Michael: Wouldn’t that make the duck a cannibal? (Whatever happened to Quinn Martin?!)

Szabi: It’s a difficult thing, to walk the line between “honest”, “outspoken” and “bluntly rude”. The English tend toward the more polite (though less so these days, it seems). Personally I aim for the middle of the three: say what you think and think what you say. Colleagues like it, managers usually appreciate it (though not the stupid ones) and directors hate it. Such is life. And I’m not showing my posterior to anyone, thank you very much!! (Love the analogy.)

Stevo: The injured horse and underdog I can understand, but the child? Bah. Afraid I have a weaker spot for animals. Despite my British stiff upper lip. (Cool TED reference, will check that out, thank you.)

If there is one common thread/character throughout the tellings of stories across cultures and across times; it is the hard-shelled, tough talkin’, tough ridin’, sharp-shootin’ hero who’s seemingly impermeable exterior and unwavering intractability can only be permeated by either an innocent child, an injured horse or an underdog.

What does this commonality show me? The same thing my experience has taught me…that the planet can be grateful to have a handful of souls that actually care…and can actually feel it.

Arguably these same souls live somewhat anachronistically; perhaps because they see the possibility and that they may pave the way to a world that leans more toward virtue than ‘dry backed ducks’?

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/barry_schwartz_on_our_loss_of_wisdom.html

Cheers

Stephen G

Interesting what you say about honesty. In England I felt that people say This is lovely instead of No thank you! But now living 3000 km away but already in the other extreme It is painful sometimes how (even in business-client/customer cases) people can treat each other. I’m begging for some English politeness and respect sometimes. People really need it.

On the other hand I don’t understand why your client thinks it will make you happy if he tells you that a few people will get fired because they are not as good as you.

But after all if you stand in the middle of the circle you have to show your @ss to someone.

On the other hand (or wing) it could make Eggs Benedict. Or, perhaps, scrambled. Hm. Would the latter truly reflect our duck’s personality though? We need to garner opinion from the paddle of duck followers first however (oh come ON, that was a good collective noun, no? Oh. I just found out it’s badelynge, ffs.) because as smart ducks know, it’s the opinion of those feathering the nest that really counts. Our survey shows (quack quack): you’re a benedict kind of duck, deal with it.

You wanna play the game some more? Maybe they owed you one. You remember? Spike The Benedictine Monk. Diligently scribing (I knew I could work the Benedict thing back in) under the watchful and baleful eyes of some Cadfael-esque delusional Abbot and sidekick (Costello?), eager to find fault sufficient or else contrive spurious charge to warrant punishment for breaches of the Order’s Grammatic Rule of the Master. Ah, how communities, freelance sketes or otherwise cenobitic, come around and go around.

I’d watch that tendency to lust though. All that repressed emotion stored in a hermitage situated across from the nunnery is starting to show up in your alluring blog imagery…

Fortunately, none of us can speak in absolutes.

Oscar Wilde: be yourself. Everyone else is taken.

I am not a good chaser.

Don’t lose any sleep over this. It’s a dog eats the dog who ate the fish who ate the dog world out there these days.