My Love for Todd isn't True Love

Love doesn't really exist. Better yet, that so-called "true love" doesn't really exist. The feeling of "true love"; Yes, that feeling that you already knew someone, or that that someone is the one, is more of an illusion. It is the materialization of your hope for a soul mate. "True love", then, is the illusion that one's soul exists (or is perfectly mirrored) in another. Although it can happen, I doubt that that kind of love is flowing around. Besides that's not what I have for Todd.

The love that we should desire is the love that results from the synergy of "goods." The earned kind of love. I'll tell you why in a minute.

First, examine the ideal marriage. We met. We fell in love (so called true love). We married and we had kids. Up to the point that we married, we had a way of anticipating or estimating how "the one" would act in situations: we simply created those situations. We "dated": ate lunch or dinner together, had sex (maybe), watched movies at her house (and at mine) and at the theatre, we hung-out with her friends (and mine) and Todd's (maybe), we visited mom and dad (and her's too) and Todd's, we worked out together, went clubbing together (and with Todd), moved-in together, shared a car, lit-up the good old bong (and her's too)...etc. We experienced these situations that we probably would be facing had we been married not out of our own rich will to really find true love but because of our cultures. Yes, they that were before us did it, and so we should and we did; good. But since it's this kind of love, we probably already decided the blessed moment we fell in love that we were going to get married. So screw the dating part; but it was fun.

But, marriage is quite the opposite of true love. Marriage is the realization that one's soul does not exist (or is not perfectly mirrored) in another. Remember from the first paragraph that "True Love is the illusion that one's soul exists (or is perfectly mirrored) in another." So if true love and marriage are perfect opposites then true love ends in marriage (logically). Which, I am happy to say, is not such a bad thing.

Here is why we should strive for "earned love." When you get married (and your "true love" dies) it is earned love that keeps that marriage going. Earned love my friends and Todd, don't come easy. Some couples, after the honeymoon period (prerealization or postillusion I like to call it), don't even bother pretending to truly love; they just say "fuck it" and call it quits. Because "true love" is already dead at this point, pretense is strictly required to keep the illusion going. But some pretend and others really break down and ask "what's wrong with us." Then comes the idea of couples therapy or some other debilitating form of an attempt at self-rediscovery. Couples therapy will force you to ask or dream out the fucked-up questions and fears that you have had since prerealization like why doesn't anyone ever grab my ass when we are at Todd's playing grab-ass in the dark? These sort of therapies can work but only temporarily if they do. Those that answer the "what's wrong with us?" question by sitting and talking and working for their love are the ones that remain married.

They become friends with themselves and their children and Todd again. They begin to realize that they have to earn their love to keep their marriage going. I have to keep my word; I have to trust that she will keep hers; I have to sacrifice my time for the kids and the family; we have to have fun together; we have to make time for Todd; we can't play grab-ass with Todd anymore; we have to look-out for eachother; we have to get rid of your bong (ok, ok, mine too); things like this. These are what I call the "goods": Trust, loyalty, friendship, discipline, nurture, laughter, and Todd. When you have these in a marriage, then you are in love. Or better yet, you have earned love. It would take a lady in a red dress and a dumb-ass of a spouse to break such a marriage up.

FYI: Todd is charity; a reminder that we should project that earned love to others outside of our family. So which of you thought I was coming out because I just met and fell in love with a guy named Todd? Answer that in your sick sick mind!!!:)

"Saturday Six" questions

1. What color car do you drive?

Metallic Green (OK! I don't drive that actual car but that's the actual color of mine...with a little tint...kind of)

2. How many cars have you had in the past of this same color?

None

3. What does this particular color mean to you?

It means money!

4. Take the quiz: What color car should you drive?

Probably red - I am sort of a road devil

5. Would you ever consider driving a car the color the quiz suggests?

No

6. Do you consider yourself the most-aggressive driver on the road, the least-aggressive, or something in between?

In terms of acceleration, I like to be in charge. Safety, speed, and caution-wise, I am the least aggressive.

Top 5 bands or albums that "I" should really listen to more.

Classic!

I bought this one a while back. I have to listen to it now.








This one gets me going।

One of my all-time favorites.

Sublime

TV vs. Internet - Opportunities For Producers

As a result of its widespread global use, the TV is better suited for global business than the PC. Producers/innovators have the opportunity to create/prduce products that can be used alongside television sets; like entertainment centers, video-game consoles, DVD-players, etc. Modern TV-sets even have imputs for digital cameras! Furthermore, electronic On-Screen Notepad and Calendar provides onscreen message reminder that can be programmed for a specific time or when the TV is powered on.

For a global marketer, producing gadgets/electronic devices that plug in to PCs will be a big gamble and internet marketing will be a risky game. Examine the following staements by Dr. Sam Vaknin of PeaceJournalism.com:

"Societies in the countries in transition are inert (and most of them, conservative or traditionalist) - following years of central mis-planning. The Internet (and computers) are perceived by many as threatening - mainly because they are part of a technological upheaval which makes people redundant. E-commerce is the natural culmination of a process. You need to have a rich computer infrastructure, a functioning telecommunications network, cheap access to the Internet, computer literacy, inability to postpone gratification, a philosophy of consumerism and, finally, a modicum of trust between the players in the economy.
The countries in transition lack all of the above. Most of them are not even aware that the Internet exists and what it can do for them. Penetration rates, number of computers per household, number of phone lines per household, the reliability of the telecommunications infrastructure and the number of Internet users at home (and at work)- are all dismally low." (Vaknin, 1)

The truth is that TV infrastructure have been developed in these countries. Consequently, to reach the majority of the world's developing population, global marketers will have to focus on "the big box".

Sources: Vaknin, Sam. "The Internet In Countries In Triansition". http://www.peacejournalism.com. August 5, 2005.

TV vs. Internet - TV Is About Successful Business Modeling - QVC's Success

"QVC is earning a place in the pantheon of the world's most successful innovative retailers. Last year QVC rang up $5.7 billion in sales and $760 million in operating profit, making the liberty media subsidiary nearly as big and twice as profitable as Amazon.com. Its 13% operating margin beats those of brick-and-mortar heavyweights such as Federate Department Stores, Target, and Wal-Mart." Also "QVC now reaches 90 million of America's 92 million households with pay TV". No internet company has developed a business model that achieves nearly as much market penetration! "Live broadcasts also allow the company to respond quickly to sales trends to stoke demand." Here, "producers tracks calls, orders, and inventories, tweaking programs in real time to boost sales." The internet models used by industry leaders like Amazon.com and Ebay, on the other hand feature dormant, non-live, untweakable feeds and un-performing products. QVC also employs the product placement strategy. Its products are marketed by stars - who claim to use the products and sometimes use them on sets. This strategy will help marketers reach their target markets by "placing" products on the sets of their favorite TV shows.

QVC's business model exemplifies one of TV's successful business models. This model, along with other TV-based models that produce amazing results, can help global marketers penetrate markets in multiple countries.

Source: Elizabeth Esfahani. "A Sales Channel They Can't Resist". BUSINESS 2.0. September 2005.

TV vs. Internet - Challenge: Reaching Over 5 billion People

This picture shows the number of IP addresses per 10,000 residents. To be an effective global marketer, one would need to rely on more than the internet.

In contrast, TV stations have been established throughout the world - with reception in even the most remote regions. TV ads also provide the kind of product access consumers prefer. According to the Logistics Concept* "consumers prefer short order cycles to long order cycles; they prefer a product immediately to any order at all".

• More Stats
  98.2% of US households have TV.
• Also, Americans watch about 535 million hours of TV per day compared to 85 million hours on the internet.
• Among the top 6 Global Media Giants (based on sales) are TV networks - Time Warner, Disney, Viacomm, NBC, News Corp., and Sony.

Sources:

Lottson, Anders. "Tomorrow: A Sneak Preview". BUSINESS 2.0 August 2005: page 84.

Herman, Edward S."The Global Media Giants:firms that dominate the world". Educate Magazine October to December 2001.

*On "Six Drivers of Fulfillment Excellence" handout.

Marketing Efforts vs. Cost Reduction - Focus On GM

Marketing, according to the American Marketing Association, is "the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion, and distribution of ideas, goods, and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organizational objectives." So, the underlying objective of marketing - to any for-profit company - is to maximize revenues. Other objectives include building brand loyalty, increasing market share, product positioning, and building customer awareness. With GM's recent slump, these objectives have become most important in achieving "The Underlying Objective". These posts will feature proof that marketing efforts are most important to GM on the global frontier.