13 posts tagged “qotd”
What do you do EVERY day to take care of the earth's environment? What could you do more of?
Recycling is a scam. I don't recycle, I throw my cig butts out the window on the highway, and I pee in the ocean.
Please begin imploding at your convenience.
What aspect of your personality could use a little work?
Are we really going to do this? Are you really going to make me write two "why I'm neurotic" posts in two days?
Yes, you are. Ok
I'm mind blowingly bad at making conversation with people I don't already know in most situations unless they're mind blowingly good at MAKING conversation. If someone is not busy talking at me and I'm incapable of filling the void, they are destined to silence and an awkward moment. FOR EXAMPLE
This morning I am getting out of the subway in front of Bryant Park. I stop and look down 5th Avenue for a minute to get my bearings and stare DIRECTLY INTO THE SUN (which, due to the changing seasons and earth rotation and other assorted bullshit has been spending mornings making me all squinty and miserable). I stumble for a second and try to fix my scarf and grab a glove and keep walking
right into John Mayer.
Now you may be thinking that the sun staring had gotten my eyes all wonky, but no, I read PerezHilton regularly through 'Fugs and Jugs' (Jessica Simpson), and this, quite definitely, was John Mayer. I stopped for a second because things were falling out of my pockets and hey, John Mayer is actually a pretty funny guy and I am told very good with a guitar even if his music that I hear on the radio pretty much blows. He apologized and kind of gave me that "fuck this bitch can't get her shit together" kind of look which was 100% appropriate. John Mayer always reminded me of the popular, good looking guy in high school that you knew from middle school was a really fun and interesting but was good looking enough that he never needed to date anyone with braincells. Anyway!
So what do you say if you're me? You blink for a second, look at him, and say
"Alright" and keep walking.
I still don't know what the most appropriate response would've been, but seriously, I'm an idiot.
Here's one for the ladies: What's in your handbag right now?
Submitted by Kadeeae.
I don't know which is more full of fail: this question or my bag.
How are you spending Christmas Day?
Welcome to Killadelphia, population: me. Well, and my parents. It's just us chickens so our holidays tend to be pretty low key. Christmas is a two day celebration beginning on the Eve where we
- Eat a stupid amount of whatever food we've been able to order in (this year I-talian)
- Each person gets to open one "shit gift" (ie, whatever we've gotten for one another which is mostly not fun: cell phone holder, electric toothbrush, etc)
- The Monopoly marathon begins
We never really played games when I was growing up (see the: there were only three of us) but I've started insisting on it as I've gotten older. Thus, we play Monopoly until our fingers bleed and we're jeering at one another and out of huckleberry cordials and someone has a stomach ache (it's probably me!). Even though there has been serious DRAMA that has been causing me some STRESSTRESSSTRESS, I am trying to not let my bitterness get the best of me. Candy helps this a lot.
Christmas Day, again, now that I've gotten older and don't have a present-centric toothache, is also low key. Many years it involves me actually showering and putting on makeup to look presentable in photos (not this year, suckas!). There will then be waffles, then there will be presents. I'm pretty thankful we're not in a family that has any ridiculous traditions. I was reading a Fark thread where some dude was upset his girlfriend's family wouldn't let him in on the Christmas Day tradition of lining up in height order, marching around the house singing Jingle Bells, and then opening presents in age order. No Gay Elf March here, folks. GEM Free in 2003.
The gifting. This year was good as always. I guarantee that we are the only three people on the planet that actually know how to give gifts--ie, even the shit gifts do not suck. There was not one thing given that anyone was really disappointed in (although I did receive some clothes that were of...questionable style. This is what happens when you refuse to shop at anywhere but Target and your mother feels the need to intervene. We'll be returning these bad boys tomorrow). There was, however, a slight kerfluffle when, while I was both delighted and surprised to receive a Kitchenaid Artisan Mixer with all the attachments I would need to make sausage (I saw the 'Good Eats' about making your own sausage and I've been pretty much talking about making my own sausage like it's my job) which was FANTASTIC, however, my dad opted to get me white. WHITE. These damn things are expensive and they come in 8,000 other awesome colors that I would've preferred (he forgets that HE prefers white everything, not me) and so was naturally a little disapointed. It was eventually agreed that the white one would be exchanged for the Cranberry (or alternatively Persimmons) so that every time I used the damn thing I wouldn't be obligated to go, "And they got in for me in white. White! Why would someone ever buy me something WHITE?" So now y'all don't have to hear that. Be thankful. Be thankful I am an only child and get what I want. Nyah. Nyah.
To be fair, I am actually the number four most favourite child. The order is this: Paul (Paul is the favourite because he is awesome, even though I AM BLOOD), Phoebe, Belle, me. For the record, Phoebe and Belle are the dogs. For Christmas, they received little meatloaves that were microwaved and giftwrapped. Actually wrapped. I am not joking. There was no elaborate wrapping, but they wanted them to have the 'opening presents' experience. So. I am definetely last on the list. I probably would've also like a gift wrapped meatloaf if I were offered one.
Then, dinner at the same place we eat out for every single holiday evar, and more Monopoly. DOMINATION!
Plus, I was reviewing last year's Christmas photos and I am thankful for having dyed my hair back to blackbrownwhateverthehellitis. I also received texts from one million people and thank you all for your nice wishes. Remember: the reason for the season in pleasin'. I hope y'all got your pleasin' on this year. I'm off to go watch the Office and make myself sick on more candy.
What was your major or field of study in college? [boring stuff omitted]
Submitted by sneuf.
Economics and Islamic Studies.
Basically, I have degrees in baloney.
Film & TV writers are on strike, which means everything except reality TV could halt production. Do you support the strike? Are any of your favorite shows in jeopardy?
Ehhhhhhh I kept going back and forth about whether I was going to
write on this and the more I actually read about it the more I realize that it's mostly just a pissing contest between pretty well off white guys and superrich white guys (and Tina Fey). Thus, while there is still TV on, I will watch it and not care about this.
So here it is, in three bullet points:
- No I do not support the strike, but not just because I think that writers are trying to overcompensate and make a huge grab after their lack of foresight during the 1988 negotiations (PS Every Other Vox Opinion I've Read Today: DVD sale residuals were dropped by the WGA in the final rounds of negotiations, it's new media residuals that became the real sticking point), but mostly because strikes are not Pareto optimal and are always absurd. John Kenan:
There is no commonly accepted economic theory of strikes. The main obstacle is that if one has a theory which predicts when a strike will occur and what the outcome will be, the parties can agree to this outcome in advance, and so avoid the costs of a strike..strikes are apparently not Pareto optimal, since a strike means that the pie shrinks as the employer and the workers argue over how it should be divided. If the parties are rational, it is difficult to see why they would fail to negotiate a Pareto optimal outcome.
Hicks suggested two possible explanations for strikes: either the union is trying to maintain a "reputation for toughness", or there is private information on at least one side of the bargaining table...
- Unions are bad for all of us, mmkay
- If I hear one more person use the word 'fair' -- a NON QUANTITATIVE ADJECTIVE THAT MEANS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING -- for how the writer's should get paid I'll scream
TV is a pretty big wasteland these days anyway. I don't have pity for anyone involved with anything other than Nip/Tuck since they canceled Passions.
Are you a registered organ donor? Why or why not?
Submitted by jacolily.
Yes. And while I have a weird and somewhat traumatic story to go along with that, I think the more important question is:
God dammit, how is it the year 2007 and we (I) are living in the United States of America and people cannot sell their organs? Seriously. Seriously.
I could draw you a graph about what causes a shortage and try to get some use out of that college education but I won't. And I'll have no tut tutting about organs having some special otherworldly quality that absolves them from being bought and sold--you're asking them to be GIVEN away. At least let the organs have a little dignity and a dollar value.
If we're really concerned about the lives of sellers and sellees let's make this happen--keep up the regular donation list for those who can't afford it (and can now apply for charity organ grants) and those who can will be wiped off the lists. This whole thing is insane. How is it I can sell my time (although not time in my vajay because I do not live in Nevada and/or Rhode Island), all my worldly possessions, my hair, even half of my babies (eggs) yet I can't sell my liver? What's up with that? Selling my liver doesn't do anybody any harm. No one can smoke my liver and then drive under the influence of my liver and hit some kid on a bike and everybody cries and it's on local news. Nope. Doesn't happen.
I farmed these organs on my own for 22 years and I should be able to enrich myself from them as I please. Besides-- it would put an end to those awful stories on the news about Chinese prisoners being executed and their organs sold in black market rings. I'd rather have consenting people (and NYU students especially) get some cash for their organs than Chinese political prisoners; besides, our trade debt with them is high enough already.
No Organs for Free in 2003, y'all.
(Edit: this was sort of a surreal rant to write, only to be made weirder when I googled 'where can you sell your organs' and apparently Newt Gingrich proposed a regulated organ market. Weird. Even weirder is that you can legally sell your kidneys in Iran)
Where do you get recommendations for new books to read?
I know I recently wrote about books here but I'm going to do it again. Ever since I left college it feels like I've been gradually dumbening. While I skimmed through reading assignments, never turned in problem sets and bullshitted my way through practically every paper I ever had to write: I did like sitting in lecture. I really miss Economics; while that whole Islamic Studies thing was nice, Economics made me think the hardest and made me feel the most fulfilled. I'm incapable of "doing it", so to speak (I'm not mathity nor persistant nor, well, anything you'd need to be a decent economist or go to graduate school); but I do want to know it. Know everything.
My job is not tremendously intellectually fulfilling and my IRL friends, while SUPERFANTASTICAWESOMEGOODTIMES, are pretty vain. I love you guys, but you are and it sort of drives me crazy. I really want people who can teach me stuff for free or who get ants in their pants about Gordon Tullock. Maybe I'll post on Craigslist; I don't know. "WANTED: Coffee table and/or Economist. No mathmeticians."
So in the meantime, I've been reading. Readingreadingreading until my eyes blur and then I go play some video games and they blur even worse. I tore through the fiction I had sitting around at first: Christopher Moore, 'A Thousand Splendid Suns', that accidental Stephen King book, then 'Oryx and Crake.' I followed that up when I went to all my nonfictions, 'Decisions, Uncertainty and the Brain,' 'Female Perversions' and Tyler Cowen's book before I promptly returned it and yesterday 'It's Not News: It's Fark' (which was actually pretty awesome).
We're talking about a maybe a six week span here. I read a damn lot. Now I'm going through 'The Handmaiden's Tale' again as a time filler waiting on my Half.com orders from last week (which were Vox recommendations). But I miss those Econ books I returned and I hadn't even read them all. They were stupid and dumbed down and everything I already knew, but I really liked them and it felt like my gears were grinding again. It broke my heart to return them but $100 was a lot of money to spend on 4 books. I'm itching to pre-order 'Supercapitalism' and find a tattered, dog eared and discounted copy of Bryan Caplan's to really dig into again.
What I really want though? I want to find textbooks. I started rereading my Game Theory one on a slow day and I've been eyeing the Mankiw on my shelf since then. I want to find good quality intermediate/advanced Economics textbooks so I don't have to feel like I'm gradually decaying in this soulless job; and there is essentially no way to do that cheaply. Cost/benefits.
So the answer to the question? I don't really have an answer. I'm weird.
People do many different things to cope with stress, loss, and "bumps in the road". How do you handle stress and hard times?
Submitted by RedlyGal.
Since I've come to New York:
- Coffee
- Peanut Butter (making and eating)
- Talking very loudly
In that order.
