Straights and screwballs...

[sheephead]

I have a theory about people -- it's slightly frivolous, but the more I think about it, the more it seems to make some sort of sense.....and it's a bit of fun! See what you think....Which one are you?? ;)

People sub-divide into two generic types, 'straights' and 'screwballs'. Probably the best way of me explaining this is to list the personal attributes of both groups:

Straights:

Ordered
Conventional
In control of things
Focussed
Emotionally stable
Straight-laced
Often can't understand / deal with people's foibles & peculiarities
Set way of doing things

Screwballs:

More insecure
Require coping mechanisms (alcohol, drugs etc.)
Hide behind humour
Need to let their hair down
Unconventional / flambouyant
Maverick
Generally tolerant of peoples' foibles & peculiarities
Variable moods
Lack of focus in life -- tend to dabble with things


These are obviously imprecise definitions. I think some people are certifiably 'straight' or 'screwball', while others are on the cusp.

Neither term is judgemental. It's perfectly OK to be from either camp. I would consider myself to be a screwball - and proud - but have lots of friends from both sides of the divide. In many relationships straights and screwballs actually complelent each other really well. Straights bring strength and stability, while screwballs add a bit of colour and unpredictability.

Screwballs are more likely to struggle at work. They often find the 'straight' norms and conventions of the workplace quite stressful. They often tend to cultivate a 'straight' side in order to fit in better, but this persona sits uneasily with them and makes them more prone to stress and anxiety.

Likewise, screwballs often find straight people strangely intimidaing. Their sense of order and perspective and their single-mindedness is quite bewildering to a screwball, who tends to be more intuitive and need to 'feel' their way through situations. If a straight person tries to impose their sense of order onto a screwball this can lead to trouble!

What do you think? Fact or fantasy? Straight or screwball? Has Sheephead been on the cooking sherry again? Give us your opinions...:talkface:

Sheephead (Chief of the screwballs)

[HerbVerbage]

Interesting distintction there Sheephead, the problem for me was I seemed to have all those things except for the "letting your hair down" thing, I'm not a very relaxed person. If I had to choose though I guess I'd say straight, I prefer order, science, all that quite a bit. But then again I love imagination and believe in some wild things that most people couldn't possibly imagine. Dono. Sometimes straight sometimes screwball perhaps. By the way thanks for your responses on my thread, I enjoyed them.

[BelleKelle]

Mmm-hmmm. Well, I'd say you're definitely a straight-laced type just to have come up with this! :wobblyeyes: What's next for you? Astrology!?? :p

Of course, I'm kidding. Definitely, we humans fall into categories, as much as we'd all like to think we are unique. I think you've got a pretty good description here, except that, of course, no one fits into one group perfectly. I myself prefer order, but find that once a given area or situation goes beyond my tolerance for order, I'm not able to "fix" it, which makes me feel apathetic and lazy. Then I become totally dysfunctional, ie, a screwball.

Other than that, I'm definitely a screwball in every category. Color me colorful!

[SkulkyGirl]

You look at someone who is perfect - 'straight' and then you don't know all their dirt. Don't you watch Desperate Housewives????
Everyone is crazy. I am a single mom, and lots of married people are - well, they look content and all, but they are not. They are miserable. Nothing is what it seems. Lots of people are living lives of quiet desperation.
ALso, someone once told me 'don't compare your insides to their outsides.'
S.G.

[sheephead]

D'you think it could be a 'left brain' / 'right brain' feature? People who are predominantly left-brained are supposed to be more logical and organised, whereas right-brain favours the artistic and spiritual side.

Therefore, left brain = straight; right brain = screwball.

Hmmmmm.....:rolleyes:

[everything&more]

D'you think it could be a 'left brain' / 'right brain' feature? People who are predominantly left-brained are supposed to be more logical and organised, whereas right-brain favours the artistic and spiritual side.

Therefore, left brain = straight; right brain = screwball.

Hmmmmm.....:rolleyes:


well, I guess I can say I'm a screwball then lol :laugh: but then again alot of people were. John Lennon and Yoko Ono are screwballs but they're like total legends. Jimi Hendrix was a screwball and he is rock out awesome! The Police were screwballs considering that they wern't together so long but they still play sometimes and they have awesome hits on the radio. the Beastie Boys and Wu Tang Clan were screwballs but they rlly changed the era of hip hop and helped form rap. President bush is a screwball and well... he did nothing much... :talkface:

[sheephead]

well, I guess I can say I'm a screwball then lol :laugh: but then again alot of people were. John Lennon and Yoko Ono are screwballs but they're like total legends. Jimi Hendrix was a screwball and he is rock out awesome! The Police were screwballs considering that they wern't together so long but they still play sometimes and they have awesome hits on the radio. the Beastie Boys and Wu Tang Clan were screwballs but they rlly changed the era of hip hop and helped form rap. President bush is a screwball and well... he did nothing much... :talkface:

Nah! Y'see, I think President Bush is a straight. I think most politicians are straights. The only exception to this is one or two maverick politicians, who never get very far because they don't tow the party line. One guy that springs to mind in the UK is the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson -- eccentric, shambolic-looking, always off-message, putting his foot in it etc etc.

....whereas, as you rightly say, many musicians are total screwballs! John and Yoko - good example. A quick listen to 'Revolution 9' or 'What's the new Mary Jane' proves all...! ;)

[sheephead]

OK, consider this. The cast of 'Friends':

Chandler - screwball; Monica - straight; Ross - straight; Rachel - straight; Joey - straight; Pheobe - screwball.

Easy, isn't it? :talkface:

[BelleKelle]

Friends? Someone is watching WAY too much TV!

President Bush is a screwball? Oh, please, don't insult me like that. I'm a screwball and proud of it. The president, on the other hand, appears to have had a lobotomy performed, and he now only performs what he is told to do, by some "people" who appear to be something other than human.

I think we'll have to add a category. Not sure what it is. Aliens? Malicious aliens? I don't know!

Speaking of musicians and screwballs, what about Bryan Ferry? Oooh, would love to be a fly on the wall when he's creating something. Ditto all the members present and past of Pink Floyd. And really, Robert Plant?

I'm def proud to be in this group. I'm a screwball.

Now, if I could just pretend to be a straight-laced person and get this home of mine picked up. THat would be helpful. Sometimes, you've got to pretend to be something other than what you are.

Oh! On screwballs and politicians? How about Barney Frank and his new proposal!? Wow! I love that guy.

[sheephead]

Friends? Someone is watching WAY too much TV!


Speaking of musicians and screwballs, what about Bryan Ferry? Oooh, would love to be a fly on the wall when he's creating something. Ditto all the members present and past of Pink Floyd. And really, Robert Plant?



Nope....all straights, I'm afraid. Bryan Ferry had a sort of glamorous screwball potential in the early Roxy Music days, but has become slicker and straighter with age.

Pink Floyd - now, ya see old Syd Barrett was a certifiable Screwball....the genuine article, but the others seem pretty straight to me. Morose, yes, but being morose and deeply melancholic doesn't necessarily make you a screwball. :rolleyes:

Robert Plant, I reckon, is a straight. He's just too well adjusted. I'd be prepared to listen to arguments for Jimmy Page, however. ;)

[BelleKelle]

Nope....all straights, I'm afraid. Bryan Ferry had a sort of glamorous screwball potential in the early Roxy Music days, but has become slicker and straighter with age.

Pink Floyd - now, ya see old Syd Barrett was a certifiable Screwball....the genuine article, but the others seem pretty straight to me. Morose, yes, but being morose and deeply melancholic doesn't necessarily make you a screwball. :rolleyes:

Robert Plant, I reckon, is a straight. He's just too well adjusted. I'd be prepared to listen to arguments for Jimmy Page, however. ;)

Mr. Sheephead:

I beg to differ with you. Please see your post #5 on this thread. Musicians, artists, etc? Creative types? Screwballs. Mr. Plant? Oh please! Have you heard the story about how he got the idea he wanted to meet Allison Krause ( and have you heard the album Raising Sand? Oh, it's great!).

We can agree on Syd. He obviously had some heavy duty mental health problems, granted. That does not mean, however, that Ferry, Plant, etc. are straights because they've gotten their lives straightened out. I would argue with you that they are screwballs (according to your definition, that is) who have finally figured out how to live in their own skin and make it work! Look at Bowie too! Ch-ch-changes . . . . ? :lookaround:

That's what I think. Some screwballs, again according to your definition, just learn how to work with themselves, their own peculiarities, and then, voila! Life starts to fall into place for them.

I'm right. You mustn't bother trying to correct me. I will not agree. I'm just right. You know it, too.

That's why we're all here! 'Cause we're trying to figure out how to get our own screwball demons under control so that we too can function, but still be ourselves. Right?

Oh you know I am. :p

Anyway, that's my TEN cents on this topic.

Agreed on Jimmy Page. BTW, if you've heard the Raising Sand album, you've heard the Page/Krause cover of Page's Please Read The Letter. It's so good. If you've not heard this album, go listen to some clips of it on iTunes. I got it for someone else for xmas, then went berserk listening to it over and over again. Fantastic. Some of it was weird at first, and I had to keep giving a few songs another listen, another chance, but then, it all clicked. It's a great album.

Krause, however, I would say, is more straight. I dont' think she writes music. She does play a mean fiddle though.

Back to you, Tony, in Liverpool. ;)

[BelleKelle]

Oh yeah, I was reading Rolling Stone last year sometime, and they were reviewing Bryan Ferry's new Bob Dylan cover album. I forget the exact words, but it included this: from the guy who takes a shower with hair gel and a tuxedo! LOL What a great way to describe Bryan Ferry.

How about Brian Eno and the work he did with Bowie on the Berlin sesssions? ooooh, some weird stuff. Eno is a genius. A screwball genius, who also did loads of work with Ferry.

All screwballs.

And I'm jealous of each and every one of them. I want to be all secure and comfy in my weirdness too!

[DW23]

Nah! Y'see, I think President Bush is a straight.

;)

I think Bush is a screwball masquerading as a straight, as are a lot of conservative politicians here in the USA. Look at all the gay sex scandals involving Republicans.:laugh: Bush was an alcoholic cokehead before he found religion and his policies definitely come from a screwy place. His dad was definitely a straight though. George #1 might not have been a great president but at least he kept us out of Iraq.

[sheephead]

That's what I think. Some screwballs, again according to your definition, just learn how to work with themselves, their own peculiarities, and then, voila! Life starts to fall into place for them.

That's why we're all here! 'Cause we're trying to figure out how to get our own screwball demons under control so that we too can function, but still be ourselves. Right?



I really like this idea, Bellekelle. I always felt sort of 'out of place' working in an office and at odds with my surroundings. Living in such an alien environment made me uncomfortable and 'revved up' my screwball tendencies. I used to indulge in some fairly odd behaviour, that often got on people's nerves: I used to sing through most of the working day ('I'm so tired' by the Beatles was a great favourite). I used to whistle endless tunes and beat my desk like a drum-kit. :rolleyes: I couldn't help myself. If I'd have stopped, it would have driven me bonkers!

No matter how hard I tried, the screwball in me always poked through. I used to be dead jealous of people who could just work their way serenely through the day, unflustered, and take the working day in their stride. Oh Lord, it's great being a straight! :frown:

Now that I no longer work in an office I'm so much more chilled out. My general demeanour is almost 'normal'.....and I'm hoping that having decided on a complete change of career (Housing Manager to van driver) that things will start to 'fall into place' for me.

I'll never be a 'straight', (I don't want to be one) but I am learning to adapt my life around my screwball tendencies. :talkface:

[sheephead]

I think Bush is a screwball masquerading as a straight, as are a lot of conservative politicians here in the USA. Look at all the gay sex scandals involving Republicans.:laugh: Bush was an alcoholic cokehead before he found religion and his policies definitely come from a screwy place. His dad was definitely a straight though. George #1 might not have been a great president but at least he kept us out of Iraq.

George W. Bush has never really struck me as screwball material. I was vaguely aware that the guy had a 'past', but that in itself doesn't qualify you for genuine 'screwball' status. There are very few politicians that I would describe as screwballs, simply because to get to the top in politics you need to be focussed, single-minded and adept at 'playing the system' in a way that most self-respecting screwballs would find impossible.

The only British Prime Minister that might just qualify would be Winston Churchill -- maverick, eccentric and shunned by the 'straight-thinking' political establishment until Europe went into melt-down in the Autumn of 1939.

Actually, come to think of it, screwballs probably make first rate dictators and despots (one or two spring to mind immediately), but don't get me started on that one........:rolleyes:

[sheephead]

Mr. Sheephead:

I beg to differ with you. Please see your post #5 on this thread. Musicians, artists, etc? Creative types? Screwballs. Mr. Plant? Oh please! Have you heard the story about how he got the idea he wanted to meet Allison Krause ( and have you heard the album Raising Sand? Oh, it's great!).

We can agree on Syd. He obviously had some heavy duty mental health problems, granted. That does not mean, however, that Ferry, Plant, etc. are straights because they've gotten their lives straightened out. I would argue with you that they are screwballs (according to your definition, that is) who have finally figured out how to live in their own skin and make it work! Look at Bowie too! Ch-ch-changes . . . . ? :lookaround:

Bellekelle,

I think you're slowly getting the hang of this, but I'm not letting Robert Plant into the Screwball Hall of Fame. :rolleyes: To me he just seems like a normal guy with a great voice, who dresses, conspicuously to the left.

Eno? Definitely. Bowie is an interesting one. Hmmmmmm......

No, I think despite his many alter-egos (Major Tom, Ziggy, Aladdin Sane, the Thin White Duke and that Clown fella in the 'Ashes to Ashes' video) I think he's just a prodigiously-talented straight. Sorry. He's just too in control of his many guises. If there was just some notion that fact and fantasy had become genuinely blurred in his mind and his creations had somehow taken over then I would wave him through, but I reckon he was always pulling the strings....

[DW23]

George W. Bush has never really struck me as screwball material. I was vaguely aware that the guy had a 'past', but that in itself doesn't qualify you for genuine 'screwball' status. :rolleyes:

Fair enough. Of course you live in Great Britain so you can't understand how screwy it has become here in the USA, but you can look at him objectively and I can't.

[everything&more]

OK, consider this. The cast of 'Friends':

Chandler - screwball; Monica - straight; Ross - straight; Rachel - straight; Joey - straight; Pheobe - screwball.

Easy, isn't it? :talkface:



lolll good example, but i would say Monica is kinda a screwball, after all, she's "happy" when her vaccum cleaner is being cleaned by a smaller vaccum cleaner xD

[BelleKelle]

Well, this certainly got interesting.

A few random thoughts:

Bowie? I don't know, Sheephead. I think I'm going to stand my ground here. You wrote something about the line between reality and fantasy crossed. Don't you think that Bowie kind of did that with the Berlin recordings (Hero, etc), the ones that were done with Eno? Also, when he was younger, he told an interviewer from Rolling Stone that he was bisexual; a few years ago, I read that he was rather offended that people reacted the way they did, since to him, it was obvious that he was just young, experimenting, and bs'ing his way through the music industry--something like that. I would say that was certainly a case of blurring the lines. HE knew that he was not bisexual, but he was enjoying playing the role--that's what he said in retrospect, but years, decades, later. At the time, I do think he was blurring those lines.

I do agree that he is wildly talented. Oh, do I love Bowie.

Now, speaking of those personas and such, how about Madonna. Now there is someone I'd say fits your description/impression of Plant, Bowie, etc, except that she seems never to have blurred the lines between reality and her games of personas, etc. Talk about focused? My gosh, is she ever focused. I do think during her very early years, early 80's, she was blurring those lines, maybe getting her ego off on all the uproar she was causing. But that is one very focused person. I don't particularly care for her personality, what I have read and seen of her, and her music is just okay to me (it is true pop imo, not art); however, I admire her business acumen.

Maverick. That word keeps popping up on here. And someone mentioned how different it must be to live in a different country, rather than here, during this administration. So, maverick--that's the word that has been attached to John McCain, almost like an ad, or something. "He's a maverick!" Well, what the heck does that mean?

I don't know that I would agree all politicians are straights. For one thing, to be in politics, esp in this country, most are ego-maniacs. You'd pretty much have to be to go through that campaigning and self-promotion. Then there is the power aspect that so many in national politics seem to covet so much. But then again, since our political scene now is so much about sex (who's hiding what), it sort of exposes some of these people who have been masquerading as "family values" folks, just good ole boys . . . who then are caught in the tangled webs they've created.

So I guess what I'm driving at here is . . . . Uh, I don't know! I do like what someone else posted up there: Don't compare your insides to their outsides. That is excellent advice.

I know that I have gone through periods in my life when I felt like I was just . . .wrong, for lack of better word. Just wrong for this world, look at me, look at them, eh, step back BelleKelle and admit it: you're weird. But it is so very true that many, many people are just very good at concealing their "secrets."

And I definitely agree that there are gradients. No one is completely one or the other. The left brain/right brain topic does shed some light on this, or at least validate that what we're talking about here has at least some relevance to human personalities.

Someone else back there mentioned something about the Republicans who seem like such perfect straights, but then are found to be gay, or whatever. I don't care for that sort of thinking. Like many Americans, I find I am embarrassed and offended by the fakes in DC, and the homosexual issue has really bugged me. I don't think it's fair to categorize anyone on the basis on the sexual orientation. We now know the science is in: people do not choose orientation. So to me, anyone who was gay and hiding from the world, while pontificating against the alleged evils of homosexuality is not a straight-laced person at all. That's someone with some pretty severe personality conflicts; and I don't think I'd put them in the screwball category, either. There's more to this, in other words. Maybe just fakes? But that makes them sound like screwballs, and there is no art, nothing of any value in leading a secret life while going out of one's way to hurt others. Don't know if that makes any sense.

Whatever the case, I am so fed up with homosexuality being forced down the collective American throat as an important issue. It's really disgusting to witness this as a citizen of this country. Seriously.

See? I can be very serious. I too have nuances of a straight laced person, although I'd describe myself as a screwball, according to your OP.

What else was there? Hmmm. OH, offices. Good god, I hate working in offices. I tend to get into trouble for some of the reasons you (Sheephead) mentioned. I don't sing (I don't sing in front of anyone--too cruel!), but I tend to want to stir things up, have some fun, bring some laughter into the environment, etc. I don't like it. I can't stand it. I just can't. It does not fit me well at all. I do not like rigidity, and to me, an office environment is very, very rigid.

Monica, friends, and the vacuum? Funny. I only saw that show a couple of times, never really got into, but it does sound like I may have missed something!

I LOVE Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Okay, I think I've made this post sufficiently long, winding, hard to follow and annoying. I'l stop now :freak4:

[everything&more]

Well, this certainly got interesting.

A few random thoughts:

Bowie? I don't know, Sheephead. I think I'm going to stand my ground here. You wrote something about the line between reality and fantasy crossed. Don't you think that Bowie kind of did that with the Berlin recordings (Hero, etc), the ones that were done with Eno? Also, when he was younger, he told an interviewer from Rolling Stone that he was bisexual; a few years ago, I read that he was rather offended that people reacted the way they did, since to him, it was obvious that he was just young, experimenting, and bs'ing his way through the music industry--something like that. I would say that was certainly a case of blurring the lines. HE knew that he was not bisexual, but he was enjoying playing the role--that's what he said in retrospect, but years, decades, later. At the time, I do think he was blurring those lines.

I do agree that he is wildly talented. Oh, do I love Bowie.

Now, speaking of those personas and such, how about Madonna. Now there is someone I'd say fits your description/impression of Plant, Bowie, etc, except that she seems never to have blurred the lines between reality and her games of personas, etc. Talk about focused? My gosh, is she ever focused. I do think during her very early years, early 80's, she was blurring those lines, maybe getting her ego off on all the uproar she was causing. But that is one very focused person. I don't particularly care for her personality, what I have read and seen of her, and her music is just okay to me (it is true pop imo, not art); however, I admire her business acumen.

Maverick. That word keeps popping up on here. And someone mentioned how different it must be to live in a different country, rather than here, during this administration. So, maverick--that's the word that has been attached to John McCain, almost like an ad, or something. "He's a maverick!" Well, what the heck does that mean?

I don't know that I would agree all politicians are straights. For one thing, to be in politics, esp in this country, most are ego-maniacs. You'd pretty much have to be to go through that campaigning and self-promotion. Then there is the power aspect that so many in national politics seem to covet so much. But then again, since our political scene now is so much about sex (who's hiding what), it sort of exposes some of these people who have been masquerading as "family values" folks, just good ole boys . . . who then are caught in the tangled webs they've created.

So I guess what I'm driving at here is . . . . Uh, I don't know! I do like what someone else posted up there: Don't compare your insides to their outsides. That is excellent advice.

I know that I have gone through periods in my life when I felt like I was just . . .wrong, for lack of better word. Just wrong for this world, look at me, look at them, eh, step back BelleKelle and admit it: you're weird. But it is so very true that many, many people are just very good at concealing their "secrets."

And I definitely agree that there are gradients. No one is completely one or the other. The left brain/right brain topic does shed some light on this, or at least validate that what we're talking about here has at least some relevance to human personalities.

Someone else back there mentioned something about the Republicans who seem like such perfect straights, but then are found to be gay, or whatever. I don't care for that sort of thinking. Like many Americans, I find I am embarrassed and offended by the fakes in DC, and the homosexual issue has really bugged me. I don't think it's fair to categorize anyone on the basis on the sexual orientation. We now know the science is in: people do not choose orientation. So to me, anyone who was gay and hiding from the world, while pontificating against the alleged evils of homosexuality is not a straight-laced person at all. That's someone with some pretty severe personality conflicts; and I don't think I'd put them in the screwball category, either. There's more to this, in other words. Maybe just fakes? But that makes them sound like screwballs, and there is no art, nothing of any value in leading a secret life while going out of one's way to hurt others. Don't know if that makes any sense.

Whatever the case, I am so fed up with homosexuality being forced down the collective American throat as an important issue. It's really disgusting to witness this as a citizen of this country. Seriously.

See? I can be very serious. I too have nuances of a straight laced person, although I'd describe myself as a screwball, according to your OP.

What else was there? Hmmm. OH, offices. Good god, I hate working in offices. I tend to get into trouble for some of the reasons you (Sheephead) mentioned. I don't sing (I don't sing in front of anyone--too cruel!), but I tend to want to stir things up, have some fun, bring some laughter into the environment, etc. I don't like it. I can't stand it. I just can't. It does not fit me well at all. I do not like rigidity, and to me, an office environment is very, very rigid.

Monica, friends, and the vacuum? Funny. I only saw that show a couple of times, never really got into, but it does sound like I may have missed something!

I LOVE Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Okay, I think I've made this post sufficiently long, winding, hard to follow and annoying. I'l stop now :freak4:


ionoo somtimes things happen that aren't supposed to happen cuz doctors carelessly put two meds that aren't exactly soulmates and BOOOM something happens and you never had that prince albert before.

[sheephead]

I know that I have gone through periods in my life when I felt like I was just . . .wrong, for lack of better word. Just wrong for this world, look at me, look at them, eh, step back BelleKelle and admit it: you're weird. But it is so very true that many, many people are just very good at concealing their "secrets."



Hmmmmm......this is really interesting, BelleKelle. Seriously. Y'see, now I come to think about it, I have always had something of an 'outsider' image of myself. I've always seen myself as a bit of a misfit in comparison with 'straight' society. I've got all the usual number of friends and family and all that stuff, but I've always had the vague feeling that I wasn't quite 'right' for this world - as you say.

But here's the weird thing....the actual sense in which I see myself as 'different' has changed completely over the years.

In my twenties, my feeling of being an outsider really revolved around being single all the time. I suppose I was very shy around women....or, at best, women saw me as too 'nice' - as friendship material, but nothing more. I found this really alienating and it fuelled a sort of defiant, and quite deep-seated melancholy - almost depressive in nature.

However, from my early thirties onwards, this all changed and I had a number of fairly successful, happy relationships. I had moved on, basically...shed a skin and got rid of those hang-ups.

However, despite all this, in a sense, nothing's changed. I still see myself as an outsider - a screwball - it's just that I have moved the goalposts and my feeling of 'separateness' is now based upon something completely different. It's my inability to hold down a job and my struggles with mood and confidence that now seem to define my self-created 'outsider' status. My strong, defiant sense of being a bit of a misfit remains wholly intact, it just relates to a completely different set of perceived 'deficiencies'.

Isn't that strange? I'd never thought of that at all. It's almost like I have a subliminal need to feel like an outsider, however I wish to define it. To hold hands with Joe 'Normal' and kick with the fray would just be too much of a burden. I have to stand back and be different -- wear different clothes. I don't entirely want to fit in and I'm not desperate to be seen to fit in. I dunno....count me in / out. At best, I'm ambivalent about it. I am, after all, a screwball.....;)