The Works of Marketing with Ray INDEX
November 16, 2004 • Volume 4 Issue 28
Wordsmithing with Oxymoronica
You undoubted know what oxymoron is ... oxymoronica is probably new to you. Because Dr. Mardy Grothe made up the word just a few years ago. He talks about it in his book of the same name ... another I recommend.
Grothe defines oxymoronica as “any variety of tantalizing, self-contradictory statements or observations that on the surface appear false or illogical, but at a deeper level are true, often profoundly true.”
An example, from Mark Twain, is this; “It takes a heap of sense to write good nonsense.”
“Less is more” is another. Nothing could be further from the literal truth, yet when this expression is used the purpose is to talk a principle, not a fact. It is saying simple is better.
Ditto for “The more things change the more they remain the same.” Again, literally the statement is not true. Yet, over time all things are more alike than unalike.
Here, from Dr. Grothe’s book, are a few of the 1400 such sayings he shares.
- I was never less alone than when by myself.
- There is a society in the deepest solitude.
- Real knowledge is to know the extent of one’s own ignorance. (Confucius)
- Every act of creation is first an act of destruction.
- Like all great travelers, I have seen more than I remember and remember more than I have seen.
- Meetings are indispensable when you don’t want to do anything.
- Thanks to the interstate highway system it is now possible to travel across the country from coast to coast without seeing anything. (Charles Kuralt)
- It’s kind of fun to do the impossible. (Walt Disney)
- I don’t drink. I don’t like it. It makes me feel good. (Oscar Levant)
- I wish people who have trouble communicating would just shut up. (Tom Lehrer)
- I knew here before she was a virgin. (Oscar Levant)
- A verbal contract isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on. (Samuel Goldwyn)
- Nobody goes there anymore. It’s too crowded. (Yogi Berra)
- The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco. (Mark Twain)
- England and America are two countries separated by the same language. (George Bernard Shaw)
- I’m an atheist and I thank God for it. (G.B.S.)
- Always remember you are absolutely unique. Just like everyone else. (Margaret Mead)
- I think people who go to a psychiatrist ought to have their heads examined. (Jane Ace)
- When all else fails read the instructions. (Agnes Allen)
- Modesty is my best quality. (Jack Benny)
- The marvelous thing about a joke with a double meaning is that it can only mean one thing. (Ronnie Barker)
- How is it possible to have a ‘Civil War’? (George Carlin)
- I find nothing more depressing than optimism. (Paul Pussell)
- The average tourist wants to go to places where there are no tourists. (Sam Ewing)
- It is difficult to keep quiet if you have nothing to say. (Malcolm Margolin)
- Silence is one of the great arts of conversation. (Hannah More)
- Common sense is not so common. (Voltaire)
For more visit www.oxymoronica.com ... to get you copy of the book visit your favorite book store or www.harpercollins.com.
Anonymous
Marketing and sales is an ‘ask and yea shall receive’ business. We do not expect
even our best audience to buy from us ‘just because’.
This, an Anonymous English Proverb, says it well;
“Many things are lost for want of asking.”
The RJm Story
My days at the University of Alabama included taking every class the Head of the Philosophy Department taught ... a Dr. Jenkins.
What a guy!
With the background I learned it was easy to understand the philosophy of running a business by putting the customer at the top of the pyramid. The result became a unique list of ideas. Ideas on putting people first. And working with them.Here is the list I still use today. ‘Click’ www.rayjutkins.com/attitude.html and scroll through. It will take you minutes ... you may gain an idea for a lifetime.
Want to talk about any thing? Please phone me @+1+760-376-1858. Or sendi your E-mail message to Ray@RayJutkins.com.