Weekend Haiku

Tea flowers-
are they white?
yellow?

Buson (1716-1783)

Ruby

Here are the Kaiser Chiefs performing Ruby live, joined by the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain and David Allen. It is a fun video. Enjoy and happy Friday.

Mad Dog dead

Love him or hate him, you could not turn on the radio to listen to Dolphins football without hearing his inimitable, wacky syle as the analyst alongside play by play man Rick Weaver. Definitely a homer and a blue collar player during his tight end days, Jim Mandich never sugar-coated the Dolphins' successes or failures. He'll be missed. Number 88 died yesterday at age 62.

Atlas Shrugged, Part I -The Movie

This past Saturday evening I went to see Atlas Shrugged Part I with my wife. It was playing at the twenty movie cineplex in what is definitely the smallest theater they have. After reading all the reviews panning it I must confess I wasn't expecting much, but I should have known better. I was definitely at a different film than the ones the critics watched. The movie was excellent.

In an extremely faithful recreation of Ayn Rand's staggering novel, John Aglialoro has produced what all Rand fans have wished for decades. Taylor Schilling is cast brilliantly as Dagny Taggart. She personifies Rand's heroine perfectly, with steely determination and an icy, sensual charm. Scenes from the book come across intact, with word for word dialogue just as Ayn Rand penned them.

As in any movie adapted from a book some shortcuts have to be taken (even to make a Part I such as this is) fit, but the spirit and essence is there, leaving the viewer wanting more. I just hope John Aglialoro hangs in there and makes part II and III as promised. I for one will be waiting in line to see them both.

It's Monday

And we all know what that means. Time for another MOTW, Manager of the Week. It is really difficult to understand how this next manager gets away with it, but he/she does. Staff already know that any point made will be sprinkled with obscenities and are used to it, but that does not make it right.

MOTW: Foul Mouthed Manager

Despite company policy to the contrary, Foul Mouthed Manager engages in diatribes directed at his/her staff which are heavily laced with imprecations, the kind which would make a sailor on shore leave redden with embarrassment. Whenever a representative of the Human Resources department comes within earshot however, Foul Mouthed Manager’s vocabulary miraculously becomes as pristine as a virgin wildlife refuge.

Weekend Haiku

The world of dew
is the world of dew.
And yet, and yet-

Issa (1763-1827)

Aria

If you have never listened to Chris Spheeris before you are in for a treat. And the slideshow is great too. Here is Aria. Enjoy and happy Friday.

Atlas Shrugged, Part I -The Movie

All the reviews I have read say that the film is pretty bad, but I had to put the trailer up. I will probably go see it anyway. The film is a labor of love for producer John Aglialoro, a multimillionaire Randian who made the movie, and who it is reported, spent up to 10 million of his own dollars in the process. Who is John Galt?

Time to dine out

But expect a big check. The S. Pellegrino World's Fifty Best Restaurants list is out. The winner, Noma, in Copenhagen, Denmark, where lunch may run you north of 200 dollars.

Read about Noma's unusual menu and chef here.

It's Monday

And we all know what that means. Time for another MOTW, Manager of the Week. This next manager has a ton of business cards on hand and rarely spends time in the office producing any work.

MOTW: Networking Manager

Begins every conversation with “Do you know X in XYZ Unit?” Spends 95 percent of his/her time lunching and discussing with others about business and trends. Knows everyone peripherally but no one well. Is enamored of some distant player within the company who is in vogue, but changes this infatuation on a monthly basis.

Weekend Haiku

Goes out,
comes back-
the loves of a cat.

Issa (1763-1827)

It's Monday

And we all know what that means. Time for another MOTW, Manager of the Week. This next manager is a source of frustration for staff members, who no longer take risks, innovate or put forth any discretionary effort because of the whimsical nature of the manager's memory.

MOTW: Selective Memory Manager

This manager conveniently forgets conversations held, decisions taken and agreements made with staff members whenever the outcomes of these are not beneficial to him/her. This can be terribly frustrating and the solution is obviously to put everything in writing, but Selective Memory Manager, never knowing which event may need to be forgotten, also has a strategy for this tactic. By simply not responding to emails, interoffice memos, post-it notes, faxes or any other form of written communication Selective Memory Manager has plausible deniability that the message ever reached him/her in the first place. This allows him/her to manage each issue on a forget/not forget basis depending on the specifics of the situation.

Desperate staff members have been known to secretly sprinkle ground up Ginkgo Biloba into the communal coffee pot in the hopes that it will have some positive effect on Selective Memory Manager, but to date this strategy has proven mostly ineffective.

Weekend Haiku

As for the hibiscus
on the roadside-
my horse ate it.

Basho (1644-1694)

As It Stands

From the album Love, here is a recording of The Juliana Theory's introspective ballad As It Stands. Enjoy and happy Friday.

Mr. Baseball...or is he?

There are a lot of interesting characters in the annals of baseball, and too many important figures to mention here. This guy, however, is in a class by himself as a lovable, self-deprecating, loser kind of guy. He is entering his 41st year in the booth, has a ton of baseball knowledge and statistics in his head, has been in movies, is funnier than most and is loved by all in the game. He is profiled here by the WSJ.

It's Monday

And we all know what that means. Time for another MOTW, Manager of the Week. One gets the feeling that this next manager is a frustrated CIA wannabe because of his/her form of communication.

MOTW: Acronym Manager

Working for Acronym Manager is like being initiated into a secret society which has its own lexicon. One needs to become familiar with this code in order to survive as a typical interaction with Acronym Manager may sound like this.

A.M. “W get in here. J tells me there’s a SNAFU because the PCE report didn’t make it to O&T by COB. Find out and fix it ASAP or we’ll be hosed PDQ. Also, make sure the KPI’s are included in the RA we forwarded to the BRCC. If those guys aren’t happy it’s BOHICA for sure.

W. “Sure thing boss.”

Translation:

W (William) get in here. J (Acronym Manager’s manager, no one knows the rest of the letters in his name) tells me there’s a SNAFU (Situation Normal All Fouled Up) because the PCE (Profit Center Earnings) report didn’t make it to O&T (Operations and Technology) by COB (Close Of Business). Find out and fix it ASAP (As Soon As Possible) or we’ll be hosed PDQ (Pretty Darn Quick). Also, make sure the KPI’s (Key Performance Indicators) are in the RA (Risk Assessment) we forwarded to the BRCC (Business Risk Control Committee). If those guys aren’t happy it’s BOHICA (Bend Over Here It Comes Again) for sure.

Weeknd Haiku

They don't notice
the thief's gaze:
the melons cooling.

Issa (1763-1827)

Forever Lost

No April Fools here. Just a recording of Conjure One's Forever Lost. Enjoy and happy Friday.