All for the Best

the glass isn't merely half full, it is full of two entirely different things,just half a glass of each...thank you Dr Pangloss

The girl at Cost Cutters with body art, piercings and blue, blue eyes who runs scissors round my head and kissed my temple when I said  something unexpectedly nice to a sad old woman; the urologist, the phrenologist, my barista, Laurel, and even the man who told of his Auntie Mill who had a three inch hole drilled through an inside door in her her vestibule to facilitate the return of the tennis balls that she hurled down and out of her window for the amusement of the Springers in the courtyard but who learned to her extreme disappointment that more than one gentleman (actually more than two) looked at the thirty-odd inch height of the hole from the floor and mistook it for an invitation to something completely different -- even he, along with the rest of them, can chatter and natter on about (almost) nothing but Cambridge's Behavioral and Brain Sciences article: Intentional systems in cognitive ethology: The “Panglossian paradigm” defended… and I can't take anymore. I'm sorry.

I bet a nickel that J. Isles was not tuned in to Masterpiece Mystery last night or it would not have fallen to me to point out that poor Detective Sergeant James Hathaway of the Oxford PD looked extremely uncomfortable in a single scull and could not make it go as intended.
It was not, as we say, a particularly tender craft.
Hugh Laurie, on the other hand, is the son of an olympic gold medal winning oarsman and a schoolboy champion (Eton -- would't you know) in his own right.

My niece recently returned from a year at Oxford. She was on the rowing team. I couldn't help but think of her during Masterpiece Mystery last night.

Missed Masterpiece theather. I guess Dr. Panglossian would, somehow, see that as a good thing!

Optimism seems like a lost art.  Perhaps Dr. Panglossian needs his own Facebook Page to get his philosophy to the masses. 

Because of circumstances I missed Masterpiece...........d*mn. I love those two. I have the highest, bubbly hopes that the teacher whose room I & my kids are in will bring something besides her usual hotpocket for lunch......................SERIOUSLY.............my head is spinning...........................COOK SOMETHING all ready!.................serenity now..................why can't today be Labor Day part deux???????????????????

Pangloss may have developed his Optimistic-Calculated Risk Perspective as a Child ... He noticed suddenly, after months of experiencing the phenomenon, that when most of the Mothers sent their Children off to School in the mornings, they would wave and sing out a final, "BYE !!!" ... But the Jewish Mothers were urging their Children to, "SELL !!!!!!!"  A case to be made, evidently ... for both Paredolia and Say's Law .......

Ah IVAN.........................you are my final laugh before I get ready to roll, thanks!

Optimism is that which sustains life itself even when you can't imagine another page. It is the opposite of being fatalistic.
But I would baulk at the thought of baseless optimism.....like

...doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result

...thinking Greece will not default when it has spent half its life after 1800s in default

... thinking that the Eurozone will survive when the countries involved in the rescue can't even agree on the workings of the Stability Fund

... when the stock market rallies on zero jobs growth and a continued slump in housing numbers

...wishing for QE3 when all QE2 did was create stagflation (rising prices with no growth)

Maybe Mr Pangloss's name should be Paingloss.....as in gloss-over-(any)-pain..

Ivan, are you safe from the fires raging through Texas? Is there anyone else to be worried about?

Am also watching 911 -day that changed the world (documentary). The horror of that day is stupefying

O, bummer, power out all morning and when it comes back, today's topic does not light my fire. Optimism is buying spring bulbs to plant in my garden.

At 1:37 AM, I ought to have typed shell not scull… a single scull would propel a shell in circles.

It's been  years since I read Candide, in French no less, so I barely remember old Pangloss. But, the term that comes to mind when someone mentions naive optimism is"pollyanna-ism." I'm all for optimism, but I find a true pollyanna tiresome, not to mention unrealistic. YAY, we have buying opprtunities. But if you're worried about how long you'll be able to keep living indoors and buying groceries, you're not likely to run out and snap up a lot of bargains.

Only three things conspired to prevent my ordering the J. Peterman LC-Classic English Blazer on the cheap at $158: side vents - really don't like them; my wife produced a brand new still-in-the-garment-bag as yet unworn blazer about which I had forgotten and the item is out of stock.
Probably the same guy who has us all extra-clicking, forgot to click that item out of the e-catalog.

I'm not a huge water feature fan but Daniel Zev's little clip, "On Lick Run," is pretty cool.

The ongoing and unrealistic desire to eliminate any negativity and stress is producing ill equipped individuals. bwb1952 said it well. Look now, I love to listen to the Blues and somebody paid a price for that song to be so genuine and "bad". That's what makes it good. When I get pushed down a bit, I don't give up or reach for a pill because I don't feel "right" rather I keep plugging until I come out of the funk and into the light. I telling you nothing this side of heaven is one sided- no up no down no bad no good no pain no gain...the list is endless and it never has been about circumstances anyhow it's about the courage and character the person exhibits during good and bad times. This is best expressed when in the middle of a crock of shit, you stop and smile and say C'est la vie. If you learn to put your sword away at the end of the day and are always eager to strap it on the next day then you playfully play this game of life. Serious, yes but only to us mortals.  

So, the check IS in the mail!

"Excellently observed," answered Candide, "but let us cultivate our garden."
I don't know of a better ending.

Not being particularly into self discovery, self realization or self-much-of-anything- else, it has always been important that somebody in the circles in which I operate, remain positive.
If there exists, somewhere, a person without optimism, who maybe considers himself a realist, listen to him: no self-assurance, no confidence in our institutions or the persons who represent us, no faith, no hope and a highly developed sense of whom to blame for everything while accepting no personal responsibility.
If were are not optimistic, then, we are at least a little pessimistic and on our way to becoming more so.
It's a funny thing but most of the remaining optimists we know are pretty much like us: not fat cats by any means but our ribs aren't showing either. When a lot of our friends were taking out second mortgages to finance lifestyles that their incomes could not afford, some of us were paying off the first ones fifteen years early.
Rowing Shells instead of big power or sailboats, short, affordable vacations instead of long grand ones on borrowed money, cash not loans to put our kids through school and no time shares (ever) or cottages until there was cash to pay for them.
A villa in the South of France could not measure up to our family holiday weekends: everybody present, massive amounts of good food- even for the vegans, no worries no hurries and a lot of time to listen, to laugh, to talk and to love it.
The only thing we really have to fear is…. you know.

My sentiments entirely, paolos~ just been to the garden center and traded some of my surplus veg that they sell on a community organic veg stall, for some crazy tulip bulbs, a few crocus and a strange, rather rude thing called Jack in the Pulipit. And done a deal to supply them with snowdrops "in the green" next spring.

paolos ~
I once had an assistant with a penchant for quoting "Candiddy":
"Work keeps at bay three great evils: boredom, vice, and need."
In his case, it was two out of three.

Hazel ~
I remember being sent with a basket full of plants to barter for other ones and being cautioned because the lady was a bit atmospheric, to make sure I got the right items.
"Ma, I have no idea what this green stuff is. What makes you think I'm going to know about her green stuff."

clotheshag ~
Nice late salute to our friend Park4 yesterday.

Stoney~ Why fear the inevitable? My son asked my terminally ill Dad if he was scared. The greatest gift my Dad ever gave him was a few words that took away his fear of death. I wasn't in the room at the time, but I heard them laughing.

I'm in the same camp with Stoney. Somehow I took to heart all the admonishments to live debt-free to the extent possible. Yep, a 15 year mortgage and no seconds, paid-for cars, cash for the kids' college, etc. That approach did well for me.  But, my optismism is still guarded.  If I have nothing to fear but fear itself, then I'm stuck for no reason at all worrying about how to survive with the job ends and I'm forced into early retirement. Will I have the wherewithall to live a simple life? But since I spent this past weekend cultivating my little garden, I suppose I'm an optimist after all.

optimism? is that like standing in the bread-line, and knowing if it gets dropped, it can not land jelly side down?

Maybe being an optimist is: A) being among the 47% of wage earners paying no federal income tax B) complaining that the government needs to raise revenues and C) believing that it won't ever come from you.
Case in point: we, with a retirement income of about 70k or twice that of the average household in our town, thanks to capital gains and other tax breaks were in that 47%.
That does not make a lot of sense.

Excise tax? isn't it on almost everything we buy? Isn't that Federal? Next time you hear that tearing sound  from ®Velcro, think about that orange moustache you developed when you drank  ®Tang.....YUP   we paid for that Space Ship to the Moon....did it with the taxes we paid...now, we have to close schools,post offices,furlough safety workers and first responders....   'jus sayin'

I'm thinkin' those bread lines are not serving toast,& marmalade,on crustless points....

Optimism being a positive state of mind, its more useful flip side might be skepticism or doubtful questioning as opposed to pessimism which is just a negative state of mind.

No toast points? Include me out.

Now it's gone dark, the wind and rain has stopped, the electricity is back on. Coco cat has triggered the outside light and is dancing on her hind legs trying to catch moths. Nothing more optimstic than a cat intent on killing something.

Ivan- Good one!  You should consider writing a book of short biographies on people who ofthen overlooked, such as Pangolssian.
 
Hazel- Is the feline instinct amazing?  As long as he only focues  his anger on meaningless inscets, its a good thing.    

Does anyone know if Martha Stewart is related to Panglossian?

MISS JULIA:  Martha Stewart is not Armenian ... She is, rather, a Summit Example of a WASP ....... Who else would have a Padded Cell, made by Playtex .......
 
CHEFDEB:  Don't believe that, nor either of the other two Lies .......
 
MISS BEBE:  Glad I could lighten your Day !!!
 
ROADYACHT:  An Optimist is a fellow who looks at your eyes ... a Pessimist is a fellow that looks at your Feet .......
 
STONEY:  Can't properly serve the Beluga, without Toast Points ... Obviously, Civility and Decorum have taken a beating from the demise of Common Decency, Good Taste, and Good Breeding ....... Next ... Cold Duck and  MD 20/20 will be considered, "Vintage" Wines and will be Featured at "Queer Eye For Tofu" Burger Stands ... The WWI Song, "My Buddy" will take on a whole new meaning ... Red Beaded Slippers with curl'd Toes and Little Bells, Gold Lame' Pants, Bare Chests and a Rainbow Scarf tied jauntily off to the side of the Neck will become, "Business Casual Attire" ... and it all starts with one little Glisch, one little error and ommission ... Some Slacker of Questionable Gender who forgets the Toast Points .......  A Rum Show, Stoney ... a Rum Show .......

Voltaire like many before and after find it easy to make a mockery of status quo. I have been party to such larks. Also like many there was offered no real quid pro quo and our worldly adventurer is left to a decision- "I should like to know which is worse, to be raped a hundred times by pirates, to have a buttock cut off, to run the gauntlet among the Bulgarians, to be whipped and flogged in an auto-da-fé, to be dissected, to row in a galley, in short, to endure all the miseries through which we have passed, or to remain here doing nothing?" Egads. I shall pursue a workable Plan C.

When the bread lands jelly side down: I just have to laugh really hard at the regularity of bread landing jelly side down.  I've come to pay close attention to falling bread, to stop whatever I'm doing, and make a bet with myself as to whether it will land jelly-down or jelly-up.  It's mostly jellyside down as I said, but just to create excitement sometimes I bet "jelly UP" and if it lands jelly up, it is a day for much rejoicing and raucous laughter and daring do stunts - because of the rarity of the jellyside up landing, the day turns to thoughts of chocolate and cheesecake, and the world is once again as good as it could be, ever was, on that best day that you remember.  ............................And you'll forget about the bread laying there on the floor, you'll pack up your fun stuff, and hit the streets and the parks and the merry go rounds all because of a silly comment you wrote one day on the Eye because optimistically speaking, Alice was right all along about rabbits and clocks and tea parties with toast and jam, and if this hasn't taken your mind off whatever the subject is,you're a better man than I am Gunga Din.

I'm not drunk or drugged, nor do I have any excuse whatsoever for writing the above.  Have you ever known something, some joke or something that even decades later makes you laugh so hard you think you'll burst?  I have such a memory, and it's got to do with jellyside down and it was so funny at the time (circa 1967) that I've been cursed so that whenever I am reminded of the circumstance, I collapse into silliness, hopeless silliness --and I'm done for.   I couldn't and wouldn't try to explain what was so damn funny 40 years ago, I can only say, forgive me for my comment up there, please know that while I do know what I do, I don't really.  You see?  

Let's not forget about Miss Cunegonde, she of the single buttock.

I agree with Spring about the baseless optimism being a fool's errand, and I try to observe the old advice of  "being prepared for the worst while hoping for the best, and being content in the balance."
 
There may be good advice also in the ancient Greek ideal of achieving The Golden Mean.
 
Julia -  To respond to a comment of yesterday :  There ARE bad teachers being defended by their NEA lawyers. Believe it. Somehow, they attended a college with low demands, got a degree with little validity ( yes, there are diploma mills that will give a degree for one's paying the tuition), and get into a classroom on some kind of quota system and exaggerated resumes, and then are not fired bc the teacher performance observation instrument only recommends "remediation" ad infinitum.   If they joined a union, they get all the due process and legal support to keep their jobs. I have observed as a supervisor for such people, and find it extremely unnerving that we cannot fire them. They generally get classes with kids who do not report their inadequacies, and they keep on perpetuating the cycle of ignorance.
 
 As you don't want to believe there are doctors who don't know what they are doing,  but later you see them in the news defending a malpractice lawsuit, there are such teachers. I have seen them. Of course, we don't like to think there are bad jet mechanics (for the plane we are taking), or assembly line workers who leave off auto parts (it has happened), or Scout Leaders who molest kids! We must not be so Pollyanna-ish that we fail to recognize the possibility of bad workers in any given field.
 
 
 
 

We are recovering from 3 days of unrelenting rain from tropical storm Lee as it moved across GA. Just a few miles south of me they lost cars, decks, roofs, and snapped off trees from some accompanying tornadoes: Kennesaw, Woodstock, Canton, BallGround. We missed that excitement, but had our sirens go off 3 times as the sky turned green-gray, rain fell and wind blew, and are grateful for safety.
 
Wish some of this rain were over the drought and fires in Texas and points west. Guess the East coast is still drying out and repairing from Irene, too. Good wishes out to all who are dealing with storm damages. Keep being optimistic there will be no more hurricanes this season, but store the plywood close by.

On yesterday's topic, a concur with Bebe, Park, Tommy, and Stoney in helping out those in need, but expecting non-workers to get on their feet at some point, and yes, the system needs to be fixed so that those making many K's cannot avoid income tax by having some kind of other off-setting deductions. I am on a retired teacher's pension but I still pay thousands in IRS dues!
 
There must be a way to separate the truly sick, truly helpless, and utterly powerless folks on the dole from all the able-bodied leeches. The new proposed electric meters some have described might just do that, as they can keep up with all the activities going on in a home, in the style of Big Brother. But, do we want to be monitored 24/7 in our own domiciles!

PARK4~ There was an advertisement that went TyPhoo put the T in BtiTain. And very nice tea it is.
There is a town named Scunthorpe in England and some smart-ass graffiti-ed on a TyPhoo poster
"Who put the c*** in Scunthorpe?" That was years ago but I still crack up at the mention of that place.
 

You get it.  I've been trying to stop laughing since I wrote it. The other one is "smooth or rough" and - oh shoot.   
  

I mean, you get the laughing thing.  Not that you'd get "smooth or rough."  I just said it to Brian who was there too, I just now said "smooth or rough" and he got this big smile on his face and said 'is there something specific that made you think of that" - now he's laughing in the kitchen.   

KSS:  really?!  Did you see it? or them, or it?  LOL.

I actually remember a sermon preached by a very boring vicar on the subject of optimism. Dear Lord, we were were marched from boarding school, down the High Street in our Sunday hats and school uniform, two by two to church, then back for a dismal lunch of tough meat, lumpy mash and soggy overcooked vegetables. The Vicar's theme for his sermon was (anon) "Two men looked out from prison bars. One saw mud, the other stars." Strange, the things one remembers.
 

It's duvet time in Wales. Nos Da dear people. Nice marrowbone for Floyd left on the train. X

IVAN--at least I am in a good mood most of the day until the mail comes; and I am still the one who when confronted with a pile of manure thinks "There must be a pony!" Its gotten me this far, in spite of evidence to the contrary. Perhaps being raised by an underside of the rock , glass 1/2 empty person who was incapable of finding joy in what was a wonderful life has something to do with it, but I do vote for optimism every time.

Of course I am constantly slapped in the face with my Pollyannaness (here's what the world has come to: my daughter says "Nobody gets" a reference to Pollyanna)but you know what? Tomorrow is another day.

A marrowbone!  He will love that.  I used to buy them for my dog Abby, she'd enjoy it and hide it, and when I found it, I wished I hadn't given it to her, it was rather awful looking.  But Floyd won't make a mess, he's a very clean dog in that regard.  And he's loving Hazel best because she never forgets to leave him something special.  Floyd's a fortunate pooch.   .... Nos Da back at you, "Wildflower."

Optimism is the the man/woman/force that hides behind the curtain which can instill in a person a sense of confidence that is not based on, nor backed up by, common sense or sanity...... It just doesn't pass life's stink test but sometimes makes the highly improbablr.....doable.  

Although fictional........ It was what enabled Ford Prefect (of H2g2.......HHGTTG......... Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy fame) who when ejected from a Vogon Spaceship into the vacuum of deep space, stick his thumb into the air to hithhike a ride on another space vehicle even though the odds against rescue were 22079460346 to 1.

It is also life's Hail Mary, Our Father, and Three Laps Around a Rosary pass into the endzone with half of a second left on the clock and you are down 6 points.

Optimism is that which buys time and often infuses the other side of the brain with enough energy to at least identify and hopefully employ all of the more practical solutions to overcome great odds before letting loose the last arrow in your quiver..... The one with the suction cup instead of a pointy end.

It is being a lifelong Cubs fan who believes that next year is this year, every year...... And that not winning a World Series in over 100 years just means the odds are in their favor.

It is hope on steroids..... Which are legal when you are walking in the valley of fear

Sometimes optimism is just not being smart enough to know that something cannot be accomplished..... I would hire a person like that......

CHEFDEB:  Yeah ... I lose a lot of 'em when I bring out PollyAnna .......

Floyn will use the marrow bone to clean the pizza out from between his teeth. He ordered delivery.....

I think its so nice that Floyd doesn't shed.

He ordered delivery?  Everybody still got their credit cards?