Month: December 2012 | the Wakefield Doctrine - Part 2 Month: December 2012 | the Wakefield Doctrine - Part 2

“Hey, heyyy!!! Michelle!!! come out and playyy” the Wakefield Doctrine plays ‘the tag’

December 23, 2012 By
Welcome to the (first) (attempted) return/pass-it-on/metpahorical/allegorical-based/game of ‘tag’ by the Wakefield Doctrine ( the theory that someday we will totally lighten up and just act spontaneous!)
Michelle Liew introduces us to (this) tradition that is part of the BBG1 culture,  passing along a short list of holiday-philic questions. I will admit that it kinda caught us by surprise, but then again ever since meeting Michelle and them (at the BBG), surprise as been kind of the persistent background state here at the Wakefield Doctrine.  Being a good blogger, the first thing I did when I became aware of being ‘tagged’ by Michelle was to go and read what the other writers had written in response to their being ‘tagged’, lol   (“No, Teacher  I wasn’t really cheating! I was simply sampling the styles and cadence of my neighbors’ answers to your insightful Final Exam! “)
(Thank you, Michelle  I will be adding a list of people to pass these questions on to…as soon as Jimmie hurries up to it and gets done with his test!)
1. What’s the coolest stocking gift you’ve ever received?
 (my first) wrist watch, small enough to fit in  a stocking and I was young enough (7 or 8 yo) to get totally fooled by the misdirection of the large box type gifts under the tree and the stocking hanging on the mantle ( I would like to think I appreciated the lesson, but being male…mid 20th C American culture,  I suspect I did not.)
2. Do you prefer to wrap gifts or use gift bags? (short and easy one)?
Bags!! Totally bags… they so look a lot more on purpose than do my efforts to wrap a present (as long as the gift contained in a square or rectangular box I get the ‘long fold’  nice and even, but when I get to the ends I always end up with a 2 inch thick triangle of wrapping paper sticking out…which with enough tape and brute force, will stay stuck to the bottom  of the package until someone tears it just a little….)
3. What’s the weirdest ornament on your tree?  
(A little plastic Superman… clark….kent?  yeah  my reaction too)
4. What are your thoughts on re-gifting?
 I consider it valid provided the gift is from a semi stranger (work-friends and relatives-from-outside-of-state-lines) and provided it has not been opened  (“why a Bread Maker!! What a nice surprise!! and it already has dough in it!! how very thoughtful!”)
5. Describe the best Christmas morning you’ve ever had.
Every Christmas that our first dog, Ola was with us.

…lets all just sit a while and wonder, who is on the ‘tag list!

 

1) Bloppy Bloggers Group, of course!

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‘…a blogger, a priest and a rabbi are in a life raft’, the Wakefield Doctrine ( so, are you sure the world didn’t end? Alighieri might not have listed *every* circle)

December 22, 2012 By

Welcome to the Wakefield Doctrine (the theory of clarks, scotts and rogers)

You know how we say that the Doctrine is a unique and effective  approach to self-improvement? Well, we mean it. Properly employed, the Doctrine totally allows you to do things you never thought you could or would …or should!  Engaging the challenges found in our daily lives and overcoming our shortcomings is aided, in no small part, by an understanding of the principles of our little personality theory…

Which brings me to the topic/guest of honor of today’s Post, none other than Rich Rumple.
Writer, raconteur,  and (the) voice of cynically-funny wisdom over at a group called ‘the Bloppy Bloggers‘,  Richard was recently given an award for the quality of his writing. A part of that award process required him to find some other blog writers to bring to the attention of the Readers and (members of the BBG). The idea is to identify the under-appreciated writers and those who, for a variety of reasons,  have not received the recognition that they deserve.  …and he also mentioned me.
But an honor is an honor, so I am to pass along to you the names of people who write blogs that you may not have encountered, but will be glad you did.  But first,  about this Rumple guy….

I wrote somewhere that there are certain things in life that most of us do that for some reason tempts us to assume a level of skill that is totally un-substantiated, something to the effect:   “Its funny about how… most of us have had to write an acceptable report at work or for a class and, with the help of spellcheck and a lot of proof reading, but then make the leap to thinking,  ‘so how hard can it be to be a writer? ”

Well Rich is an example of how not true that assumption can be. His experiences as a radio announcer, stand-up comedian, insurance and retail manager, corporate training director, district manager, as a newbie writer, make it is tempting to think, ‘well it’s all there, all the stories and life experiences, all that’s left is typing’!
But what doesn’t show is what makes the difference between a good writer and everyone else, the discipline to practice the art, to hone the skill to make the experiences of life come across as real and enjoyable to read. That is the art that Rich has mastered.

I have a confession to make. This is not the first time for I have been mentioned in such talented company… excellent photographer and Friend of the Doctrine Cyndi hit me up recently with a tag related to such an award. My first reaction was, ‘cool!’ then I was instructed to reveal 7 things about myself that no on knew. Given that I was a relatively a new member of the group that both she and Rich belong to,  my list of 7 things was not difficult. That is no longer the case … so I figured, what the hell,  following are 7 things I didn’t know about me:

  1. a new enjoyment found in exchanging ideas and views of life with total strangers
  2. I get some weird kind of kick from being put in confinement by the Facebook Overseers (for asking people  to be friends at a rate that is in excess of the FB Max participation rate)
  3. that I enjoy being on the Facebook (not just as a convenient nexus to interact with the BBG)
  4. my vocabulary is getting more unwieldly with the constant exposure to people who write good
  5. this ‘things-I-know-about-myself’ idea, while it sounded great in my head, is turning out to be a real bear to finish
  6. despite the benefit of input from people who know what they are doing, I still think that the best way to write a book is to put myself into the situations (in the book) and simply write down everything I  would have done
  7. I am touched by the generosity of semi strangers in this so cool, virtual world of the blogosphere

Ok all done. Need to paste that Award thing, find an image to stick on the front page and I am outta here

(Oh! wait! ) The people who write the kind of stuff that makes me think, “Damn! why can’t I come up with material like that!” Here they are:

Steve Walters  writing at the Money Infant  dude’s a combination of Bob Hartley* Dick Loudon and Chris Kimble (except for professional writer’s tips instead of cooking)

Denise Farley  writing at  Girlie on the Edge you read it, then you find yourself remembering something and have to go back to her blog, to be sure you read what you thought you read.

Melanie Shebel  at Write Aloud I have just started reading her blog, it’s one of those that make me remember to keep it simple and honest and the rest will follow…v good blogation

Lynda Crumplin  I know her from her FB page, a source of interesting and thought-provoking ideas, has me challenging myself every damn time… sort mental aerobics

I am at 900 words.  Me stop now.

*sorry, wrong Bob Newhart character

 

 

 

 

 

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‘Necessarily Imprecise’, the Wakefield Doctrine: Advanced Doctrine 115 (Prerequisite: WD 101, supplemental instruction will be required based on placement scores.)

December 21, 2012 By

Welcome to the Wakefield Doctrine (the theory of clarks, scotts and rogers)

The phrase, ‘necessarily imprecise‘ popped into my mind, as I began to nod-off during a commercial in the middle of ‘the Family Guy’.

I’ve learned, over the relatively short time writing the Wakefield Doctrine blog, that sometimes a cryptic phrase is all you get. The demand for new content in the world of blog writing is insatiable. Where an idea for a Post comes from,  why one thought may take hold in your imagination doesn’t really matter as long as the result of the effort is ‘new content’.  There are two category of blogs, at least there are to a certain class of writer and these are personal blogs and niche blogs ( thanks to Julie DeNeen1 for such an economical and concise classification of the literary zoo that is the blogosphere. The personal blogs are those written about an individual’s observations of everyday life, often the focus is on family life, but can be about having and/or finding a job, or may be a look at everyday life. Humor and insight are the hallmarks of this type of writing. The other category is what (Julie) refers to as the niche blog. These are topic specific and have subject that remains the center of the writer’s attention as long as the blog is being written. The advantage to writing a personal blog is that there is no limit to ideas, the challenge is to find something different to say about (a subject) that is familiar to every Reader. The opposite is true of the niche blogs. The advantage is that the idea, the subject of the blog is clearly defined, the challenge lies in finding ways to, once the explanation is presented, to keep the Reader engaged.
And so our Post today.

The Wakefield Doctrine is a personality theory having, at it’s core, three personality types: clark, scotts and rogers. These types represent the three worldviews that describe how a person relates themselves to the world around them. The difference between the worldview of the Outsider (clark), the Predator (scott) and the Herd Member (roger) is often referred to as ‘how one type will manifest their actions (or) re-actions to the events of life.
There is a saying at the Doctrine: ‘everyone does everything at one time or another, it’s just a question of how that act manifests in the worldview of the individual’.
In the simplest of terms this view can be expressed as:

  • clarks think,
  • scotts act and
  • rogers feel.

Put another way, we would say to you that: clarks live in the reality of the rational/intellectual, a scott’s world is comprised of acts and action and rogers experience the world as emotion. These descriptions are, in the purest sense of the word a shorthand, a way of pointing the attention when we consider the experience(s) of the three personality types.  Now we all know that,  rogers don’t walk around all day crying (at least not all the time), and scotts do not run and shout (at things) and hug and hit (people), ( it just seems that way) and clarks they really don’t think all the time (well… alright, they kinda do).
The point of having this shorthand is to serve as a ‘marker’, a reminder that the person is seeing the world in a way that is different from the way that we might be experiencing it. And the reason we need a ‘marker’ is that the core premise of the Wakefield Doctrine maintains that the three personality types are, in fact, experiencing a (different but ‘knowable’) reality. You know that of the Outsider, the Predator and Herd Member. Well the thing of it is, due to the nature of their respective worldviews, each of the three types express, or as we say, ‘manifest’ themselves in distinctly different ways.

And that is what the phrase in the Title ( necessarily imprecise’) means, that when I interact with a roger and they seem to be upset about something (or happy about something or snidely critical about something) that does not necessarily mean that is how they feel about whatever it is we are discussing! No, it simply means that because I am a clark, and therefore a person who manifests reality in rational/intellectual terms, that is how I interpret what their experience is. And, in the case of a scott, who when asked about how their day at work went, suddenly gets animated and makes a joke that does not seem to relate to anything and then gets overly affectionate. Laughing is the best that a roger can do, given the gap between how a roger experiences the world and how the world is manifested to a scott.

Clear?  Do not worry. As the subtitle implies, this topic is advanced Doctrine and in no way is necessary to enjoy the insights and understanding that is yours when you understand the basic theory of clarks, scotts and rogers. That we all have the capability to experience the world as any of the three types and by doing so we will know more about the other person than they know about themselves!

 

Here at the Doctrine we like give shoutouts on Fridays. So among the excellent writers of personal blogs go read:  Janine, Melanie, Stacy, Amy, Emily, Julie, Richard Rumple, Michelle, Cari, Kate and Terrye   and in them horrifyingly difficult-to-write niche blogs you gots to go read  Cyndi, Steve, Ronin

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Wednesday… the Wakefield Doctrine 30 Minute Radio Hour at 4:00 EST … oh, yeah! and a look at a classic Christmas song… Doctrine-style

December 19, 2012 By

Welcome to the Wakefield Doctrine (the theory of clarks, scotts and rogers)

What a strange and interesting business all this blog writing is!

In the space of 4 years, I have gone from, “write about the Wakefield Doctrine online? as a blog? as if what I’m thinking about is going to be interesting to the total stranger”  to  ” so, you say there are 900 million people in the blogosphere? …that means, (1/2 of 1% tomorrow morning, carry the 7 subtract…) 45 Thousand Hits!!  to  “I don’t care if anyone reads about the Doctrine, I just enjoy the writing”  to  “screw this, no one cares! why the hell didn’t I take up golf?”  to  “holy smoke! a caller on Saturday Night says she thinks the Doctrine is interesting and has some questions” to  “sure, everyone gives away Tee Shirts, it’s sound marketing!”  to  ” a Radio Show? Going on the ‘air’ for 30 minutes a week is good for me? … to show that the Doctrine is a useful tool for self-improvement?  I suppose....”  finally to  “hey! this is an old Christmas Post  lets just re-print it!  What do you mean, not fair?”

…I’ll bet you thought that ‘Winter Wonderland’ (music by Felix Bernard, and lyrics by Richard Smith) was just some old 1940’s, ‘your parents and girls like this song’  kind of Christmas Carole, now didn’t you?

Yesterday morning  one morning, a couple of years ago, I heard the call of the Wakefield Doctrine  (‘…time to write another post’).
At just about this time (that early December morning),  the weather forecast mentioned something about snow later in the day, which from what I could see out the window at my desk was totally believable.
All of a sudden I heard the phrase ‘sleigh bells ring, can’t you (something something) them’  in my head.  Accompanied by just a light hint of the music, that damn catchy music.

To ‘the Google’  and I have the whole story. The actual title of the song, the complete  lyrics, even a link to an mp3.  I listened to an audio clip of the song and that starts the ‘mind-worm’*, and now I’m totally stuck with the song playing in my head.  I immediately realized that my only hope of not having a Christmas Carole plying in my head all day long, is to write a Post about it and put it out on the internet ( this being the virtual reality version of letting the cat who has been scratching and making noise to be let outside, peace and quiet…let the neighbors enjoy the noise).
So I scanned the lyrics for any reference to ‘the sleigh bells’ ( the song fragment that was still cycling in my head) and the line “Later on we’ll conspire” just about jumps out of my computer monitor!

(… a pause, a sip of my coffee, looking over the brim of my cup,  I read all of the lyrics. …. What have we here?)

This classic Holiday song, ‘Winter Wonderland’ very much has my attention.

The lyrics! It is the lyrics that have me, reading and I begin to smile  (I am liking this Richard Smith guy, get weird much, Richard?  thank you! my friend, you’ve just handed me today’s Post!)

Here are the lyrics to this delightful Christmas song:

Sleigh bells ring, are you listening,
In the lane, snow is glistening
A beautiful sight,
We’re happy tonight.
Walking in a winter wonderland. (“ok, nothing strange, it is, in fact, some  fairly attractive imagery, …sort of what we remember about the song.”)

Gone away is the bluebird,
Here to stay is a new bird
He sings a love song,
As we go along,
Walking in a winter wonderland. (“…still safe, expanding the imagery, including local fauna maybe in order to stress seasonal climate changes, …safe …safe.”)

In the meadow we can build a snowman,
Then pretend that he is Parson Brown (“…?!!?”)

He’ll say: Are you married? (“Who exactly are you asking and who the hell is ‘Parson Brown’?”)
We’ll say: No man,
But you can do the job
When you’re in town.(“…wtf !? The ground is beginning to feel decidedly spongy.”)

Later on, we’ll conspire,
As we dream by the fire
To face unafraid,
The plans that we’ve made, (“Yes! The plans! tell about the Plans…tell us about the Plans George…”)
Walking in a winter wonderland.

In the meadow we can build a snowman,
And pretend that he’s a circus clown (“No, there is absolutely nothing funny/charming/cute about a circus clown made of snow, standing alone, not moving…yet”)
We’ll have lots of fun with mister snowman,
Until the other kids knock him down. (Other kids? How old is this person, I mean, he’s talking about marriage for god’s sake!”)

When it snows, ain’t it thrilling,
Though your nose gets a chilling
We’ll frolic and play, the Eskimo way, (Yeah! sure,  eat still warm animal flesh, kiss with our noses and give birth on an ice floe. Merry Christmas, you weird, carole-singing, 27 going on 13 year old)
Walking in a winter wonderland.

One of the main reasons for the ‘re-mix’ Post is that today is Wednesday and Wednesday is the Wakefield Doctrine 30 Minute Radio Hour Day.
For reasons that I trust will be made clear to me at some point in time, I have taken on the challenge of doing what amounts to a 30 minute Live Post!   …on BlogTalkRadio at 4:00pm EST

In any event. Have a good Wednesday wherever you are, I am including a music video, so you can have the song stuck in your head.

(I have to go now, there is a circus clown with coal for eyes and a carrot for a nose on my front lawn and I think he is upset.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K05JWjA0atc

 

*mind-worm: a song (or worse) a fragment of a song that plays in your head, constantly until you want to scream  “…are you listening?”

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(Allegory) Monday at the Wakefield Doctrine … 3 personality types are all you need, you know

December 17, 2012 By

Welcome to the Wakefield Doctrine (the theory of clarks, scotts and roger)

The Wakefield Doctrine is a theory of personality that has three (personality) types called clarks, scotts and rogers. The names refer to the character of the world as the individual experiences it. clarks are living in the world of the outsider, scotts experience the reality of the predator and rogers see the world as from the middle of a herd. Knowing how a person sees the world is the key to understanding them.
The following is the next installment of a story, an allegory, if you will, illustrating the three personality types. To understand how each of the three main characters arrived at the party click on their names: clark, scott or roger. To read the whole story up to this point click here.

Enjoy the Party.

“excuse me…is something wrong?”
Sam was happy and relieved to have made it into the Samba Room without being seen, everyone’s attention, as he anticipated, was focused on the entrance of his boss and that new intern, Jimmie (‘…host and guest of honor, damn! how do they do that?’). Standing safely in the corner just to the right of the entrance, Sam could see the entire room. A bandstand/stage at the far end of the room, the bar was set up halfway along the wall opposite his current position, which was at the head of the buffet table.  A row of white linen tablecloths  and stainless steel serving dishes, the food appeared un-molested, most dishes still covered.  Sam always made it his first priority to understand the layout of the room, where the exits and the bathrooms were, what the most likely (social) convergence points were, only then was it safe to decide what to do about the people. Sam knew that, paradoxically, this spot adjacent to the entrance afforded him the maximum cover, while still permitting a complete range of options. The only problem was that he was not alone.
There was a woman, standing at the ‘rolls and salad’ end of  buffet table, seemingly engaged in arranging the condiments. Despite the inadequate air conditioning, she was wearing a slightly worn cardigan sweater over a  black and pink print dress, and Sam noted, she seemed to have a lacy handkerchief tucked in the cuff of her right sleeve. Moving back towards the wall, Sam could see her in profile, it was  Jen (or Jennie), the Office Administrator. Responsible for everything from paperclips to Post-its,  she,  (Jen or Jennie), was the person every employee had to work with, that is, if they planned on staying at the Company . She took her position seriously and personally. Jen (or Jennie) felt that she owed it to her employer ( she actually thought of the CEO of the Company as her employer ), to make sure that the material and supplies that she was responsible for did not go to waste. She was feared by the newer employees and grudgingly respected by those with any amount of time invested in this Company. And, at the moment, she seemed to be arranging (and re-arranging) the baskets of rolls and aligning the salad tongs, and …crying.  When Sam spoke, Jen (or Jennie) turned to him with an expression on her face that could only be one of relief, somehow that changed to a guarded, but slightly fearful look of assessment as she recognized Sam (‘…come on, Sam this is not worth the effort’)

Alex Delgiudice always enjoys the moment of entering a room, and tonight certainly was no exception. The room was crowded as she walked through the door and it was clear that everyone there found, with her entrance into the Samba Room,  a focus. She felt the energy, the attention that was almost palpable. Alex was the focal point, not just for everyone to look at, but she immediately became the organizing principle, the topic of the conversations of nearly everyone at the party.

( “..no frickin way!  yes, that is her!  Wow!  That Jimmie, aye carumba!  muy potente!!!  Look at the shoes, can you believe it!  That is soo…hawt,  wow and you say she runs the whole M&A Department?? Yeah, I heard she worked under the CEO himself when she first joined the company…if you know what I mean…  How cruel!” )

Violet had surprised herself by standing with a group of people she didn’t know, some were from the Research Department where she worked, but quite a few she only knew from the cafeteria. She had just made her escape from that guy, (Mel?),  telling him that she really had to use the ladies room. He seemed like a nice enough guy and she let him make her promise to find out who the host of the party was and how he managed to escort Ms. Delgiudice. Violet, felt a little guilty about leaving Mel, standing by himself. Once she got away from him, she decided that she might stay at the party just a little longer, no sense going to the trouble of getting all dressed up and then just going home alone…again. She moved in the general direction of the crowd of people who gathered around the M&A Dept Head, Ms. DelGuidice. Violet decided that if she did nothing else tonight, it would all be worthwhile provided she found a way to talk with her hoped-to-be-future-boss before the end of this evening.

Mel stood by himself in front of the bar and surveyed the room. He made a note to himself that he made another good decision (to attend this party). Scanning the room, it looked like everyone from the Company was here! The Host, this Jimmie guy, was clearly a very popular person. Mel marveled at the audacity necessary to, not only arrange for your own birthday party, but to manage to get this many people to show up! Impressive. Looking over in the direction of where the Head of the M&A Dept was being surrounded by partygoers, Mel made a mental note to get over to say hello to Alex. He planned on making the opportunity to get her aside and see what she was like, outside of the business formal office environment at work. He looked around the room for the girl he was just talking to, wondering if she would remember to bring him something back from the buffet table, not seeing her, he moved to join the small group that was standing and watching the band set up on the stage at the far end of the room.

“Goddamn icing better not stick to this outfit!” Wondering why this job was so important to her friend, Meg stood in the kitchen prep area of the Calypso Club staring at the 4 foot birthday cake, a step-ladder standing right next to it. The top of the cake was open.
‘Get in cake …wait for the signal… jump up and yell ‘Happy Birthday”  that sounded simple enough. Almost the easiest $100.00 I’ve earned, Meg laughed to herself. Watching the busboys and cooks stare at her from the prep area, Meg thought how funny it would be if she made them give her a pastry bag to use as a prop.  ‘nah, too easy. Get in, get out‘ the approach had always worked for her. If it weren’t for her best friend being in a jam… ‘but that’s what friends are for, right’? Meg knew that Zoey really needed to keep her job at the agency, so  when she got the phone call asking her to stand in at this birthday party…‘of course!‘ was Meg’s immediate reply. The relief in her friend’s voice was all the thanks she needed,  ‘small payback for what she did last year,  I owe that girl my life‘.
Meg called the escort service and told them that she wouldn’t be available for the night.  Her boss was not happy. There was shouting, of course, she was expecting that, but when he said that the agency had a reservation request from the  CEO of one of the most prominent  companies in town and that Meg was perfect, the perfect girl for the job, she was almost tempted. But friends came first! Screw the old CEO and his cronies, let ’em find a girl on their own!
Making sure the sous chef was watching, smiling to herself ( that trouble smile, her mother used to call it) Meg pulled at the top of her outfit and shouted, “hey! any of you guys here got some glue…or maybe a pastry bag?”

(…to be continued)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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