Gray Matter Musings Archives - Page 21 of 21

“Remember, You are Just a Man!”

By Chris Carosa on February 6, 2011

There’s this part of the Catholic Mass called the “homily.” It’s like the “sermon” of other denominations, albeit usually a lot shorter. For whatever reason, I tend to do my most creative thinking during homilies. That’s probably true of most people. According the Catholic Encyclopedia, the homily, in brief, intends to mix the specific practicum of everyday experience with the generic spiritual/philosophical treatise offered by the Gospel. It’s said to be the oldest form of preaching. These inspirational words must therefore prod one into reflexive thought; hence, my tendency to brew ideas as the priest speaks in the most general of terms.

Today was different. Not only was it Scout Sunday and I was dressed in uniform to accompany a small covey of Boy Scouts as they brought up the gifts, but today the priest didn’t communicate merely in generalities. Today he named specific names. Today, he pointed to me and proclaimed Continue Reading ““Remember, You are Just a Man!””

Posted in Boy Scouts, Gray Matter Musings, Memoir of a Real Life Tagged Growing Up, honor, ideal, respect

Extreme Centrism

By Chris Carosa on December 14, 2010

Warning: If you’re a Republican or Democrat you probably won’t like this essay. If you’re a self-described “centrist” you’ll downright hate it.

On December 13, 2010, hoping to offer a “third way,” a group (ironically) labeling itself the “No Labels” held its inaugural convention in New York City. Call it the blue-blooded elitists’ Cocktail Party response to the red-blooded Cletus-ts’ Tea Party. Unlike the out-from-nowhere built-from-the-group-up political force of 2010, however, this group appears willing to use the power of publicity to build an organization from the top-down (at least according to the New York Times).

Unfortunately, after featuring an “A” list of political names, the initially favorable publicity fell away when it was discovered the “No Labels” party apparently not only Continue Reading “Extreme Centrism”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings Tagged Centrism, philosophy, politics, Tea Party

How Have You Rediscovered Christopher Columbus?

By Chris Carosa on October 11, 2010

Last week, a good friend of mine wrote a piece called “Don’t Be a Social Media Debbie Downer” (see MarkFrisk.com). In it, he says “overdoing it on the negative is maybe not the way you want to go.” While ostensibly written for the social media space, he quickly adds the lesson applies to any space.

Today is Columbus Day. No one has suffered the slings and arrows of outrageous Debbie Downer Syndrome more than the man who discovered America. Almost every event, person, place or thing in the human record stands as a glass either half empty or half full. Throughout history, we’ve taken the “half full” approach when defining our heroes. Why?

The best answer I’ve seen lies within a 60+ year old movie directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne and Henry Fonda called Fort Apache. In this classic western, Ford both unmasks and makes the Continue Reading “How Have You Rediscovered Christopher Columbus?”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings Tagged Christopher Columbus, ideal, John Ford, John Wayne, philosophy

Is Social Media the Key to a Better Government, a Better New York and a Better Western New York?

By Chris Carosa on August 24, 2010

I’ve been meaning to write this for a while – maybe years – but I’ve been too afraid. I’ve been too afraid people would see the idea as crazy. I’ve been too afraid people would fail to believe the problem exists. I’ve been too afraid people would read politics instead of common sense. In a phrase, I’ve been too afraid.

And, I admit, I’m still a little afraid. With today’s culture in the noose of political correctness, it seems any misplaced modifier has the power to send one to ruin. Ruin, I am told, is not a very good place to visit, let alone live in. Perhaps it’s because it rains there every day.

Whatever the case, on the whole, I’d rather be in Philadelphia. Well, maybe not the City of Brotherly Love, for it has become the City of the Blogger Levy. According to the Continue Reading “Is Social Media the Key to a Better Government, a Better New York and a Better Western New York?”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings, It's a Nerd's World, Western New York State of Mind Tagged business, idea, politics, Western New York

The Cornucopia Tree

By Chris Carosa on June 28, 2010

Once upon a time there lived a man who owned a very special tree—a cornucopia tree.

Now, as we all know, the word “cornucopia” comes from the Latin word meaning “horn of plenty.” In ancient mythology, it was said to produce an endless supply of food and drink. Even today, Americans display a cornucopia at their Thanksgiving table as a symbol of gratitude for all the Lord has given us.

Well, this cornucopia tree produced everything the man’s family needed to survive. From its branches grew food and drink, wood to build and heat their house, and even the clothes they wore.

(Yes, clothes. Don’t ask how the tree managed that. It just did.)

One day the cornucopia tree produced something it had never produced before—two identical eggs.

The man, now very old, saw them and understood their meaning. So he called his two sons.

“Boys,” he said, “this tree has given our family everything we have ever needed. Now it has Continue Reading “The Cornucopia Tree”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged abundance, Aesop, allegory, Ben Franklin, capital, capitalism, charity, consumerism, consumption, contentment, cornucopia, delayed gratification, entrepreneur, fable, fairy tale, family, finance, Fractured Fairy Tales, gratitude, greed, horn of plenty, instant gratification, moral story, Parable, prodigal son, productive, stewardship, storytelling, sufficiency, symbol, temptation, Thankgiving, wealth, wealth building, wisdom

Mary Anne was Wrong! The Truth Behind Character and Destiny

By Chris Carosa on June 21, 2010

Pondering the meaning of character one evening, I stumbled upon the much quoted citation from George Eliot (whose real name was Mary Anne Evans) in her masterpiece The Mill on the Floss (1860): “Character is Destiny.” Curiosity getting the better of me, and knowing the exertion would prove effortless, I dug deeper to discover the full context of the quote. It revealed a wonderful irony. It also led to a deeper mystery.

Here’s what Mary Anne wrote:

“Character,” says Novalis, in one of his questionable aphorisms – “Character is Destiny.”

First, let’s get to the beautiful piece of irony. Ol’ Mary Anne apparently didn’t even like Continue Reading “Mary Anne was Wrong! The Truth Behind Character and Destiny”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings Tagged Character, Destiny, football, George Eliot, Heraclitus, Marv Levy

3 Reasons You Should Never Resort to a Panel of Experts

By Chris Carosa on May 25, 2010

I sat in on a lecture at a prestigious enclave recently. The guest speaker enthralled the audience with an exciting and informative lecture. As with all good speakers, he left the audience wanting by giving them a question to ponder. One by one the members of the audience – all certified experts in the subject matter – rose to offer commentary and ideas. More of an outsider, and certainly without the credentials of all others, I mulled over my own thoughts. A mortal fear the esteemed scholars would laugh me out of the room should I ask a stupid question kept me at bay. Here’s what I did instead.

I listened.

Set aside your first thought (i.e., “there are no ‘stupid’ questions” – we’ll get to this later) and instead focus on the opportunity provided by foregoing my own ego and simply listening to these intellectual chieftains. In my sedentary yet attentive state, a profound idea stuck me. It exposes a problem that represents the biggest sin every policy maker Continue Reading “3 Reasons You Should Never Resort to a Panel of Experts”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings Tagged philosophy, politics, Yale

What Secrets is The Weather Channel Trying to Hide?

By Chris Carosa on April 20, 2010

Why doesn’t The Weather Channel have a public tour? Why won’t they even allow the public in their building? Why can’t they place their name on the front of the sterile block of anti-septic concrete and dark glass in which their studios reside? What is The Weather Channel trying to hide?

My daughter wishes to become an on-air meteorologist. While traveling to Atlanta for the FIRST Robotics World Festival (my company sponsored one of the competing teams and my daughter was assigned to write an article on her school’s team), we thought it natural to let her visit The Weather Channel studios. Makes sense, right? High school student from Western New York seeks to learn the trade of communicating atmospheric phenomenon to the masses, the world’s leading purveying of such a mere few miles from the hotel; ergo, high school student arranges to shadow her dream job. Simple? One would think so.

And one would be wrong.

Try finding a telephone number for The Weather Channel on the internet. If you go to their site (www.weather.com) you will find nothing. If you Google “Weather Channel telephone number” you will get what appears to be good leads but once you click on Continue Reading “What Secrets is The Weather Channel Trying to Hide?”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings Tagged Atlanta, CNN, FIRST, robot, The Weather Channel, The Weather Channel Telephone Number

The Who Dat?

By Chris Carosa on February 8, 2010

Jim Croce once crooned a melody that began “If I could save time in a bottle.” Ironically, through his participation in a fatal plane crash, he did, at least in terms of his own career. Unlike Bob Dylan, Jim Croce remains forever young. Of course, in the case of Bob Dylan, a seemingly senile – as in unintelligible – folk singer from the beginning, age simply doesn’t matter.

The same, unfortunately, does not apply to the band performing under the name “The Who.” CBS did the surviving members a disservice by airing commercials with clips from their heyday. I certainly didn’t expect to see a reprise of their guitar-smashing gyrations of an earlier generation. Still, the oh so apparent erosion of time stunned me. Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend appeared less a classic rock act and more a Simpsons parody of a has-been group doing one more reunion tour. They couldn’t cover up the wooden movements of their atrophied muscles, but I held out hope they’d at least lip sync to their younger voices.

Continue Reading “The Who Dat?”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings Tagged Abbey Road, Beatles, Bob Dylan, CBS, Dick Shawn, Don't Get Fooled Again, Forever Young, Jim Croce, Keith Moon, Let It Be, Life Magazine, NASCAR, Paul McCartney, Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey, Simpsons, Superbowl, The Who, Time in Bottle