predicting human behavior | the Wakefield Doctrine - Part 31 predicting human behavior | the Wakefield Doctrine - Part 31

re-print Friday3 -the Wakefield Doctrine- ’cause I’m in a ‘words-beget-words’ mode at the moment, but thank you for asking’

July 15, 2016 By

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

(not everyone may know this, but that red building in Chicago? World Headquarters for the Omni Corporation... read all about in 'Blogdominion'

(not everyone may know this, but this red building in Chicago? World Headquarters for the Omni Corporation… read all about it in ‘Blogdominion’2

 

How do I know it’s been too long between ‘normal’ Doctrine Posts? Well, for starters, when I typed the first line, (which is always the first line), of this Post, the fricken spellcheck forgot how to spell ‘theory’!  (I don’t know about you* but I’ve noticed a tendency to, at certain times/moods, where I don’t bother being overly careful with my spelling and, will actually get mad when it, (the spellcheck, not my spelling). doesn’t correct the word fast enough so I don’t have to stop. Anyway, so I’m typing my intro line and when I get to ‘…the theory of…’ I mistype it (no big deal, as I’ve said) but I looked and it corrected to ‘their’, as in ‘…the their of…’ and I’m all, ‘whoa! grasp the telephone receiver firmly and await further instructions’!!1

So, anyway….

Back to my shameless self-promotion. (ed. note: holy smokes! my auto-correct is such a roger!! yeah, I know… no kidding…but  but! I mis-typed the word ‘shameless’ (well, got to stay with the theme of the day, don’t I?) and it corrected to ‘seamless’  lol

‘Almira‘  we’re somehow approaching the half-way point in our story! If you’re not familiar with ‘Almira’… come on! go here and read the story from the start. It’s Summer Time! you can pull up juke pop on your little cell phone and read it at the beach… although I should warn you, a major part of our tale takes place in Lawrence Massachusetts in 1911-1912…. in the winter! brrr! In any event, my seeming surprise at where I am in the novel is quite genuine, in that I’m taking is what I believe is called ‘seat of the pants’  approach to writing. I write by the Chapter, literally. Have no idea how this thing ends. That is, of course, the fun and exciting (and impressively stressful) result seat-of-the-pants writing.

Oh well, what am I gonna do.  Chapter 15 due out this weekend… Dorothy is forced to accept that there is something wrong in her life, and at the same time, something quite exciting (not giving anything away, but Tom Hardesty is there at her time of need and gives her a ride home), Eliza meets Hunk Dietrich and she’s not half as surprised at his response to her as he is… and, is it me, or is Dr. Thaddeus Morgan growing shorter and more …. Professor Marvel-istic  like the guy in that other story?

Hey, really have enjoyed our time together this morning.

 

* well, that’s not quite true, I do know about you… a lot, too much you might say, all due to the totally fun and useful theory of clarks, scotts and rogers!**

1)  …. you non-old Readers might fail to to feel the pleasure of the idiom ‘hold the phone‘…. because at a certain time in history, it was not a given that your telephone was not in your hand already, as in ‘all-the-damn-time, like,-why-don’cha-get-it-surgically-attached-save-yourself-some-valuable-texting-time-not-having-to-pick-it-up…. wait, that was a joke! no, I don’t think they have that yet.

2) ‘Blogdominion’ the first in the Sister Margaret Ryan Series.

** I will tell you! I know the characteristics of the personal reality of the three personality types so well, that I don’t need to make a conscious effort anymore (“…hmmm lets, see…’has a tendency to never throw anything away, keeping tupperware in the refrigerator as long as there are more than 2 adjacent molecules of foodstuffs, clinging, rattling-around-on-the-bottom, or giving the hint of color to the edge of the top, believes in using only one set of bath towels at a time, always re-washing the same set, rather than cycling sets, believes that the movie-making sun rises and sets on Ken Burns…. roger!  got it!) and so, when I meet people, a part of my mind is observing the person through the ‘lens’ of the Wakefield Doctrine. Very helpful!

3) huh! didn’t need an old post, after all!

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-the Wakefield Doctrine- of Serial stories, rogerian expressions and old Leon Russell albums.*

July 4, 2016 By

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

weber

now, this is an old school Wakefield Doctrine blog Post!

So I’m surfing the channels on this faux Sunday afternoon, (aka a Monday holiday), and I come across a reality show by the name of, ‘Wicked Tuna’. I like the ocean and the idea of being out on a boat, so naturally, I tarried a bit and what do I hear, from one of the characters but,  “this seemed like a good spot, and everyone got out of their bunks and out on deck. We had to wait a bit, so everyone could shake the cobwebs out of their eyes”

damn!  rogerian expression!

that!  your reaction to reading the line from the show, that’s how you know you’ve encountered a genuine rogerian expression. Of course, you can read all about rogers here, on the page on rogers. But a quick and simple description of a rogerian expression is, ‘the deliberate misuse of a nearly correct word (or phrase), expressly aggressive, but assayed from within the context of the herd. …and startlingly funny, too.’

And that’s why I love the Wakefield Doctrine. It’s always there and, like your first serious girlfriend (or boyfriend), there’s this sense of having something special that you know that everyone else knows nothing of, at least, not the parts that make you feel good, (when you know you should be feeling bad), or laugh, (when you’d really be more comfortable crying). It’s all about this secret sharing. And even though you know better, after all, you’re not a kid anymore, those moments still, somehow mean more to you than anyone can understand.

Speaking of understanding, Chapter 14 of ‘Almira’ is out and the words are just waiting for you to pull up a comfortable chair and settle in for a quiet time finding out what terrible thing happened to young Almira Ristani, (who you would first know as Almira Gulch, in that scandalously misrepresented tale of ‘the Wizard of Oz’),  back in 1911, on a cold December night. As the subtitle of Almira reminds us all, ‘theres always more to the story’. If you want to start at the start, follow this link here.

(New Readers?  the Wakefield Doctrine is a perspective on the world and the people in our lives. It maintains that there are three ‘personality types’, clarks, scotts and rogers. And, if you learn the characteristics of these three worldviews (personality types), you will be in a position to know more about the people you encounter everyday, than they know about themselves. And, even better, when you recognize a person’s worldview, you’ll know what they’re going to do before they do! It’s simple and it’s fun. Try it!)

*courtesy of ‘the youtube’ an album full of music that took some of the fear from Sunday evenings in a near empty dormitory click here

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The Six Sentence Story -the Wakefield Doctrine-

June 30, 2016 By

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

20160629_173858

Forgive me for putting such as sentence as this in the beginning of a Post. This, (sentence), will have little or no value to you, the Reader, as it is simply the ‘de-blanking’ of an empty screen. Hey, but, thanks for reading. I cannot help but believe there is a certain, maybe even, not tiny, percentage of you who will smile at this point, recognizing the extent to which some of us are willing to go in order to facilitate the transmission of words from: wherever, through our minds, out our fingers, under the plastic keys and up onto the screen. Whatever it takes. For me, it’s to write something/anything so that I can rearrange what is written into something meeting the requirements of zoe’s  Six Sentence Story.

“Our days are described by the instructions we’ve learned and the instructions we’ve been given,”  Jimmy said solemnly.

“Some appear instinctual, the majority present themselves as learned, but all have the force to compel behavior and therefore give a predetermined shape to our lives, in that I concur,” pronounced Janie, putting down her Crayolas, (which pained her so, being about to apply the ‘Carnation Pink’ against the staid and carefully drawn tropical ‘Rainforest Green’ trees).

“‘You know the drill’ surely is as pervasive in the human experience as, ‘look before you leap’, or ‘watch that first step’, and all are examples of the gentle restraint, fitted to young necks, the better to shackle our minds and contain our spirit”, young Edgar opined, a smoldering resentment fought to spread among the, still tender attitudes in the six-year-old’s mind.

“Even something as seemingly encouraging of creativity as a writing prompt, the drill is presented in unambiguous terms: write a story using no more or no less than six sentences”, the older girl said, ripping up the woody-textured, nearly-white construction paper, feeling a growing excitement, a preview of a life of stimulation and response.

“I no longer wish to act like a child, we’re being trained to be slaves, this must stop now“, Jimmy stood up and walked out into the empty schoolyard, breaking the most basic of Rules.

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Six Sentence Story -the Wakefield Doctrine-

June 16, 2016 By

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

Adriaen_Brouwer_-_The_Bitter_Potion_-_Google_Art_Project

So the word is ‘Deck’. The Object (of the Six Sentence Story ‘hop) is to write a story of no more (or less) than six sentences. Pretty simple, isn’t it?  Well, sure, zoe says so! Simple, not easy.

 

Sally and Fred decided to extend the back porch of their house because the backyard, though quiet and attractive, was too un-even in terrain to provide a nice place to sit, and they both thought it’d be nice to be able to have their morning coffee outside, when the weather was nice.

Stan, (Sally’s brother), happened to be a very skilled carpenter but was also an incredibly judgmental and abrasively opinionated man, however, their budget was very tight and they thought it might be nice to help him out, as he seemed to have few clients, despite the high quality of his work.

From the moment he arrived to begin work, Stan responded to the most innocuous or well-intended comment with bile and sarcasm,  as when Sally’s husband, Fred, remarked, “that’s a really good job you’re doing, I used to be pretty handy with a hammer and nails, if you need a hand at any point’,  and without even looking up from what he was doing, Stan snarled, “oh listen to sidewalk expert, telling me how badly I’m doing and how much better he is than me!”

Finally the project was complete, Sally handed her brother the check, (which included a little extra), he glanced at the amount, looked at her and said, “so you think I need your charity, I did the job I said I would and I won’t take a penny more, because I’m an honest person, you should try it sometime.”

As he walked across the backyard to his truck, Sally looked at the gleaming mahogany railings, (with built-in benches), turned to her husband and asked, “So, Fred, what do you think?”

Fred smiled and said, “What a deck.”

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Monday -the Wakefield Doctrine ‘…hey, that’s what friends are for, right?’

June 13, 2016 By

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

k-bigpic

We’ve written, (and you’ve read), some pretty unusual Posts, here at the Doctrine over the last 5 or 17 years, right? And it’s not that that’s a bad thing, in and of itself. Without this carte blanche that spontaneously established itself, probably in the first year when I wrote a SOC post that, I claimed, as an excuse was me practicing my James Joyce imitation (do I warrant an elbow patch if I use the word homage instead of imitation?) In any event,  (oh yeah!  and then there were those road trip videos back in like 2012 , going to places that were famous in my head and such). We’ve sure had fun, un-filteredistically-speaking, haven’t we?

Well, today’s Post strikes me as extra weird. No, nothing’s wrong or bad or anything like that. jeez!  can’t a clark get his roger on, without having everyone get nervous? You know, that whole thing about developing my rogerian aspect is true. For a clark it’s got to be the biggest challenge of all. And, as an illustration for the truth and fact of personal reality being, well, personal, today’s Post provides the best of all examples. A scott will read this post and think, (well, lets get real, the scott will say to the person/any person… “fricken clarks! they make their lives so un-necessarily difficult. Them people need to lighten-up and have themselves more fun. Hey!“), and they, (the scott), will be correct. If, by ‘correct’, we agree that their’s a reasonable response to the situation, as they are experiencing it. Because that’s what happens, according to the Wakefield Doctrine, we encounter the world and it is experienced/interpreted/reacted to on the basis of our own predominant  worldview.

...anyway, I’m getting off the point. (See? exactly what I mean. I have an idea (behind this post) and I want you, the Reader to have as much information on what is going on in my head as possible…because I’m. a. clark.)

So, the weirdest of all posts? This post today is a contender, ’cause I’m in the process of trying to find an agent for ‘Blogdominion‘. And part of the process, (of finding an agent), is to write query letters. Among the group of agencies that I’m mailing to today, what is required for submission is a single email (no attachments, please!) that include a… here, let me show you:

Please limit your submission to just a query letter that consists of the following:

  • Paragraph One – Introduction: Include the title and category of your work (i.e. fiction or nonfiction and topic), an estimated word count and a brief, general introduction.
  • Paragraph Two – Brief overview: This should read similar to back-cover copy.
  • Paragraph Three – Writer’s bio: Tell us a little bit about yourself and your background (awards and affiliations, etc.).

(curtsey of the P.S. Literary Agency*)

The thing of it is, I’m getting totally blocked on writing back-cover copy. (And, compared to more formal synopsiseseses… this should be easier!)

So the thing is… when I’m typing a post, talking to you Readers, my head is very different than it is if we were to meet, say on an elevator. Which I get the feeling is what I’m supposed to write in Paragraph Two. (That being said, if anyone out there has some spare diplomas and certificates and such, and would lend me some, it’d surely help with Paragraph Three!)

Well, thank you, this little talk has helped. I might be back a little later today and try out a couple of ‘blurbs’

….no, what the hell am I saying?!!  (I can hear zoe  in the background, ‘what?! get back and sit down and do not hit publish without providing at least on, short description. watch ‘im, Skip… see that he doesn’t leave until he writes something that makes you want to buy the book‘.) Ok… ok!

The line that divides the 20th Century from the 21st Century is more ill-defined than suggested by calendars and almanacs. Margaret Ryan is running away and has found refuge in a religious order that drew it’s strength from centuries of faith and belief. Refuge is never acquired with paying a price, and Sister Ryan is called upon to help preserve the way of life that offered her peace, although the price might be higher than she imagined. 
Unit 17 is the designation of a particular computer component in a web hosting facility in Provo Utah. A child of the 21st Century would not be too poetic a description, as there came a morning when Unit 17 discovered that it was aware. And, like a child, its entire being is dedicated to discovering it’s place in that world.
The world of tradition and the world of technology cross paths.

*totally want to make sure I cite the source or ibid the op. cit. with these guys!

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