Viral Vicissitudes

The Slow Burn (aka Tinder Moments)..."Gaslighting!" Psy-Ops 3.0 "Hearts and Minds" That's what we're after, when we/they are actively practicing the tactics, the strategies, the art and science of Psy-Ops..."any action that is performed mainly via psychological methods with the aim of evoking a planned psychological reaction (usually unpleasant in this case) in other people". You've already read here and witnessed over there (overseas this very moment while you are digesting this) the active practice of "Fearmongering" (see 2/25 post) and "False Flagging" (yesterday here), two of the more common, well-known Psy-Ops which, among other desired outcomes, attempt to "destroy the morale of the enemy through tactics that aim to depress the troops' psychological state" So far, in the particular part of Europe that has captured the world's attention, that is being invaded and outnumbered by Mr. Putin and Company, t...

Falsi-flying, Flag Wavering: Psych-Ops Cont'd False "False Flags": The ones that aren't really the type of "false flag" operations we are concerning ourselves with here today but are a topic of importance in their own right, as having influence in the outcome of a competition, "Games", or other type of mission. These range from individual Olympic competitors competing under another flag other than the one they were born under (some of which reaped not only medals but great profits as in the case of Ms. Gu), to those whose flag itself (nominally -- "in name only"), such as the "ROC" was changed in order to take our attention away from previous misdeeds ("cheating", "doping"...sanctions), to marrying another 'flag' (citizen) in order to gain entry into another country, a "Green Card", eventual citizenship...to an official who carries a flag and has the authority to 'flag' a player for ...

Frighten-In, Psych-Out: Forces that Divide, Conquer - The Enemy  Among Us: "A multi-player deduction  game" that has become highly popular, a way that extended families (those not living in the same household) and friends have stayed connected  the past few years. Nice. Instead, without apology, what I'm concerning myself here in this post is what happens when the negative forces within and between, among US, become domesticized , a multi-player ("it takes two...") player social reduction  game, a HOUSE DIVIDED. As in any relationship that began with investment of time and energy, great expectations, celebration of love/friendship, dissolves, devolves to one of despair and mutual disdain. Where WE even without a foreign agent become divided  and conquered . Where we, in all honesty, in the end, have no one else to blame, except US. While our collective attention is understandably and deservedly riveted on what's happening this very morning overseas, it is vi...

Psych-Ops: Fear Mongering, Foreign and Domestic Without, Within: As in "foreign and domestic" and as in the "enemy outside our walls, at our gate, the enemy within". The enemy, antagonist which range from the more obvious, conspicuously announced ("I'm going to kick your...") to the ones you'd least expect, the ones that have lived and loved among us. Not just the ones traditionally referred to as "moles" in spy-craft lingo, but those we have otherwise trusted and end up betraying us, as in close friends and family. Even our parents, our "blood relatives"! or even the one we selected as a life partner. Attempts, whether overt and conspicuous, or more covert, subtle, nuanced, "under the radar", to invoke fear, even terror, other "forms of manipulation which causes fear by using exaggerated rumors of impending danger..." (i.e., "Fearmongering") Tactics which have been around as long as there have been...

Psychological Warfare: The Enemy Within (and Between) Getting (dis)Oriented: "Orientation", a term often used in conjunction with any intro to a course, or a college campus, including a "walk around", perhaps virtually the last few years; "see you around campus" is on its way back, we hope. In my professional field, the term is often applied to assessing the person in front of me, situated in my room (or on zoom, these days), in terms of time , place , person . In other words, do they know who  they are (including age, etc.), what time  they are living in (what day, month, etc.), and where  they are, all of which have become more interesting the past few years, as we have all become a bit (dis)oriented, given the whirlwind of changes that occurred in many of our lives almost overnight (day and nights getting mixed up themselves, in many cases). Many times referred to as "OrientationX3" An added value, where it becomes "X4" is to add sit...

"Upon Reflections on Ice..." Out-takes, Takeaways, Take Outs...Yours for the taking. Rear View: Or "In hindsight", one more quick look back at the Winter (XXIV) Olympics, the ones we were told took place in and around Bejing, China. I say "we were told" in a similar vein that one the main hosts of NBC indicated (paraphrasing here): "We saw the Olympics, but we didn't see China; we weren't really allowed to see much of Bejing at all..." So, could it have all been one big "Green Screen" or "photo shopped" ? After all, most of the snow made from billions of gallons of water, that had to be transferred from elsewhere, certainly was artificial, so what keeps us from wondering that the rest was NOT? Think of David Copperfield and how he made entire buildings disappear, "right before your eyes", buildings as immense as the Empire State Building ("and all those people in it too"). If he can do it, think wha...

"Game(s) Over!" Meming, Streaming, Screaming...a look back at Bejing. Fore-casted: Right here, more than once, as in "A Slow Boat" and many other iterations, spoiler alerts, harbingers of what was lurking in the shadows, the slippery slope, lurking beneath the surface of the (fake) snow and ice...not so nice, as it turns out, so many memes, I've lost count, certainly more than the medals our Winter XXIV Olympians are bringing back home, to US: XXIV "Plus One" as of this minute...but who knows, given what we witnessed, experienced vicariously on behalf of so many athletes who toiled for years, just to have their moment spoiled...Our athletes may have taken a slow boat in, but certainly going to high tail it out of there, before more shenanigans find them medal-less... Unceremoniously, Deserving to Unnerving: On behalf of those, especially a few figure skaters who did everything except fail a drug test, performed in such a way to be judged medal worthy, ...

"For crying out loud!"  My cup overflowith: With emotion, after so much motion, and even more commotion, that I had to post this second on the same day... Wide World of: Sports?! Is that what we just watched for a fortnight? For the most part it was, but I have never witnessed, in harmony with the commentators for figure skating in particular, so much "Agony of Defeat" (part of the historical intro to "Wide World of Sports"), which seemed to outweigh the "Thrill of Victory"...From cheating associated with doping, failed drug tests, to watching a skater being poorly treated, degraded ("I'll give you something to cry about!" is what we all imagined, without a translator available), it almost brought me to tears, but instead I released steam by "shouting out loud!" "There's no room for this" In sports, especially the Olympic Games, allowing such a tender age to be exploited, manipulated by the political whims o...

End-Countering "Famous Last Words"  "I'm just sayin'..."  May be "Not"! As in, maybe not famous; maybe not the last word(s); maybe more like "fast words", the ones that seem to just flow, and then the ones that almost just as reflexively follow, as in "countering".  And, as in "I'm just saying", did-you-notice, they-seem-to... Come in Threes, These: "It's what's showing..." And even then, after further thought, they enter in... One-by-One: Monosyllabic, that is. Powerful, impactful words, uttered by us, them, at (in)opportune times, in order to make a statement. For ease of illustration and full appreciation, I offer you some sample points and their counter-parts (some ID'd, others anon.; some sar-cas-tic, some not so...) Add your favs: "I'm so  done!" (mom) ------- "Want to bet?!" (child, US) "Read my lips..." (Pres.) ------- "I'm tone deaf" (ta...

"You're...OUTTA' Here!" Outages, Outrages.  More great moments in Sports Psychology, through the years, tears, jeers, cheers Yet Again: Youd think they'd learn from past mistakes, behavior, having been "tossed" on many occasions by multiple umps (refs, "zebras" in other settings). For protesting balls and strikes, a close call at first base (if you made it that far), or even after an "instant replay". A player, coach, manager, getting thrown out of the game, for casting too much blame, calling bad names, otherwise demonstrations of inappropriate "unsportsmanlike" conduct. Another example of "Time Out" (see Feb. 16th for tutorial), one imposed by someone in authority, but this for the duration of the game, not welcome to return until the next day, perhaps not even then...taken out of prime time, MIA, out of the "line-up" for the time being...  Universally Recognized, Heartfelt: As in dejections, rejections...

The Wind up, the Pitch: All Wound up...how did I wind up here? Where, What, How? As the player was queried by the sideline reporter, "Where, what, and how are you gonna' unwind now that the Super Bowl has come and gone, now that your team has won? Oh, and can you also tell us all on international TV, how did you end up, wind up, winning this Game of Games?" Across the pitch, in the ditch... How?! "How, just how  did you, my star defensive back, wind up in the wrong place, letting that guy get free to catch the winning catch?! After we simulated, scrimmaged this exact play in practice a zillion times over...we knew they would wind up using this play at some point?! #*&$ !! Group Text: What are you all going to do to cope since you are still so wound up, pent up with frustration, whether due to this stupid Super suspension of time due to COVID, or the stupid way your team lost in the Super Game? Who's to blame?  Winners, Whiners, Winders:   So many mysteries to...

Guess Who? Universally Recognized. Underappreciated. (Un)Called for. Early and Often, Time to Time: While I've been around since the beginning of time, at least since when time started became a 'thing', I became more exploited as a means of corrective action across the ages, increasingly utilized as a way to interrupt "inappropriate" play in the home as well as "on the pitch". Did you notice me at the "SUPER BOWL"? Perhaps only half-way through...especially as time was running out... No matter the name, it's still the same: No, not cheating in the Olympics, meddling in others' business, as in the ROC, as in the "Russian connection", but these types of infractions might indeed have you calling on me, when things are otherwise "un-called for!". I sometimes get masked, veiled, or otherwise masquerade under a vast array of names, synonyms, sometimes even to "protect the innocent", such as "adjournment, ces...

"It's not fair!" Who's to blame? Under Review: A Losing Proposition. (How can I cover such a Super event as the Super Bowl and fail! to mention unfairness? "My Bad!") In All Fairness: They did their best to be fair. OK, fair enough, but I'm still not happy with the outcome; it still seems so unfair! I guess no matter what they do, how long they deliberate, how judicious they try to be, someone is not going to be happy, but why, oh why, does it have to be me this time; can't I just have it my way this one time; it's just not fair! And so it goes...it's always been and always will be... "Utterly Unfair!" As explained by Mr. Twain, as applied to our lugubrious lamentations on labor, "The law of work does seem utterly unfair - but there it is, and nothing can change it..."  Words, reflections on the unfairness that I have taken slightly out of context, taken a bit of editorial license to use as illustration of the instrumental...

"SUPER BOWL EFFECT". Otherwise, effects of the Super Bowl; before, aftereffects; pre-post- First things first: Congrats to all you who rooted for the winner, whether it was the actual team or the top rated commercial, or even Team Fluff from the Puppy Bowl. Lots of Bowling here. Before, as well as after. Bowls that were first full, then empty, lots to eat and drink, as you look at a full sink...an indicator, such as... Bull! The outcome, as well as the indicator of things to come. At least that's what the "Super Bowl" indicator, which has followed the aftermath of this annual bash, mash-up, tells us -- that we'll have a 'bull market' in days to come, since the winning team was the NFC rep. Sounds like bull to you? We'll see. But if you were one that put down the right wager for "over/under", "point spread", or simply "Rams!" Congrats to you as well. As to the rest of us who know that the market is made of a SUPER num...

Watching the watchers watch the play: Watch Parties! Sign of the Times, "What's Showing": As what was at the "Show", the local theatre this coming week will be "featuring", even in a "double feature", the cheap seats of which were featured in the mid-week "Wednesday Matinee". Whether with animated anticipation you hoofed it to the local theatre ahead of time, to watch the animations (cartoons) prior to the "Main Feature", or drove to the "Drive-In", partly determined whether you purchased buttered/non-buttered popcorn (the profit margin of which is among the highest of consumed products), or "BYOB" in the case of "Drive-Ins", the few remaining of which became more popular during the pandemic, first out of necessity, then from newfound fondness for things of old, the fondness of which will have to stand the test of time. A test that may be assisted by the most accurate timekeeper available whic...

Choosing Sides, Checking (bona) Fides: "Make good choices!" Pre-game Warm-up: Prior to "Game on!" Well before the tempers rise to a level that could easily result in a defrost in around the 100000 zip code area (in and around Bejing for those of you who don't track such trivia like me, just in case of I'm put into "Jeopardy")...and way before we walked on to the sandlot for a 'friendly' (yeah, right) game of "pick-up", was the pre-game ritual of "choosing up sides" which itself becomes a dynamic process involving stratagems, gambits, negotiations, push-and-shove (literally), give-and take (as in "you give us Johnny and you can have both Sammy and Donnie", which may have looked like a slam on the latter two unless you had done your due diligence and knew one was a bit of a 'slacker')...psychological warfare regarding who would have the edge well before the first whistle (we didn't actually have one, ...

"Friendlies and Tests..."   Target Rich Environments Terms of Engagement: More commonly aligned with the sports of soccer (or futbol, if you prefer) and cricket, but applicable to where and when any two or more are "facing off" (even in a debate), two terms that apply to the category of the engagement, which ostensibly influence the level of preparation, intensity, and...well, degree of "friendliness". These include "Friendlies" which are competitions between two teams (or "clubs" in soccer, cricket) that are arranged for what is at least described as a friendly meeting for the "fun!" of the sport, for the sake of competition but where nothing is at stake (except pride, perhaps), and has no bearing on the respective teams' standings in their official leagues (so why keep score?). Many times arranged for charity, fund raising, etc. In contrast a "test" is one that really  counts in terms of the teams' relative...

Icing, the Competitive Edge...Transmogri-fly!! In other words:   "convert, metamorphose, transfigure, transform". While all these words covey the idea of change, as in changing one 'thing' into another, to "transmogrify" is another matter, as in changing, converting matter, or another preposterous metamorphosis, such as converting a human into a flying figure with flaps attached at the bottom instead of where wings should be, more naturally. Sometimes in combination. An Olympian feat. Like the men and women who have lined up to take turns to be released down an incline, the surface of which is just the right amount of transmogrified H2O, crystallized, when reaching the end, just before they fall off, they instead LEAP! and fly through the air with the greatest of ease ("look, no hands!" as they hold them oh, so close so as to not be a drag), transmogrified if only for a few moments, as if a bird in flight seeking a soft landing (like we've ever...

"Games": Spirit of Friendly Competition and Co-opt-eration - a bit worry-some. Historical, Spectacular Backdrops: It's always been that way, at these so-called "Games" -- incredible panoramic views that offer those (the few allowed these days) some breath-taking scenery. Breath-taking to the degree(s) that mask wearing is not only required in and around Bejing, but also suggested in order to provide a buffer of warm air before reaching the spectator and contestants lungs...in earlier Pre-COVID, even Pre-Cold War Days, some wore masks around these parts due to poor air quality, which hasn't apparently improved a whole lot, despite our "Climate Change" rep jet-setting to China in an attempt to get them to comply with some of the least measures, in the "spirit of cooperation". Spectacular views of nature (if you can call 1.8 billion gallons of water converted to make snow "natural" in order to make the "Games" spectator w...

"Don't worry; it's just the Games" But then again... Told You So: Not to worry, that is. As well as how to worry. As well as when and how much. Putting yourself, your feelings into "Jeopardy" (see February 5th here). As well as not to get too worked up over a simple game (yesterday)...  But then again:  Just a few days after the opening ceremonies in Bejing, we have a few local fan favorites making us all...well, a bit worried on their behalf. Worried on the one hand, regarding a young Chinese tennis star, Peng Shuai, who, despite telling us all "Don't worry about me...it's all a big misunderstanding..." doesn't find those of us who heard and read her earlier accounts of being forced to have sex with a former Chinese official in a reassured state of mind. Her accounts and her countenance don't at closer scrutiny seem to "Match Up"! No "Love" lost here. She can reassure us who have followed this story all (they) w...

"It's just a game; don't worry...calm down" Part 1, after "Opening Ceremonies"' "From a child's lips to..."  A reversal, as in roles, as in "reversal of fortunes", as in when we tried, when our children were young, to keep it in perspective: "honey, it's just a game; don't get so upset" A quote that came back at me, initially, when engaged in a 'casual' board game (is there such a thing anymore?), I first heard this from one of our children when my body language apparently gave me away, that I was apparently taking "Chutes and Ladders" too seriously, coupled with the kind of reassurance my financial adviser gave me following an earlier recession: "don't worry, you can start over". Yeah, just a game, all right. And then, almost a generation later, here comes another 'babe', after our grown-up child had apparently instilled this in our grandchild, finding myself once again be...

Putting Your Thoughts and Feelings into Jeopardy Welcome: To this blog, this particular post, this virtual office (no mask required, at least for now), this set (as in TV), where I will give you the answers and you will answer with a question (interesting format, eh?)... but , in contrast with the popular show on which contestants show what they know (at least in the form of factoids), on this version, given that I  am the host, I  get to choose the opening category...OK, get ready to buzz in, as we explore your "Self-Awareness"... Answer: A natural part of the human condition. It has historically played a vital role in our survival (as I have repeatedly informed you here, in its defense), and it helps us cope with many changes we face today. At the same time, it can become too intense, too frequent (as of late), and too unrelenting, which can definitely cut into your happy self, your JOY!  Question: What is WORRY?  CORRECT! Answer: Sometimes masquerading under the f...

  Party, On! This can get messy. There's a Party Goin' On: And lots of  them, if the news cycle the past few weeks is any indication, the news of two days ago fresh from the after-party in Punxsutawney informing us we will have a mess to clean up around here for about six more weeks...the pre-party news of a few weeks from now (2-13-22, in case you need to prep, as it's goin' to be SUPER!), partying that's goin' on around here as well as way over there #10 Downing Street (in case you missed the invite, or the note about "BYOB"), the kinds you strive for, those you fear you'll sleep through (FOMO), as those you get left off the invitation list (FOBLO), and finally, those you wished you did not attend (FOBLOWN MESS like the UK PM is dealing with, eliciting support to clean up). Of course, there's also those you actively refute (as in "I'll not be party to that...") and those with which you affiliate on a regular basis. And the ones ...