THE PIZZAONIAN: July 2014

« June 2014 | Main | August 2014 »

07/11/2014

A place to rest - a blank page where you can think your thoughts .......

July 2014

This empty page is here to give you a respite. A place to rest and be with your self. Enjoy!

This little bit of silence is a gift from your Pizzaonian friends.

Posted at 02:45 PM in CREATIVITY, LIFE, REPOSE, REST | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: ALONE, BEING, COMFORT, MEDITATION, PEACE, PIZZAONIA, REST, SILENCE

07/01/2014

Marketing or "Barnum and Baily" a Pizzaonian observation

A Pizzaonian observation on the marketing scene in free-market, democratic countries.

There was a time when permanence and the ability to maintain defined a culture and a nation. The issue with that is consumers buy less, and this is an anathema to a free-market economy that must grow each year to survive.

The problem free-market economies face, especially the United Sates, is obvious. How does a puritan culture maintain its modern version of puritanism and still be part of Entrepreneuria where waste and overindulgence are essential to its survival?

The answer is easy – you make overindulgence a virtue and invent a throw away culture. However, its implementation requires marketing genius..

How much of what we presume to believe about ourselves is merely an assumption that was sold to us in a neatly wrapped marketing package?

It no longer seems to make a difference who the seller is. Be it a religious institution, political parties, lifestyle or business – they all use high-powered marketing techniques that create advertising messages fashioned to sell and manipulate you to their point of view. And what is that point of view - to convince you to buy what you don't need or want.

We cannot help but wonder how aware we are of how easily we are manipulated today. In our defense, the selling messages have become so pervasive and clever it is easy not to notice how calculating they are.

The line between real and unreal was crossed long ago. This was not lost on the marketing geniuses who free-market economies invite and allow to flourish. Social media and the digital age were created for them.

To know what is trending is the cultural norm. “Being in” and informed defines who you are, if not to yourself, certainly to the outside world.

For those of you who believe you are not vulnerable to the onslaught of marketing ideas and trends, think again. Can a fish not be affected by the water it swims in? Well, you may not be a fish, but you are swimming in the ocean of Entrepreneuria, the sea where the message is more important than the product.

This means you spend a lot of money on things that will soon be in the garbage can*.

Vera V Veronica, commenting for “The Pizzaonian” a division of the Pizzaonian Newsertainment Network

*Between the start of New York City waste collections in 1905 and 2005 there was a tenfold rise in "product waste" (packaging and old products), from 92 to 1,242 pounds per person per annum. Containers and packaging now represent 32 percent of all municipal solid waste. Non-durable goods (products used less than three years) are 27 percent, and durable goods are 16 percent.^[4]

Posted at 04:06 PM in Current Affairs, LIFE, politics, Religion, STUFF | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: advertising, business, digital, garbage, marketing, now, overindulgence, politic, religious, throw away, virtual reality, virtue, waste

Narcissism, Free Enterprise and Christianity - It seems we may have a problem here.

July 2014

Free Enterprise and Christianity

It seems we may have a problem here. Has anyone noticed there may be some conflicting values banging against each other in countries where the aforementioned concepts are encouraged and coexist?

I am sure many will object to narcissism being included in the list for obvious reasons. Narcissism is a not to be admired, while the praises of free enterprise and Christianity have many voices singing their virtues.

The problem is simple: Free enterprise needs expanding markets to prosper. Globalization aside, domestic markets need a great deal of narcissism from its citizens for their economies to grow – how else do you get people to buy what they don’t need and may not want? Consider for a moment what the state of your economy would be if everyone only purchased what they needed. It would only be a matter of time before everyone would be sleeping underneath the freeway.

The real conflict is with the Christian virtues - certainly, frugality is among them. Purchasing only what you need is certainly frugal. How does one be frugal and still accumulate things you don’t need simply because it pleases you do to so? It seems you do what is necessary to make frugality a negative value.

It starts with “be all you can be.” Does a day go by without being reminded how important it is to live your life to the fullest? Now this has a very positive effect as a concept. What normal person doesn’t want to live the most positive life possible? However, being “all you can be” in a free market economy is to indulge yourself because you deserve it – a slight deviation from its original meaning. If you do not believe this just spend a few minutes watching or listening to commercials.

So where does this leave you. Simply defined, in a dilemma..... You have to change the meaning of frugality – because if you don’t the old “sleeping under the freeway” problem reemerges.

It starts by changing the notion of what you need. To those generations that preceded us it meant frugality – buy what you need and use it till it cannot be used again. We still practice the same frugality however what we now need has expanded exponentially.

It’s easier this way since you do not change the concept only it’s application in relation to the time you now occupy. Let’s be reasonable, we all know that time changes everything – even your concept of the poor has changed.

So why not change frugality. After all you live in a time when all things are possible – including redefining whatever you need to in order to make things work. It is the American political way.