Saturday, August 13, 2011

'Do as I do' - What people think and do and say

by Angela Lansbury


The Majority Of People (British People)

People do not want to hear that they are wrong. They want to hear that they are right.

They do not want to hear that they are ugly. They want to hear that they are beautiful.

They do not want to hear complaints. They want to hear praise.

They do not want to hear that you disagree. They want to hear that you agree.

They do not want to hear that you despise them. They want to hear that you admire and respect them.

They do not want to hear that their admirer and fan is an incompetent idiot. They want to hear that their rival is brilliant, but they are even better.

They do not want to hear I told you so. You never listen. You never learn.

If you say ‘you always’ the phrase should be followed by a compliment.

They are easily depressed and discouraged. Just say ‘you can’t’ and they will give up.

They are easily encouraged. Just say ‘you can’ three times and they will act.

People are not rational. They are unreasonably optimistic. They don’t think they will get caught for wrongdoing. They believe they will win the lottery.

People who are accident-prone and careless blame everything except themselves. They don’t think about science and cause and effect and that life is under their control. They think that they are just unlucky if they have an accident. They won’t avoid walking under ladders in case a ladder falls. They will avoid it because it is ‘unlucky’.

They will not avoid breaking mirrors because mirrors are expensive and make a dreadful mess when broken. But tell them they risk seven years bad luck and they will take care.

They identify with and support the loser and the underdog.

They are jealous of the winners. (Evil eyes.)


The Miniority

A small minority

This includes the Chinese who live in large families and compete to get ahead (kiasu).

When you tell them that they will never amount to anything that spurs them to work harder and get ahead.


Introverts (From my observation of Trevor.)

They do what they like. They are self-motivated. They think you cannot inspire others. They do not bother encouraging others because, they say, ‘motivation has to come from within’.

They like to train others. But they see no point in attending any kind of course or counselling because they are above average IQ and can research everything they need from books and the internet.

Friday, August 12, 2011

Route Planning Map & Directions

The RAC route planner site aerial view is good because it shows the kind of terrain, such as shops or woods.
I would like:
1) Clear indication of time travelled.
2) Clear list of directions like satnav as if from a passenger eg, a) Pass Paines Laine on your left, b) Passing park with trees and playground, signal turning left now, c) Turn left into two-lane Waxwell Lane.
3) I want landmarks I'll pass to know I'm on right route, eg, pass petrol station on left.
4) Aerial view shows rooftops but I want to see what I'm looking for when driving as on Google street maps eg the building's sign and front door, two storey frontage and style (eg black and white building, gabled timber building, brick building block of art deco flats with green tiled roof, or car park entrance.
5) I want directions for parking on arrival.
Is it yellow lines, nearest pay car park, or what?

Saturday, July 30, 2011

Paper Pencil mystery solved

I ordered through e-bay (highly recommended way of buying) a roll-up pencil case. (I just bought one in an art shop in Hay-on-Wye, about £6.75, empty, to hold and sort handbags and pencils and provide quick visual access to the pencil I'm seeking.) The case I ordered on line was a pretty blue, which I prefer to the brown ones by Derwent, and the cream one I just bought in the Hay art shop. Different colour cases make it easier for me to find the case with different contents, such as pencils to do the basic portrait outline sketch, watercolour pencils for colouring the portrait's hair, clothes, and eyes, a third set of pink and brown colours for face complexion shades ranging from Caucasian pinks through all the shades of brown, plus lips. The pencil case holder set I bought on line has assorted pencils included. The set cost only 99 p but the postage was $23. I was shocked at the postage, but when the item arrived, including the contents, I reckoned it was a great deal and hoped the seller had made sufficient profit from the combination of low bid selling price and higher postage.

However, the items were a mystery. Three white stumpy items, half the length of pencils, with rounded ends, stumpier and fatter than pencils. Larger girth.

My first thought was that they were erasers. No. Too solid.

White tips. So can't write on white paper.

Were they for writing on black paper? No, too hard - would scrape paper.

Back to my records of orders - ebay is so handy. Everything I've bought for the past three years is listed. So I could answer an admirer's question, 'Where did you get that hat!' I could re-or order another of the same item in a different colour, if the seller is an online shop, not just an individual selling odd secondhand items.

I checked the seller's specification list. I discovered my pencil holder is designed to be worm around your waist, as if you are standing at an easel.

Back to my original question. What are those white objects? The captions did not run left to right matching the pencils in the case shown in the illustration. However, by process of elimination, I found the words 'paper pencils'.

Usually an internet search reveals all. This time nothing. Lots of sites selling paper and pencils. (Obviously I needed to to specify the combination of the two words. Finding whole phrases is another challenge - which I must add to the revision of the draft of my forthcoming book (of which I have a 'dry run' of 50 copies, available from me, not yet through Lulu.com). Wikipedia and dictionaries don't explain paper pencils.

The sellers of 'paper pencils' don't explain them. But I spot the magic words 'ecologically friendly'. Ah. Light bulb moment.

I wondered, are they paper outside? If so, if they are pencils, where is the part you write with?Are they like other pencils in the set? Do I need to sharpen the tips? Is there a lead centre inside?

They are too stumpy to fit inside the average tiny one hole pencil sharpener. I need to find a big sharpener or use a penknife. But I don't want to damage the pencils.

I've already written to the seller.

The solution - they are for rubbing and spreading or eliminating charcoal or loose, not fixed, coloured paints which can be spread thinly, made into a background or made paler, or spread further. Ah!

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Islamic quotation - five matters

Take advantage of five matters before five other matters: your youth, before you become old; and your health, before you fall sick; and your richness, before you become poor; and your free time before you become busy; and your life, before your death.
I shall put this in the revised version of my book Quick Quotations For Successful Speeches.
You can buy the current version from Lulu.com
The lulu.com site also has the cheap, short-run uncorrected first edition of my latest how to book: How to Get Out Of The Mess You're In.

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Folding A Tee-Shirt

I did a demo of stuffing a duvet into a duvet cover by turning it inside out, for my talk rehearsal at Harrovians Speakers (a branch of Toastmasters International). I used a small cushion and cushion cover for the demonstration.
Now I'm practising folding a tee-shirt and folding a fitted sheet.
My book How To Get Out Of The Mess You're In is in draft form on Lulu.com
As soon as I have received a copy and proof-read it and authorised distribution everybody will be able to buy it on Lulu.com and amazon and everywhere.

How to Fold a Fitted Sheet Like a Pro

I
I'm researching for a talk to a Townswomen's Guild on
How To Get Out Of The Mess You're In.
My book is in the draft form on Lulu.com
Go to Lulu.com Angela Lansbury and you'll find my book.
As soon as I have seen the first copy if it's correct I'll authorise it for distribution.
If it's not correct, I'll do a second printing and about a week later when I get the new copy to check I'll authorise that.

Friday, July 1, 2011

Testimonials For My Photography

Two testimonials for my photographic skills in 24 hours:

Wow Thanks! Your camera makes me look good!

Must be some sort of "enhance me" mode.

S-S Singapore.


Thank you Angela. It is a great photo (I don't usually like myself in photos!)


Love R.V.