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. . . IMPRESSIONABLE see also: GULLIBLE A very weak-minded fellow, I am afraid, and, like a feather pillow, bears the marks of the last person who sat on him! --Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig (1861-1928) British soldier and senior commander during World War I (Describing the 17th Earl of Derby.)  . . Sometimes a neighbor whom we have disliked a lifetime for his arrogance and conceit lets fall a single commonplace remark that shows us another side, another man really; a man uncertain, puzzled and in the dark like ourselves. --Willa Silbert Cather (1873-1947) American novelist, _Shadows on the Rock_ [1931] Thou hast seen nothing yet. --Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616) Spanish novelist, _Don Quixote de la Mancha_ [1605-1615] Pt. 1 [1605], bk. 3, ch. 9, p. 162; tr. [1700-1703] Peter Anthony Motteux. Page numbers are those of the Modern Library Giant edition. As pines keep the shape of the wind even when the wind has fled and is no longer there, so words guard the shape of man even when the man has fled and is no longer there. --George Seferis [Giorgios Stylianou Seferiades] (1900-1971) Greek poet, essayist, and diplomat who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1963, _On Stage_ [1966] ^ From a 1984 edition of 'The Wall Street Journal.' HOW TO GAIN STATUS AND INTIMIDATE PEOPLE Are you losing the race to keep up with the Joneses? Or worse, do you feel as if it just isn'tworth the effort anymore? Don't be discouraged. Confidence is the key to success in any endeavor, but achieving just the right balance of competitive desire and cool self-assurance can be tricky. So is projecting an image that will awe your subordinates and mystify your rivals. It's especially difficult when your personal budget demands that you exist on a diet of baked beans and generic cola. We think we've solved the problem with a list of tips that will get your confidence level back up to par, at minimum personal expense. Just remember that moxie can be as important as money when it comes to looking good. 1. Carry a foreign-language newspaper in your briefcase. When sitting at a bar, take out the paper and scan the pages with a serious expression. It's important to pick a difficult language for the gambit, something other than French, German or Spanish. Those could get you in trouble if some exchange student calls your bluff. 2. Keep an old telephone in your car under the front seat. When driving, hold the receiver up to your ear and act as if you were talking to someone on the other end. if stopped at a busy intersection, roll down your window so pedestrians can hear the conversation. Then, in a loud, demanding voice, say things such as, "Tell Harris we need that building! Tell him to offer 50 million, straight cash, whatever it takes!" 3. Use expensive containers to dispose of household trash. When you visit a store such as Neiman-Marcus (we buy all of our pencils there) pick up a couple of extra shopping bags. Several times a month you should fill one with garbage and place it on the curb with your other household rubbish. Make sure the name of the store is clearly visible from the street. 4. Wear T-shirts commemorating fantastic events of physical endurance. Most towns now have these stores where you can print messages on shirts. Simply order one up with the inscription, "Snow Madness Run, Butte-Great Falls December 1981." When people ask why they've never heard about such a grueling race, say, "Oh, we only ran it once, 12 of us got together and just went for it. Never could get any sane group to sanction it." 5. Mount extra clocks on your office walls. Label each one with the name of an international capital (Lima, Bonn, Canberra) and check them periodically when talking with a client. 6. Keep mysterious items in the glove compartment of your car. Instead of the usual mess of tissues, loose change and old sunglasses, you should have at least two of the following articles: a slide rule, a map of the London subway system, an English-Swahili dictionary, a small jar of litmus paper or a prism. When a passenger discovers the items, shrug and say something like, "Oh, just some things for this project I'm thinking about..." and then close the compartment smartly, to show the conversation is not going any further. 7. Print your own wine labels. This is fairly risky and is a ploy that should only be used when you really want to play hardball. ...Grab a few bottles of your favorite generic vintage from the local Econo-Mart, soak the labels off and paste on your own. Getting them designed shouldn't be difficult. Chances are that you know of a graphic artist who's struggling to the same degree as yourself. For a small fee or a large lasagna, he or she can come up with a private reserve label just for you, from folksy wine cellar to expensive foreign vineyards, to suit any occasion.  IMPROVEMENT . . see: "PROGRESS" He that wrestles with us strengthens our nerves and sharpens our skill. Our antagonist is our helper. --Edmund Burke (1729-1797) Irish-born Whig politician and man of letters. _Reflections on the Revolution in France_, p. 453. I'll turn over a new leaf. --Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616) Spanish novelist. _Don Quixote de la Mancha_ [1605-1615] Pt. 2 [1615], bk. 3, ch. 13, p. 524; tr. [1700-1703] Peter Anthony Motteux. Page numbers are those of the Modern Library Giant edition. It is better to light one candle than to curse the darkness. --Chinese proverb If man is not rising upwards to be an angel, depend on it, he is sinking downwards to be a devil. He cannot stop at the beast. --Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834) English poet, critic, and philosopher. _Table Talk_ [30 August 1833] He's turned his life around. He used to be depressed and miserable. Now he's miserable and depressed. --Sir David Paradine Frost (1939- ) British television host. Most people are mirrors, reflecting the moods and emotions of the times; few are windows, bringing light to bear on the dark corners where troubles fester. The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows. --Sydney J. Harris (1917-1986) American journalist. There are two kinds of fools: one says, 'This is old, therefore it is good'; the other says, 'This is new, therefore it is better.' --William Ralph Inge (1860-1954) English writer and Dean of St. Paul's [1911-1934]. We're going to turn this team around 360 degrees. --Jason Kidd (1973- ) American professional basketball player. You see things; and you say, 'Why?' But I dream things that never were; and I say, 'Why not?'" --George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) Irish comic dramatist, literary critic, Socialist propagandist, and winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1925. "Back to Methuselah" [1921] No matter how far you have gone on the wrong road, turn back. --Turkish proverb ----- ameliorate uh-MEEL-yuh-rayt, transitive verb: To make better; to improve. edification (noun) Intellectual, moral, or spiritual improvement; enlightenment. . . see: "IMMATURITY" ^ Walter Savage Landor (1775-1864) British poet, essayist, and critic. Landor's cook displeased his master one day by serving an indifferent meal. Landor in a passion threw him through an open window. The cook landed awkwardly in the flower bed below and broke a limb. Landor cried out, 'Good God, I forgot the violets!' --_Bartlett's Book of Anecdotes_ edited by Clifton Fadiman and André Bernard [2000 ed.] ^ Don't throw away the old bucket until you know whether the new one holds water. --Swedish Proverb ----- quixotic kwik-SAH-tik, adjective: 1. Caught up in the romance of noble deeds and the pursuit of unreachable goals; foolishly impractical especially in the pursuit of ideals. 2. Capricious; impulsive; unpredictable. Ex.: He is buying up commercial buildings in his hometown of Archer City and filling them with used books -- hundreds of thousands of used books gathered from all over the country -- as part of a quixotic scheme to turn this sleepy rural community into a mecca for book lovers. --Mark Horowitz, "Larry McMurtry's Dream Job," _New York Times_ [7 December 1997] Quixotic refers to the eccentric, generous idealism of Don Quixote, the hero of a satiric romance by Miguel de Cervantes. . . see "INDIFFERENCE" for related links The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing. --attributed to Edmund Burke (1729-1797) Irish-born Whig politician and man of letters Throughout history it has been the inaction of those who could have acted, the indifference of those who should have known better, the silence of the voice of justice when it mattered most, that has made it possible for evil to triumph. --Haile Selassie I [Tafari Makonnen] (1892-1975) Emperor of Ethiopia [1930-1974] Iron rusts from disuse; stagnant water loses its purity and in cold weather becomes frozen; even so does inaction sap the vigor of the mind. --Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) Florentine painter, sculptor, musician, and scientist _The Notebooks_ [1508-1518], tr. Edward MacCurdy, vol 1, ch. 2 - Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends than that good men should look on and do nothing. --John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) English philosopher and social reformer, "On Education," inaugural address on being installed as rector, University of St. Andrews, Scotland [1 February 1867] A person may cause evil to others not only by his actions but by his inaction, and in either case he is justly accountable to them for the injury. --John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) English philosopher and social reformer - It is not only for what we do that we are held responsible, but also for what we do not do. --Jean Molière [Jean Baptiste Poquelin] (1622-1673) French comic dramatist ----- gongoozler (noun) ['gahng-guz-lê(r)] An idle on-looker, a kibbitzer; someone who stares protractedly at anything. moribund MOR-uh-bund, adjective: 1. In a dying state; dying; at the point of death. 2. Becoming obsolete or inactive. otiose (adj.) ['o-tee-os or 'o-dee-os (US)] Serving no useful purpose; being at leisure or ease, idle, inactive, unemployed. . . see: "IDLENESS" see: "LAZINESS" see: "REST" Iron rusts from disuse; stagnant water loses its purity and, in cold, water becomes frozen; even so does inaction sap the vigor of the mind. --Leonardo da Vinci (1452—1519) Florentine painter, sculptor, musician, and scientist By too much sitting still, the body becomes unhealthy; and soon the mind. --Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807—1882) American poet, _Hyperion_ [1839] ----- abeyance (noun) [ê-'bey-ênts] Suspension, temporary inactivity. . . see: "IMMORALITY" So eager are we not to be the kind of rubes unsettled by provocateurs like Lenny Bruce or Richard Pryor, so indulgent are we--in this peaceful prosperous new century--of anything that at least doesn't bore us, that we're unnecessarily tolerant of raunch. The notion of indecency has become obsolete. --Lisa Schwarzbaum _Entertainment Weekly_ [11 August 2000] ----- innuendo (noun) An indirect remark or gesture that usually carries a suggestion of impropriety  INDECISION . . see: "CHOICES" see: "DECISIONS" see: "PROCRASTINATION" People say I'm indecisive, but I don't know about that. --George H. W. Bush (1924- ) American Republican statesman and President [1989-1993]. (Tongue-in-cheek remark before the Gridiron Club, Washington [1 April 1989]). A very weak-minded fellow I am afraid, and, like the feather pillow, bears the marks of the last person who has sat on him! (of Lord Derby) --Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig (1861-1928) British soldier and senior commander during World War I. Letter to Lady Haig [14 January 1918]. There is no more miserable human being than one in whom nothing is habitual but indecision. --William James (1842-1910) American philosopher. _The Principles of Psychology_ [1890] A lobster, when left high and dry among the rock, does not have the sense enough to work his way back to the sea, but waits for the sea to come to him. If it does not come, he remains where he is and dies, although the slightest effort would enable him to reach the waves, which are perhaps within a yard of him. The world is full of human lobsters; people stranded on the rocks of indecision and procrastination, who, instead of putting forth their own energies, are waiting for some grand billow of good fortune to set them afloat. --Orison Swett Marden (1848-1924) Editor, Success Magazine. The man I worry about is the man who hasn't taken any position. --Ross Perot (1930- ) American businessman, philanthropist, and independent candidate for U.S. president in 1992 and 1996. In "Personality: The Odyssey of Ross Perot" _Time_ [12 January 1970]. Nothing is so exhausting as indecision, and nothing is so futile. --Bertrand Russell (1872—1970) British philosopher, mathematician, and Nobel laureate. _The Conquest of Happiness_ [1930] "I'm not indecisive. Am I indecisive?" --Jim Scheibel, mayor of St. Paul, Minnesota. Standing in the middle of the road is very dangerous; you get knocked down by traffic from both sides. --Margaret Thatcher (1925- ) British conservative stateswoman and Prime Minister [1979-1990]. I must have a prodigious quantity of mind; it takes me as much as a week, sometimes, to make it up. --Mark Twain [Samuel Langhorne Clemens] (1835-1910) American humorist, novelist, journalist, and river pilot. _The Innocents Abroad_ [1869] ----- quandary (noun) Dilemma: a state of uncertainty or indecision as to what to do in a particular situation end page | IDAHO - IDIOTS | IDLENESS - IMMATURITY | IMMIGRATION & IMMORALITY | IMMORTALITY - IMPOSTORS | IMPRESSIONABLE - INDECISION | INDEPENDENCE - INDIANA | INDIFFERENCE - INDIVIDUALITY | INDOCTRINATION - INFORMATION | INGRATITUDE - INNOVATION | INNUENDO - INSPIRATION | INSULTS - INTENTIONS | INTERESTED(ING) - INTUITION | INVENTIONS - ITCHING | JACKSON - JOGGING | JOHNSON (LYNDON) - JOY | JOURNALISM | JUDGE (TO) - JUSTICE | | H | I - J | K - L | M | N - O | P - Q | | Return Home | The Credits | The Cast | Act 1 | Act 2 | Act 3 | The End | The Reviews | Photos | |
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