Dear Dr. Babooner,
This may seem strange, but when terribly bad things happen, I usually know who is responsible right away, even before any reliable information is released.
Call it what you will – a second sense or just my keen understanding of the ways of the world, but once I have figured out who is guilty, I don’t think about it over and over. I’ve already done my thinking. I speak up, because people who commit horrible acts should be punished immediately! The problem with our legal system is that it’s got too much room for revisiting decisions that have already been made!
Sometimes, when the “authorities” finish their “process”, they claim the culprit is not who I said it was, but is actually someone kind of preemptively judgmental, like ME! Then people say I’m a hothead who rushes to conclusions. But judging is so fun, why not rush to get there?
Dr. Babooner, it seems like everyone these days is an amateur blame-placer or else some kind of a wait-and-see sissy! How can I get everyone to accept my view of things and not to waste any precious time arguing or fact-checking? I am ready to be the Global Blame Czar, but the world is pretending that there is some kind of problem with that!
Sincerely,
IKWIK (I Know What I Know)
I told IKWIK that (he/she) should try crawling to a conclusion sometime, just to see how it feels. I try to take that approach and it gives me space to change my mind several times before I arrive at a point of view. I don’t get many raves for decisiveness, but people still seem to think I’m smart when really, the truth is, I’m just slow. Sometimes intelligence is simply a matter of waiting to be the last one to speak.
But that’s just one opinion. What do YOU think, Dr. Babooner?
Trail Baboon 
Dear IKWIK If you like the feeling of spouting off before you do any research, and if you don’t care much whether you are accurate, you were born into a fortunate age. This is your time. And your place is reading news on cable news shows, which are as common as mice these days. Of course, your teeth must sparkle, your hair has to be great and you should look into plastic surgery if your figure is less than stunning. But little things like fairness and accuracy are SO retro!
Rise and wince, Baboons! I just wanted to thank again those of you who braved the cold to show up for the book club. Those of you who didn’t make it might want to know we had so much fun we are thinking of creating an extension of the book club that would make do without books . . . just get together to enjoy each other. A “bookclub” without books makes about as much sense as a blog about a cancelled radio show :)!
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It does appear that a Carol Burnett Show marathon is afoot! Interested parties may apply now!
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and when we leave we an say ” i’m so glad we had this time together” and pull on our ears with the opposite hand
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Do I need to sign up in triplicate, or is an electronic signature good enough? If I have to submit my application in person, do I need to walk like Mr. Tudball…in which case I had better set out now…
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Mrs. a-Whiggins will get back to you when she is done with her nails.
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I’ll have to see if I can get those greasy balls of dirt and lint out from under the bathtub before I can consider signing up!
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Count me in.
Who’s going to do the Tarzan yell?
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I’d be willing to bet that West Side Linda has one of those that she can pull out…it’s the quiet ones like her who are usually best at loud noise effects. 😉
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Sign me up too. I just finished CB’s second memoir. It was a very nice read and I adore her!
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I saw her in April when she came through on her book tour. She is 77 yrs old and sharp! Loved it.
I have emails for those on the BBC list. How about Saturday or Sun Jan 23 or 24. If you are not on the bBC list and want to come, go to my email through my website and contact me that way.
To attend you must dress as a favorite CB character! Curtain rod are optional.
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Sundays works better for me personally during gymnastics season. Saturday the 22nd is out for me – not only is there a meet, but it’s a home meet so I’ll have to work it!
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Hmmmm, I might just be able to make that date… would be fun!
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Mark me down as a “maybe” for the 23rd – my attendance depends on Husband’s homework load for his grad school class (which starts next week).
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The 23rd works for me.
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Rise and Shine Baboons!
Well, IKWIK, what if the answer is that you can know what you know AND wait and see? Or what if the answer is that you can know what you know AND live in community where there must be rules that we all follow? Or what if YKWYK and allow others to know what they know? Or how about understanding that your opinion does not count more than mine?
Lots of questions for you IKWIK. But really IKWIK I feel judgmental towards you and your peers that blab ceaselessly. When my dad met people who wanted to opine without end he would look at me and say, “Well, Jack, that one has diarrhea of the mouth and constipation of the brain.”
Perhaps that says it all.
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was fox on then?
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Nope. But my crazy Great Uncle Bob, who fit this description would visit and opine. He would have had a bright future with Fox.
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i do feel like the one change they should make in the tragedies like this is not to list the guy who did it. its like the guy at the baseball game. when it became a rule to stop showing his fae to the public the derese was noticable. these poor sickos need help but the idea that their name will be front page and lead story stuff for a week or so is all they need to be a martyr for the cause or to let the world know they have been misunderstood. if the guy who lost it was dealt with the same way as the guy who jumps the fence at yankee stadium maybe he wouldn’t do it at all. thye could just say a sicko instead of john smith and give us information about the poor guy without making him a shrine for a day.
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Agreed.
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one of the things bill clinton did very well was to listen. he had an idea and he was very intelligent but he listened to people around him on every topic of discussion and the way his opinion and ideas evolved as the discussion brought the topic into focus was something i really respected. ikwik could learn a little something. the problem with jumping to conclusions is that most who do never look back and the oneswho have to live with the consequences from their quick conclusions are left holding the bag.
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You are absolutely right about Bill Clinton listening well, tim. It might have been his best quality. What I hear convinces me that Gabrielle Giffords has been that kind of listener, someone who inherently respects the opinions of others.
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i hope that this serves as a model of the type of behavior we all hope to be remembered for. it is exactly what she was supposed to be doing in a best case scenario. her husband had a wonderful quote. i’ll see if i can dig it up.
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I think Clinton was listening to the wrong people. Just my opinion. I hope that isn’t a thoughtless opinion like those that it seems might be coming from IKWIK
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THere is real research that backs that up. While someone expresses emotions and opinions, it is impossible for the brain to let go of the thought and the emotions. Then the process of expression can actually intensify the emotion, then the thoughts, and even more talking which escalates the process of conflict.
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Fascinating, Jacque. You might have seen that I was querying Renee the other day about whether there is an academic specialty in conflict resolution and “fighting fair.” It seems you experts in the field do know things about how to (and not to) argue. I wonder if that knowledge can be passed along to the rest of us in ways that truly reduce conflict.
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I’m glad someone pays attention to that kind of research, Jacque. Speaking of conflict resolution, I just returned from a morning of classroom observation at Head Start. During free play time, one litle boy was quite intent on letting the teacher know that a little girl wasn’t, in his opinion, playing the right way with the car track, since she was driving a large plastic bus on the track instead of the little cars he thought more appropriate. The teacher took the time to have him clarify his oppostion, think about and talk about if it mattered, and find a way to coexist with the little girl and her bus. Thinking and talking about the situation deflated his indignation and forced him to find peaceful alternatives.
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Cool!
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A few years ago I was supervising recess and a group of my boys came running up to tell me that some girls were hitting them with jump ropes. It turned out the boys were pretending to be horses and the girls were their trainers. I told them they should go tell the girls that they didn’t like it and to please stop. The boys strongly protested, “But we LIKE being chased. We just don’t want them to whip us!”
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I don’t know IKWIK, I think I need to pause and think on this before I provide an answer. Do some research. Ponder the possibilities. Weigh the options. Spend some time looking at each perspective. I’ll have to get back to you.
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you don’t want to tell him hes full of crap right off the bat?
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My cultural anthropology background wants to take some time to ensure that his quick decisions are not part of a valid cultural framework and then if that framework is useful or detrimental to the greater whole…I think a full ethnography may be needed to fully understand this phenomenon as it pertains to the sub-culture IKWIK is a part of.
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yup, in some cultures, a snap decision is a good idea.
From what I’ve heard on the news, sounds like there were several folks involved who made snap decisions and acted on them, which prevented things from being an even bigger disaster in Tuscon.
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Some real heroes. Two guys who wrestled the shooter down, and a woman who tore a loaded clip from his hands while he was down.
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Good morning to all,
IKWIK, you can always have the last word if you wait long enough, but by then there may be no one there to hear you which could be a good thing. Some times it is better not to even try to have the last word. Maybe, in your case it would best if didn’t have the first word or the last word or say anything. I would suggest that you might consider keeping your thoughts to yourself. However, maybe you should start practicing a kind of medition where you try to clear your mind of all thinking and get rid of those thoughts that you seem to think must be true when in fact they are not.
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I mean meditation not medition. I need to do a little meditating about my bad spelling and typing or just let it go like steve.
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Oh, so I’m the new standard for measuring how badly we type or spell here? I think tim and Clyde might resent that! 🙂
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ahhhhmmmmmm
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Oops! Another mistake. I should have said tim not Steve. I really need to proof read what I say, but I’m no good at that either.
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if that is a major challenge in your life jim, you’ll be ok
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Jim, left a book recommendation for you last night, so not sure if you saw it.
1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus -I am listening to it on the drive to work and thought of you.
One thing that keeps the insufferable know-it-all in check is the realization that there is so much yet to learn.
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I did see your recommendation, MIG. I will make a note of it and take a look at it.
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“It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt.”
I’m working on that one.
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you want me to shut up?
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nah, I’m just personally working on sitting on my hands and keeping my mouth shut and letting the others answer for a change.
The moment when Snape refers to Hermione in Harry Potter as an insufferable Know-it-all is a real touchstone at our house. We don’t mean to be rude, but we just have this compulsion to know and tell that is not particularly endearing.
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hey for all us number heads… it’s 1.11.11 today take note at 11:11 and also at 1:11 if you think of it.
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Is that the moment that all life on Earth is supposed to end? I want to know because I’d sure like a big chocolate sundae on my way out if the end is near!
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live like there is no tomorrow, dance like no one is looking and eat chocolate sundays every now and again even if you shouldn’t…or something like that
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If you really lived like there was no tomorrow, you would never do laundry, or balance your checkbook.
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and sing like you don’t need the money.
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LOL!
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I’ve got a friend getting a new hip as I type, so I am going with the idea that this is a lucky, lucky day! She should be done by 11:11.
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Done and in good shape by 11:01-close enough 🙂
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Skipping the point for the moment…
“I’d rather live my life as if there is a God and die to find out there isn’t, than live as though there isn’t and die to find out there is…”
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As an agnostic, I kind of take issue with that. It implies that if you believe in God you will live a virtuous life, and if you don’t, you’ll have no moral code. I don’t think there is really a connection there. You either have a moral code, or you don’t. And if you don’t have a deep=down belief that there is a God, you can’t manufacture one.
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I’d take it as leading a moral and virtuous life, regardless of belief rather than not. I got into quite an interesting discussion with a friend once about leading the traditional “good Christian life” without ever attending church (or believing a whit) – it wasn’t about belief, but about treating others well, assisting the needy, forgiveness, equality…y’know all that social justice stuff that the lefty-liberals have glommed onto.
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That’s the secular humanist view – that if you remove the fear of punishment and/or promise of reward from the equation, you still have to confront the same questions of how to lead a moral life. Essentially, “as if there is a God” and “as though there isn’t” are both the same place.
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Anna, my understanding of the issue is that Jesus himself (the actual person) was really big on assisting the needy but highly dubious of churches. One reason he got crosswise with religious authorities in his day was his message that we should forget about all that church stuff and concentrate on being good to the downtrodden. Over the years, this message (surprise surprise!) has been tweaked a bit by churches!
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Totally agree Steve – the historical Jesus is, in my understanding, quite different from the theological Jesus. He was at his core, a social rabble-rouser fighting the existing system (harking back to some of yesterday’s blog discussions).
It seems to me that the notions of doing good for the sake of doing good (as opposed to for future rewards in the great hereafter, if you go that way) also seems to have gotten a bit skewed towards the latter over time (with a certain amount of help from church structures).
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I was a weird kid. When I was about seven I hated the Xmas song “Santa Claus is Coming to Town.” Why? “He knows when you’ve been good or bad, so be good for goodness sake!” And little Steve is thinking, “Hey, that’s not being good for goodness sake! That’s being good because it pays off in the Christmas stocking!” So, tim, I was rebelling from my culture at an early age!
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There’s the point – being good for goodness’ sake. Then I would reformulate the quote “I’d rather live my life as if there’s no God and die and be pleasantly surprised, than live as though there is and die and then feel cheated…”
Of course, the latter presupposes that there is some kind of afterlife where you could feel cheated.
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BTW Ben – totally unrelated to questions of theology…you didn’t warn me that the bread starter could have enough oomph to pop the lid of the container it was in if the container was too small. Came down this morning to a lid on the floor and bread starter bubbling away happily – guessing the gas created by the starter built up enough that it had to push its way out. Fun in an odd sort of way – though it does make me wonder about actually eating something capable of that sort of activity. 😉
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never underestimate the power of bread…
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or gas.
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Oh, yeah; watch out for that… and bummer because you missed the big gas cloud that comes off it when you pop the lid! Make sure you take a deep breath when you pop the cover. It’s nice.
Sorry to post and run this morning… it’s been a crazy day here. I swear I spend more time dealing with schedules than I should. “Schedules Goldie, always Schedules…”
At the time I posted it I thought it related to something else someone had said but from my phone I couldn’t tag it onto that comment… I think it was related to tim’s Living, dancing, eating comment. I certainly didn’t mean to antagonize anyone…
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No antagonism taken, Ben! I’m just in a mood to argue today. I argued with tim’s position, too.
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Linda–
Did not!
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Did, too! 😉
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Do we need to separate you two?…
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I’m telling Dale!
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Huzzah and hurray for me! Got the new computer up and running and got the software downloaded without having to call the Geek Squad even once. Whoo hoo!
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Congratulations! What kind of device is it?
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I got a Dell laptop… but then had to plug all my stuff into it and download the software, which is a first for me. I was particularly worried about my scanner because it’s about a zillion years old. But I plugged it in, the pc went out and found the driver all by itself. “It was just like a miracle.” (points if anyone knows the movie this quote comes from).
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The Bishop’s Wife?
Did you work with Windows Seven? I had to load up a new computer several months ago, and Windows Seven was a real issue. Quite a few old apps don’t work with it.
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The Bishop’s Wife?
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Yes… the Bishop’s Wife. One of my all-time favorite movies.
I did get Windows 7 and Office 2010. I did a diagnostic on the old pc and it would have cost me almost as much as a new pc to get all the compatible fixes/patches to make 7/2010 work. My old pc must have known the handwriting was on the wall, which is presumably why it decided to die last week on it’s own.
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Some black and white films from the 1940s have a ravishing look, with black blacks and creamy white whites. I don’t know what explains the stunning look of some of those films, but I remember The Bishop’s Wife as real eye candy just for the superb black and white imagery.
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Well done!
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Yay for you!
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I find computer set up as disagreeable as actually doing housework. Boring drudgery. Good for you.
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It looks like narcissism enters into this. Jacque’s questions for IKWIK all point to putting yourself on hold a bit while you let in other people’s thoughts. A complete narcissist can’t do that…
Kerry Miller’s having an interesting discussion going on right now about the nature of Evil…
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Fascinating discussion indeed. May have to listen again from the archive.
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I think I worked with you at a former job IKWIK, do you also belive that there I always 2 ways to do anything; your way and the wrong way? Yup, I thought so.
I’m mostly lurking this week. The elderly friend that I mentioned last month was moving to a larger apartment with a caregiver/friend, had a stroke last week and is in at-home hospice care after it looked like she was going to make a strong comeback. The clot buster treatment did it’s magic but there are apparently just too many compromised systems after nearly 90 years that she seems to be shutting down now.
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Welcome back, Caroline. I just was asking about you today. Good luck to you and your friend — and I’m not even sure what I mean about “good luck” in such a case. Maybe a bit of serenity. Good luck, whatever form that might take.
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Thanks Steve. I think serenity is an appropriate definition of “good luck” at this point.
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Serenity and comfort to you and your friend, Caroline.
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For any Green Hornet fans who get cable… I just found the old Green Hornet series (w/ Van Williams and Bruce Lee) on the SyFy channel. Wonderful!!
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Totally off topic…notes from the latest BBC meeting have been added to the BBC blog. Also included: my essay about my dad (grab a kleenex – you may need it…), and a poll for BBC members.
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