An interesting - and often poignant - website (link in title). Feel free to join in the discussion of the "Three-Fork Enigma".
Friday, March 28, 2008
Post Your Secrets
An interesting - and often poignant - website (link in title). Feel free to join in the discussion of the "Three-Fork Enigma".
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Friday, March 21, 2008
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Waiting for Spring
Okay, so it's the first day of Spring. So...guess which picture I'm seeing out my window.
Stupid weather.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Who Are These Guys?
Over the last year or so, I've noticed an increase in nuisance marketing. By that I mean telephone calls - usually computer generated - offering to help lower my credit card debt, extend my car's warranty, install a satellite dish and too many more to remember. And all of this is despite my not having any credit card debt (these days I use debit), not caring about my car's warranty (it has 153K on it, after all), and not being able to install a satellite dish where I live because no line of sight exists to the satellites. It's gotten so bad that all my calls are now screened by answering machine and I'd say at least two-thirds of them are this kind of nonsense.
Now, imagine my surprise when I'm having a conversation with an older couple, both in their 80's, and they confess to getting the same calls!
Is this the way things are sold these days? By hectoring us with recorded calls for products or services that we've shown no interest in? Do they really think that if I haven't called them back after the 5th, or 10th, or even 20th call that I'm ever going to call them back? Or that if I did call them back I would give them anything other than a string of expletives?
It reminds me of the old adage in the car industry about calling customers until they "buy or die".
The amazing thing is that on some level they must be successful, otherwise they wouldn't continue to do it.
Now, imagine my surprise when I'm having a conversation with an older couple, both in their 80's, and they confess to getting the same calls!
Is this the way things are sold these days? By hectoring us with recorded calls for products or services that we've shown no interest in? Do they really think that if I haven't called them back after the 5th, or 10th, or even 20th call that I'm ever going to call them back? Or that if I did call them back I would give them anything other than a string of expletives?
It reminds me of the old adage in the car industry about calling customers until they "buy or die".
The amazing thing is that on some level they must be successful, otherwise they wouldn't continue to do it.
Announcement
Over the last couple of years, LAGuy and I have traded posts, usually about movies, and after a conversation last week, he was kind enough to invite me to start posting at the Pajama Guy site. In keeping with the "Guy" theme, I am posting as VermontGuy. So, by all means check it out. I've been a regular reader of theirs since before I established this site and it's well worth a daily check. Not only is it more topical and updated more often than the Teahouse, now it's got me, too.
Dear loyal Teahouse readers (the few, the proud, the demented): be not dismayed. I'm not abandoning my baby. I'll still be posting here, although my posts may start to take on a more personal nature, since I can get my political ya-ya's out over at Pajama Guy. Think of it as spreading the love.
And don't we all need a little more love in our lives?
Dear loyal Teahouse readers (the few, the proud, the demented): be not dismayed. I'm not abandoning my baby. I'll still be posting here, although my posts may start to take on a more personal nature, since I can get my political ya-ya's out over at Pajama Guy. Think of it as spreading the love.
And don't we all need a little more love in our lives?
Friday, March 07, 2008
Housework and Sex
According to an AP story today, husbands who help out more around the house may get a reward they weren't expecting - more sex:
American men still don't pull their weight when it comes to housework and child care, but collectively they're not the slackers they used to be. The average dad has gradually been getting better about picking himself up off the sofa and pitching in, according to a new report in which a psychologist suggests the payoff for doing more chores could be more sex...
...Joshua Coleman, a San Francisco-area psychologist and author of "The Lazy Husband: How to Get Men to Do More Parenting and Housework," said equitable sharing of housework can lead to a happier marriage and more frequent sex.
Update: This was originally posted over at Pajama Guy yesterday. I'm cross-posting it here because I don't want it to disappear when Gaucho transforms into VermontGuy at that site. If none of this makes any sense, don't worry. Announcements yet to come.
American men still don't pull their weight when it comes to housework and child care, but collectively they're not the slackers they used to be. The average dad has gradually been getting better about picking himself up off the sofa and pitching in, according to a new report in which a psychologist suggests the payoff for doing more chores could be more sex...
...Joshua Coleman, a San Francisco-area psychologist and author of "The Lazy Husband: How to Get Men to Do More Parenting and Housework," said equitable sharing of housework can lead to a happier marriage and more frequent sex.
"If a guy does housework, it looks to the woman like he really cares about her — he's not treating her like a servant," said Coleman, who is affiliated with the Council on Contemporary Families. "And if a woman feels stressed out because the house is a mess and the guy's sitting on the couch while she's vacuuming, that's not going to put her in the mood."
I can just see it now. "Hi, honey," you say as she gets home after work. "I fixed that leak in the sink you were complaining about and I folded and put away all the clothes that were in the dryer. Oh, and I did the vacuuming, too. So...how about some head?"
Yeah. That'll work.Update: This was originally posted over at Pajama Guy yesterday. I'm cross-posting it here because I don't want it to disappear when Gaucho transforms into VermontGuy at that site. If none of this makes any sense, don't worry. Announcements yet to come.
Old vs. New
James Lileks can't decide if he wants to watch Alien Vs. Predator: Requiem or 3:10 To Yuma and offers up this recollection on the entire Aliens franchise:
Have a nagging desire for more “Aliens” stuff. Don’t want to watch the fourth one ever again, though. And the third one does not exist in my mind, because of what it did to the ending of the second one. So let me get this straight – there are six “Aliens” movies, and two-thirds bite the wax tadpole; why do I care?
I would agree that the original is a classic of the horror genre (even though I know LAGuy doesn't share my affection for it). The second movie is another classic, although from a different genre: Action/Suspense. The third, well, here is where things get a little wonky. My feeling is that it's a damn fine movie, although I understand exactly where Lileks is coming from. The first two movies leave you with a feeling of hope, a sort of Barack Obama "Yes, We Can!" moment.
In Alien 3, director David Fincher seems determined - from the very beginning - to take that feeling of hope and flush it directly down the dumpster. Much like his movie Seven, you not only leave the theater believing "No, We Can't!", but you also wonder why we even tried in the first place. And you want to find the nearest shower.
The fourth movie, Alien Resurrection, is a fascinating train wreck of a flick. There are several excellent movie moments - Ripley blowing the head off an Alien with a shotgun comes to mind - but they never coalesce into a coherent film. Horror often walks a tightrope between being scary and being unintentionally funny and at the end of the movie, when the Mother Alien and her spawn are sharing a tender moment, it's hard to suppress a giggle.
As for the Alien-Predator mashups, the first one is okay. Having Lance Henriksen around is a nice touch and the birth of the Predalien is kind of cool, but other than that it's nothing special. I haven't seen the latest yet. Since all the reviews suggest it sucks Scrabble tiles, I'll wait for it to come to Skinemax.
So I guess I don't agree that two-thirds bite the wax tadpole. Maybe half. Or maybe I do agree and just have a weakness for tadpoles, wax or otherwise. Either way, suddenly I find myself with a nagging desire for more "Aliens" stuff.
Go figure.
Have a nagging desire for more “Aliens” stuff. Don’t want to watch the fourth one ever again, though. And the third one does not exist in my mind, because of what it did to the ending of the second one. So let me get this straight – there are six “Aliens” movies, and two-thirds bite the wax tadpole; why do I care?
I would agree that the original is a classic of the horror genre (even though I know LAGuy doesn't share my affection for it). The second movie is another classic, although from a different genre: Action/Suspense. The third, well, here is where things get a little wonky. My feeling is that it's a damn fine movie, although I understand exactly where Lileks is coming from. The first two movies leave you with a feeling of hope, a sort of Barack Obama "Yes, We Can!" moment.
In Alien 3, director David Fincher seems determined - from the very beginning - to take that feeling of hope and flush it directly down the dumpster. Much like his movie Seven, you not only leave the theater believing "No, We Can't!", but you also wonder why we even tried in the first place. And you want to find the nearest shower.
The fourth movie, Alien Resurrection, is a fascinating train wreck of a flick. There are several excellent movie moments - Ripley blowing the head off an Alien with a shotgun comes to mind - but they never coalesce into a coherent film. Horror often walks a tightrope between being scary and being unintentionally funny and at the end of the movie, when the Mother Alien and her spawn are sharing a tender moment, it's hard to suppress a giggle.
As for the Alien-Predator mashups, the first one is okay. Having Lance Henriksen around is a nice touch and the birth of the Predalien is kind of cool, but other than that it's nothing special. I haven't seen the latest yet. Since all the reviews suggest it sucks Scrabble tiles, I'll wait for it to come to Skinemax.
So I guess I don't agree that two-thirds bite the wax tadpole. Maybe half. Or maybe I do agree and just have a weakness for tadpoles, wax or otherwise. Either way, suddenly I find myself with a nagging desire for more "Aliens" stuff.
Go figure.
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
And Speaking of Stereotypes
I'm shocked! Shocked, I tell you! to find that racism is alive and well in this campaign. (h/t Protein Wisdom)
Note: the first link takes you to the first photo of the Assassination of Barack Obama Art exhibit in NYC. Click on the next button until you come to photos 6 and 7. Warning! May not be SFW.
Note: the first link takes you to the first photo of the Assassination of Barack Obama Art exhibit in NYC. Click on the next button until you come to photos 6 and 7. Warning! May not be SFW.
Rites of Spring
The good news and the bad news:
I just saw a fly on one of our windows - surely a sign of Spring, since flies are pretty scarce during the Winter. The bad news?
He's about to be eaten by one of our cats.
I just saw a fly on one of our windows - surely a sign of Spring, since flies are pretty scarce during the Winter. The bad news?
He's about to be eaten by one of our cats.
The Senator Becomes President
This is interesting:
What are the chances of being elected president directly from a seat in the Senate? History's answer, at best, is "slim." While 15 of the nation's 41 (now 43) presidents served in the Senate at some point in their public careers, only two—Warren Harding and John F. Kennedy—won their presidential races as incumbent senators.
In 2008, barring some unforeseen circumstance, that "slim" chance is a guarantee.
What are the chances of being elected president directly from a seat in the Senate? History's answer, at best, is "slim." While 15 of the nation's 41 (now 43) presidents served in the Senate at some point in their public careers, only two—Warren Harding and John F. Kennedy—won their presidential races as incumbent senators.
In 2008, barring some unforeseen circumstance, that "slim" chance is a guarantee.
Sunday, March 02, 2008
Cute but True
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