Hi.

May/day has several meanings associated with it.  The one I am most interested in – and the one that is most relevant to my site –  is the “Mayday!” you scream when you want HELP.  And to understand why HELP is so fundamental to this site and my skills, I have a truth to tell you.

However, if that’s not of interest right now, let me tell you a story instead.  It’s called ‘The May/Day Dichotomy’.

“Mayday!” The dictionary definition is that it’s a distress call when someone is in grave and imminent danger and requires immediate assistance – typically, when there is fire, explosion or sinking involved.  I frequently have problems like that =(:(|)  “Mayday!” originates from 1923, a time when air traffic was just starting to be a reality in the skies, especially between airfields in Northern France and Southern England.  Quick thinking Fred Mockford, a radio officer at Croydon Airport on the outskirts of London, was the noble originator of the phrase.  When asked to think of something that would be understood in an emergency by all pilots and ground crews, he came up with a bastardization (nice one, Fred) of the French phrase “venez m’aider”, which means “come and help me!”.  Help me! Help me! Help me!,  actually… because proper radio protocol is to say “Mayday!” three times.

May Day.  A celebration of the international labour movement and left-wing movements in most of the world except the U.S. and Canada .  Since N. Americans don’t celebrate it, it’s ironic that it’s a commemoration of a tragedy on May 1 in Chicago in 1886 – the Haymarket Massacre.  Someone threw a bomb during a strike for workers’ rights and, in the ensuing confusion, the police opened fire and killed a bunch more people than the bomb did – including some of their own.  Ouch!  It was a classic example of incompetence all round, and a sad day for the State versus the people.  At a meeting in Paris on July 14, 1889 - (yes, Bastille Day… exactly one century since the French Revolution kicked off) a M. Raymond Lavigne, proposed an anniversary day for the Chicago protests.  The U.S. went along with it for a few years, but then Grover Cleveland created Labour Day in September. He liked the idea of a day to celebrate the… ahem… “worker”, but he didn’t like the fact that the May day/date glorified a massacre that made the State look bad. Ha!

But… I know you’ve been waiting for this… there’s a third definition for May/Day, which actually makes a trichotomy… not a dichotomy (iPrimate believes in threes).  See, you come to my site, and you get more than advertised.  That’s customer satisfaction.  Just like Walmart!

As all maypole whirlers and Morris dancers know, May Day is a rite of spring that dates back to pagan times and the festival of Beltane.  Beltane (May Day) is exactly six months from Samhain (Halloween).  The sister festivals honour what are arguably the two most important times of the year - the end of October heralding the death of summer  just as surely as the beginning of May is its rebirth.  Fertility is a key theme, and the maypole itself has clear, phallic overtones. ” Oh, ye Gods… make it a fruitful time, please!”  Now that April is gone, it looks like the gods have finally heard us, and we should all be dancing around the maypole in the sunshine soon.  Please!  May Day is past and gone. Mayday!

Which brings me back to my original statement about HELP being the fundamental basis of this site.  If you’d like an explanation that allows you to consider the truth of that statement. Follow me.

Or not.  Explore the site.  You’ll figure it out.

Read me.

Please.

Whatever it was – notebook, sketchbook, workbook, daybook – my journal expressed my view(s) of the world. And it was a labour of love (i.e. I didn’t get paid for it). The first part of it chronicles a trip I was on across Northern Ontario. I was a member of a small, moderately successful theatre company from Toronto, called Studio Lab Theatre, and we were on tour – a small town tour that took us to more than 40 Ontario locations in about 6 weeks. The gig was a good one. Funded by the education system, it was part of the principled effort to bring (big city) culture to (small town) communities. We played the schools. We traveled in 2 Volkswagen buses, and set up our collapsible stage in school gyms across the province. Sometimes, we did two shows a day.  It was intense.  And it was idyllic (on a good day:)

It was children’s theatre.  Twice a year, we developed, rehearsed and produced a play, took it out on the road, and played to some of the most appreciative audiences you’d ever have the pleasure of meeting. Hey, if you lived on the lovely, lonely shores of Lake Superior, 10 miles from the nearest convenience store, and you got the chance to skip math class to see a slightly zany version of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ performed by a bunch of hippies from the city, you’d be an appreciative audience!  Here’s another page from the journal:

Studio Lab Theatre was my introduction to earning my living by being creative… and being dramatic. And it was my introduction to journal writing.

Fast forward to now, and perhaps the most world-changing thing that has happened is the democratization of computing. There were computers around in the 70’s, but they were in sealed rooms attended by white-coated boffins.  Today, we’re swimming in technology.

Accordingly, the concept of a journal has been advanced a hundredfold.  I keep a journal today that is a pretty amazing thing.  It’s so amazing that I can’t even properly represent it in these pages on the web… but I’m going to try.

I started working with Microsoft in 1993.  Or, more correctly, Microsoft started working with me as a supplier of creative ideas and implementation of same.  One claim to fame I have that marks me as a true MSFT insider is that in March 1995, I launched Microsoft BOB with my friends at Microsoft Canada.  Those people who are saying to themselves “Microsoft BOB??” are not Microsoft insiders. The rest of us are. All hail, Bob!  Honoured by TIME magazine as one of the 50 Worst Inventions of all time, your wife-to-be, Melinda, was one of the marketing geniuses who originally worked on it.  Wisely, she moved from Bob to Bill when the time was right.

Launching products is one of the things I’ve done diligently for you, Bill.  I launched Windows 95, for goodness’ sake - with a 328 ft. banner down the side of the CN Tower, and you and Jay Leno videoconferenced in from Redmond.  I launched Windows XP with mythical hang-gliders and a wild party in a tent in the middle of a hurricane.  I launched MSN.  You’ve let me do a lot of crazy things on your dime, Bill, and that’s one of the reasons I love you.

Here’s a true story.  In 1997, I’m in a creative session at the advertising agency that has your business in Canada. It’s not my session (or my agency… anymore); I’m sitting in because the head honcho dude-with-attitude has asked me to, knowing that I know something about Microsoft.  Typically, everyone starts by dissing the client, and making jokes at your expense, Bill.  Well, don’t I just quietly, but earnestly start telling the assembled company how most people have completely got “the wrong idea about Bill.  He’s really an innocent, genius savant who… like many geniuses… is just a little out of touch with the norms by which other people live… etc.”  And the dude with attitude turns to me, and says “Like, man… are you having Bill’s baby, or what?”  At which, the whole room dissolves into derisive laughter, and I think I remember running for the washroom clutching my handkerchief.

The truth of the matter is that in 1997, I loved what you stood for – that passion that you intrinsically had (and still have) for a ‘computer in every home and on every desk’.  That vision was the genesis of everything we have today.    All that fighting and and arguing and unhappiness that started in 1998 between Microsoft and the DOJ… it almost seems like a tinder box now.  Next, the tech bubble burst, and then we dived straight into that dire, damn Noughties decade (2000-2010).   It took the love out of Microsoft when you left, Bill.  Just as it may take the love out of Apple now that Steve is gone.  That remains to be seen.  However, you have something that Steve will never have – the opportunity to make a comeback.  Oh… yes I know you are doing difficult, much more important work with your Foundation, and we definitely don’t want to see you pull back there.  However, I think there’s a way you can have your cake and eat it, too.   Hear me out.

I’ll write again soon. But, until then, consider this.  Incredibly, IBM celebrated its 100th year in business in 2011 – and there was a time when we thought you’d killed them.  And that was around the same time Apple was a joke, and you were laughing all the way to the bank.  Today, Microsoft is not one of the tech companies predicted to last 100 years by the street, and Apple thinks it has the last laugh.  I’m out to change that.

Who’s with me?  Who’s even faintly interested?  Who thinks I’m a total nutter?

You’re my audience.  Start me up!  Windows forever!!

Let’s rock ‘n roll!

Below us was the ground – hard and horizontal. Inhabited by meat-eaters and other toothy types, it was a dangerous place all growling and grim, with rules of the game about which beasts win. And lose. Not me, thank you, I’m happy swinging out on a limb. In the trees.

Well, it only took time, though. (It always does). Some monkey started to think that the ground was a better place. The best place. For us. There was a general drumming up of support for the idea (the first marketing campaign?), and down they went. To the ground.

Soon enough, there were fewer trees.

And fewer animals, as it happens.

Some of us stayed up there, though. In the trees.

Watching things unfold from a different point of view.

A view from the trees.

The story continues (if you want it to)

I rest my case, Bill.  With the work your foundation has done recently to uphold the principle that all lives have equal value… the world over… you’re practically the poster boy for the Golden Rule.  Hmmm, well maybe not that, yet. Let’s not forget you have your past to atone for there - just a few years ago, when you were young, spirited and aggressive, you did unto others what you didn’t want them to do unto you.  There are a lot of Internet idealists who won’t let bygones be bygones.  Anyway, that was then and this is now… and it seems to me you’ve learned the lesson of what it means to treat the other guy charitably.  And then some.

As a primate, I’m always looking for the ‘missing link’, though – and I think I’ve found it.  If you’re so much about AID, these days, Bill, why don’t you bring some of it back to the technology business?  I passionately believe that AID (aka HELP) is what the business is missing.  There’s still a big gap between people who are comfortable with technology and people who aren’t.  We who aren’t so comfortable still need all kinds of HELP to get over obstacles (real and/or imagined) that stand in the way of  a). getting stuff done and thereby achieving potential, and b). being inspired by what is possible.

Lord knows, you’ve heard all this before, Bill… but sometimes you can’t see the wood for the trees, and maybe you need a tree-dweller who can.

There’s a lot more to say on this subject.  Soon.

Shindig – n. a lively, noisy party with dancing

Hope you have attended one (or several) shindigs this holiday season… with the prospect of more to come.

Like many words that involve carousing of one kind or another, shindig is derived from Gaelic.  The word is ‘sinteag’ – to jump or leap.  It’s a Scottish/Irish jump-up with Celtic music instead of reggae!  Mind you, there are those who say the word shin•dig is also related to the bruises received as a result of enthusiastic but unskilled dancing.

Ouch!  Santa, baby!!

The power of Attorney

A t t o r n e y is a powerful word.  It comes from old French (via Latin)… as in à torner – to turn to someone. It’s nice to know there are people in life to whom you can turn – pillars of strength in a changing world.

You turn to someone at times of crisis – matters of life and death (and the legal system).  You give away your power of ‘à torner’ to someone you trust.  Your attorney defends your best interests, acting as you would if you had the ability.

Well, I’m a creative attorney, I guess.  People turn to me for creative matters.

Trust me.

The Truth will out

T r u t h in its original, Old Saxon meaning was related to faithfulness as the quality of being true - as in being true to one’s tribe.  Or, having one’s own true love.  It was only later that truth took on its double-edged meaning of accuracy. i.e. Is that true?  Or not?

Seems the world today is somewhat preoccupied with Truth.  Transparency.  Authenticity.  There were some mighty untruthful deeds wrought in  boardrooms and banks that led to the 2008 meltdown, and we’re hopefully the wiser for it now (check out the Matt Damon/Charles Ferguson pic ‘Inside Job’ if you want to wise up some more).  So truth is more on the social mind than it’s ever been.  And that’s where social media come into play.  As a player in the space, I’m proud of the fact that the democratization of our media has played a role in bringing truth-telling to the foreground in enterprises large and small.

Incidentally, there are no one-word verbs you can use to say “speak the truth”.  However, there is one for its opposite.  To lie.

P-A-N-I-C!!!

The word itself is an adrenaline rush.  Pan-ic means ‘pertaining to Pan’ (like umm… atomic). Pan was the Arcadian god of nature and all things wild. With the head of a man, and the legs, ears and horns of a goat, Pan was an amoral trickster who caused contagious fear in herds, or people in lonely spots – like a writer with a deadline :-|

Pan, the boogeyman, was lionized forever by J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan, a less twisted version of his namesake, but a wicked and magical Pan nonetheless, one who loved to stir things up.

A pan after my own heart:-)

Be a CLIENT (if you’re so inclined)

C l i e n t comes  from the Latin, clinare “to incline, bend”.  The core sense of this word is about leaning on someone else for help.  Clients lean on their suppliers/vendors (in the nicest way possible). So, lean on me.  It makes me feel trusted, and leaves plenty of room for me to do what I do best – provide smart, well-intentioned support.  In the words of the great Bill Withers: “Lean on me, when you’re not strong.  I’ll help you carry on.  Please swallow your pride if I have things you need to borrow.  We all need somebody to lean on.”

Buy, beg or borrow – I’m open to all proposals:)

Client + Agency = ?  Read on to see the rest of the equation.

AGENCY Exposed

A g e n c y comes from the Latin verb ‘agere’ to act, set in motion, drive, lead. By definition, then, an agency is a place of action – of getting things done.  It can be argued that consultancies provide advice, but agencies act.

Clients seek out agencies to secure the engagement of people with special skills to act on their behalf… powerfully, efficiently, effectively in whatever area of expertise they have and hold.

In chemical terms, an agent is any natural force or substance which produces a phenomenon (of any kind).  A good agent is phenomenally productive, then; and a natural force in the scheme of things.  I’m an agent of creativity.  Writer/fighter/gun for hire.  An ‘agent provocateur’ at times.

Try me.

Pre’sti:ȝ

(as it appears phonetically in the dictionary with that weird, tailed z thingie called an ‘ezh’)

P r e s t i g e is a word with unlikely origins.  It’s French from the Latin word, praestigium – a trick or illusion.  Prior to the 19^th century it was a slightly derogatory term that implied deceit… as in magic or sleight-of-hand.  The man who changed all that was the master of deceit, Napoleon Bonaparte.  The little Emperor was referred to as a man of prestige in the sense of someone of ‘dazzling influence’.  A trickster supreme, his powerful personality led to our understanding of the word ‘prestige’ today as respect, reputation or influence derived from power, wealth etc.

My greatest joy is to use words in a magical way.  Prestigious?  You might say.  There’s a delicious kind of deceitfulness in developing a dazzling clause of copy.  And, as a writer, one has the opportunity to indulge in the most delicious deceit when you’re hawking a prestigious brand (which everyone knows costs more than it’s worth).

Did I say that?

If you haven’t already, check out the 2006 movie ‘The Prestige’ about two feuding magicians, starring Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale.

The ZEITGEIST of now

Z e i t g e i s t – noun. We could go deep on all the meanings of this rich and feisty word, but let’s just say that on any given day, Zeitgeist is the cultural, intellectual, ethical, political and spiritual mood of the times in which we live.  From the German words zeit = time, and geist = spirit.

Well, right about now, it seems to me the spirit of the times is all about roly-poly, fat cheeks, plum pudding, fire and ice, pine-scented, turkey breasted, wrapping paper, and warm family feelings.  I hope you agree, and will be sharing in the Xmas zeitgeist as it suffuses the season.

In 2012, I contemplate capturing the zeitgeist of a brand new year, and creating compelling content that people want to read, watch, experience… or otherwise absorb.

Write on! (Cright-on:)