Nothing says "Thanksgiving" like a self-indulgent post about metaphors that I think about on a daily basis, leading to quotes that no one around me understands. How thankful you are.
The Swamp of Sadness: In "The Neverending Story," Atreyu has to cross the swamp of sadness on his quest to stop The Nothing. The swamp is an ugly and sad place, but if you let the sadness get to you, you sink into the swamp and never come out. The point is not to let yourself get so discouraged that you just give up. I use this one with interns all the time. And April.
The Beachhead: You have to decide if you're going to try to stop an issue "at the beach," like in Normandy in WWII, or whether you'll deal with the issue later. Sometimes you want to stop an issue before it starts, or try to build a better argument to use at a later time.
Burning the Boats: When Cortes landed in Mexico to conquer it on behalf of Spain, he burned the boats behind him so that his soldiers knew there would be no turning back. This one is about forcing commitment.
Princess and the Pea: When something is not right from the beginning, it never will be.
The Tortoise and the Hare: If you work diligently and keep moving forward, you'll ultimately be respected for it. Like Jon Stewart. Moving too quickly can lead to disaster.
The Slow Blade Penetrates the Shield: In Dune, Frank Herbert thought of shields that bullets will bounce off of, but which can be penetrated by a slow knife. Kind of like the tortoise and the hare, moving slowly and steadily can be the most effective method.
6 comments:
The fatal flaw in your beachhead metaphor is that you are referring to the Nazis. We were the ones storming the beaches not stopping something at the beaches. So essentially you are encouraging people to be like the Nazis.
Do you know how many of your audience you have just offended?
I hope not both of them. There's no reason to choose sides in a metaphor. Also, and I didn't mention this, but the American stormed a ton of beaches in WWII in the Pacific. So suck it, Matt.
"Arturo"??!!!
You've never actually seen The Neverending Story, have you?
Holy shit, you're right. But by the time you read this, I won't know what you're talking about.
Haha!
"Say my name, Bastian! You can save us!"
"Okay!! I'll say it!! Tiffanneeeeeeeee!!"
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
Wikepdia says that he yells out "Moon child," which is the name used in the book. I always thought he was yelling out "Smokin' ho," which is much more romantic.
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