Tulips in April

Webber's bureaucracy

When teaching students about Webber's ideas on the ideal bureaucracy, I am often secretly glad that I don't have to survive in one of these. What a delusional thought though: I AM in one! The university displays lots of bureaucratic tendencies, from the zillion page ethics approval forms (now online, which as I hear is even worse) to the stack of forms to complete to get anything copied or printed. Prove this, prove that, get a signature or three (not including your own), what is your mother's maiden name and give us your true weight, while you're at it. And when you finally have used up your whole left brain, start on the right and come up with some truly original research please. Come on then Einstein, give us a thesis!

On so many levels

I have noticed it before, but nothing like a few weeks back home speaking another language to get your ears into noticing odd expressions in English. The most annoying one at the moment being 'on so many levels'. A quick google came up with:
'nuclear power bad on so many levels'
'an incredible story, on so many levels'
'a tragedy on so many levels'
'wrong on so many levels'
'this thing is a genius on so many levels'
'that was awesome on so many levels'
'Michael Jackson drinking bling H20 makes sense on so many levels'

It doesn't actually, make sense that is. What on earth does it mean? Is it that is sounds interesting and like you had really deep thoughts about this whatever you use it with? Did some celeb use it in a tv-interview (without me noticing it) and now it is trendy? Where does it come from? And can we please send it back where it belongs??