Gray Matter Musings Archives - Page 12 of 19

The Liberty of the Ad Lib

By Chris Carosa on August 20, 2019

Did you see what I did there?

“Liberty”…

“Ad Lib”…

Get it?

OK. I have to admit. It is a bit of a stretch. At least from a literal standpoint. The “lib” of “ad lib” doesn’t stand for “liberty.” It’s actually the short form of the Latin phrase ad libitum.

Ad libitum literally translates to “at one’s pleasure.” There’s no “liberty” in it at all. Our word “liberty” derives from the Latin word liber. In Latin, liber and libitum mean two different, albeit not wholly unrelated, things.

The Latin liber means “free” or “unrestricted.” You can easily see how we get “liberty” from Continue Reading “The Liberty of the Ad Lib”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged America, Aristotle, Bill Murray, Caddyshack, Chevy Chase, comedians, comedy, Foundiing Fathers, freedom, Grateful Dead, John Locke, Kodak Center, Libertarian, Marx Brothers, Natural Rights, Rodney Danferfield, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine

Was This Written 50 Years Too Early or 50 Years Too Late?

By Chris Carosa on July 30, 2019

I‘ve always been puzzled by this thought: Was I born 50 years too early or 50 years too late? This thought resurfaced this week as I rode the train back and forth to Chicago while the rest of the world dazzled itself with remembering the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11.

It reminds me of a skit I once did as Cubmaster for Peter’s pack. We had our meetings in the cavernous Mendon Firehall. It was always filled to capacity. Filled with boys, their parents, and their siblings.

That night I donned a pair of Buzz Lightyear “wings” (actually they were my young nephew’s and I don’t know how I fit them over my shoulders without overstretching them). After strutting a few steps with those wings, I added a Woody hat on top of my head.

Maybe one of the Toy Story movies was out that year.

In either case, I asked the pack to guess who I was. Some of the boys says “Buzz” and some said “Woody.” I said “Nope” to each guess. Then I looked up to the parents in Pack 105 and said – in a distinct John Wayne kind of voice – “Well, pilgrim, some people call me a ‘The Space Cowboy.’”

And so it has been in my life. Teetering on the precipice of “born too early” while simultaneously straddling the ledge of “born too late.” Some might view this as a Continue Reading “Was This Written 50 Years Too Early or 50 Years Too Late?”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings, Memoir of a Real Life, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries, Western New York State of Mind Tagged Amtrak, Apollo 11, Apollo 13, astronomy, Buzz Lightyear, Catarina, Cesidia, Chicago, Cubmaster, Hamburger Dreams, History, John Wayne, Mendon Firehall, Miss Powell, Pack 105, Pat, Peter, space, Space Cowboy, Toy Story, train, Woody

We’ll Always Have Paris… How The Business of Sequels Destroyed America’s Youth

By Chris Carosa on July 23, 2019

They say imitation is the greatest form of flattery. That may be true, but it is also the greatest impediment to progress.

Don’t get me wrong. There’s a certain business sense to imitation – and I don’t mean outright theft of intellectual property. I’m referring to the “variation on a theme” that has become a successful marketing trope since well before Beethoven, Bach, and The Beatles.

Companies use the goodwill (and good publicity) generated by a top selling product, give it a tweak here and there, then come out with a “new” product that borrows heavily from the theme of the original. Rarely, however, does this sequel product ever reach the heights of its predecessor.

Here’s an example. Following the tremendous success of Continue Reading “We’ll Always Have Paris… How The Business of Sequels Destroyed America’s Youth”

Posted in Business Tips, Gray Matter Musings, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged Abbott and Costello, Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Buck Rogers, Casablanca, Charlie Chan, Coke, Diet Coke, Diet Pepsi, George Lucas, Han Solo, Hollywood, Ilsa, Kirk, Leia, Luke, McCoy, millenial, On the Road, Pepsi, Renault, Rick, serial movie, Spock, Star Trek, Star Wars, Steven Spielberg, Tarzan, The Wrath of Khan, Two and a Half Men, variations on a theme, Victor Lazlo

The Fantastical (Real-Life) Time Machine

By Chris Carosa on June 11, 2019

I had the pleasure of being invited to perform for Living History Day at SUNY Fredonia a couple of weeks ago. The all-day event features dozens of “acts.” It’s offered to hundreds of 7^th graders from throughout the Greater Western New York region. They’re bussed in early in the morning and attend live demonstrations of everything from Seneca Indian dances to artillery cannon fire.

These 12-year-olds watch as regiments from the Revolutionary War (both sides), the War of 1812 and the Civil War (both sides) conduct their drills. They see real-life colonial cooking, frontier gaming, and homespun crafts. The learn from medicine women, Suffragettes, and military historians. They discover 18^th century artifacts, 19^th century women’s fashions, and 20^th century genealogical grave hunting.

All this is done in period dress. Not just generic period dress, but actors dress as actual historical characters. I walked in with Harriet Tubman. Later I saw her talking to Abraham Lincoln. I could have sworn I saw a British general drinking coffee with Susan B. Anthony.

And they were all in costume. Even the civilians wore clothing of the era they represented. You can see from the pictures from the event. Everyone donned the fashion of the time from which they spoke and lived.

All except me.Continue Reading “The Fantastical (Real-Life) Time Machine”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings, Great Speaking Tips, Memoir of a Real Life, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries, Western New York State of Mind Tagged Abraham Lincoln, Civil War, Greater Western New York, Harriet Tubman, Konstantin Stanislavski, Living History Day, Method acting, Rankin/Bass, Revloutionary War, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Seneca, SUNY Fredonia, Susan B. Anthony, Time Travel, War of 1812

Should You Go Wide or Go Deep?

By Chris Carosa on May 7, 2019

Remember a couple months back when I said I discovered a way to add more hours to my day? (If you don’t, here it is: “That Time I Discovered ‘Idle Time’ Doesn’t Really Exist,” Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel, March 14, 2019). With all that rediscovered time I was able to explore a dusty section of unread books in my expansive library. (And by expansive, I mean… Wait. Forget it. It only gets Betsy mad.)

I began this new venture by perusing an entire series of books from the pens of the greatest copywriters. These books defined the advertising industry as it emerged from the 19^th century into the 20^th. They represent the primordial tracks from which Madison Avenue men evolved. They spawned a persuasive style that combined art and science into an effective (sometimes too effective) tool.

By “art” I refer to the words that effectively captivate and motivate the reader. But how do the words work as intended?

That’s where the “science” comes in. Today we call it “market research.” Claude C. Hopkins, acknowledged as perhaps the greatest copywriter, called it “scientific advertising.” His book by the same name (published in 1923) shows how an ad means nothing unless it stimulates its audience to act. He not only wrote the ads, he studied how Continue Reading “Should You Go Wide or Go Deep?”

Posted in Business Tips, Gray Matter Musings, Great Writing Tips Tagged Advertising, Albert Lasker, American Cancer Society, Black Sox, Chicago Cubs, Claude C. Hopkins, copywriting, Jr., Lasker Award, Mad Men, Madison Avenue, market research, marketing, My Life in Advertising, penetration, Planned Parenthood, Rosser Reeves, Scientific Advertising, Soap Opera, The Lasker Story As He Told It, Unique Selling Propostion, usuage pull, Warren G. Harding, William Wrigley

One-Upping Warren: This is the Right Way to Forgive Student Loans

By Chris Carosa on April 30, 2019

It was one of those silly socialist ideas that normally come from the mouth of Bernie Sanders. No one took it very seriously in 2016 when the then 74-year-old Vermont Senator tried to win the (we now know rigged) Democrat nomination from Hillary Clinton. He proudly declared “free college for everyone!” The kids loved it. The adults giggled.

The Clinton establishment knew this kind of talk wouldn’t fly in fly-over country (hint: that’s us). It was too radical. Too impractical. Too communist. So they laughed at Bernie and encouraged him to say what he said.

Little did we know.

Andrew Cuomo, with a watchful eye on his own 2020 political ambitions, decided to see Continue Reading “One-Upping Warren: This is the Right Way to Forgive Student Loans”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged Andrew Cuomo, Bernie Sanders, College, Elizabeth Warren, Free Tuition, Hillary Clinton, student loan

Mechanical or Intuitive: Which Approach Works Best for You? – A Real-World Lesson (Part II)

By Chris Carosa on April 2, 2019

The Conclusion of: “Style or Substance? A Real-World Lesson – A Real-World Lesson (Part I)”

“Yes, you may hit the right notes more often than Chris,” she began, “but your intuitive desire to physically search for the perfect note interferes with the broader tempo of the entire piece. Chris is mechanical. To him, keeping that tempo is more important than finding the perfect pitch. The concertmaster’s job is to lead the entire orchestra in maintaining this tempo.”

The answer shocked me. I never thought of myself as a mere machine. But there it was. The teacher had just said so. I was mechanical, not intuitive.

This didn’t sound right. How could a machine find the joy in playing the way I did? Wasn’t a machine dispassionate? Doesn’t a machine work precisely because it has Continue Reading “Mechanical or Intuitive: Which Approach Works Best for You? – A Real-World Lesson (Part II)”

Posted in Business Tips, Gray Matter Musings, Memoir of a Real Life, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged concertmaster, Gates Chili, high school, John Cage, orchestra, violin

Style or Substance? A Real-World Lesson (Part I)

By Chris Carosa on March 28, 2019

I never had someone so mad at me. And for no reason. We were both in tenth grade. Except for orchestra, we shared no other classes. We did share an Italian-American heritage. And she was mad in a way only an Italian-American can get mad. I’d seen it all before. In my extended family. In my neighborhood. In the dark alleys of the most obscure hallways within the school.

I just didn’t get it. I didn’t even know what a concertmaster was. Yet, there I was. Her, me, and the violin teacher.

But I get ahead of myself. Let’s go back to the beginning of the story…Continue Reading “Style or Substance? A Real-World Lesson (Part I)”

Posted in Business Tips, Gray Matter Musings, Great Speaking Tips, Memoir of a Real Life, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged A Tune A Day, Arkansas Traveler, concertmaster, Happy Birthday song, math, orchestra, Pop Goes the Weasel, Santa Lucia, The Irish Washerwoman, Three Stooges, violin

Confessions of a Numbers Guy

By Chris Carosa on March 5, 2019

Admit it. How many of you read the headline and immediately thought of running the rackets? Tsk, tsk. Too many late-night gangster movies watched on AMC for you!

No, this numbers guy has nothing to do with gambling. I’m not worried about some random fed chasing me down on some random RICO charge. These numbers deal with only one thing: math in its various (legal) applied forms.

My high school teachers knew me better than I knew myself. For four years I paraded from class to class singing the hosannas of science. In science class I asked the toughest questions (especially in physics). In social studies class I trumpeted the scientists during the Age of Enlightenment. In English class I rebelled – even to the point of denying any Continue Reading “Confessions of a Numbers Guy”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings, Memoir of a Real Life, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged Alana Foley, B.F. Skinner, Carol Weissbrod, Cesidia, S.S. Stevens, Sheila Tobias, Sian Beilock, Star Trek, Susan Levine

Classic vs. Timeless: Do You Know the Difference?

By Chris Carosa on February 26, 2019

Ten years ago, I wrote a play for The Monsignor Schnacky Players. It was called The Macaroni Kid. The melodrama told the heartwarming but comedic story of a young orphan trying to reunite with his long, lost mother. Kidnapped by gypsies as a baby, he doesn’t know her name, he doesn’t know where she lives, he doesn’t even know what she looks like. All he remembers is her voice and the beautiful songs she would sing to him.

Now a young man, he decides the only way to find his mother is to sing everywhere, every chance he has. Only then, maybe, if he is lucky, she will find him. (That’s the heartwarming part.)

The only trouble with his plan; he can’t sing. But everyone is so captivated by his story and his quest that they don’t have the heart to tell him. (That’s where the comedy comes in.)

This isn’t a new story. It’s a spin on the familiar “boy-loses-girl/boy-looks-for-girl/boy-finds-girl” three act drama well known among story-tellers, scriptwriters, and playwrights. Lest you think “mother” doesn’t qualify for “girl,” I suggest you reread that timeless Greek classic Oedipus Rex.

There. I just did it. I used “timeless” and “classic” in the same sentence.

Most people view “timeless” and “classic” as interchangeable adjectives. They’re not.

By definition, “timeless” mean “eternal” and “classic” means “highest quality.” That means Continue Reading “Classic vs. Timeless: Do You Know the Difference?”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged Adolph Hitler, Attila the Hun, Bach, Beatles, Beethoven, Beethoven's 5th, Beethoven's 9th, Brahms, Brahms' Lullaby, Casablanca, Citizen Kane, City on the Edge of Forever, Elvis, Ivan the Terrible, Jozef Stalin, Mao Zedong, Monsignor Schnacky Players, Oedipus Rex, Pol Pot, Robert Cialdini, social proof, Star Trek, The Macaroni Kid, Toccata and Fugue in D Minor