Skip to main content

Titles et al

 World has always had titles.

From identifying genders like Mr. Mrs. and so on it has now exploded to include more diversity.

Then there are the ones that are awarded.  By a reigning monarch or supreme leader (which itself is a narcissistic expression) on their subject(s).

Like OBE or CBE (order of or commander of the British Empire) et al.  British Empire now is a very insignificant part of its former self when these titles carried more heft.

India has jewels to signify the high water mark in a particular domain such as Bharat Ratna (the jewel of India).

Learned folk in some professions tend to display and want people to address them as such.  Doctors and dentists come to mind.  No matter how much of a clunker they may be in said profession.  Doctor Smith said so and so..and predicted the weather (there is actually a dude on the weather channel who likes to be called Doctor).

All countries and organizational structures tend to use that as a motivator and self fulfilling mechanism with awards for bravery, outstanding achievement of some kind.  The American military machine does it with colored hearts, stars and such.

Then came the self anointed kind of titling..

Seinfeld made popular the goofiness of the Maestro - a conductor for the band at a charitable organization.  Since then of course social media has proliferated and I recently ran into (not kidding) the following..

Happiness coach (indeed in the pursuit of something);

Out of the box thinker (really?);

I always wonder how far out of the box we are going to take this pursuit of self adulation and titling before we realize we are going down the tube soon.




Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Charges attract

It is said that opposites attract meaning people with contrary viewpoint sometimes find chemistry to be together.  But I'm referring to a modern twist where people are merely attracted towards a common place because their uber communication device aka smart phone is about to die.  The charging station. From airports to hotel lobbies or even bathrooms, when in need they are attracted to this power outlet like moths to a flame or a junkie to a needle. A whole new business of supplying these hyper connected folks is now born whose lifesaver product is a backup charge. Asian tourists perpetually carry a phone sized battery pack stuck to their latest Apple phone updating their status to folks in Hong Kong or Shanghai or Bangalore as they pose for selfies with weird facial expressions and fingers pointed out in a letter V. Vain? PS:  I dis'charged' my blogger duties making this insightful observation as my phone is about to breathe it's last and my flight gets call...

Costa Rica

 Our first foray into Central America. That elongated isthmus that forms the geographic boundary between two vast continents of North and South America. Specifically landing for NYE 2026 in San Jose, Costa Rica. Capital city for this region that does not have its own army, instead relying on its big bro the Estados Unidos to the north is a metropolis of approx. 500K people. Largely wilderness and with both a Pacific and Carribean/Atlantic coast the country is rich in bio diversity. In Spanish it means the rich coast so named by Columbus landing in early 16th century and being mesmerized by the local tribes sporting gold jewelry.   Our stay included visiting the foothills of a large strato volcano called Arenal and enjoying the naturally heated thermal baths for a while.  Lunching amidst lush forest and watching indigenous species of avian noise makers fly overhead. Toucans, some sort of pea hens, multiple song bird species completed the spectacle. Iguanas and a lonel...

Veni Vidi and Videod

Julius Ceasar is credited with a Latin phrase that reads - Veni, Vidi, Vici as in he came, he saw and he conquered. The summer vacation for the child meant we needed to do what we do as an annual event.  Go see a new place.  Italy won the draw this year. So we went for a couple weeks.  To check out the land of fairy tales, of great warriors and amazing inventions; birthplace of Christianity and its current CEO, land of Romeo and Juliet, a land in many ways similar to our home state of California. In terms of its geography and populations and their respective shapes CA resembles Italy a lot.  Both have a grand coastline, they both have multi cultural groups of people residing in its lands and mountains, both have northern edges covered by snow covered high mountain ranges that are formed of volcanic and tectonic activity over millenia. What we do not have in the Golden State is the renaissance, the art, the history.  It was a particular interest of our d...