Two great (imo) quotes from two novelists. Laing is doing an Acker-cosplay (and doing it well. Actually, I am being a bit unfair/dismissive. There's more to it than that, but you need to know your Acker (and I don't) to get all the gags). Hartmann's book, which I read maybe 15 years ago is a... Continue Reading →
Someone my age just went to Dignitas, the assisted dying place in Switzerland. It concentrates the mind, of course. She had stage 4 bowel cancer and things were about to get seriously unpleasant. There's an interview with her in the Guardian, conducted the night before she did the deed. Asked about the dangers of people... Continue Reading →
This is an “ideal type,” as in Your Mileage May Vary etc. It’s loosely based on the hype cycle, for what that’s worth. I wrote about this in the context of Strategic Action Fields a few years ago, it never got published. I should dig that out. Whatever. The Honeymoon Phase The Honeymoon ends The... Continue Reading →
You know when you properly encounter a new idea and then you "see" its applications everywhere (and you overuse it/misuse it). To riff on a good saying - "when you've got a new shiny hammer that feels good, every problem looks like a nail" (1). Well, that's me and Wilfred Bion's idea of the work-group... Continue Reading →
So, I sent my last blog post, about Wilfred Bion and his ideas of the basic assumptions mentality and the work-group mentality to someone I have ENORMOUS respect for (seriously, this person is one of the smartest people I know, and I know a lot of very smart people. This person is the real deal.)... Continue Reading →
Quick post. I am fascinated by the ways groups start with high hopes/expectations (high hopes = hype) and within a few months tend to be all gone, or else fighting like dysfunctional rats in an itchy hessian sack. Seen it so many times. Been one of those rats too, for my sins. This below about... Continue Reading →
I got this from Liz Jensen's article in the Observer, about the death of her youngest child. It's a quote of Karen Blixen. Seems legit. See also Robert Frost being asked what he had learned about life, and he replied "it goes on." And see also this https://www.salon.com/2014/07/19/why_our_brains_love_the_ocean_science_explains_what_draws_humans_to_the_sea
,I bought a book in a charity shop (I know, I know). It's called "Managing Difficult People." I hoped it might have some tips for self-management, and it does. So expect New and Improved Marc any day now. Oh yes. The book a slender thing, seven chapters. On page 36 there is the following "The... Continue Reading →
Am listening to one now (1). I do wish I had made a buzzword bingo card. Might have made it more tolerable. Obviously if sponsors are sponsoring something, they have to be given their moment in the bully pulpit. But are they ever going to say anything interesting, that people attending the workshop don't already... Continue Reading →
Twice now, once last year and just now, I've had the experience I am sure millions of others are having. You need something done and rather than it being dealt with "in-house" the NHS is farming it out to private companies. All in the name of "efficiency" don't you know. Never mind the senior politicians... Continue Reading →
