Gray Matter Musings Archives - Page 3 of 22

Lessons From Failure Of Burning Barn Productions Unlock Success Rules That Drive You Forward (Part II)

By Chris Carosa on April 15, 2025

Inspired by such classic films as The Battle of the Bulge, Burning Barn Products reached its peak with the release of The Battle of Dortmund Circle. Still from the movie.

As revealed previously, (see “Lessons From Failure Of Burning Barn Productions Unlock Success Rules That Drive You Forward (Part I),” Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel, April 10, 2025), we couldn’t move forward towards success without understanding the initial lesson. After learning our first success rule—get one ally before rallying the group—we were ready to turn dreams into movies. Convincing your peers to jump into the unknown isn’t easy. That’s what my brother Kenny and I faced when our neighborhood film making ambitions took off.

With my brother backing me, it was easy to convince the other boys to go along.

Hmm, maybe not that easy. There were initially too many objections. Remember, we were Continue Reading “Lessons From Failure Of Burning Barn Productions Unlock Success Rules That Drive You Forward (Part II)”

Posted in Business Tips, Gray Matter Musings, Memoir of a Real Life, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged 1973, Alien, Ask Big Or Go Home, Battle of Dortmund Circle, Battle of the Bulge, Bigger Better Be Better, Bruce, Burning Barn Productions, carnival, Chili, Chili Avenue, Clint Eastwood, Dad, David, Dortmund Circle, Estes rockets, failure, Feed Their Imagination, Jack, Kenny, movie, Mr. Voegtle, NASA, Novelty Excites, operation sandtrap, Peter Principle, Proof Beats Doubt, robot, sci-fi, Stick to Your Strengths, success, tank, Twilight Zone, World War II

Teach History, Not Historiography: Why Smart People Aren’t Smart

By Chris Carosa on March 11, 2025

The first duty of a historian is to seek the truth, however bitter it may be.”

Herodotus said that in Book 1, Chapter 1 of Histories.

Or did he?

What he really said, at least according to A.D. Godley’s 1920 translation, (via the Perseus Digital Library) was:

These are the researches of Herodotus of Halicarnassus, which he publishes, in the hope of thereby preserving from decay the remembrance of what men have done, and of preventing the great and wonderful actions of the Greeks and the Barbarians from losing their due meed of glory; and withal to put on record what were their grounds of feud.”

I lied. Herodotus didn’t say that, either. What he really, really, said was:Continue Reading “Teach History, Not Historiography: Why Smart People Aren’t Smart”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings, History, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged 1776, critical, Croesus, Declaration of Independence, Founding Fathers, Greek, Herodotus, historiography, History, History of the Pelopennesian War, July 4, liberty, narrative history, revisionist, Thucydides, truth

Media Literacy Will Destroy Civilization

By Chris Carosa on March 4, 2025

A long time ago, in a galaxy not so far away, the idea of bringing computers into classrooms emerged as a real possibility. More than a possibility, it presented a strong controversy. “The kids lack the media literacy to judge what is real and what is make believe,” cried concerned citizens.

This was back in the 1990s. I was on what was then called the HF-L Technology Committee because of my computer background (and also because, as Town Board school liaison, I had to be on some committee). Today, those complaints seem naïve. And they were. But not for reasons you think.

It turns out secondary school students aren’t the only perpetrators of media illiteracy. We all Continue Reading “Media Literacy Will Destroy Civilization”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings, History, Memoir of a Real Life, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged 1960s generation, Alexis de Tocqueville, American Dream, American Exceptionalism, Baby Boomer, Bill Murray, Bob Woodward, Democracy in America, extreme skepticism, Founding Fathers, Gell-Mann Amnesia effect, George Carlin, George Washington, HF-L, hippie, historiography, History, Joe Rogan, John Belushi, media illiteracy, media literacy, Murray Gell-Mann, Nixon, question everything, skepticism, Technology Committee, Thomas Jefferson

The Empirical Past vs. The Remembered Past

By Chris Carosa on February 25, 2025

If you don’t know it by now, I like to tell stories. While I enjoy spinning yarns on historical events that captivate audiences, I much prefer those drama-in-(my)-real-life vignettes that allow me to explore fun lessons I lived through. Indeed, one of the first Carosa Commentary columns published in these pages told a coming-of-age tale that really took place at the bus stop when I was in fourth grade. It was a three-part series (that began with “Terror at the School Bus Stop—A True-Life Story (Part I),” Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel, January 11, 1990).

The trouble with these personal stories is that they’re personal. Unless I can figure out a way Continue Reading “The Empirical Past vs. The Remembered Past”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings, Memoir of a Real Life, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged Abbott Parkway, acausal, Carosa Commentary, classical physicist, determinism, entanglement, future, Kenny, memory, past, philosophy, Physics, present, psychology, quantum philosophy, quantum physics, retrocausality, School Bus Stop, Schrodinger's cat, superposition of states, Teresa, Time, Time Travel, wave-particle duality

My Life With AI—Part III: What Comes Around Goes Around

By Chris Carosa on February 11, 2025

If you recall from past columns in this space, you might remember one of the first things I did during my second run at publishing this esteemed periodical was to replace myself.

Allow me to explain.

Among the software we found buried deep within the bowels of one of the two extremely outdated computers we inherited was an ancient DBase III program. For those not old enough to recognize the name or even the purpose of that old code, it allowed you to collect and update a customized database you could then manipulate in any way you desired. I installed this program in 1989 when we started the newspaper. I then created a database in which we could keep our subscriptions on. We used it not only to know when people needed to renew but also to print out the mailing labels to attach to the newspapers every week.

Nearly thirty years later, the previous owners of the Sentinel were still using this archaic software. The very first thing I did was extract the data (into a comma-delimited file for all you nerds out there), which I promptly imported into an Excel spreadsheet. From that spreadsheet, I wrote a mail-list merge routine in Word to print out the mailing labels.

And with that, I had replaced myself. (For those keeping score at home—and who notice how Continue Reading “My Life With AI—Part III: What Comes Around Goes Around”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings, Memoir of a Real Life, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged AI, AI chatbots, AI tools, artificial intelligence, ChatGPT, Claude, DBase III, DR-LINK, Gemini, generative AI assistants, Grok, hallucination, Large Language Model, LLM, Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel, New York State Press Association, programming, Publishers Conference, Textwise, Wikipedia, X

How Psychic Numbing Weirdly Helps You… Or Doesn’t

By Chris Carosa on February 4, 2025

If you read a lot of spy novels or watch a lot of action-adventure movies, you’re used to scenes involving at least the threat of torture. Now, we know torture might happen in real life. As a dramatic element, however, it has very limited appeal. This is especially true in shows that want a family-friendly rating.

How do writers deal with this? They bring us right up to the edge of the actual torture and maybe a little beyond because Continue Reading “How Psychic Numbing Weirdly Helps You… Or Doesn’t”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings, Memoir of a Real Life, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged beatnik, behavior, Buffalo Bills, Cold War, coping, Death In Life, emotion, Gates-Chili High School, hipster, Hiroshima, Holocaust, Kirk, peer pressure, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, psychic numbing, PTSD, rational, Reykjavik, Robert Jay Lifton, Ronald Reagan, Soviet Union, Spock, torture, Vietnam War, wide right, Yale

A Good Show Must Always End, But A Great Story Lasts Forever

By Chris Carosa on January 21, 2025

A fragment of the Odyssey, via Wikimedia Commons

Have you ever been involved in a performance? Any kind of performance? It could have been a high school play, a ceremony at church, or a major presentation at work. In all cases, you practice, practice, practice. Whether it’s a musical or a wedding, you have a final rehearsal before the actual “show.”

On opening night, you have jitters. Throughout the event, your shoulders remain tense. You try not to let them see you sweat. At some point, however, you get past the hump. You can see the end. You begin to relax. Ironically, adrenaline pumps through your veins until it reaches euphoria when the final curtain falls. Your emotion peaks to such heights that, even today, you can barely remember the celebratory after-party.

And then it’s over. You wake up the next morning to an unexpected emptiness. The routine is gone. What do you do now?

Alas, all good shows must come to an end. Such is the nature of the business. Such is the Continue Reading “A Good Show Must Always End, But A Great Story Lasts Forever”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings, Great Writing Tips, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged Abbey Road, Across The Universe, George Bailey, Get Back, Homer, It's a Wonderful Life, James Bond, John Lennon, Odysseus, Odyssey, Patrick Stewart, performance, Star Trek, story, The Beatles, The Next Generation, The Original Series, TOS, William Shatner, Yesterday

The Terrible Reality of Story Arcs

By Chris Carosa on January 14, 2025

Bob Denver Gilligan’s Island, 1966, CBS Television, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Think back to all the great stories you’ve heard, read while relaxing on a sunny beach, or watched in front of the big screen. What do they all have in common? Your first answer might be, “They kept me on the edge of my seat and their ending nailed it.”

OK, that might be true. But if you dig deeper, you’ll find they all stayed true to the narrative structure of the traditional story arc—Exposition, Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action, and Resolution. In good stories, you don’t see this structure. The transition from one element to the next flows seamlessly.

The 1942 film Casablanca, often cited as one of the greatest movies ever made, offers a good example of this. You don’t even notice as the Exposition rolls through a series of Continue Reading “The Terrible Reality of Story Arcs”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings, Great Writing Tips, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged cartoon, Casablanca, climax, drama, exposition, falling action, Gilligan's Island, Gunsmoke, James Bond, live-action, Nickelodeon, resolution, rising action, Star Trek, Star Wars, storytelling, The Fugitive, The Lord of the Rings, The Simpsons, writing

Skill vs. Soul: The Agonizing Choice Between Technique or Sincerity

By Chris Carosa on January 7, 2025

Cousin Reginald Spells Peloponnesus. Norman Rockwell, 1918. Public Domain via Wikipedia Commons

Have you ever been to a party that included guests from both the worlds of art and science? At first, as the visitors arrive, there’s a short cordial meet-and-greet. Folks smile, shake hands, and exchange friendly hellos. As more people enter, they begin to group with like-minded individuals.

Artists cluster with other artists. Scientists huddle with other scientists. There’s still some intermixing of professions, but they’re quick, implying each wants to return to the safety of one’s kind.

You know what happens next. You’ve seen it in all walks of life, not just between scientists and artists. It could be between any two groups of divergent attitudes. Hanging out in the self-segregated echo chamber created by others who share their worldview reinforces that point of view. In turn, this boosts the confidence they have in their profession, their religion, their politics—whatever the subject of division happens to be.

What does this mean to the imaginary (or not so imaginary) party that began this column? Invariably, an argument ensues between an artist and a scientist. In the worst case, each Continue Reading “Skill vs. Soul: The Agonizing Choice Between Technique or Sincerity”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged applied science, artist scientist, Boundary Condition Test, Bubonic Plague, da Vinci, David, engineering, Isaac Newton, Law of Gravity, Michelangelo, Modern Art, Norman Rockwell, practice, Renaissance, sincerity, technique, The Starry Night, theory, Vincent van Gogh

The Power of a Promise: Why Keeping Your Word Matters

By Chris Carosa on December 30, 2024

What ever happened to Sundays? I used to lie on my stomach on the couch and read the voluminous New York Times spread on the rug below me. Then I’d roll over to my back and watch the Buffalo Bills on TV. After the Bills game, I’d keep football on and yank the extra-large NY Times crossword puzzle out of the magazine section. With the sounds of the gridiron grunting comfortably in the background, I’d meticulously complete the puzzle. In pen.

Ah, for those lazy Sundays…

Those lazy, inefficient Sundays.

Those lazy, inefficient Sundays whose only legacy is a bare, faded memory that’s almost gone.

I’m much more productive now. Life has a way of forcing that on you. It’s even better when you enjoy it.

And I enjoy it. The fruits of that production aren’t mere memories, but tangible relics that I can share with others. It’s the sharing I enjoy the most. I realize now I can’t share when I Continue Reading “The Power of a Promise: Why Keeping Your Word Matters”

Posted in Business Tips, Gray Matter Musings, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged Buffalo Bills, commitment, critical path, crossword, efficiency, failure, football, goal, goal-setting, milestone, New Year's resolution, New York Times, NY Times, production, promise, self-confidence, SMART