Can't work.

Sorry.

Can't blog.

Sorry.

Must watch this.

I hope you understand.

May as well accept that you are addicted to love.

Big glass mug.

Cup of cold milk.

2 teaspoons of this historic powder.

Intense stirring with silver spoon.

More stirring.

A lot more stirring.

-----> Does the temperature of the milk increase? (beyond the natural increase to room temperature)


yum

Leave your answer in the "response" page.

GO!

Additions to the list of movies I haven't seen:

From David Weinberger - you know the trouble with the younger generation (= you)? They think movies started in 1975. Oy gevalt! Why, when I was a boy...

Philadelphia Story
Everything by Hitchcock
The 39 Steps
Citizen Kane (of course!), Magnificent Ambersons
Nosferatu
Buster Keaton (The General? Steamboat what's his name?)
Modern Times
It Happened One Night
A Night at the Opera
Duck Soup
Some Like It Hot
Dead of Night (?)
Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes
Dr. Strangelove
Paths of Glory

The Bravery of Being out of Range of Knowledge When Offering Opinions

In a recent post, Marek blogs about Roger Waters' song, The Bravery of Being out of Range (lyrics). He uses the song to discuss how businesses can automate themselves to death or prosperity by invoking Cluetrain and Gonzo Marketing. I'd like to take his inspiration on a different tangent.

The Bravery of Being out of Range applies to the freedom with which we offer opinions on topics we may not know much about. Saying "just my 2 cents" does not excuse uninformed opinion. Saying "hey man, it's my free speech" does not shield stupidity from critique. Saying "to the best of my knowledge" is not enough when we have little or no knowledge on the topic. Let me be more specific: we may have information but do we have any knowledge??? More often than not, we don't.

There are a myriad of examples of what I'm talking about throughout our daily life. When it comes to discussions of the "mid east crisis" we are pretty forthcoming with ideas: jeez, the Israelis need to get their tanks out of Palestinian land; boy, Yassir Arafat has no control; peace will never be achieved; blah; blah; blah.

How about we just shut the hell up and let the people most affected by the crisis deal with it? Jewish circles are filled with people critical of the Israeli government (regardless of which party is in power). Shouts of "kill 'em all or there'll never be peace" or "give 'em whatever they want to achieve peace" fill the halls of schools, community centers, synagogues and homes. Yet how many have donated money, planted a tree, visited in the last 2 years, or done anything supportive aside from share uninformed and unwanted opinions? Well, ya gotta have an opinion, right? WRONG. Shut up.

I feel much better after getting that out of my system. While I pointed out an extreme and extremely complicated example, the bravery of offering opinions while out of range of knowledge is very common. How about this - the next time one of us is about to share an opinion - take a fucking breath. Doc Searls adds: Have a sense of humor.

>Question, don't comment.
>Ponder, don't preach.
>Learn, don't lecture.
>Explore, don't abridge.
>Listen, don't talk. (added by Dave Rogers)

And when one of us does comment, because I know we must:

>Don't detach - engage the issue.
>Don't oversimplify complexity.
>Don't dismiss dissention. (they may seem like monsters but are as much human as us)
>Don't forget the greater context. (history is a teacher; hindsight is 20/20; etc.)

And finally, don't forget to email me with your opinions and additions to the above. Some links: Ftrain: Open to Criticism and What Price Honesty.

Unfortunate Nomenclature:

Like any good Jew, I like Chinese food. Like any good human, I like cookies. Like any good business person, I like fortune. So I guess that means I should like something with the name "Fortune Cookie."

But I don't.

Maybe I would have liked them 20 years ago but I believe they have been changed and perverted from their creator's founding vision. 90% of so-called "Fortune Cookies" are NOT cookies which contain fortunes. In our vain, self-obsessed, therapy-laden, feel-good culture, "Fortune Cookies" have become "Positive Affirmation Cookies."

You are a wonderful human being.
You were born with a unique soul.
You have many good friends.
Your ass is not its own planetoid.

These are not fortunes. Yet they, and other affirmations, are commonly found in almost all cookies we call "Fortune Cookies." Why is that? I don't know. I don't like it. What happened to getting actual notes of fortune in "Fortune Cookies?"

You will come upon a wealth of gold.
You will be successful in all you attempt.
Your insight will inspire others.
Your wit will keep blog readers reading.

Does a name define a thing or does a set of properties define a name? Are they "Fortune Cookies" because people call them "Fortune Cookies" or are they "Fortune Cookies" only if they contain fortunes?

An embarrassment I can't refuse to blog:

Everyone has a list of "must see" movies they have never had the time to see, never taken the time to see or otherwise missed seeing. Below are some of mine.

The Godfather
Scarface
Clockwork Orange
Brazil
Casablanca
West Side Story
Truth or Dare
Waiting for Guffman
Tootsie

Two new additions: (thanks to blogging philosopher Cinnamon)
Manchurian Candidate
Spinal Tap

The Godfather is on TNN right now and, while I realize the "safe for children" version may not be the best to see, I refuse to pass up this opportunity. Later this week I may subscribe to NetFlix and see the rest of my unseen films.

Forgive me Godfather, for I have sinned.