A little Technorati drum roll please...
Hey, I just noticed that I have a technorati PageRank of 3/10...how 'bout that!
My guess is that if I could figure out how to put some other text in the template HTML section, that it would go up even further, but it's pretty far down on my list of priorities and values (but if someone knows how to do that, and is so inclined, I won't turn away a brief tutoring lesson.)
On an even nicer scale, maybe an 8/10, I'm playing hooky today. To all you young 'uns out there in cyberworld, "hooky" is a term that used to be invoked in the ancient (to you) days when someone was surreptiously taking a day off from school, or later, work. There's nothing subtle about my intent today.
When the local weather stations started hyping a major storm headed our way, I said to myself: "self, this is a splendid opportunity to pretend it's a precautionary and considerate plan to others to cancel all my appointments for today." I knew it was brazenly deceitful but what's the use of a term ("playing hooky") if you can't keep breathing new life into it from time to time.
Anyway, who do you put more trust in, the local weather person or a certain other knucklehead who is currently hyping some energetic term called "the surge?"
Finally for those wordsmiths out there, I did a google search for "playing hooky" and found this on ask.yahoo.com:
No one is quite sure about the origin of the phrase "playing hooky." We consulted the top three online word sleuths and found a number of intriguing explanations.
The Phrase Finder offers a few possible origins, including "to hook it" or "to escape or make off." To "hook something" is also an old slang term for stealing, as in "stealing a day off."
The Word Detective dates the first printed use of the phrase to 1848 and relates it to the 19th-century phrase "hooky-crooky," which means "dishonest or underhanded." The parent of this phrase is "by hook or by crook," meaning "by any means necessary."
Word Origins suggests that the phrase comes from hoekje, the Dutch name for hide and seek.
The phrase seems to be waning in popularity with the younger folks these days. Most kids simply refer to skipping school as "cutting." But regardless of what it's called, the time-honored practice of playing hooky seems here to stay.
Addendum: I am feeling that when I refer to a certain someone who lives near the Potomac River in disparaging terms that I am becoming part of the problem rather than part of the solution. If I can play with words...in venting my emotions and criticism, I am re-inventing the same old polarity which is keeping so much of the gridlocked system in power. Truth is the casualty, but only always, in that approach.
Monica in a post on 2/15/06 partly addressed that issue when she talks about how she prefers to write her own letters to people in power directly rather than using a preformatted form letter. That way she has a better chance of expressing her ideas and beliefs and reduces the risk of just being lumped in with all of the others who are of a similar mind.
8 comments:
Because I grew up in a hunting and fishing family, I just assumed that "playing hooky" is the fish that tugs on your line, causing you to reel it in only to find it without fish or worm. It has thereby gotten away with something, the worm, without getting caught "on the hook".
My theory is as good as any of the others.
Besides, in our increasingly fast-paced world that is over stimulating our brains, "playing hooky" is now an important part of good overall mental health if you ask me. I get depressed and hostile when I can't regulate the amount of input my brain has to receiving.
-P
Proxima: I couldn't agree with you more about how the increasingly fast paced world is taking away quality of life damaging our bodies.
In one way the brain thrives on stimulation in the sense that it loves learning new things and being challenged to develop new skills. But when the pace of all the stimulation doesn't allow for the balancing of restful activities it throws an essential balance out of whack.
I recently saw a description of how..."we were never designed for our sedentary, socially isolated, indoor, sleep-deprived, frenzied, poorly nourished lifestyle." (Thomas LLardi) What an accurate mouthful that is!
Sedentary - Diabesity anyone?
Socially isolated - Stuck in cubicles, on telephones, stuck in cars, watching TV in a hypnotic state, eating meals by self.
Indoors - isolated from nature, deprived of sunlight
Sleep-deprived - so tired and pressured and overstimulated that you can't put it down, terrified of awakenings during the night because you will be (more) unrested to face a day which is already killing you
frenzied - yup, that's what we're being dealt
poorly nourished lifestyle - emotionally, physically, and interpersonally.
For me: "I will rush no more."
Dear Tim,
It's not the last bit surprising that you feel very uncomfortable disparaging President Bush.
As I'm sure you know, the babies born in your generation were originally called "depression babies," but in the 1950s, Time Magazine gave them a new name: the Silent Generation, because they valued conformity and loyalty above all else, and didn't complain about much. Your discomfort is quite consistent with those in your generation.
This makes you different from the post-war Baby Boomer generation. The Boomers adopted their "values" when they were children burning their draft cards, while their girlfriends were burning their bras. Boomers are generally narcissistic and arrogant, and believe their their "values" represent the greatest and most absolute truth that the universe has to offer. And they continue to believe this no matter how many dozens of times they change their minds.
This presents you and others in the Silent Generation with a problem, a problem that you identified when you wondered how to discuss the avian flu issue with people who might think you're overreacting.
Your parents must have talked about the horrors that could have been avoided if only Hitler had been stopped when there was time, or if only the country had prepared itself better, rather than allowing its entire Pacific fleet to be destroyed in a few hours, the greatest military disaster in American history.
And now the same things are happening as China continues, year after year, building up a huge hi-tech military infrastructure, with submarines, missiles and aircraft all targeting the the United States, and as Arabs and Jews come closer each day to a war that will draw in the U.S., and dozens of other nations in the region and world.
It's always a problem trying to credibly discuss problems like that with people who think you're overreacting, but if you've read my web site then you know that I've made up my mind to say exactly what's going to happen, and let people prepare or not, as they choose.
For avian flu, I tell people to stock up on food, water, medicines, and so forth, so that your family can survive in your home for at least a few weeks. Doing this will not only protect your family, but it will also help the general public, because you'll be one less home that needs food assistance, leaving more for others.
Being a Boomer myself, I don't share any of your discomfort in disparaging Washington politicians. But it's a generational thing, not a political thing; the political leaders in Washington, Republican and Democrat, are mostly Boomers, and they're total morons. Look what the whole bunch of these jackasses have been doing in the House and Senate recently, and what they're doing today, for plenty of examples.
I like to tell people that what's coming is coming, and it can't be stopped by any politician or anyone else, any more than a politician can stop a tsunami. You can't stop it, but you can prepare for it. So I tell people this: Treasure the time you have left, and use it to prepare yourself, your family, your community and your nation.
Sincerely,
John
John J. Xenakis
E-mail: john@GenerationalDynamics.com
Web site: http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com
John,
Thanks for your direct and thoughtful comment.
In thinking about "the difficult," I'm reminded of a quote from Helen Keller: "Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure." It's instructive to have an unsighted person (Keller) show us what needs to be seen.
I like your statement: "what's coming is coming." Yes. Avoiding won't work. Neither is being terrorized by self or others helpful in the long run. Hoarding will be plain stupid for the paranoia which it will create.
Simple preparations will be helpful. But basic self-reliance and comfort in your ability to deal with changes in combination with a willingness and readiness to connect with others of like interest and intent will serve us on an even more basic level.
I think there is an additional and equally important quality which will help to come people and families and clans to come through "difficult times" and that is the ability to go through withdrawal. Withdrawal from so many of the conveniences which we have come to take for granted and which are just so much frill.
Your generational perspective is helpful. Given that perspective, my cohort will be better able to deal with "the difficult" because we have hardship built into our early experiences - and also the excitement and hope of moving forward in spite of it.
Tim
Tim,
I've been reading through some of your old posts.
Your statement hits homes with me: "Simple preparations will be helpful. But basic self-reliance and comfort in your ability to deal with changes in combination with a willingness and readiness to connect with others of like interest and intent will serve us on an even more basic level."
At some intuitive level I'm been mulling the current emphasis on dependency and specialization. In the United States few of us are able to care for ourselves. We're dependent on specialists to provide our "necessities" -- food, water, heat, electric, mechanical repairs, etc. I'm thinking this is a basic cause of personal unrest, mild depression and general unhappiness. It appears young children have an innate drive to learn, to develop skills and to become competent. They want to do it themselves rather than have someone do it for them. As incompetent and dependent adults can we be truly happy and content? However, it benefits the market for us to be incompetent, dependent and needy. I've been thinking of writing a few words about this train of thought.
Paul,
Bingo! Give that man a C-gar.
The system wants us to remain dependent and unaware of our power and potential.
You're gaining freedom through your thermal banks work. I am gaining freedom by taking responsibility for my food preparation.
(I'm into soups and stews right now; nothing fancy but delicious and nutritious and hardy and balanced, AND inexpensive. I'm really big now into dry beans and onions and carrots and cauliflower and garlic, etc. It takes time, no rush, and minimal planning and the dividends are always there for several more meals and also to share with others. I've also made bread - you know it's not wonder bread when you bite into mine! And I'm also experimenting with hummus.)
On the other hand, I'm not against specialization. I make my living and also express myself through it, so i see a place for it. But I also tell my people that I can help them to sort things out, remind them of strengths and interests and talents thay they have forgotten about or been talked out of, etc., and that I can offer them some tools and how to work with them, but that the real work comes from a. their being as truthful as they can tolerate (in my office), they acknowledge their complicity in creating and maintaining their problems, their responsibility to find the tools, attitudes, behaviors, patterns, which can get them back on track, and applying proper effort to move in that direction.
It seems like a mouthful but generally the truth is that it does not really involve any heavy lifting, but it does require the that they have to let go of the old which is no longer serving them well.
Tim
p.s. It gives me great pleasure to see people going back to my old posts and exploring them also. It's a bit self serving, I know, but thar's some gold in these here posts...not always...but enough to keep digging.
Tim, I work in a specialized field (software development) and I doubt that we'll ever go back to pre-industrialized days when most people were generalists.
Given our situation, the last part of your statement becomes more important "... in combination with a willingness and readiness to connect with others of like interest and intent". I'm intrigued by the possibility of aligning with a community of people with various specializations, like interests and a sense of neighborliness -- a neighborliness that you wrote about on 12/18/2007.
The problem I've encountered is connecting with others who want and need that sense of community. One young man who lived near me gave up, moved to Missouri and said he would never try homesteading again. Another died in an accident. Julie and I take part with a group that picks up trash on four miles of road every six months. It's a good opportunity to meet some of the same group and new people but I have yet to connect with a core group of like-minded individuals. There are too many fences, no trespassing signs and too much individualism.
It seems the only solution is to continue developing self-reliance skills, to focus on (aka specialize in) certain areas such as food production and to continue trying to develop community relationships to share knowledge, skills, encouragement and assistance.
But, in this age we can share some knowledge easily -- like recipes for soups and stews! (I have a growing concern about the quality of the food supply.)
Paul, I hear ya, I hear ya.
Maybe some of that community may come from the old fashioned way of beating a pot with a steel spoon, and then drawing a circle and letting anyone who wants to come into it do so, and they can equally easily leave.
Beating the pot: I've been thinking of e.f. schumacher's response to the person who asked what was the single most important thing a person could do to help the world. His response; "Plant a tree." The questioner smiled and said, I understand, but really.... Schumacher's response: "Plant a tree."
So I've been thinking of talking with the tree warden in my town to see if the town or anyone will plant a number of trees equal to the number which are going to be cut down because they pose a threat to the power lines.
Then I will ask whom else I could contact. Then I'll contact the selectman in town and ask for their input, etc.
Finally I will get a small piece into a few of the town newspapers, and network with a few people from the conservation commission, and maybe a nursery in the area, a tree farmer, etc., and see if I can get a cluster of people together for the purpose of planting trees....
MAYBE I'll do it...I AM thinking of it.
So the thought is that the community draws on different areas of expertise but "joins" and connects for a common purpose.
It lets people bring their strengths, it connects, it builds, it isn't making people pay for a service.
Maybe we can both bring this up as a posting on our respective blogs.
Tim
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