THE LOVE CHAPTER

So called because of the theme: Love.

In some versions of the Bible Charity is used in place of Love.

That might give you a clue: Love manifests itself in many ways.

---

1 Corinthians 13

1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not love, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.

2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not love, I am nothing.

3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not love, it profits me nothing.

4 Love suffers long, and is kind; love envies not; love brags not itself, is not puffed up,

5 Does not behave itself unseemly, seeks not her own, is not easily provoked, thinks no evil;

6 Rejoices not in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;

7 Bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

8 Love never fails: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.

9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.

10 But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.

11 When I was a child, I spoke as a child; I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

13 And now stays faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

So let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart

be acceptable in Thy sight, Oh Lord.


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CONVERSATION PART 7

 Milton Wright wrote The Art of Conversation, a comprehensive treatment of the subject, in 1936. The book deals with conversation both for its own sake, and for political, sales, or religious ends. Milton portrays conversation as an art or creation that people can play with and give life to.



Concluding Remarks

No quality is so conducive to pleasure in conversation as tact. The elements that make up tact are alertness, sympathy, and resourcefulness. Without tact a person, however witty, learned or sincere, is a menace to themselves and others whenever they engage in conversation.

While one fault will make a person a bad conversationalist, one virtue will not make him a good one. He must possess many qualities, some of them having to do with character, some with intellect, and some with temperament.

The ideal conversationalist is:

Well-informed

Sympathetic

Interested in life

Has a sense of the dramatic

Moderate

Can draw out the other person

Attentive

Always in good humor

Has a sense of proportion

Doesn't preach

Doesn't take himself too seriously

Not argumentative

Original

Broad-minded

Charitable

Unselfish

Considerate

Flexible

Poised

Enthusiastic

A trifle whimsical

If you find the world dull, the chances are that your companions will find you dull.

Everyone's emotion of elation is waiting for a chance to assert itself. Give it every opportunity.

The good conversationalist should seldom preach or give advice. He should not dwell on moral issues or take the attitude of teaching his listeners. However instructive, eloquent and even interesting he may be the result is not conversation.                                                                                                                                                            

 Even if you have a wholly unselfish desire to reform your listeners, it is well to realize that they won't like it.

Desire only to please the people with whom you are talking and you will infallibly do so.

CONVERSATION PART 6

Milton Wright wrote The Art of Conversation, a comprehensive treatment of the subject, in 1936. The book deals with conversation both for its own sake, and for political, sales, or religious ends. Milton portrays conversation as an art or creation that people can play with and give life to.

 

Anecdotes

Discussion of abstractions becomes wearisome unless relieved by stories or anecdotes. They must be interesting, relevant, pointed and, in general conversation, usually short.

A story must not only be on the subject under discussion but in tune with the discussion. No one should be justified in saying `So what?'

A story must proceed by a series of hops, skips and jumps. The speaker should enjoy the emotions of the story (dead pan humour is overrated) without letting his story get the better of him.  

The Uses of Argument

Argument can be a tonic to conversation, but it must be in good humor.

Success in argument or debate and success in conversation are often mutually incompatible goals.

For example, clarity and persistence often win arguments though they have nothing to do with logic or fairness of mind.

Again, honesty in thinking is often less effective in argument than sincerity which is blind to any merit in an opposing viewpoint. Taking advantage of this fact will certainly cause conversation to suffer.

Again, it's easier to prove someone wrong than to prove yourself right and therefore it is good debating tactics to attempt the former. If congenial conversation is your aim forget about debating tactics.

Using statistics to prove or strengthen one's case should be avoided whenever possible. Most people distrust statistics. The phrase, `There are lies, there are damn lies and there are statistics,' has come into common usage with good reason.

To argue in conversation one must have complete control of one's emotions. Moreover one should always leave an opponent a means of retreat and sometimes even intentionally lose an argument.

If you concede a point to the other person he will be inclined to concede a point to you. A conciliatory attitude in admitting the truth of a statement will place him under an obligation to be conciliatory too.

The purpose of argument in conversation is agreement because agreement promotes harmony. By contrast, disagreement breeds disharmony and often antagonism. These are facts that are lost on many people.

Even if agreement on the point at issue is impossible one should at least try to agree with the person.

CONVERSATION PART 5

Milton Wright wrote The Art of Conversation, a comprehensive treatment of the subject, in 1936. The book deals with conversation both for its own sake, and for political, sales, or religious ends. Milton portrays conversation as an art or creation that people can play with and give life to.

General Conversation

The main purpose of general conversation is to entertain.

General conversation should conform to the following principles:

The topic must be of general interest.

Each person must do his share AND NO MORE.

There should be no periods of silence.

No topic should be dragged out.

The tone should be kept good-natured.

No one should be offended by anything said.

The famous seventeenth century Literary Club of Samuel Johnson, Edmund Burke, Sir Joshua Reynolds, Oliver Goldsmith, David Garrick et al. met at a tavern at 7:00 P.M. every evening (later every week and then every two weeks) and talked into the small hours. They recognized that all members (limited to nine) must be congenial and a unanimous vote was necessary for the election of a new member.

In general conversation alcoholic refreshment has historically been considered important.

To make a practice of advancing propositions and then proving them conclusively is fatal to conversation. To insist on always being right subjects listeners to the emotion of self-abasement. Conversation is neither a lecture, a sermon, nor a debate.

If you have nothing to say on the topic under discussion, say nothing. According to Voltaire, `One always sounds foolish when one has nothing to say.'

Attempting to steer the conversation round to your pet subjects will engender resentment in your listeners.

Sometimes when you find yourself with nothing to contribute to a general conversation you may feel uncomfortable and inadequate. The impulse to get rid of the feeling by saying something is best resisted.

To stay on topic is not enough. One must stay in tune with the conversation. Otherwise one's remarks will grate on the rest of the company.

To talk shop in the presence of someone to whom such talk is foreign is extreme discourtesy.

Many cannot keep their emotions from rising when discussing certain subjects. If that emotion comes out in a negative way then the subject must be changed.

The only safe course in unfamiliar company is neither to be severely critical of anyone, nor to suggest circumstances about which people are likely to be touchy.

In general conversation, especially, there is no place for mockery, belittlement, or flat contradiction. Sarcasm is worst of all because sarcasm implies contempt. It is an insult, and insults are things to be resented.

Rarely insist on logic because:

The best topics of conversation don't readily lend themselves to logical treatment.

Few people master logic or listen attentively to logical argument.

Many people like their beliefs, opinions and prejudices more than they like logic.

Only a few people would sooner listen than speak. Hence Sydney Smith's motto, `Take as many half-minutes as you can get, but never more than a half- minute without pausing to give others an opportunity to strike in.'

THE END OF TIME

Well, I am putting this one up and if you can read it you are either in an alternate universe or the world did not end. It first spoke to the myth that the world would end when the Mayan Calendar ran out in 2012. I did not pay much attention to the Mayan shtick. I reckoned we had way more troubles than that with higher probability of occurrence.

 I fell for a similar hype when Y2K was going on. I gathered  two hundred gallons of gasoline, a generator, eighty pounds of propane, enough MREs for too long, and I hunkered down and waited. And waited. Oh well, the prepping exercise was useful.

Now we can worry about CMEs and plague and pestilence, the collapse of Western Civilization, the End Times the Bible tells about, and Evil forces at work in the world doing murder, mayhem and destruction.

The remedy to the damage and destruction, the murder most foul and the barbaric actions of Muslims can only be met with a force strong enough to overcome once and for all that which threatens all others.
Death sudden, overwhelming, final, no hesitation, and thorough by whatever means will accomplish the end result — elimination of the Evil.

 

TOP OF THE FOOD CHAIN

We can learn a lot from our little friends in the animal world: eat like a horse, strong as an ox, early bird getting the worm, cunning like a fox, as the crow flies, bird in the hand, dog days of Summer, why even the grasshopper and the ant. Memory of an elephant, dead skunks in the road, ursine, lupine, canine, equine, does the bear shit in the woods? Man oh man if we paid attention we'd all have PHDs.

.

1911 ANIMATED

So my art director, Philistine, brought this vid to my attention. he's not the author but we both like 1911s and he wanted to show me the kind of things he does to actually earn money.




He and I back and forth. I gave him the italics:

P: I use, teach, and sell Autodesk Inventor. Autodesk, the company that created the top selling CAD software AutoCAD almost 30 years ago. Every academy nomination for animated films in the last 12 years were for films that used Autodesk graphics software. I've been using Inventor, their 3d program, since day 1.5. I know all the developers and most of the management from participating in their customer studies and workshops. I often get called to the mothership to give my opinions on improvements to the program. It's cool. I will probably work there one day. They love freaks like me.

Me: Academy awards, uh? Saay, I been figgering, with my excellent taste in museum-grade music and your talents I bet we could make some music vids. Too bad I am not more current on music, find something we both like together. I reckon polkas is off the table.


P: As for making vids for Youtube: if you have Microsoft Office you have Powerpoint. You can use powerpoint to arrange slides, animations, text, music, and all the timing. It's easy once you do it a couple times. My Doctor AudioSource vids were all stitched together in Powerpoint, and I added text and other video effects. Once you have a Powerpoint presentation that plays like a video, you can record it with free-ware called Powerpoint to Youtube or PPT2YouTube and this will squish it down to a manageable size and make a video file you can upload.

Me: "As for making vids for Youtube" er, I didn't really see myself with hands on the crank, actually doing all that work. I saw myself providing the inspiration and getting some nimble-fingered young man to do the clicking and inserting, whatever. Y'know, someone who is familiar with these things. A guy that can morph visions into reality. Royalties feature heavily in the appeal.


(I don't think I can talk him into helping me. Sigh, I'll just have to muddle along with other folks' videos.

WARNING — CUSS WORDS




The Czechs are excellent gunmakers;




Showing art such as this:

 

GONE LIKE THE FURNITURE

My dad told me "Never lay down with a woman that has more troubles than you."
It took me years to understand what he meant.

Your heart won't remember the burning fire the next time you feel the flame of desire.







'Did he say goodbye to you or did you kick him out?'

I pick up the vibe of abused women healing.






A bitter heart will not reveal the Spring that love remembers.






Gone, sez it all.

PEOPLE OF FAITH ...

... have a logical idea of what Life is all about.




Here is one I like. I don't claim authorship of it. I read things, grab a copy, forget to credit them, just save 'em. If anyone can tell me the author I'll be happy to post it.

Suddenly it is Winter

 

 You know, time has a way of moving quickly and catching you unaware of the passing years.

It seems just yesterday that I was young, just married and embarking on my new life with my mate. And yet in a way, it seems like eons ago, and I wonder where all the years went.  I know that I lived them all ...

And I have glimpses of how it was back then and of all my hopes and dreams; but, here it is, the Winter of my life and it catches me by surprise.

How did I get here so fast? Where did the years go and where did my babies go? And where did my youth go?

I remember well, seeing older people through the years and thinking that those older people were years away from me and that Winter was so far off that I could not fathom it or imagine fully what it would be like. 

But, here it is ... wife retired and she's really getting gray ... she moves slower and I see an older woman now. She's in better shape than me, but I see the great change ... not the one I married who was young and vibrant but, like me, her age is beginning to show and we are now those older folks that we used to see and never thought we'd be.

Each day now, I find that just getting a shower is a real target for the day! And taking a nap is not a treat anymore, it's mandatory! Because if I don't on my own free will, I just fall asleep where I sit!

And so, now I enter into this new season of my life unprepared for all the aches and pains and the loss of strength and ability to go and do things.

But, at least I know that though the Winter has come (and I'm not sure how long it will last) this I know, that when it's over, it’s over. Yes, I have regrets. There are things I wish I hadn't done, things I should have done. But indeed, there are many things I'm happy to have done. It’s all in a lifetime. So, if you're not in your Winter yet, let me remind you that it will be here faster than you think. Whatever you would like to accomplish in your life please do it quickly!

Life goes by quickly, so do what you can today, because you can never be sure whether this is your Winter or not!

You have no promise that you will see all the seasons of your life ... so, live for good today and say all the things that you want your loved ones to remember.

Life is a gift to you. The way you live your life is your gift to those who come after. Make it a fantastic one.

LIVE IT WELL!!


 

CONVERSATION PART 4

Milton Wright wrote The Art of Conversation, a comprehensive treatment of the subject, in 1936. The book deals with conversation both for its own sake, and for political, sales, or religious ends. Milton portrays conversation as an art or creation that people can play with and give life to.

Conversation Between the Sexes

Sex is always in the background of any conversation between a man and a woman, and if there is no attraction there is often antagonism.

The object of a conversation between the sexes is to increase the other's pleasant emotions.

A line or opening gambit may be adopted in conversation if you are slow in thinking of something appropriate to say. Benvenuto Cellini's line for the young women of Florence was, `I would swim through rivers of blood to come to you, even though it were but to die at your feet.' The dangers of using a line are:

Overworking it

Repeating it in the presence of the same persons

Relying on it to the detriment of spontaneity

Many men enjoy conversation if the woman is an appreciative audience. Some women like this role, others pretend to like it, a few are openly bored.

Women like to be courted.

According to Hazlitt:

Gallantry to women – the sure road to their favor – is nothing but the appearance of extreme devotion to all their wants and wishes, a delight in their satisfaction, and a confidence in yourself, as being able to contribute towards it. The slightest indifference with regard to them, or distrust of yourself, are equally fatal.

Generally speaking women are better at conversation than men. They think faster but not necessarily so thoroughly. Women are inclined to flit, men to plod.

Women are intuitive rather than analytical. It takes a man to be brilliant at chess, math, legal briefs, unless a woman has a man's mind. But intuition is a higher form of reasoning, albeit unconscious, and is likely to be freer of error.

Women are more personal in their thinking. If women start talking about things they will soon be talking about people. Men can talk about people in general, women must talk about people in particular, especially people in relation to themselves.

Other differences, by no means universal, are: Men are more whimsical and have a better sense of humor but women are quicker witted. Men are more sentimental but women's emotions run deeper. Women are more reckless, but men are better losers. Women are more observant and can detect the least trace of dishonesty in men. Women are more sensitive to subtle stimuli and are better actors than men.

There are no noticeable differences between men and women as regards:

Love of gossip

Vanity

Avarice

Ambition

Moral standards

Because men are reluctant to allow women to compete with them on an equal footing, women have had to work with people instead of things to accomplish their ends. Hence their alertness and skill in conversation.

 

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CONVERSATION PART 3

Milton Wright wrote The Art of Conversation, a comprehensive treatment of the subject, in 1936. The book deals with conversation both for its own sake, and for political, sales, or religious ends. Milton portrays conversation as an art or creation that people can play with and give life to.

One-on-one Conversation

One-on-one conversation is easier than group conversation, but provides greater latitude for making mistakes.

In one-on-one conversation there are two subconscious goals:

To get to know the other person

To reveal yourself

Generally these goals should not be aimed at directly.

Attitudes to cultivate in dialogue are:

Interest in the person

Interest in the subject

Friendliness

Sincerity

Candor

Helpfulness
 

"People who are uncomfortable in themselves are disagreeable to others." - William Hazlitt

 

People like those people who:

Like them

Appreciate them

Admire them

Like the same things as they do

Are the same kind of people they are (usually)

Are helpful

If you do not fit into one or more of these categories, DO NOT attempt to be friends.

According to a study the average American male is interested in job, home, politics, recreation, health, current events in that order. Note that four of the six topics, including the first two, are personal.

Complete self-confidence often engenders antagonism in conversation. According to Nietzsche, `If you wish to prepossess one in your favor, you must be embarrassed before him.'

In dialogue, conversation should usually not be brilliant or scintillating.

In dialogue about half your time should be spent listening, unless it is clear that the other person wishes you to talk more. The advantages of listening are:

You conceal your own weakness.

You learn the other person's attitude.

You give the other person enjoyment.

You store up emphasis for the statement you eventually make.

In times of trouble a sympathetic ear is more valuable to most people than anything that can be said to them.

While conversation should generally attempt to remove barriers there are some barriers that cannot be removed and no attempt should be made to do so. Such barriers are:

Age

Sex

Experience

Superiority

Inferiority

It is easier to talk with an inferior than with a superior, but it is not easier to talk well.

 

.

AIN'T HALF THE MAN THEY MOMMA WAS

Occupy Wall Street? Million Whiners March? How flaccid.

I don't now, did not then agree with the riots and rebellion. But they were not embarrassing events like the Wall Street thing. Worthy of note is the irony: back then the young people of the famous 60s were dead set against the Democratic Party. Now, they are them.

A sign of the times I guess, all them metrosexuals and softer-than-a-sneaker-full-of-shit mooks think they are storming the barricades, giving their all for The Revolution. At least back in the 60s they knew how to pitch a fuss. They were real men and real women getting up and getting it on. Tear gas, fire hoses, dogs, cops, National Guardsmen. Riot sticks, made a muffled hollow sound when they connected with some poor bastard's head. Spitting teeth like Chiclets.

   

1968 Democratic National Convention

The 1968 Democratic National Convention of the U.S. Democratic Party was held at the International Amphitheatre in Chicago, Illinois, from August 26 to August 29, 1968. The convention was held during a year of violence, political turbulence, and civil unrest, particularly riots in more than 100 cities following the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. on April 4. The convention also followed the assassination of Democratic presidential hopeful Senator Robert F. Kennedy, who had been shot on June 5. Both Kennedy and Senator Eugene McCarthy had been running against the eventual Democratic presidential nominee Hubert Humphrey.

August 28, 1968 came to be known as the day a “police riot” took place. The title of “police riot” came out of the Walker Report, which amassed a great deal of information and eyewitness accounts to determine what happened in Chicago. At approximately 3:30 p.m., a young boy lowered the American flag at a legal rally taking place at Grant Park. The demonstration was made up of 10,000 protestors. The police broke through the crowd and began beating the boy, while the crowd pelted the police with food, rocks, and chunks of concrete. The biggest clash in Chicago took place that day. Police fought with the protestors and vice versa. The chants of the protestors shifted from “Hell no, we won’t go” to “Pigs are whores.” Tom Hayden, one of the leaders of Students for a Democratic Society, encouraged protestors to move out of the park to ensure that if they were to be tear gassed, the whole city would be tear gassed, and made sure that if blood were spilled in Chicago it would happen throughout the city. The amount of tear gas used to suppress the protestors was so great that it eventually made its way to the Hilton Hotel, where it disturbed Hubert Humphrey while in his shower. The police were taunted by the protestors with chants of “Kill, kill, kill.” They sprayed demonstrators and bystanders indiscriminately with Mace. The police assault in front of the Hilton Hotel became the most famous image of the Chicago demonstrations of 1968. The entire event took place live under the T.V. lights for seventeen minutes with the crowd shouting, “The whole world is watching.”

The Chicago Seven

After Chicago, the Justice Department meted out conspiracy and incitement to riot charges in connection with the violence at Chicago and gave birth to the Chicago Eight, which consisted of Abbie Hoffman, Tom Hayden, David Dellinger, Rennie Davis, John Froines, Jerry Rubin, Lee Weiner, and Bobby Seale. Demonstrations were held daily during the trial and were organized by the Young Lords and the local Black Panther Party led by Chairman Fred Hampton. In February 1970, five of the Chicago Conspiracy defendants were convicted on the charge of intent to incite a riot while crossing state lines, but none were found guilty of conspiracy. Judge Julius Hoffman sentenced all of the defendants and their attorneys to unprecedented prison terms ranging from two-and-a-half months to four years for contempt of court. The convictions were eventually reversed on appeal, and the government declined to bring the case to trial again.

I came off active duty with the Army in May '68. I had blood on my hands and a monkey on my back thanks to my Uncle but I was out. Back to the 'burbs of Chicago, try to get back to a normal life with wife, kids, job. Took a long time before I could sleep a full night.

1968 and there I was, seeing the riots in DC, Watts, Baltimore, Detroit, seeing the assassinations of JFK, and Martin Luther King.

Seeing this too:

SHRED THE WORLD

Got a recent post from my art director. Seems he is on sabbatical from his position at NPR where he has been doing field work on a series concerning psycho-socially debilitated trans-gendered mutant non-White Third World old people who render Life into Art. He gets a piece of the grant money sloshing around as long as he has certain buzz words in his titles. 

He's got the smart phone, got the Garmin, got the meals voucher for MacDonalds and Starbucks nation-wide, got the Prius and a gas card, he is busting it.




When he makes contact with the material world by way of a job (he is not a Luddite I will have you know ) he has some interesting clients, dpjk folks that make machines. He calls my attention to some awesome machines and it is worth the click. When you get to the homepage you can select many fascinating vid clips. You thought the shredder was something you bought at Office Depot, put your old love letters in it and worry about getting jammed on the staples?




He sent this from a location en route:

Especially funny is the "Car: Hippie bug" video, bwuahahhahahaa

Seems like, with enough of these things, we could reduce all of civilization to a pile of scraps in mere months, bury it all in the Grand Canyon, and go back to hunter-gatherer life without missing a beat. Screw up, build something, make something, and it's off to the shredder with you and your ghastly technology.


Local artist's latest gallery work found to be vain and hypocritical

I saw a spray paint tag the other day, a circle A (for anarchy) with a side note "destroy capital", on the side of a fish market of all places. (those damn fish monger capitalists) Again, I wonder what happened to the punk rock rugged individual? The kind of guy who'd rather say "Get out of my way - I am my own agenda". Apparently he's now just a stooge for the coming world wide communist dictatorship. Instead of middle finger up in your face, it's hand out for a government ration of equality.

Where is the movement of truely true communists who truly eschew the entirety of capitalism? They would by necessity have no clothing, food, housing, or anything of value that wasn't somehow government -or self-made, correct? They could do it today if they liked, with identical jump suits and slippers, and government food kitchens to feed them, and government housing to keep them warm. Otherwise known as jail. They are wishing for jail, the suicidal bastards. And yet, we find them with Phillip Morris products hanging from their mouths, greenbacks in their pockets, oil in their tanks, and corporate logos all over their clothing.

Where are the gulags when you need them? Either walk the talk or pay the price I say. The only law should be: you living up to your word. 100% personal responsibility time. Anyone not in compliance with their own stated rules would face the punishment they themselves advocate. Make sense? Therefore, "destroy capital" would be visited on the punk-ass-capitalism-consuming-pig that wrote it. Strip him or her naked and destroy all they own that is not self-made or government-made.

Otherwise, I gotta know: why is it American so-called "communists" get away with being such rampant hypocrites? They don't even know that Anarchy is actually truly pure capitalism. Communism, even at a tribal level, requires a strict control mechanism. Yet we get this. It's like spraying up on a wall "Alcoholics Anonymous - Pour me a drink!"

So I sez: them jerks want anarchy, uh? Remove all the stop signs in their city. Eradicate the lines in mall parking lots, see how much "teach the world to live in perfect harmony" that brings out. No form, no structure, first come first serve, so forth. I guess Darwin principles will sort things out, take a while for the weak and stupid to be eliminated. The pyramid will work toward the top and eventually Occam's Razor, will be two left to strong/survive and that will soon reduce to one. And nothing reigns. Er, I should say Nothing reigns.


Haw haw haw, I knew I'd get a chance, stick this one in. One reason I like it is because it bothers the shit out of anyone who hears it. Play it through two or three times and it'll be stuck in yer head all day. Serve ya right.

WHAT'S YOUR SIGN ?

Since we're all looking for direction, I figure I would offer this up. If you are foolish you can follow these guidelines; you might consider sacrificing some small animal and reading the entrails, although you might piss off PETA. Gee, that'd be tough. I like animals. Medium rare mostly.

HOROSCOPE

Aquarius Jan 20 – Feb 18

You have an inventive mind and are inclined to be progressive. You lie a great deal. On the other hand you are inclined to be careless and impractical, causing you to make the same mistakes over and over again. People think you are stupid. You think Moby Dick is a social disease and the Happy Hooker is a contented angler.

Pisces Feb 19 – Mar 20

You have a vivid imagination and often think you are being followed by the CIA. You have minor influence over your associates and people resent your flaunting your power. You lack confidence and are generally a coward. Pisces people do terrible things to small animals.

Aries Mar 21 – Apr 19

You are the pioneer type and hold most people in contempt. You are quick-tempered, impatient, and scornful of advice. You are not very nice.

Taurus Apr 20 – May 20

You are practical and persistent. You have a dogged determination and work like hell. Most people think you are stubborn and bull-headed. You have a one-track mind with very little traffic.

Gemini May 21 – Jun 20

You are a quick and intelligent thinker. People like you because you are bisexual. However, you are inclined to expect too much for too little. This means you are cheap. Geminis are known for committing incest.

Cancer Jun 21 – Jul 22

You are sympathetic and understanding to other peoples’ problems. They think you are a sucker. You are always putting things off. That’s why you will never make anything of your self. Most welfare recipients are Cancers.

Leo Jul 23 – Aug 22

You consider yourself a born leader. Others think you are pushy. Most Leos are bullies. You are vain and dislike honest criticism. Your arrogance is disgusting. Leos are known thieves.

Virgo Aug 23 – Sep 22

You are the logical type and hate disorder. This nit-picking is sickening to your friends. You are cold and unemotional and sometimes fall asleep while making love. Virgos make good bus drivers.

Libra Sep 23 – Oct 22

You are the artistic type and have a difficult time with reality. If you are a male you more than likely are queer. Chances for employment and monetary gains are excellent. Most Libra women are good prostitutes. Most Libras die of an STD.

Scorpio Oct 23 – Nov 21

You are shrewd in business and cannot be trusted. You shall achieve the pinnacle of success because of your total lack of ethics. Most Scorpios have violent deaths.

Sagittarius Nov 22 – Dec 21

You are optimistic and enthusiastic. You have a reckless tendency to rely on luck since you lack talent. The majority of Sagittarians are drunks or dope fiends. People laugh at you a great deal.

Capricorn Dec 22 – Jan 19

You are conservative and afraid of taking risks. You don’t do much of anything and are lazy. There has never been a Capricorn of any importance. Capricorns should avoid standing still for too long as they tend to take root and become trees.

CONVERSATION PART 2

Milton Wright wrote The Art of Conversation, a comprehensive treatment of the subject, in 1936. The book deals with conversation both for its own sake, and for political, sales, or religious ends. Milton portrays conversation as an art or creation that people can play with and give life to.

 

Here's part two. Thank you for getting through part one. If we're not careful we might learn some things. I stuck a song on the end of this essay. Worth a chuckle or two.

 

 

Types of Conversation &

The Role of Instinct

Conversation is of two basic types:

Conversation for its own sake

Conversation for some other purpose

Politicians, preachers, salesmen, lobbyists, etc. practice the latter.

Conversation for its own sake has two distinct aims:

Companionship

The exchange of ideas

Four instincts may always be appealed to in conversation:

Attraction

Self-assertion

Pugnacity

Curiosity

Three instincts may sometimes be appealed to:

Sex

Art

Acquisition

The sex, artistic and acquisitive instincts may be appealed to with some people, but not with others. Moreover, more discretion is required in tapping these instincts if they are to produce good conversation.

A mutual dislike stimulates conversation. It is easy to stimulate most people to talk if you can find their pet peeve. Beware of doing this unless you share their viewpoint.

Perhaps the strongest instinct is parental affection. Talk to someone (especially a woman) about their children and they are deeply interested.

The instincts which must always be avoided are:

Repulsion

Self-abasement

Fear

Contrary to popular impression, flattery is not something to be generally condemned. It provides a very proper stimulus to the self-assertive instinct and thus promotes the interchange of information and ideas.

Flattery must be sincere. Usually it should be implied rather than expressed. When it is insincere or overdone, however, it may cause more harm than good.

People like to acquire information, but they prefer to impart it. Best of all they like to be asked their opinion because you pay them a higher compliment by asking what they think than by asking what they know. It is far better to ask a racing enthusiast who will win the Kentucky Derby this year than who won it last.

When asking for someone for information or their opinion be careful not to arouse self-abasement by exposing their ignorance or strutting your own knowledge.

The instinct of pugnacity may be appealed to by challenging someone with a statement with which they cannot wholly agree.

Curiosity may be appealed to by provoking someone to question, wonder, or speculate. Perhaps this is conversation at its highest and most rewarding.