FROM THE RIDICULOUS TO THE SUBLIME

And vice versa. An interesting and oft-repeated phrase in either form. Going from the ridiculous to the sublime, meaning to go from something silly to something meaningful. The other way, of course, means to be on some serious subject and then suddenly switch to something trivial or funny. As a newscaster years back, I observed the time-honored tradition of following a very serious news report, often containing tragic, terrible stories, with a lighthearted piece of comic news.

I have to say that if I were a word, I would love to have as delightful a definition as the word "sublime" has:

1 a : lofty, grand, or exalted in thought, expression, or manner b : of outstanding spiritual, intellectual, or moral worth c : tending to inspire awe usually because of elevated quality (as of beauty, nobility, or grandeur) or transcendent excellence.

We news reporters and commentators had to keep a powerful sense of humor in order to deal with the reality, or at least our perception of reality. The truth was that most of what happened, as true today as it was in the 1970s, is good news, happy news, people doing wonderful things and having wonderful experiences. But the powers that be always felt, perhaps accurately, that people would be bored with that aspect of a day's events, so they tended to focus on the sad and violent and depressing stories. And every attempt to produce a good news broadcast or newspaper has backed them up by having very small audiences.

Here's one of my memories from when I was a news reporter, along with Andrea Mitchell and other young broadcast journalists, at KYW Newsradio in Philadelphia. We reporters, before going on the air, would write the headlines for our featured stories, and run them by an editor. In this case, a new-to-radio editor hired from the Philadelphia Daily News. My all-time favorite creation was a headline I wrote when North Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh died, hoping to get it by the editor, and I did and was then free to read it on the air, which of course I didn't, having a more serious substitute ready.

The headline: "There is sadness in the Ho house tonight."

I think using humor to make a serious point is also a great tool for more effective communication. Like this campaign piece for the unsuccessful (so far) effort to block the gay marriage proposition in California. A lot of time and production value went into this:

http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/c0cf508ff8/prop-8-the-musical

And finally, the fantastically entertaining video that prompted this whole essay, sent to me from the wilds of Vermont by the beautiful, tuned-in, sacred dancer extraordinaire

Rupa Cousins (in other words, she's sublime). I rate this video G for glorious:

www.collegehumor.com/video:1913584

I can't top that, so goodbye for now.

Jerry

And by the way, as I continue to build a prosperity team to market the healthiest superfood on the planet, Belgian cold-pressed dark chocolate by Xocai, it occurs to me that it would have seemed ridiculous just a few years ago to suggest the food most people thought helped cause obesity, diabetes, and tooth decay/gum disease

would eventually be medically proved to help combat all these conditions. The reality is sublime, don't you think? If you would like a sample of this unbelievable healthy dark chocolate contact me at jerrygillies@gmail.com

Also, if you are a fan of Moneylove, the book, tapes, or seminars, and would like to know about some major announcements concerning an updated and annotated version to be published later this year, just let me know and you'll be put on the priority preview list, and receive some powerful free reports as well.