Stirring the Pot
Clive Cooke
- “String
- Theory”
- is
- a
- science
- fiction
- story
- at
- the
- human
- level,
- rather
- than
- an
- epic.
- An
- American
- family
- on
- a
- boating
- holiday
- off
- the
- coast
- of
- Croatia
- is
- involved
- in
- a
- strange
- incident
- for
- which
- there
- is
- no
- logical
- explanation.
The
- “PhD
- Virus”
- is
- a
- humorous
- story
- about
- going
- back
- to
- work
- (or
- school)
- after
- the
- summer
- vacation.
- We
- all
- agree
- that
- holidays
- are
- too
- short.
- Take
- my
- advice
- and
- get
- a
- doctor
- to
- certify
- that
- you
- need
- an
- extra
- two
- weeks’
- holiday.
“Economic
- Warfare”
- is
- a
- humorous
- story
- about
- academics
- (especially
- economists)
- partial
- to
- bad-mouthing
- one
- another
- in
- the
- open
- press.
- Still,
- a
- good
- controversy
- never
- harmed
- newspaper
- sales,
- isn’t
- that
- so?
“Cabin
- Fever”
- charts
- the
- mental
- break-down
- of
- a
- trapper
- living
- alone
- in
- his
- cabin
- in
- the
- mountains.
“Murder
- 101”,
- is
- set
- on
- the
- campus
- of
- a
- university.
- A
- professor
- of
- English
- Literature
- tries
- to
- liven
- up
- his
- course
- by
- studying
- books
- by
- crime
- writers.
- Meanwhile,
- a
- series
- of
- murders
- takes
- place
- on
- the
- campus,
- seemingly
- copying
- the
- lectures
- given
- by
- the
- professor.
- Naturally,
- the
- professor
- becomes
- the
- prime
- suspect.
“Pygmalion
- 400”
- is
- a
- Sci
- Fi
- story,
- a
- re-working
- of
- the
- Greek
- Myth
- of
- that
- name.
- This
- theme
- was
- used
- by
- George
- Bernard
- Shaw
- in
- his
- play
- Pygmalion,
- in
- the
- musical
- “My
- Fair
- Lady”
- and
- in
- the
- Roberts-Gere
- film
- “Pretty
- Woman”.
- This
- version
- is
- set
- 400
- years
- after
- the
- first
- computer
- algorithm
- was
- written.
- Who
- is
- in
- control….
- humans
- or
- computers?
The
- three
- stories
- entitled
- “How
- to
- Murder”
- are
- inspired
- by
- the
- famous
- film
- starring
- Jack
- Lemon,
- Virna
- Lisi
- and
- Terry
- Thomas.
- We
- learn
- how
- to
- murder
- your
- wife,
- your
- husband
- and
- your
- mother-in-law.
- Actually,
- no-one
- gets
- murdered.
- They
- are
- humous
- mix-ups.
“Meow….
- Burp”
- is
- a
- lampoon
- of
- the
- contemporary
- obsession
- with
- dieting.
- The
- narrator
- is
- a
- greedy
- cat.
The
- second
- half
- of
- the
- book
- is
- a
- continuation
- of
- the
- series:
- “Big
- Companies
- for
- Dummies”.
- Anyone
- who
- has
- ever
- worked
- for
- a
- big
- organization
- should
- recognize
- some
- of
- these
- stock
- characters
- and
- situations.
The
- first
- story,
- “Bootblack”,
- is
- a
- humorous
- tale
- about
- a
- greedy
- financial
- advisor.
- A
- pity
- he
- never
- took
- the
- advice
- given
- to
- him
- by
- the
- man
- who
- polishes
- his
- shoes
- on
- the
- plaza
- outside
- the
- stock
- exchange.
“Alpha
- Male”
- lifts
- the
- lid
- on
- how
- appointments
- and
- promotions
- are
- made
- in
- big
- companies.
- Despite
- the
- official
- line,
- the
- committee
- charged
- with
- plotting
- the
- human
- resource
- strategy
- is
- simply
- an
- opportunity
- for
- the
- alpha
- males
- in
- the
- company
- to
- display
- their
- power.
The
- story
- “Black
- Dog”
- is
- a
- humorous
- tale
- about
- how
- people
- behave
- when
- things
- go
- wrong
- at
- work.
- If
- there
- is
- any
- mud
- flying
- around,
- you
- had
- better
- make
- sure
- that
- it
- does
- not
- land
- on
- you.
‘Schadenfreude”
- is
- the
- German
- word
- for
- the
- pleasure
- one
- derives
- from
- other
- people’s
- misfortunes.
- Do
- people
- really
- behave
- like
- this?
- You
- bet
- they
- do.
“Wheel
- of
- Fortune”
- charts
- the
- ups
- and
- downs
- of
- people’s
- careers.
- You
- can
- never
- be
- too
- sure
- what
- will
- happen
- at
- the
- next
- company
- re-organization,
- or
- the
- one
- after
- that,
- or
- the
- one
- after
- that.
“Terms
- and
- Conditions”
- is
- a
- philosophical
- story
- about
- failure.
- Does
- failure
- really
- exist,
- how
- is
- it
- defined
- and
- how
- does
- one
- cope
- with
- it?
“Ethics
- Training”
- is
- a
- farcical
- romp.
- Every
- time
- a
- big
- company
- gets
- caught
- out
- for
- wrong-doing,
- it
- responds
- by
- sending
- its
- staff
- on
- an
- ethics
- training
- course.
- The
- real
- reason
- is
- to
- exonerate
- management
- when
- the
- proverbial
- hits
- the
- fan.
- “It
- wasn’t
- me”,
- “I
- wasn’t
- informed”,
- “it
- was
- a
- rogue
- employee”.
- At
- the
- end
- of
- the
- training
- course,
- one
- has
- to
- pass
- a
- test.
- Take
- heart:
- no-one
- answers
- these
- tests
- truthfully.
- You
- would
- be
- stupid
- to
- do so.
pro-mbooks3 : libris
