Monthly Archives: April 2010

 

 

Best Experienced With:        Cake;            Sheep Go To Heaven

(please right click on the link below to open the suggested background music on life, love, and waffles in a new browser window.  Turn it up and really explore the space)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0mx5ERj1eI

 

Antoine de Saint Exupery stopped by The Attic this morning for breakfast and he was vexed.  As we skillfully sprayed I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter on the piping hot blueberry Eggo waffles, he ‘splained the vexation.

Seems that with Facebook, iThingies, and 137 versions of Us magazines floating around these days, people these days are neglecting one of the finest cross divisional books ever written, The Little Prince.   

If you have ever been a child, know children today, or have your own children, The Little Prince is a fantastic read.  If you have ever been in love, are currently in love or plan some day to fall in love, The Little Prince is the finest relationship book in the universe.   

If you want to sell anything, buy anything, or process anything as a career. If you want to sell anything bought or processed, or buy anything sold or processed, or process anything sold, bought, or processed, or repair anything sold, bought, or processed. If, as a career, you want to do that……The Little Prince is one of the finest business and leadership books ever written.  

All life lessons are business lesson and all business lessons are life lessons.  The Little Prince captures all life and business lessons and wraps them in a beautiful fuchsia bow wrapped package for all of us to ingest over two hours.   Should you not have two full hours to devote to something as silly as reading, Antoine de Saint Exupery has blessed the sharing of the finest chapter in the book.  The fox chapter.   

 

As you read, Antoine de Saint Exupery and I will finish our Eggo blueberry waffles and start up a hacky sack circle in the back corner.  Feel free to join in later.   Bring your own patchouli oil.        Enjoy

 

It was then that the fox appeared.
‘Good day,’ said the fox.
‘Good day,‘ replied the little prince politely, looking up but unable to see anything.
‘Over here,’ said the voice, ‘under the apple tree.’
‘Who are you?’ said the little prince. ‘You’re very pretty.‘
‘I’m a fox,’ said the fox.
‘Come and play with me,‘ suggested the little prince.  ‘I’m terribly sad.’
‘I can’t play with you,’ said the fox. ‘I am not tame.’
‘Oh! I beg your pardon,’ said the little prince.
Then, after a moment’s thought, he added:
‘What does “tame” mean ?’
‘You are not from these parts,’ said the fox.’ What are you looking for?’
‘I’m looking for people. What does “tame” mean ?’
‘People,’ said the fox, ‘they have guns, and they hunt.
It’s a great nuisance! They also raise chickens. That is the only interesting thing about them. Are you looking chickens?’
‘No,’ said the little prince. ‘I am looking for friends. What does “tame” mean?’
‘Something that is frequently neglected,’ said the fox. ‘It mean “to create ties”.’

‘To create ties?’
‘Precisely,’ said the fox. ‘To me, you are still only a small boy, just like a hundred thousand other small boys. And I have no need of you. And you in turn have no need of me.
‘To you, I’m just a fox like a hundred thousand other foxes.  But if you tame me, then we shall need each other. To me, you shall be unique in the world. To you, I shall be unique in the world.’
‘I’m beginning to understand,’  said the little prince. ‘I know a flower… I think she must have tamed me…’
‘Quite possible,’  said the fox. ‘On this Earth one sees all manner of things.‘
‘Oh! But that was not on Earth,’ said the little prince.
The fox looked rather intrigued.
‘On another planet, then?’
‘Yes’
‘I see. Are there huntsmen, on this other planet?’
‘No’
‘How interesting. And chickens?’
‘No.’
‘Nothing is perfect,’ sighed the fox.
But he resumed his train of thought:
‘My life is very monotonous. I run after the chickens; the men run after me. All the chickens are the same, and all the men are the same. Consequently, I get a little bored. but if you tame me, my days will be as if filled with sunlight. I shall know a sound of footstep different from all the rest. Other steps make me run to earth. Yours will call me out of my foxhole like music. And besides, look over there! You see the fields of corn ? Well, I don’t eat bread. Corn is of no use for me. Corn fields remind me of nothing. Which is sad! On the other hand, your hair is the color of gold. So think how wonderful it will be when you have tamed me. The corn, which is golden, will remind me you. And I shall come to love the sound of the wind in the field of corn….”
The fox fell silent and looked steadily at the little prince for a long time.
‘Please,’ he said, ‘tame me!’
‘I should like to,’ replied the little prince, ‘but I don’t have much time. I have friends to discover and many things to understand.’
‘One only ever understands what one tames. People no longer have the time to understand anything. They buy everything ready-made from the shops. But there is no shop where friends can be bought, so people no longer have friends. If you want a friend, tame me!’
‘What do I have to do?‘ said the little prince.
‘You have to be very patient,‘ replied the fox. ‘First, you will sit down a short distance away from me, like that, in the grass. I shall watch you out of the corner of my eye and you will say nothing; words are the source of misunderstandings. But each day you may sit a little closer to me.’
The next day the little prince came back.
‘It would have been better to come back at the same time of the day,‘said the fox. ‘For instance, if you come at four in the afternoon, when three o’clock strikes I shall begin to feel happy. The closer our time approaches, the happier I shall feel. By four o’clock I shall already be getting agitated and worried; I shall be discovering that happiness has its price! But if you show up at any old time, I’ll never know when to start dressing my hearth for you… We all need rituals.’
‘What is a ritual?’ said the little prince.
‘Something else that is frequently neglected,’ said the fox.
‘It’s what makes one day different from the other days, one hour different from the other hours. There is a ritual, for example, among my huntsmen. On Thursdays they dance with the village girls. So Thursday is a wonderful day for me! I can take a stroll as far as the vineyard. If the huntsmen went dancing at any old time, the days would all be the same, and I should never have a holiday.’
So the little prince tamed the fox. And when the time for him to leave was approaching.
‘Oh!’ said the fox. ‘I am going to cry,’
‘It’s your own fault,’ said the little prince. ‘I never wished you any harm; but you wanted me to tame you…’
‘I know,’ said the fox.
‘And now you are going to cry!‘ said the little prince.
‘I know,’ said the fox.
‘So you have gained nothing from it at all!’
‘Yes, I have gained something,’ said the fox, ‘because of the color of the corn.’
Then he added:
‘Go and look at the roses again. You will understand that yours is, after all, unique in the world. Then come back and say goodbye to me; as a present I will tell you a secret.’
The little prince went off to look at the roses again.
‘You are nothing like my rose,‘ he told them. ‘As yet you are nothing at all. Nobody has tamed you, and you have tamed nobody. You are as my fox used to be. he was just a fox like a hundred thousand other foxes. But I made him my friend and now he is unique in the world.’
And the roses felt very uncomfortable.
‘You are beautiful, but you are empty,‘ he went on.
‘One could not die for you. Of course, an ordinary passer-by would think my rose looked just like you. But in herself she matters more than all of you together, since it is she that I watered; since it is she that I placed under the glass dome; since it is she that I sheltered with the screen; since it is she whose caterpillars I killed (except the two or three we saved up to become butterflies). Since it is she that I listened to, when she complained, or boasted, or when she was simply being silent. Since it is she who is my rose.’
And he went back to the fox.
‘Goodbye,’ he said.
‘Goodbye,’ said the fox. ‘Now here is my secret, very simply: you can only see things clearly with your heart. What is essential is invisible to the eye.’
‘What is essential is invisible to the eye,’ repeated the little prince, so as to remember.
‘It is the time you have wasted on your rose that makes your rose so important.’
‘It is the time I have wasted on my rose…’ repeated the little prince, so as to remember.
‘People have forgotten this truth,’ said the fox. ‘But you must not forget. You become responsible, for ever, for what you have tamed. You are responsible for your rose.’
‘I am responsible for my rose …’ the little prince repeated, so as to remember.

 

The Mind of Mully

 

I just want to play on my pan pipes

I just want to drink me some wine

As soon as you’re born

You start dying

 

So you might as well have a good time……………………..

  

 

Best Experienced With:           Gary Jules;           Falling Awake

(please click on the link below to hear a beautiful song)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lM2dlfuo-xQ

 

The purpose of a fish trap is to catch fish, and when the fish are caught, the trap is forgotten.

 

The purpose of a rabbit snare is to catch rabbits. When the rabbits are caught, the snare is forgotten.

The purpose of words is to convey ideas. When the ideas are grasped, the words are forgotten.

 

Where can I find a man who has forgotten words? He is the one I would like to talk to.

                                                                                                                                           Chuang-Tsu

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Mind of Mully

 

I could learn to play the game,

I could learn to run the hustle

If I only had the brains

The money or the muscle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Or a puppy.

 

 

 

 

Best Experienced With:          Cracker;     Get Off This

 (please right click on the link below to open the suggested background music for this evening’s examination of The Rules in a new browser window.   Choices.   Everyone loves choices.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReEVb6hCnzs&feature=related

 

1. The following items are prohibited and are grounds for either suspension or expulsion:  knives, weapons, dangerous objects, Nancy Pelosi, gang emblems, and lewd or obscene behavior.
2. Fighting, provoking fights or intimidation may result in suspension or transfer to another school.
3. Students who dress inappropriately will be subject to disciplinary action.  Parents will be contacted to bring students proper attire.  Parents are prohibited from bringing students either Anarchy silly angel wing shirts or always ugly Ed Hardy clothing as “proper” attire.
4. Truancy is subject to disciplinary consequences.  Students are expected to be in every class every day to maximize learning.
5. Students who are habitually tardy or out of class are subject to detention, mandatory parent conferences and/or forced Ed Hardy clothing wearing.
6. Food and drinks are not allowed in the classrooms, main hall, home economics hall, library, or offices.  Razzles do not count.  First they’re a candy, then they’re a gum.  Little round Razzles are so much fun.
7. Please stay off the roof.
8. Students are not allowed in the parking lot during school hours.

 

 

• You do not talk about Fight Club
• You do not talk about Fight Club
• If someone says “stop” or goes limp, taps out…fight is over
• Only two guys to a fight
• No shirt, no shoes
• Fights go on as long as they have to

 

 

 

A.     No smoking in bed

B.     Persons who have consumed alcohol are not allowed to operate the cider press

C.     Don’t climb on the roof when you have been drinking

D.     No sunbathing on the roof

E.      For crying out loud, stay off the roof!   Can’t you read?

 

 

 

• Live each day with courage
• Take pride in your work
• Always finish what you start
• Do what has to be done
• Be tough, but fair
• When you make a promise, keep it
• Ride for the brand
• Talk less and say more
• Remember that some things are not for sale
• Know where to draw the line
• Be gentle to small children, old folks and animals
• Be helpful when someone is in trouble
• Respect womanhood, your parents, and the nation’s laws

 

The Mind of Mully

 

Are you truly deeply cynical

Because boy you know I loved you so

When no one knew your name

And you were pompous

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Good night, you princes of Maine, you Kings of New England………..

 

La la la la la la la la. 

 

 

 

 

 

 Thanks for the memories, Bubba.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Best Experienced With:     Four Non Blondes;     What’s Up?

(please right click on the link below to open up the suggested background music to this evening’s treatise on conflict resolution and anticipatory mediation)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8CfQxyIe7g&feature=related

 

The two largest selling non fiction books, year after year, are The Bible and The Diary of Anne Frank, respectively.  Since we respect everyone’s beliefs up here in The Attic, feel free to mentally re-categorize The Bible into fiction in your own mind and pop The Diary of Anne Frank into the number one non-fiction spot.  No one here will spew vitriol in your general direction or hate or nuthin’.          Heck no. 

You believe what you want to believe and we will agree to disagree respectfully, like democratic republic people should.   The Attic is a bastion of tolerance:  sort of an anti-Fox News, anti-Tea Party mythical gathering place.  What a boring, stagnant world it would be if we all agreed.   And so vanilla, absent Jerry Springer, Judge Judy, and their public argument forums.  Conflict is inevitable in all non electroshock therapy treated relationships and most conflict breeds tighter bonds and better solutions.  It’s like welding without the need for protective eyewear, special gloves or evil union dues.

 

All things always end and most things end poorly.   Consider the two books referenced above.   Each of the protagonists died in the books:  the death of the protagonist being an event most consider a bad event.  Most people know that the protagonists die in these books, yet each remains in one of the  two top spots each year.

Starting with the expectation that all things generally end poorly allows for relatively dispassionate mitigation of the events leading up to the end.  Having a mitigation plan in place in the first week (the sunshine and happiness week) can often change the poor ending.  Joey Heller would be proud of that logic.

Great, ethical divorce attorneys will advise their clients to lay all their cards on the table and have a legal separation document in the first ninety days while there is still modicum of love left in the relationship.  Great relationship counselors will advise couples to set up the rules of engagement on fighting while everything is peachy.   When you have that Fight Plan in place at the beginning, it makes everything easier come fight day.     Timing is everything and no one should ever start a land war in Southeast Asia.  

In the “you teach best what you most need to learn” category, will also throw out (as a share) to the group right now that I may be the worst argument partner in the history of arguing.   My head is as thick as Stanford’s Linear Accelerator and my memory more durable than a parade of elephants.  The actual “marriage” part of my singular later-in-life marriage lasted as long as the maximum life span of the American Newt.   One of the box shapes in the root cause analysis on that thing ending poorly has a smiling picture of me, most likely in a colored Kangol hat.   Do as I suggest from the grape jelly covered bully pulpit……….….not as I do.   

 

Let’s jump outside the person to person dating/marriage relationship analogy and talk dogs and cats.  Most have raised a puppy or kitten to adulthood and all have had to train their respective pets in some fashion.  Not those of you that live with 14 cats and 5 dogs in a doublewide in West Virginia.  The rest of you that live in the first two standard deviations.  West Virginia is in the special category.

Never cater an explanative to the outlying tails of the distribution.  Always write for the median using a least common denominator assumption.  Apologies to those of you with 14 cats and 5 dogs living in a West Virginia trailer park.  This MLOG is not for you.  Please feel free to hit the link up there and go back to the White Zombie dance off page.  That MLOG was designed special for you.     And BenHur, of course.   No one puts BenHur in the corner.

Back to the puppies and the kittens.   Let’s say you did not want your cat’s filthy litter and urine stained paws on your kitchen counters.  Did you start squirting that cat with a squirt gun when it approached the counter as your cat closed in on its second birthday?  Heck, no.  You squirted that kitten day and night when it even thought of jumping on that counter.   You may have even squirted the kitten with the squirt gun sometimes just for fun when you had a few too many glasses of Meritage.   It’s OK.  We all do that.   Some of us do it all day every day because we have far too much time on our hands and too may squirt guns in the house.

Those of you with puppies took that puppy out of their crate and out onto the tree lawn when the sun came up.  As you learned your puppy’s routines, you took your puppy outside to pee when you saw that look in their eye, right?  You did it from day one, as opposed to letting them pee on your carpet between play sessions in the living room.  

All relationships have the potential to grow through arguing.  The best way to grow through arguing is to set up the rules well in advance of Fight Day.  It is exactly the same as training puppies and kittens as opposed to dogs and cats.   Always start at the beginning …………..with the end in mind.  This also applies to business. 

Let’s say that last week you added a brand new customer to your customer list and each of you is positively glowing.  Lots of “thank you’s” on your side and lots of “we are so happy that you won” on the customer side.  What an excellent time to discuss future discord!  Many shy away from this discussion in business and personal relationships, fearing it will mess up the bon bon and champagne moments. 

Within the first week, have a face to face adult business conversation about Fight Day.    Start the conversation by saying; “conflict is inevitable in all relationships, this one included.”  Agree that each of you is going to drop the ball at some point, discuss where you have each dropped the ball in past business relationships, and discuss how you are going to resolve conflict and mistakes when they pop up.   If you choose this road less travelled, you are going to laugh when you get to Fight Day.

If you have that Fight Day convo in the first week, you are going to work through the challenges far more effectively than those who believe there is some sort of mythical perfect relationship out there.  You and your customer will most likely stop in the first five minutes of the first argument and say “we saw this one coming from day one and we were both right”.  Ten minutes later you are going to hug it out and move on.  Bing, bang, boom.

 

Like anything, that mythical, perfect relationship is possible.  An eternal optimist, I grant the possibility that griffins, unicorns, mermaids, and dragons exist.  It’s possible.

Possible, yes.  Probable?  No more probable than that mythical, argument-less relationship.   

 (was blonde for 23 days very early in life)

 

The Mind of Mully

 I wake in the morning

I step outside

I take a deep breath

And I get real high

 

 

 (not really blonde ….thus, a total of Five (5) Non Blondes)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Post Script:   Received an email last week asking how this stuff gets written.  As shown in the photo below, we set up three computers in a serial configuration.  The computer on the far left chooses the music based upon an algorithm derived by gnomes in Northern Ireland.   The middle computer is the one we use to track Matt Damon.  It is also the one that chooses verbs and analogies.  The computer on the far right takes input from random bots that scour the WWW daily to take the pulse of the world.    Monday through Sunday, 24/7, The Attic looks like this:

Once a day, all this information is compiled onto a fourth computer linked to a load balancing, data server farm in an Omaha, Nebraska.   Last but not least, I take the output data, grab a magic 8-Ball and randomly choose words that look really, really, really cool next to each other.    

Nighty night.

 

 

Best Experienced With:   White Zombie;  More Human Than Human

(please right click on the link below to open the suggested background music to this evening’s dance off and quantum physics art gallery showing in a new browser window.   What BenHur wants, BenHur gets.     As we say in The Attic:  no one puts BenHur in the corner.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFqBTSvBPAU

 

The best questions:    questions without any definitive answers that stand the test of time and get made into tee shirts.   The best dance offs:  ones in which no one named Mully is dancing. 

 

 

 

 

 

y = y₁(detected particle, dead cat) + y₂(no detected particle, live cat)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 y = y₁(detected particle, observer sees dead cat) + y₂(no detected particle, observer sees live cat)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Mind of Mully

 

Scratch off the broken skin

Tear into my heart

Make me do it again

Yeah

Yeah

Yeah

(yeah)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Mind of Mully:   turning the world around with a skeleton hand for over fifty-three months.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nighty night.  Winner, winner chicken dinner of the White Zombie dance off is the monkey.    The cat simply……..is.