Jean Burman

Cartoon Copyright 2008 Jean Burman

It’s a funny old world we live in. And the people in it are even funnier. Take a look at this clip produced by Improv Everywhere. I love the experiments in human behaviour that these guys come up with… but this one was especially entertaining.

A week away in the big smoke… visiting my youngest daughter… has served as an amusing reminder that people are the same wherever you go!

Human behaviour is still human behaviour… in pretty much everyone’s language.

It’s been a wonderful (if exhausting) week of sitting in cafes… cruising the shops… waiting in queues… and sitting patiently in traffic gridlock… providing a great opportunity to take time out to simply observe the passing parade!

All this time out for observation however… (along with time at last to read Dan Ariely’s terrific book “Predictably Irrational - the hidden forces that shape our decisions”) … has left me once again with more questions than answers… and if anyone can help me out with any of these you are more than welcome to it! ((chuckles))

Random questions to ponder:

Why is it that complete strangers can become firm friends in a matter of minutes when thrown together into some unexpected or unusual circumstance?

Why is it that none of us wants to be the first table seated in an otherwise empty restaurant… preferring instead to fall into line like sheep and queue for an hour outside the one next door… just in case (safety in numbers and all that!)

Why is it that we can’t make up our mind which one we want… until someone else wants it. Then we know exactly what we want… and that’s the one they want - of course! ~grin~

Why is it that “free” is so appealing… even when it’s something we don’t want… don’t need… and more than likely can’t use?

Puzzling isn’t it?

Why even in politics the concept of “free” takes on dubious significance. Despite knowing that there is no such thing as a free lunch… why is it that so many voters almost invariably succumb to the promise of “freebies” in the lead up to an election? Whatever happened to “ask not what your country can do for you?” *wink*

Equally puzzling and no less astonishing… is the predictably irrational way in which voters decide on future leaders… allowing popular opinion and coercive persuasion by a manipulative press to shape their decisions and dictate the country’s entire future political direction! Why not simply cut to the chase and elect Rupert Murdoch? ~grin~

Back to things in general… come to think of it… I have always been interested in “why we do the things we do”.

Growing up… one of my favourite television programs was People Are Funny with Art Linkletter. The fact that this program was more than a decade old by the time it arrived on Australian television was totally lost on us! Television was still new… especially in our household… and I enjoyed the funny scenarios that were set up for the unsuspecting participants… along with their very predictable human responses!

It has always puzzled me why so many people don’t seem to know their own mind. And why those who do seem unwilling to share it. And why so many of us are so uncomfortable in our own skin… especially when it comes to making choices.

Why do we choose to simply “blend in” and “fall into line” rather than be seen to be different?

Only a very few are willing to stick their neck out and show the world what they are really made of.

(This is understandable of course… given the “resistance to difference” experienced within the bounds of what’s considered “normal” in human behaviour!)

But wouldn’t it be great?

Just for once?

If people dared to be different… or perhaps even… dared to be “themselves”.

What a wildly interesting… wide and diversified world it would then be!

I know… I know… it ain’t gonna happen…

not anytime soon anyway!

Your comments are always welcome…

Cartoon Copyright 2008 Jean Burman
“Obama Unplugged”

Pen & Watercolour 12″ x 9″

Like most of us… I watched with interest (and considerable empathy) from the sidelines last week as Senator Barack Obama struggled to maintain his equilibrium in the wake of the media fallout from his association and past close friendship with the right Reverend Jeremiah Wright.

Regardless of your politics… it would be difficult not to feel some degree of empathy for a fellow human being under siege from all sides. There is no doubt that he’s in an unenviable position. Damned if you do… damned if you don’t. But this is the way of politics.

Watching the antics of the past week unfolding in the political arena… I began to identify with the exasperation etched on Obama’s face… and it occurred to me that he and I might just have had a thing or two in common last week… and that surprising as it might seem…

Blogging is a lot like politics! [It sure has taught me many things!]

Bloggers (like politicians) must have thick skin.

Bloggers (like politicians) must be prepared to “hear the words they’ve spoken twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools” (to borrow heavily from Kipling! LOL)

Bloggers (like politicians) understand the need to diplomatically “handle” comments that are made (even when some views expressed are diametrically opposed to our own)

Bloggers (like politicians) also e-v-e-n-t-u-a-l-l-y come to understand that the person in “diametrical” opposition… doesn’t necessarily “have it in for them”… they are simply attempting to use someone else’s platform to pump their own agenda [if Wright had wanted the limelight he should have gone into politics himself]

Bloggers (like politicians) know how things can get out of hand… and how in the end… the only reasonable thing to do is to reluctantly and diplomatically put a stop to it. [Obama did this week... and sadly... I am about to]

First though… I’d like to thank each and every one of you who visit my blog in the spirit in which it was intended… offering insights and generously giving encouragement and support for my humble enterprise here. You cannot know the good you do in raising my spirits and encouraging me to blog on!

My blog is my gift to you… the reader.

But remember… it’s a free service [grin] … dredged from the depths of my heart! It is not without fault… (no-one’s perfect). And you don’t have to agree with it. But I mean no harm to anyone. I wish only good for the earth… and good things for the people who walk upon it.

What I ask in return… is that your (very welcome) comments remain relevant to the topic… and more importantly… do not overly contradict the writer! It is understood that everyone has a differing point of view… and I love to hear it. I would be the first to acknowledge that our views should never be static… and to be healthy… should “bend and meld” under the influence of new information.

But… I have no wish for my blog to become my whipping post either. A place where my viewpoint is routinely contradicted and I am forced to defend each word. Where on earth is the fun in that?

Besides… this blog is first and foremost about the craft of writing. Clearly I am still learning… (aren’t we all?)

It is also about the art (and the cartoons)… which I have come to enjoy doing more and more. The issues raised are naturally those that are close to my heart… the things I care about and want to share… but they are not the most important thing. When it’s all said and done… they are just the vehicle for the writing itself… and almost always an afterthought for the cartoons!

Now… please don’t make of this that you should stop commenting. On the contrary… I would like nothing better than for even more people to join in the discussion adding richness to the mix. But please remember I am just a human person. The pays nothing to write home about and the hours are long. So be kind okay? [grin]

I hope you enjoy the cartoon…