Timing, Cycles and Charlie Sheen

By I.J. Hudson

This post is all about timing.  It seems appropriate for several reasons. 

As I write this, the clock is moving toward the end of Eastern Standard Time toward the annual Spring Forward-Fall Back ritual of resetting almost every timepiece and replacing batteries.  I say almost, because I invariably forget at least one, not to mention the car clocks.  I always have to dig out the manual for one of the cars.

We talk about being in the wrong place at the wrong time, or at the right place at the right time.  Consider the icy road that just caused an accident that is "just wet" and safe two hours later.  Timing.

Another reason concerns cycles and seasons.   Try to find a swimsuit in late summer, or a winter jacket in mid-winter.  It’s time to make people think and buy for the next season.  I’m not a fashion guy, so I really don’t care.   

Other cycles make more sense to me – like lawnmower and snow thrower repair.  The big repair shops fix mowers in late Winter/early Spring so they’re ready for use when the grass awakens. They start adding snow throwers/blowers to the mix in July.  That may be a tad early for some, but at least you’re prepared for that occasional August snowstorm.  You can’t be too careful.  Washington, DC weather can be unpredictable.

The last element of timing is Charlie Sheen.  It seems almost everyone is viewing the proverbial “train wreck” and complaining about all the coverage at the same time.  It’s way past his fifteen minutes of fame, yet the saga stretches on and keeps growing – in part, because of social media and all the media.   On Google, I get 549-million hits for “Charlie Sheen;” for “Japan Earthquake,” 20.5 million. And there is a movement afoot, complete with Facebook page, to have Sheen be the 2012 commencement speaker at George Washington University.

In a statement released to bloggers, the GW group pushing for Sheen asks, "why must we suffer through the fomulaic commencement speech?  Why not hear from a man who has known both the sweet tastes of success and the sour bite of failure."  Some question whether they're serious or just having fun.

They say Sheen would be good for the University:  "This social media rally is truly a testament to the GWU school spirit, to the buff and blue blood that courses through our veins."

Timing?  What does this say about social media?  We’ve seen it heralded as the “app” for change from dictatorship to democracy.  It certainly can be used to bring people together to support a common idea.  It doesn’t mean every common idea is a good one.  It also doesn't mean everyone who "likes" something really likes it, or that a lot of people who do "like" something will go to the trouble of  clicking and joining in..

And the last point about timing.  This is a movement to have Charlie Sheen speak at the 2012 commencement, not this year’s commencement.  What if Charlie Sheen’s fifteen minutes of fame are over before 2012, and someone else is in the spotlight. 

It's all about timing.

 

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