Okay, vote Michigan or at least the Big Ten, thanks!
Hey everybody, Happy Thanksgiving! I hope everyone gets through the day without killing a family member ... remember, count to ten and breathe deeply ... it's only one day. For those of you I will be seeing in the morning for the annual Thanksgiving Day Bowl, you better bring your A game or it's gonna get lopsided in a hurry :-)
Alright, I got a real easy one here. I have already discussed this informally with some people and we agreed it should appear on CHASM so, here it is.
What is your least favorite x-mas song and why?
I was reading a "best of" book yesterday that contained pieces of creative writing from high schools in the US. I was kinda impressed with the few I read. What I found most peculiar though was the number of students who related their experiences writing to their experiences with music. Each entry is prefaced by a "purpose" statement in which the student gives some background information detailing his thought processes that eventually led to the creation of the piece. Quite a few mentioned inspirations from music they had heard recently or parallels between sitting down to play their instrument and sitting down to write creatively.
All I ever hear about is how music students are, generally speaking, better MATH students than students who have little or no musical training. I'm sure there are scientific reasons for that and, yes, I'm planning to play Mozart for my children (if I would, God forbid, ever decide to have them) because of the scientifically documented benefits to overall IQ. However, I found it ironic that it was these ENGLISH students who had found great parallels between their crafts.
I guess this could be a whole left / right brain thing but ... Do you feel, personally, that music is more closely related to mathematical precision or to literary creativity?
It occurs to me every time I stumble over a cliché in conversation that, while it might be hackneyed, trite etc. there’s typically no simpler or more effective way to convey my thought. Regardless of my conscious desire to avoid their use, clichés provide an almost poetic simplicity and inevitably roll off my tongue like they were my own creation. Sure, everyone’s probably tired of hearing “we just take it one game at a time” and “we just have to give 110%” but there are many clichés that receive less attention but are just as powerful in their simplicity and uncanny accuracy. Here’s my poll … what’s your favorite cliché and why?
Alright, that's it, I've had it. The last three days on Rte. 22 have been horrendous. I just don't get it.
HOW DO PEOPLE BECOME SUCH BAD DRIVERS?!?
I think it's simply a lack of effort. I see people chatting on cell phones, playing with their radios, doing their hair, looking at the scenery, etc. while NOT paying attention to what their own car is doing let alone the cars of other people. Some days I really don't have the patience to confront people for their egregiously dangerous habits but the last three days I have taken the initiative to do so and, quite frankly, I think I've changed the perspectives of 2-3 drivers (at least for a short time).
Okay, sure, there really are bad drivers that try to drive well, they are just inept. These people are frustrating but I applaud the effort. MOST of the time, however, its people that just think they can do anything behind the wheel with little consequence. Maybe its just a disassociation from the outside world in their little cocoon, I don't really get it so I have a hard time even hypothesizing. It just seems as though bad drivers are generally oblivious to their surroundings and to what their driving is doing to other people. There's a very simple maxim that I live by when I get behind the wheel: Drive first, everything else second. It's really that simple.
Also, it is my firm belief that the US Government implemented the wondrous infrastructure of roads, highways, interstates, etc. that we have today for with the intent of helping EVERYONE, not just you, get from point A to point B with as little trouble as possible. Keep this in mind when you hold up traffic by double parking or you create a 5 mile backup as you cruise at 10 mph looking for your turn. It is your civic duty to be as efficient as possible (even if that means pausing for a second to let someone else go ahead so that the 10 cars behind him can continue on ... it's the good of the MANY that's important) so that it all works seamlessly to provide smooth commutes for everyone.
I can't really BLAME these bad drivers for anything other than taking advantage of a comfortable situation. It's Psychology 101. No negative reinforcement for driving poorly is the perfect way to make people think that what they're doing is okay. There are a handful of state-enforced penalties for speeding, DUI, running stop signs and the like but one "catch-all" that doesn't receive enough attention is "reckless" driving. I'd LOVE to see someone cited for slamming on the breaks on the highway just to read a sign that they should have been reading for the last mile. That's reckless officer, DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. I'd LOVE to see someone pulled over for not using his turn signal OR for braking to a crawl and THEN putting on his turn signal. (It frustrates me to no end when someone totally defeats the "signaling" purpose of a turn signal. The idea of the signal is to alert the following driver that he will be braking unexpectedly!) That's reckless officer, DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. I'd love to see a large fine levied against someone trying to make a left across four lanes of traffic when its obvious that he's going to hold up the ten people behind him for at least five minutes until all four lanes are clear. That's RECKLESS officer, DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.
Do the right thing, take a stand, help educate someone on how to "drive" first.
I will be more financially responsible. I will be more financially responsible. I will be more financially responsible. I will be more financially responsible. I will be more financially responsible. I will be more financially responsible. I will be more financially responsible. I will be more financially responsible. I will be more financially responsible. I will be more financially responsible.
Just as soon as I buy some more stuff, really.
Okay, I don't really "watch" Desperate Housewives but I happen to be around when it's on TV at my house. I cannot believe that ABC would be so sexist. My biggest gripe is the affair between the married woman and the highschool guy. If the genders were reversed, the show would have been taken off the air within days. Every week that goes by the audience is almost compelled to root for the affair to succeed as opposed to the marriage. That blows my mind. It really does. If some middle-aged guy was having an affair with a highschool girl, he'd be thrown in jail or the audience would at LEAST be rooting for the wife to catch him so he gets in trouble. Really, it's messed up.
A quote from Denny Krane (played by William Shatner) to a judge on Boston Legal last night. "...just to show that there's no hard feelings,(pause for effect) I'm going to sleep with your wife"