All posts by X Teri

Social Rules

Dunning-Kruger Effect

Dunning-Kruger Effect (Click Here…)

I don’t know if you are familiar with this term. If you aren’t, I wish you would read the above wikipedia link and think about the implications.

Chances are that it will delightfully assist you in categorizing a few people in your life. We all know someone whose bulb is somewhat dim but doesn’t see themselves as less-than-capable.

Once you understand the Dunning-Kruger Effect, you will be able to see people in a new light, albeit one that might not be the most flattering to them. 

Entertainment

01052013 “Six Feet Under” TV Show

An Appreciation of “Six Feet Under” 8 Years After Its Death

“Six Feet Under” IMDB Page

My wife and I recently started watching this brilliant show – again.

It is one of the ‘perfect’ shows, taken as a whole. The series finale is certainly the best episode of television I’ve ever witnessed.

Below is Sia’s “Breathe Me,” the song that so eloquently accompanies the last few minutes of the show as it draws its final breath. Anyone who can watch the series and then the finale without tearing up is either subhuman or superhuman!

General

Life Is a “Frankenbite”

“…Frankenbite (n): An edited reality show snippet, most often found in contestant testimonials, that splices together several disparate strands of an interview, or even multiple interviews, into a single clip. A frankenbite allows editors to manufacture “story” efficiently and dramatically by extracting the salient elements of a lengthy, nuanced interview or exchange into a seemingly blunt, revealing confession or argument. While the frankenbite’s origins certainly don’t reside in reality TV, this is a reality show editor’s most potent tool for manipulating viewer perception of a contestant...”  (From an article on Slate by Kevin Arnovitz)

Don’t we all do this, even with memories, recollections of conversations and the timeline of events?

As you would probably agree, some people are more likely to use frankenbites, as well as being more adept at it. Some people do it so convincingly that I think they might be unaware of their edits to real life. 

I know that I’m making a comparison to real life here, but reality television is terrible enough without learning all this cool lingo to state EXACTLY why some of it annoys me. (I’m looking at you, “Duck Dynasty” and any pawnshop show on television.)

Politics

Politics: Are You Happier?

(Update: I’ve backslid since writing this blog post. Arkansas politics has been brutal to liberals, secularists, or anyone interested in sensible government.)

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 Why aren’t I more interested in politics?

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(Note: politics and staying informed are not synonymous. Politics tends to focus on the demagoguery and platform ideals of our government’s working and influences. It is the quintessential “us versus them” or “right/wrong” system at work.)

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Years ago, I overheard someone asking another person the following: “Does knowing all that or worrying about it make you HAPPIER?” I didn’t hear what the other person said… and I had read and heard a million variations on the same sentiment. It never “connected” with me personally before. But the person being asked stammered and stuttered and probably realized that he had been called out to recognize the implicit truth in the question.
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Like so many other revelations, it struck me that the answer regarding politics was “no.” Just like that, I suddenly gave myself permission to stop worrying about whether I was informed politically enough. Politics is an infinite loop of entropy in action. Fix one problem, another arises; fix two problems and unintended consequences thrive. Politics tends to drain one’s energy toward reprisals and a “I’ll show you!” philosophy.
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Where once I felt obligated to stay informed and aware of issues and the points/counterpoints of the world, I no longer had the urge to feel like I needed or even wanted a ‘platform’ about every single subject or idea.
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All things being equal, honestly, who cares what I personally think? It’s not the most appealing conclusion to realize, but it is almost universally true – for everyone. (Even you, right now, the person reading this post: your years of thought and beliefs about how things ought to be are and will always be overshadowed by the millions of differing opinions working against you.)

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Due to being able to stand back from the fray for so long has given me the ability to appreciate just how obligated people feel to have an opinion and maintain it. And they never seem to think about the relentless obligatory fatigue of it.(I’ll let you in an open secret about politics: most people don’t want to hear your opinion – they want to express theirs. It’s selfish, I understand. But it is mostly true. As strongly as you feel sometimes that someone is an idiot about an idea they hold, rest assured that someone else you know feels that your opinion is just as ridiculous. I’ve often speculated that one attribute of a developed mind is to be able to know that this is true and still be able to listen to someones else give an opinion without attacking.)

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Try telling someone caught up in their own opinions and the maintenance of same that an obsession with politics isn’t making them happier or healthier. When their tirade starts, try asking the person the following: “Is the time you are spending trying to stay informed making you happier? Do you think your intensely voiced opinions have any effect on others? Is the world a better place?” Usually, you get dead silence. Once they start talking, pay attention to the level of defensiveness of the response.
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Don’t get me wrong. I still enjoy politics to a degree. It can be fascinating. Do I feel defensive about political topics? No. Am I passively informed about a lot? Yes.
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Do I laugh a lot at people who get worked up, frustrated or angry about the current state of things? Sometimes, yes. It’s narcissism past a certain point. They are so convinced that their opinion makes one iota of difference. They also often feel that anyone who isn’t upset is either stupid or doesn’t care. This is ego in the most pure form. Almost NO ONE I know well takes direct action based on their political opinions – most people are passively trying to convince other people that their opinion is correct. It is mostly talk, chin music, and much ado about nothing. Political opinion is akin to sports to me – both keep a large segment of the population from ever really doing anything substantive in society.We are much too busy going about the business of developing and maintaining our own version of the political truth.The reality is that most people’s most ardent political opinions have no effect in the real world, nor do they make the person holding said opinions smarter or happier.

General, Whimsical

04232014 Backwards Clocks

Backwards clocks are a reminder to stop assuming that there is a “normal” orientation for things. Even if there such a thing, it is a poor reason to insist on conformity. A huge dose of craziness is what makes life interesting.

You can order one through Amazon, among other places.

Please keep an eye on your friends or family if they are drinking while looking at these clocks. They’ve been known to cause brain freeze and bewilderment.

General, Writing

Spider Salad, The N.R.A., World Cup FIFA, Pinterest and the NFL on Thanksgiving

Spider Salad, The N.R.A., World Cup FIFA, Pinterest and the NFL on Thanksgiving

Warning: this post is just plain weird… I apologize for the weird title, but it will likely drive in random traffic. Anyone coming to this blog post by accident needs a good surprise. Sometimes I like to unwind by writing creatively and coming up with purportedly clever things to say and then randomly call people and whisper the pithy quotes to them. Or put them on the internet, where time and human dignity intertwine to create something both interesting and horrifying simultaneously.

My new book, “Spider Salad” will be published soon, possibly the first ever to be printed in invisible ink on pre-recycled paper. (Is that joke too layered?) A lot people don’t know that I make a living writing. A terrible living, perhaps, but one not aspiring to glamor or box seats at some ignominious sporting event. True, I punch a clock daily to buy my daily bread; believe me, the clock deserves a good punch or two on a routine basis – and I owe it no loyalty for having conspired to steal my creative life in lumps of 8 hours at a time, year after year.

If I were going to write a book, I mean. The Braille edition might come out first. The plan is to pull a prank on those needing it and use small, sharp tacks instead of exclamation marks. As they read, their fingers tracing the bumps and indentations, they will involuntarily provide the “!” when the sharp points hit them. This might cause a problem in libraries, as random shouts of exclamation are generally met with disfavor there.

“Spider Salad” has all the suspense and vague implications that a great book should possess, minus all the words, plot and nonsense to get in the way. It could be a cookbook, a societal diatribe or even a murder-mystery.

This title has something for everyone, unless you are a nihilist, in which case it literally has nothing that will interest you.

It could be a book about self-reflection. I could put a small mirror on page 98 so that it could literally be self-reflective.

I could glue 4 or 5 coins to the inside cover, so it could literally bring change to your life.

“Spider Salad: A Recipe for Disaster”  (A FEMA manual.)
“Spider Salad: Oops, Sorry I Shot You Twice” (An NRA pamphlet.)
“Spider Salad: Why Teaching Isn’t a Real Job” (A Workaholic’s Daily Motivational.)
“Spider Salad:  Why Do I Bother With Rhetorical Questions?” (A Debate Guide.)
“Ensalada de Araña:Y Tú No Me Compras?” (A Marketing Book for Hispanics.)

This book is going to have everything – except a plot, words, or content. (The Republicans among you are already familiar with this glaring lack of substance and content. If you are Republican, please mentally go back and insert the word “Democrat” in lieu of “Republican.” If that’s too many steps, you probably are either a sports fan or management of some sort. We know who you are – you lips are moving as your read this. If you are a Tea Partier, then you are still staring at the first few words of this post, wondering where all the pictures might be.)

General

09272014 ‘The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about”

‘The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about’

Where was this idea when I was writing the Miley Cyrus-inspired diatribe?

Imagine having enough “talking back” money or the ability to live life exactly according to your own standards – a life without ethical compromise or stupid adherence to the idea that selling one’s personality in exchange for cash is a great way for all of us to squander our lives. I’m going out on a clichéd limb here and speculating that much of our lives would look nothing like what they currently resemble if each of us had sufficient “talking back” money.
(“Talking back” money is an old idea that indicates that you have enough resources to do what you want, despite circumstances trying to align to force you to do what you don’t want to do – usually associated with employment.)
My point isn’t so much toward what type of work we are doing, as work tends to be the unifying factor in our lives, whether we like it or not. It is the attitude that all mature adults must adopt, the attitude that forces us to swallow our natural instinct to not waste our own lives doing meaningless, unethical, or simply stupidly repetitive activity. 
Imagine if we could be honest with all of our friends and loved ones. Not cruelly honest, but respectfully honest. What would your social life look like? Who would you choose to be around? How would you spend your allotted time in life?

General

A Moment of S̶i̶l̶e̶n̶c̶e̶ Life

A Moment of S̶i̶l̶e̶n̶c̶e̶  Life

Not to lessen anyone's efforts to honor or recognize someone who has fallen in service to other people...

But I have a more interesting take on a way to celebrate someone. Since life is about movement, voices and action, instead of a moment of silence, I propose that we start observing a Moment of Life, instead. We can stand up, applaud, roar with our voices, or take a minute to say something about the person that we like or identify with.

Let's fill the void emptied by someone who has left us - for one brief moment.

Ancestry, Biographical, Personal

Christmas, Frankenstein, Springdale History and Dawn’s Birthday

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Aeons ago in the 70s, me, my brother and cousin Jimmy wanted to see a movie on Xmas Eve. The “new” Springdale Malco Twin theater was opening that night. Since my cousin Jimmy almost always got his way, all it took to implant the certainty of it was for him to mention it to his mom – about 100 times in an hour. I’m fairly certain that my Aunt Ardith gladly drove us to the new theater to get rid of us for a couple of hours. She barely slowed down as she drove up to the new theater as she handed my cousin unlimited candy money and lit a new cigarette for herself.

It didn’t hurt that the theater was up the road from Jimmy’s house. In those days, 412 was a 2-lane highway 68 and Carley Road was barren of most development. It was “about 1/2 a cigarette of driving” away from Jimmy’s house. (Our mothers smoked like chimneys. Everything could be measured in “cigarette increments.”)

Of all possible movies, we decided to see “Young Frankenstein.” It wasn’t exactly the most yule-spirited of movies. There were very few people at the theater. I’m not sure that the theater had publicized the soft opening that much. Not even all the seats had been installed, supplies were stacked everywhere, and the place felt like it had been opened on a dare.Even eating the popcorn, as delicious as it was to us as young kids, reminded us of fresh plastic.

Despite there being few people at the theater, it turns out that my wife Dawn and her father were two of the other handful of people in the theater that night, probably wondering why three goofy young boys were in the theater with them causing a commotion. As for why a dad would think a young girl would be a great audience for Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder causing their mayhem? Who knows. Let’s face it, for rambunctious boys,  though, “Young Frankenstein” is definitely an excuse for a lot of exchanged whispers and laughs. Madeline Kahn and Gene Wilder exchanging hilariously and minimally-concealed risque references only fueled the muffled laughter.

Did I mention that Christmas Eve is Dawn’s birthday and that she was there in part to celebrate her birthday? It was one of those strange serendipitous convergences for Dawn and I to figure out that we were both in the same place at the same time when we were both considerably younger. (Everyone can easily imagine me being at “Young Frankenstein,” but almost no one could picture Dawn being there.)

Coincidences happen. It’s just refreshing to know that we share not only the opening of the Springdale Malco theater, but also this crazy movie on one of the most unlikely nights of the year. My wife doesn’t have any other birthday memories from that day, so it’s reassuring to think that we share such an outlandish memory in common on her birthday from so long ago.

I can’t think of “Young Frankenstein” without thinking of my cousin Jimmy or my wife, who had the misfortune of being saddled with a holiday birthday.

Update: Now that Gene Wilder has sauntered off, smiling like only he can, I’m glad that serendipity prevailed on that Xmas Eve decades ago.

 

Education

Free Public Eduation For Everyone?

Free Public Education For Everyone?

I know I mention this idea frequently, or a version of it. But it’s an ongoing smack-my-forehead obvious thing to me. 

Financing one’s education is ridiculous in a county with so much wealth. We can and should revamp our entire system to encourage free access. Extraneous programs should be eliminated; private schools should be available to compete with subsidized education.