Memes Again!
25 December 2008
3x Thursday: 12/25/y2k+8: Merry Platypus, One And All!
1. What are you doing for Xmas this year?
2. What items are on your wishlist this year?
December 18, 2008
3x Thursday: 12/18/y2k+8: Accomplishments
List and describe 3 things that you've accomplished this year that mean something to you. Why are they important?
December 26, 2008
Uh, wow. Look at all the dead celebs... approximately 30 of them I'd never heard, so I guess that narrows the list to: Arthur C. Clarke, Michael Crichton, Yves St. Laurent, Eartha Kitt, Bo Diddley, Heath Ledger, Paul Newman, Sydney Pollack, Charlton Heston, Sunny von Bulow, Sandy Allen, Bernie Mac, Estelle Getty, Jesse Helms, Dody Goodman, George Carlin, Jim McKay and Harvey Korman. Of them, George Carlin was the one I was most upset about. He was great - maybe a little too angry and way too much foul language, but still very funny and quite sharp. He is a loss.
Oh, no, I don't. I think that the zip code and habits should not come into play with this at all. I don't see the relevance. There is none. Bad shopping habits abound, so what will the credit card companies do? Start issuing cards to people like me who have terrible spending habits? And demographics based on something as broad as a zip code is really stupid. Living in Short Hills does not guarantee that the person has money.
No, it is a revenue idea. I cannot believe the low levels to which companies and people stoop to manage to make a buck or two. That is just dispicable.
19 December 2008
Four For Friday
Q1 - Names: Here in the U.S., the parents of a three-year-old boy have branded a supermarket "intolerant" after it refused to decorate their son's birthday cake with his name: Adolf Hitler Campbell. The couple, from New Jersey, asked ShopRite staff to decorate little Adolf's cake with his name, which he shares with the deceased Nazi dictator, and were outraged after staff refused to on the grounds that it was inappropriate. Do you think the supermarket's bakery staff made the right decision or does every little boy deserve to have his name on their birthday cake regardless of what their name is?
Well... wow. No, Shoprite should not get to tell people what they can and cannot put on a cake. No arguement there. I would question the parents about what the hell possessed them to do this to a child. And worse - they are from my home state! How hideous to think I am living in the same state as this couple who purposely named their child after one of the most detestable dictators in history.
Q2 - Grumble: What are your top five beefs?
In general? A little vague...
3. Blaming the economy on any one thing
I've run out of gripes.
Well, I wouldn't. Not like that. Certainly not for five years! I did order boots for myself in October 2007 and that took time. Not layaway, rather, but just paying half of them off to get them into production and now they are nearly complete. I don't think I would do that with anything other than handmade products. And those only very rarely.
Q4 - Memories: How will you remember 2008?
The next adventure!
3x Thursday: 12/25/y2k+8: Merry Platypus, One And All!
1. What are you doing for Xmas this year?
The usual: my mother's family on Long Island on Christmas Eve, my parents' house on Christmas Day, and then we exchanged gifts and had dinner with Tom, Alayna and Matthew last night. I have a couple of gifts to send out this week. Otherwise, I'm pretty much done.
2. What items are on your wishlist this year?
The shorter list is what isn't on my list... My Amazon Wish List is usually 4 pages long. I want candles all of the time but no one wants to fund that. I got a lot of nice things, and I am not unhappy. I did regift something from Luis' father and the recepient loves it. I don't use hand lotions; my skin is never dry.
3. What do you think about the idea of gift giving in general. Do you think it's necessary? Why/why not?
There are a great many things that humans do that has nothing or little to do with necessity; but it is fun and enjoyable and I loved it this year after thinking that I wasn't into the holidays this year. I was wrong!
December 18, 2008
3x Thursday: 12/18/y2k+8: Accomplishments
List and describe 3 things that you've accomplished this year that mean something to you. Why are they important?
I feel that I did a lot of important things that are accomplishments and so I can't list everything. I will say that I have accomplishments from home, work, and other arenas of my life and I am - overall - happy with how things turned out.
December 26, 2008
Four For Friday
Q1 - Notables: Many famous and noteworthy people died this year, including the ones listed here: Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Arthur C. Clarke, Michael Crichton, Beverly Garland, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Yves Saint Laurent, Christopher Bowman, Eartha Kitt, Sir Edmund Hillary, Jeff Healey, Bobby Fischer, Bo Diddley, Jeremy Beadle, Isaac Hayes, Paul Scofield, Heath Ledger, Guillaume Depardieu, Michael Lee, Paul Newman, M.C. Breed, Sydney Pollack, Charlton Heston, Albert Hofmann, W. Mark Felt, Sunny von Bulow, Odetta, Kenny MacLean, Tony Hillerman, Dee Dee Warwick, Don Haskins, Kevin Duckworth, Gene Upshaw, Stephanie Tubbs Jones, Sandy Allen, Bernie Mac, Skip Caray, Estelle Getty, Tony Snow, Bobby Ray Murcer, Michael DeBakey, Jesse Helms, Dody Goodman, George Carlin, Wilbur Hardee, Tim Russert, Charlie Jones, Jim McKay, Harvey Korman, Hamilton Jordan, and Brad Renfro. Which notable person's death affected you most in 2008?
Q1 - Notables: Many famous and noteworthy people died this year, including the ones listed here: Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Arthur C. Clarke, Michael Crichton, Beverly Garland, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Yves Saint Laurent, Christopher Bowman, Eartha Kitt, Sir Edmund Hillary, Jeff Healey, Bobby Fischer, Bo Diddley, Jeremy Beadle, Isaac Hayes, Paul Scofield, Heath Ledger, Guillaume Depardieu, Michael Lee, Paul Newman, M.C. Breed, Sydney Pollack, Charlton Heston, Albert Hofmann, W. Mark Felt, Sunny von Bulow, Odetta, Kenny MacLean, Tony Hillerman, Dee Dee Warwick, Don Haskins, Kevin Duckworth, Gene Upshaw, Stephanie Tubbs Jones, Sandy Allen, Bernie Mac, Skip Caray, Estelle Getty, Tony Snow, Bobby Ray Murcer, Michael DeBakey, Jesse Helms, Dody Goodman, George Carlin, Wilbur Hardee, Tim Russert, Charlie Jones, Jim McKay, Harvey Korman, Hamilton Jordan, and Brad Renfro. Which notable person's death affected you most in 2008?
Uh, wow. Look at all the dead celebs... approximately 30 of them I'd never heard, so I guess that narrows the list to: Arthur C. Clarke, Michael Crichton, Yves St. Laurent, Eartha Kitt, Bo Diddley, Heath Ledger, Paul Newman, Sydney Pollack, Charlton Heston, Sunny von Bulow, Sandy Allen, Bernie Mac, Estelle Getty, Jesse Helms, Dody Goodman, George Carlin, Jim McKay and Harvey Korman. Of them, George Carlin was the one I was most upset about. He was great - maybe a little too angry and way too much foul language, but still very funny and quite sharp. He is a loss.
Harvey Korman, Estelle Getty, Sydney Pollack, Dody Goodman and Paul Newman were definitely a loss and will be missed, too. I hadn't known Dody Goodman had died this year. That is sad.
Arthur C. Clarke and Michael Crichton were good authors and so that is too bad. They and the works that they won't write will be missed.
The rest of the list is of little to no consequence and just names I'd heard or brief blips in People Magazine. So it is no difference to me.
Q2 - Credit: In the midst of the current global recession, credit card companies have cut back on credit lines even to good customers. In addition, according to The Atlanta Journal Constitution, some credit card issuers have gone beyond looking at how much their customers spend or how promptly they pay and are now evaluating where they live and where they shop. In other words, redlining is apparently alive and well, aided and abetted by the very companies which could not restrain themselves from blindly offering credit cards and balance transfers to anyone who opened the mailbox, even if they were underage and without visible means of support. Do you think credit card issuers should be able to adjust credit limits and rates based solely on your zip code or shopping habits?
Oh, no, I don't. I think that the zip code and habits should not come into play with this at all. I don't see the relevance. There is none. Bad shopping habits abound, so what will the credit card companies do? Start issuing cards to people like me who have terrible spending habits? And demographics based on something as broad as a zip code is really stupid. Living in Short Hills does not guarantee that the person has money.
On the other hand, what benchmarking system works on this? But no, it is wrong to take the above-mentioned things into account for this.
Q3 - Hot: From California to Florida, an increasing number state departments of transportation are allowing single occupancy vehicles (SOVs) to pay a premium toll to use HOV (high occupancy vehicle) lanes. High-occupancy tolls (HOT) are criticized by some as being nothing more than "Lexus lanes" that allow drivers with deeper pockets to buy special treatment on highways built using fuel taxes collected from everyone. What do you think? Are HOT lanes a good idea?
No, it is a revenue idea. I cannot believe the low levels to which companies and people stoop to manage to make a buck or two. That is just dispicable.
Q4 - Theatre: When you watch a movie in a movie theatre, do you like the theatre filled to capacity, halfway full, or nearly empty? Does your answer change depending on the type of movie you're seeing or do you feel the same way regardless of the movie or genre?
I prefer nearly empty but can live with full - with one carollary - NO CHILDREN. Those little monsters can ruin any film. And worse, they can be any age and do so. Anything from shreiking and talking loudly to kicking the back of the chair in front or (my personal favourite) climbing the seats and running around just underscores how useless parents are and how little they care about the rest of our movie-watching enjoyment. The condition of the theatre is not an issue that changes due to the kind of movie we see. I can't even begin to guess how this is relevant...
19 December 2008
Four For Friday
Q1 - Names: Here in the U.S., the parents of a three-year-old boy have branded a supermarket "intolerant" after it refused to decorate their son's birthday cake with his name: Adolf Hitler Campbell. The couple, from New Jersey, asked ShopRite staff to decorate little Adolf's cake with his name, which he shares with the deceased Nazi dictator, and were outraged after staff refused to on the grounds that it was inappropriate. Do you think the supermarket's bakery staff made the right decision or does every little boy deserve to have his name on their birthday cake regardless of what their name is?
Well... wow. No, Shoprite should not get to tell people what they can and cannot put on a cake. No arguement there. I would question the parents about what the hell possessed them to do this to a child. And worse - they are from my home state! How hideous to think I am living in the same state as this couple who purposely named their child after one of the most detestable dictators in history.
But look at all the other insane names out there. I'm sure Shoprite would not have denied putting Penn Gillette's daughter's name or Jermaine Jackson's son's name on the cake. So why do it now?
Q2 - Grumble: What are your top five beefs?
In general? A little vague...
1. The fact that not one candidate felt compelled to chance their popularity to bring up his or her thoughts on the immigration problems
2. The three big auto companies getting the money from Bush (what a horse's ass!)3. Blaming the economy on any one thing
I've run out of gripes.
Q3 - Layaway: As everyone knows, it's shopping season once again, but we all know times are a little tough this year. A new ABC News poll this week found that many Americans are feeling the financial strain, resulting in a lot of us spending a lot less on holiday gifts. So perhaps it's not a big surprise that we would see the resurgence of a more conservative way to shop... the layaway. If you could put one item on layaway for up to five years that you absolutely intended to incrementally pay for in full, what would you choose to put on layaway?
Well, I wouldn't. Not like that. Certainly not for five years! I did order boots for myself in October 2007 and that took time. Not layaway, rather, but just paying half of them off to get them into production and now they are nearly complete. I don't think I would do that with anything other than handmade products. And those only very rarely.
Q4 - Memories: How will you remember 2008?
As I remember all years: a mix of big and little things; positive and negative things; the good, the bad and the ugly. 2008 had many, many events, which I will post about as the last post of 2008. Then we shall see what the first post of 2009 will be.
The next adventure!
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