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TRICKS
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WINGS
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IDEAS
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"What were you doing in there?" [A boy and
girl locked inside the bathroom to see how boys and girls are different]
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—Might be reduced.
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—Rare moments ... We can't do anything about it.
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"Are you ready for some football? Are you ready
for some football?" [Over-the-top excitement]
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—Just about.
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—You have to pretend you're a soldier of fortune, or an insect-eating
rogue.
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"Richard! Ready to start?"
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—Winging it! On the job.
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—Me?
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"Those dogs are ready to go!"
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—Winging it! On the job.
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—Sharp.
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"So, are you almost ready to use the shovel?"
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—Might be reduced.
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—It's a match made in heaven.
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"Ready to go?"
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—Just about.
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—Better sooner than later.
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"What was that movie about the serial killer?"
[Also see stargate41]
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—Might be reduced.
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—That's news to me ... How can people who don't have any money buy
anything?
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"LETTER FOR HART!!!" [Subject line on an unopened
e-mail, which I simply deleted]
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—Might be reduced.
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—How much is the postage from India?
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"WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING?" [From someone
who hasn't seen you in a while, puffing themselves up and getting all
worked up about it]
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—Might be reduced.
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—There's a place I like halfway up the stairs, halfway down the
stairs.
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"GREAT! – Great, Richard."
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—Just about.
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—That's what they used to say about Germany. It was like a loose
cannon in the middle of Europe.
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"Hey, Matt, uh ... are you any good?" [Sportscaster
to rookie ball player]
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—Just about.
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—I need my space.
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"Is this a research project?"
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—Just about.
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—Now I'm getting ideas.
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"What motivates you?"
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—Nothing much.
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—Look into your own heart.
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"Great!"
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—Just about.
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—Phenomenal.
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"That all sounds great."
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—Just about.
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—It means you're a very deep person.
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"It's great."
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—Might be reduced.
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—This is called team effort.
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["I do research on bullies."] "WHY THE HELL ARE YOU DOING
THAT?" [facetiously]
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—Might be reduced.
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—I always hold out my hand to see if a little bird is in it ...
"America is the country of the future. It is a country of beginnings,
of projects, of vast designs and expectations." (–Ralph Waldo
Emerson, 1844) ... In the world of bullies, and their psychological interventions,
"the past always buries the future, not the other way around."
(–Thomas L. Friedman, "Obama on the Nile," NYT,
June 11, 2008)
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"What are you doing here?"
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—Nothing much.
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—It's really subtle.
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"So what are you doing here?"
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—Nothing much.
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—Believe you me!
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"Hey! What are you doing here?"
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—Nothing much.
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—How do you like that?
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"What are you doing sitting in the dark like a
mushroom?"
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—Nothing much.
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—Welcome to the old country!
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"What were you doing in there?" [The bathroom]
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—Might be reduced.
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—It's better than playing golf, let's put it that way.
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"Have you been doing anything?"
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—Nothing much.
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—Jump for joy.
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"What will your wife be doing while you're gone?"
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—Nothing much.
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—How, I don't know.
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"I know what I'm doing."
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—Just about.
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—Well, you learn.
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["You can hint all day long, I'm not cheating you."] "I'm
not hinting."
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—Just about.
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—Okay, you'll just get thinner.
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"IT'S MY TURN! It's my turn to
go!" [Surprising you]
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—Just about.
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—Everyone does the best they can.
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"Now it's my turn."
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—Just about.
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—Work slow and do things for yourself.
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"Hey, Dad, what are you doing up?"
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—Nothing much.
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—Maintenance is the keynote of civilization, and distribution is
its child.
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"So Icarus, what are you doing on Friday night
tomorrow?"
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—Winging it! On the job.
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[See Icarus
and the Gutter Snipe]
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"So is your turkey basting in the oven?"
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—Just about.
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—Because we need a good circus, right?
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"How many Floridians does it take to screw in a
light bulb?"
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—Might be reduced.
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—They have nothing else to do.
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"How much do you make every day, on average?"
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—Nothing much.
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—If it's less, we can fudge it.
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"How much money do you get each month for that shield?"
[Also see Boredom]
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—Nothing much.
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—We don't mention vagaries.
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"So they pay you eighteen hundred?"
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—Just about.
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—They just nickel and dime you to death.
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"Was I right about the shield? I'm right about
this, too."
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—Just about.
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—Do you want to rent it from me?
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"You'll pay for that!"
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—Just about.
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—Some people pay in advance.
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"How much did you pay for that?"
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—Might be reduced.
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—One of the more useless things on this earth.
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"You're going to pay for that!"
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—Might be reduced.
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—You don't! That's the whole secret of business.
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"God, are there enough Starbucks around here?"
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—Just about.
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—It doesn't bother me.
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"This has to be the strangest website I've ever seen. It's a marvel.
And I don't understand a word of it. It's not one of these very meaningful
flash-based arty sites that leaves you puzzled, it's totally different.
A labyrinth..." [Link from folkdevil.net]
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—Just about.
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—With pictures and everything!
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"What are you doing? ... Want some company?"
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—Nothing much.
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—Not a lot ... It's very subtle ... Making a nest.
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"I'd be better sucking your cock."
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—Might be reduced.
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—'Cause you've got that thing, that certain thing; That makes me
rush off to Cartier's for a wedding ring; That makes birds forget to sing;
'Cause you've got that thing, that certain thing ... You're way ahead
... I'm really wondering who you are, what you're up to, and what you
think life is all about?
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"Whatever turns you on."
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—Winging it! On the job.
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—Cheating everyone.
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"If it turns you on."
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—Might be reduced.
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—To what I don't know.
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"Well, whatever turns you on."
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—Winging it! On the job.
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—Being exclusive.
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"What made you move here?"
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—Nothing much.
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—One weird thing after another.
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"Made you look!"
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—Just about.
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—Exploring, exploring, ever exploring.
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"Are you guys skipping?"
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—Just about.
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—Will you pin my tail on?
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"What made you ask me that?"
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—Might be reduced.
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—You never know, right?
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"Skipping class, huh?"
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—Just about.
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—And you're in between.
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09-AUG-2001.
Have you ever wondered what principals might guide ETHICS MAN when he meets
AMORAL MAN? It shouldn't be any more difficult than meeting my two little dogs.
After all, they've never heard of Jesus, and really don't know wrong from right
except when it comes to being housebroken. That, they know. Maybe that's all
AMORAL MAN knows, too. How to control himself until he goes outside.
Seriously, what if you have internalized honor and integrity, and added dignity
to your commitment to values through years of experience, and you meet someone
who hasn't? After all, when a person can trust another person's word and values,
both can work together to send someone to the moon. Without ethics, people are
reduced to endless boring vacations on the Mediterranean, if they can afford
it.
I met a person at Atari who took pride in his ability to bamboozle other employees.
He would simply ask other people to do things, leading them to believe those
tasks had been authorized by a higher power (not you!) when in fact, that wasn't
the case. He was a liar.
The most effective way to meet AMORAL MAN is to stall and get away from him.
"—I'll do anything you like, as long as you put it in writing and
sign your name to it." Would that have worked with Adolf Hitler in 1939?
I don't know. The quick ones got away.
So what rules of engagement might a person use when meeting an unknown? An
honorable person should pay careful attention to what they say they'll do, then
do what they say they'll do, even if what they said was a carefree promise or
something totally absurd. That's the only way to learn.
The Sufis have an idea: To Escape from Cage, Play Dead. It's no accident dead
people are popular. They're not so busy interfering with life!
If you do interfere, see AMORAL MAN as suffering from mental illness, revolving
around a hard place inside themselves: Institutionalize him (in your mind!) —
Treat him as if he's a patient in a Japanese Mental Hospital. Then in the outside
physical world, treat yourself with kindness, and treat him the same way, just
by being friendly. If they can't stand friendliness, they'll run away. Hurray!
Either way, you win.
When it comes to right and wrong, that's up to each person, but at the deepest
level you'll do perfectly fine by contacting a sense of compassion inside yourself.
That means, don't give yourself a hard time!
17-NOV-2014.
