plumage,
You are the phoenix of all the inhabitants of these woods.”
At these words, the Crow is overjoyed.
And in order to show off his beautiful voice,
He opens his beak wide, lets his prey fall.
The Fox grabs it, and says: “My good man,
Learn that every flatterer
Lives at the expense of the one who listens to him.

Watch out for forked tongue rabble-rousers! They always end up stealing your Camembert.

The stunning aftermath of Brexit gives pause for reflection.
Regardless of what spin-doctors will say, the decision to leave the European Union was driven for many Brits by the fear (real or unfounded) of unchecked immigration.
This choice is regrettable but understandable.

A massive influx of foreigners in any country tends to upset one’s comfort zone. It feels for many like a kebab joint is pushing out his local pub.

Personally, I am not a fan of the much-ballyhooed “diversity”. It tends to tear up the social fabric of a community and exacerbates social unrest.
As someone once said “One hot chili pepper makes a dish interesting. Too many of them make it difficult to digest.”
Today, after ingesting too many chili peppers, many European nations have debilitating stomachaches.
Hence the Brexit vote.

The more diverse a society (e.g. India), the more difficult it is to govern. Trying to please everybody often ends up satisfying nobody.
To be strong, a nation needs to be fairly homogeneous. It needs to have the same language, the same laws, the same customs and conventions.
And, it should absolutely do without any undue religious interference.
Religion is a personal matter; it has no place in government.

You cannot join a team and play according to your own rules.
I don’t care if you are white, yellow, black or green or if you are Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist or Zoroastrian, you must abide by the same democratically approved laws. No exceptions.

Diversity is a two way street.
You have no business applying for asylum if you are unwilling to comply with the prevalent rules and customs of your country of adoption.
First and foremost, you have to accept the separation of church and state and gender equality. Those are the pillars of modern democracy.

If you cannot agree with this, you have no right to remain in a country that provided shelter and a slew of benefits totally non-existent in your country of origin.

I (unlike that pompadoured quacking fool) don’t condone Brexit. I think that it is an historical miscalculation, but it emphasizes the need for national cohesion and an orderly, tightly controlled immigration process followed by intense integration classes.

Alain