今日は大晦日、年の終わりは笑いで締めましょう。
The Marine general went ot the doctor for his annual physical. Among the questions his doctor asked was "When was the last time you made love?"
"Oh," mused the general, "1945."
"That long ago?" asked the doctor.
"It's not so bad," said the general, pointing to his watch. "it's only 21:13."
(出典Reader's Digest 10月号)
マーケティングの本 "The Positioning" になるほどと感心する事が書かれていました。
Some ambitious, intelligent people find themselves trapped in situations where their future looks bleak. So what do they generally do?
They try harder. They try to compensate by long hours of hard work and effort. The secret is to keep your nose to the grindstone, do your job better than the next person, and fame and fortune will come your way, right?
Wrong: Trying harder is rarely the pathway to success. Trying smatter is the better way.
...（中略...更に続きます） The truth is, the road to fame and fortune is rarely found within yourself. The only sure way to success is to find yourself a horse to ride. It may be difficult for the ego to accept, but success in life is based more on what others can do for you than on what you can do for yourself.
Kennedy was wrong. Ask not what you can do for your company. Ask what your company can do for you.
目から鱗ですね。もっと若い時にこの本を読んでいれば、もう少しましな稼ぎができたかなと思いました。
（注：「目から鱗」は英語にも同じ表現がありますね。The scales fall from somebody's eyes. (literary) if the scales fall from someone's eyes, they are suddenly able to understand the truth When I saw his photograph in the paper, the scales fell from my eyes and I realized I'd been conned. from Cambridge Idioms Dictionary もしかして、日本語の表現「目から鱗」は英語から来たの？ ）
Some ambitious, intelligent people find themselves trapped in situations where their future looks bleak. So what do they generally do?
They try harder. They try to compensate by long hours of hard work and effort. The secret is to keep your nose to the grindstone, do your job better than the next person, and fame and fortune will come your way, right?
Wrong: Trying harder is rarely the pathway to success. Trying smatter is the better way.
...（中略...更に続きます） The truth is, the road to fame and fortune is rarely found within yourself. The only sure way to success is to find yourself a horse to ride. It may be difficult for the ego to accept, but success in life is based more on what others can do for you than on what you can do for yourself.
Kennedy was wrong. Ask not what you can do for your company. Ask what your company can do for you.
目から鱗ですね。もっと若い時にこの本を読んでいれば、もう少しましな稼ぎができたかなと思いました。
（注：「目から鱗」は英語にも同じ表現がありますね。The scales fall from somebody's eyes. (literary) if the scales fall from someone's eyes, they are suddenly able to understand the truth When I saw his photograph in the paper, the scales fell from my eyes and I realized I'd been conned. from Cambridge Idioms Dictionary もしかして、日本語の表現「目から鱗」は英語から来たの？ ）
今日から1月9日までの冬休みに入りました。会社を休む時は自動メールをセットする人がいますね。
Reader's Digest １１月号の定番記事 All in A Day's Workに書かれていた自動メールの例です。
GOING ON VACATION? Leave one of these real automatic e-mail replies:
I will be unable to delete all the e-mails you send me until I return from vacation. Please be patient, and your e-mail will be deleted in the order it was received.
Reader's Digest １１月号の記事 "Today's Best Fiction" から引用します。
Hostage Taker
ZERO HOURZERO HOUR, 6:47 A.M. Good day, New York!
It's 41 degrees right now in Midtown, with heavy rain and fog for your morning commute. Luckily, we expect these soggy conditions to be out of here by Lunch time. But bring a fleece lining for those raincoats, because temperatures will continue to plummet throughout the day.
"ZERO HOUR" とは何時の事でしょうか？ 辞書を見ます。
・Oxford English Dictionary: The time at which a planned operation, typically a military one, is set to begin.: A few minor adjustments were made to the presentation plan, and we set 3 o'clock as zero hour.
・Collins Dictionary: a critical time, esp at the commencement of an action: Fifteen minutes before zero hour the five guerrillas reassembled.
Reader's Digest １１月号の記事 "Morning Glory" に出てきた単語です。
Make a tasty parfait by topping plain Greek yogurt (which contains roughly twice the protein of regular yogurt) with a half cup of pomegranate arils, two teaspoons of pistachios, and two teaspoons of chia seeds to add protein and fiber.
"parfait" はスウィートの一種でしょうか？ 辞書で確認します。
・Oxford English Dictionary: A dessert consisting of layers of ice cream, fruit, etc., served in a tall glass.: The parfait had a nice light green color and a fresh strong taste of mint.
そうか、バフェのことですね。英語のスペルは知りませんでした。
マーケティングの本 "The Positioning" からの引用です。
Marketing is like horse racing. The winning horse is not necessarily a good horse. It all depends on the ability of the horses in the race. In a claiming race, the winner is the best of the worst. In a stakes race, the best is the best.
宝くじを買う以外には賭け事をしないので競馬の事はさっぱり分かりませんが、"In a claiming race" と "stakes race" の違いが気になったので調べました。
"claiming race" は：
・Collins Dictionary: US and Canadian horse racing a race in which each owner declares beforehand the price at which his or her horse will be offered for sale after the race
"stakes race" は：
・Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary: a horse race in which the prize offered is made up at least in part of money (as entry fees) put up by the owners of the horses entered -- called also stake race
日本の競馬とは事情が違う気がしますが、さる大物の歌手が保有している競争馬が勝って億を超える賞金を稼いだという話を思い出しました。金持ちは益々金持ちになる典型的な話ですね。
I will never be an old man. To me, old age is always 15 years older than I am.
(Fransis Bacon, artist)
An acquaintance walked past Algonquin Round Tabel member Marc Connelly and ran a hand over Connelly's bald pate. "That feels just as smooth and as nice as my my wife's behind," he said. Connely, running his own hand over his head, remarked, "So it does!"
(from Reader'd Digest, Oct. 2016 COMPLETE GUIDE TO witticisms Quips RETORTS)
イオンの朝活で朝の7時から1時間程毎日卓球の練習をするようになって今日で丁度2週間経ちました。健康にはよさそうですが、朝は忙しくなり、夜は夜で何かと用があるので、ブログを投稿する時間の確保が難しくなりました。朝7時からの朝活は恐らくそんなには長く続かないと思いますが、続けられるまで続けるつもりです。
小説 The Partnerを読み終えたので、今度は小説ではなく、久しぶりにマーケティングの本、Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind (by Al Ries and Jack Trout)を読むことにしました。小説と違って内容は単純で分かり易いのですが、気の利いた表現や難しい単語はほとんどありません。４３ページ目に「オヤッ？」と思う表現がありました。
Companies like Avis and Seven-Up found viable alternative positions to marketing leaders.
But most companies don't want to be an also-ran, successful or not. They want to be a leader like Hertz or Coke.
So how do you get to be the leader? Actually its's quite simple. Remember Charles Lindbergh and Neil Armstrong?
You just get there fistest with the mostest.
"fistest with the mostest" なんて使って良いの？ "fistest" はまだしも、"the mostest" なんて学校の英作文で書いたらバッテンを貰う事必定に思えます。英英辞書にこれらの単語が掲載されているかチェックします。 "fistest" は見つかりませんでしたが、"mostest" は次の様な説明がありました。
・Oxford English Dictionary: humorous: Most: the winner is the person who can get there quickest with the mostest: A word that surpasses 'most'. Meaning the greatest amount possible.
・Urban Dictionary: I love you the mostest. (this would beat 'i love you most')
更に調べると次の辞書に "fistest with the mostest" の説明もありました。
・McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs: the earliest and in the largest numbers; the earliest with more of what's needed. Pete got the prize for being the firstest with the mostest. I always like to be there early--the firstest with the mostest.
The Partnerから最後の引用です。
Sandy leaned a bit closer. "We're prepared to offer twenty-five thousand dollars. Right now. The check's in my pocket."
She was leaning down too, getting lower and closer to his face, when the money hit and stopped her cold. Her eyes watered and her bottom lip quivered. "Oh my God," she said.
Sandy glanced around. "That's right, twenty-five thousand bucks."
She ripped a paper napkin from the holder and in doing so knocked over the salt shaker. She dabbed her eyes, then blew her nose. Sandy was still glancing around, hoping to avoid a spectacle.
"All mine?" she managed to say. Her voice was hoarse and low, her breathing rapid.
"All yours, yes."
She wiped her eyes again, then said, "I need a Coke."
SHE DRANK a 44-ounce Big Gulp without a word. Sandy sipped his bad coffee and watched the foot traffic come and go. He was in no hurry.
"The way I figure it," she finally said, clear-eyed now, "is that if you walk in here and offer twenty-five thousand right off the bat, then you're probably willing to pay more."
"I'm in no position to negotiate."
上に出てきた慣用句らしき表現の "right off the bat" を調べます。
・Oxford English Dictionary: At the very beginning.: Well, let me say right off the bat that I am pretty impressed.
・McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs: Fig. immediately; first thing. When he was learning to ride a bicycle, he fell on his head right off the bat.: The new manager demanded new office furniture right off the bat.
"right off the bat" の意味は分かりましたが、語源が気になるので更に調べると、"Know Your Phrase" に次の説明がありました。
In baseball, this phrase references the ball coming off the bat after a successful strike, which is then immediately followed by the batter making a quick decision to run towards first base. The immediate response taken by batters after a successful swing would be my guess on how this saying got its figurative meaning of doing things quickly, or without delay.
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