The Familiar

What is too familiar is to be fought. There are those that crave the familiar, and become enthusiastic at its every appearance. The chant. The saying. The audience response to the well-known question posed to them (that isn't even a question), ridiculing the 'Amen'. This is why I find it difficult to watch TV these days.

Friedrich Schiller wrote a poem titled, 'The Favour of the Moment'.

Once more, then, we meet
In the circles of yore;
Let our song be as sweet
In its wreaths as before,
Who claims the first place
In the tribute of song?
The God to whose grace
All our pleasures belong.
Though Ceres may spread
All her gifts on the shrine,
Though the glass may be red
With the blush of the vine,
What boots--if the while
Fall no spark on the hearth;
If the heart do not smile
With the instinct of mirth?--
From the clouds, from God's breast
Must our happiness fall,
'Mid the blessed, most blest
Is the moment of all!
Since creation began
All that mortals have wrought,
All that's godlike in man
Comes--the flash of a thought!
For ages the stone
In the quarry may lurk,
An instant alone
Can suffice to the work;
An impulse give birth
To the child of the soul,
A glance stamp the worth
And the fame of the whole.
On the arch that she buildeth
From sunbeams on high,
As Iris just gildeth,
And fleets from the sky,
So shineth, so gloometh
Each gift that is ours;
The lightning illumeth--
The darkness devours!

I think my blog is better.

The Other Employee

In the workplace, as an ‘employee’ (a terrible way to have to describe oneself) you will encounter

- those who seek to assert authority (even in the smallest ways)
- those who seek fame
- those who seek fortune
- those who seek to break others
- those who are weak
- those who are upstarts
- those who compete
- those who are go-getters
- those who watch the clock
- those who love hierarchies
- those who know it all (but actually know little)
- those who are dull
- those who make excuses
- those who are work-shy
- those who are sickeningly friendly
- those who are against humanity

My advice is to stick with the nice ones you find. If there aren't any nice ones, just quit.

(I must also warn you all that these people aren't only found in the workplace, but at least outside the workplace it is easier to avoid them).

Personality Traits I Hate: Part 1, The Blamer

One of the ugliest personality traits in a human being is one that constantly assigns blame to another, or makes excuses for the things they do. "That wasn't me, that was my friend", "I didn't say that, she did", "I only did that because this happened [which means I really didn't do it after all]."

"I was drunk"
"It was an accident"
"I didn't know"
"It was him"
"It was her"
"It was them"
"It was the whole world conspiring against me"

The world conspires against the blamer and excuser, so that no matter what they do somehow they are the injured ones. This person is continually sinned against and they must live having to bear this.

This person passes the buck with such conviction that it is frightening. One wonders if they believe these excuses themselves, or whether they are fully aware of what they are doing, or whether they are simply mad. Perhaps it is a mix of all three, like a cheap coffee blend that leaves a dirty taste in the mouth.

Blamer, I want you to know that I know what you're up to. I realise that because you have this trait you will always win and I will always lose. But know that I know this.

Different Parts, or A Bad Train Journey

Yet another stupid conversation I had to listen to on the train between Watford and Euston. This time a guy telling someone that “the company is diverse, but it is not about diversity”, No, it is “not about diversity but inclusion”, so they want some kind of symbol or image that reflects this. His first idea? A jigsaw with parts that are all different. They are different parts. After exhausting this idea of the different parts of a jigsaw, he decided he could be better: Russian dolls. Russian dolls are “a good symbol of inclusion”. He toyed around with this idea, but decided he could do even better. “What about the prism on the cover of Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon?” This guy’s going places.

(It was unfortunate that I could not hear his explanation of why the prism is an appropriate symbol of inclusion, as I would have welcomed the further amusement. Also, one has to know who their enemies are.)

(It is fortunate that I could not hear his explanation of why the prism is an appropriate symbol of inclusion, as I would have been saddened further. Also, one has to try not to see too many people as enemies.)

A Note on Robert Walser

The Monkey
When asked "Who are you?" the monkey replies by telling stories of encounters he has had. Which is not an untrue response of who a person (or monkey) is.

Freudians versus Jungians

When undertaking some archive work with the psychoanalyst Malcolm Pines, I came across a photograph of cricketers, standing for a group portrait. I showed this to Malcolm, asking him to explain the photograph if he could. He looked at the photograph, then suddenly remembered. "That was when the Freudians played the Jungians", much to my delight. The battle of the minds' form of taking it to the streets. I asked if he could remember who won. He replied, "I think they agreed to call it a draw."