A Quiet Sanctuary in a World Gone Bonkers

Drowning in words, overwhelmed by thoughtless tweets and angry posts, consumed by conjecture that spins out of control as the day unwinds, deafened by TV “news reporters” who no longer even try to differentiate between hard truth, allegations, guesses and opinions… That’s communication today. Talk, talk, talk, talk, talk… Say, tell, opine, assert, claim, blather… Not much time for listening. Not much interest in reflection. Noise.

How amazing, then, to be plunged into the world of communication by touch. Tactile talk. Messaging via proximity. Shoulder to shoulder, cheek to cheek, arm in arm, chest to chest – hugging!

That’s right, communication by hug!

Read More

Take Refuge in a Book

Retreat from the crush of communication.

Take refuge in a book. That’s the best I can offer, and I offer it with confidence that it is, indeed, the best advice you’re going to get today!

I’ve been wounded (perhaps not mortally) by the use of language over the past year to bully and frighten, cudgel and cajole the great unthinking masses. And it continues, as if neither the losers nor the winners can be satisfied with the results. It is hard to bear.

Now for the good news: I have borne it with the help of one of North America’s most fabulous novelists.

Read More

Election 2016: Take Two

Where do we go from here?

When I wrote “The Election: Who Stands to Lose the Most?” last week, after agonizing about it for quite some time, I really expected people to voice their opinions, share their perspectives, post some comments of one sort or another. Frank Robinson, Licensed Mental Health Counselor, posted a most substantive comment (and the only one), building on the case I had made and further explaining it from a psychological point of view. (The comment is there; you can still read it.) So I did get a response – just not a public one. And, you know what? It wasn’t the response I expected

Read More

The Election: Who Stands to Lose the Most?

 

How communication has failed us 

I’ve agonized a long while over writing this article, for two good reasons: I’ve committed not to allow politics into this space, and this is a weighty topic, requiring research on my part and a real commitment to understanding on the part of my readers. What finally drove me to take on the task was actual fear that, due to the way humans quite naturally make and defend their decisions, our country might be torn apart or at least face an ugly, painful period of violence and dissension. And there’s more: I suddenly realized that the outcome of this election is going to allow both candidates to win – and possibly all of us to lose.

Read More

Can We Have Too Much Communication?

I suggested this a few days ago, and so I feel obligated (and enthusiastically so) to return to that assertion to expand and clarify. So, can we have too much communication? You know, we probably can’t. Human communication probably cannot ever be excessive, but that assumes that communication is actually taking place. And I think the “exchange” and the “streaming” far exceed the sum total of actual communication. Permit me to explain.

Read More

This Batcher is Streaming

"To Stream or to Batch" - a response

Responding to our guest post of a few days ago (“To Stream or to Batch”), I hate to say this, but might this streaming and batching stuff be “generational”? (Why does that always feel uncomfortable, as if the real meaning is “You’re just too old”?) I do admit, though, that my generation couldn’t possibly have streamed communication as young people do today. Consider, for example, how children, teens and college students used to communicate with each other in perfect batches. (Warning: If you’re a millennial, this might frighten you.)

Read More

To Stream or to Batch?

Guest Feature by Dale L. Oldham

I'll mirror Malcolm Gladwell and write about the obvious. Clearly Mr. Gladwell isn't accountable for my resentment over his success, because countless textbooks have likewise stated the obvious, but that gentleman has become famous and rich just because he can label indisputable phenomena (give me a break: "tipping point"??), provide countless supporting examples, entertain me and leave me seething that he wrote it before I did.

Read More

Customer Service – good, bad and – well, uh - weird!

Recently I was cleaning out old – really, really old – files on my computer, the kind that, had they been food, would now be covered with mold and crawling with bugs. Old files! And I came across this story I wrote – oh, probably 12 or 13 years ago. I never did anything with it; maybe I wrote it just to vent. Who knows? It’s a pretty good story, though, so I want to share it with you. Pretty unbelievable, actually. It’s about customer service gone very, very wrong. 

Read More