Post #231,682
10/31/05 12:21:00 PM
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where women's heads may be at by maureen dowd
[link|http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/30/magazine/30feminism.html?ei=5090&en=8d50b0ccea5b798a&ex=1288328400&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&pagewanted=print|http://www.nytimes.c...&pagewanted=print] Having boomeranged once, will women do it again in a couple of decades? If we flash forward to 2030, will we see all those young women who thought trying to Have It All was a pointless slog, now middle-aged and stranded in suburbia, popping Ativan, struggling with rebellious teenagers, deserted by husbands for younger babes, unable to get back into a work force they never tried to be part of? interesting schtuff thanx, bill "the reason people don't buy conspiracy theories is that they think conspiracy means everyone is on the same program. Thats not how it works. Everybody has a different program. They just all want the same guy dead. Socrates was a gadfly, but I bet he took time out to screw somebodies wife" Gus Vitelli
Any opinions expressed by me are mine alone, posted from my home computer, on my own time as a free american and do not reflect the opinions of any person or company that I have had professional relations with in the past 49 years. meep
questions, help? [link|mailto:pappas@catholic.org|email pappas at catholic.org]
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Post #231,694
10/31/05 12:55:34 PM
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All I can say is
I will make a fortune off of these people peddling crafts and scrapbooking stuff.
:-D
Peace,
Amy
Oh Freddled Gruntbuggly!
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Post #231,700
10/31/05 1:26:40 PM
10/31/05 1:30:01 PM
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Yeah, but this crap never actually went away . . .
. . women just tried to hide it from each other (and often from themselves).
To quote a cartoon caption from the height of the "feminist" era, "Instead of a dating service I bought a Porsche. It cost more but the results are guaranteed".
There is only one aphrodesic effective with women, and it's made out of plastic. To quote a cartoon caption by a woman cartoonist, "Wow! look at the bulge in his pocket. I bet he gives good Visa!"
[link|http://www.aaxnet.com|AAx]
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Post #231,755
10/31/05 5:26:57 PM
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You're disappointing him...
Here he was getting up this fantasy about legions of compliant women interested in pleasing guys.
And you have to ruin his fantasy by pointing out the money aspect, suggesting that they are only interested in pleasing some guys.
Cheers,
Ben
I have come to believe that idealism without discipline is a quick road to disaster, while discipline without idealism is pointless. -- Aaron Ward (my brother)
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Post #231,761
10/31/05 5:41:20 PM
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disapointing who?
When I was single I hung out with guys that would hold up a baggy of coke in a club and holler pussy! pussy! pussy!
you would be surprised at the talent that responded to that. Of course that was the early 80's but the concept doesnt change. You have to be seen as a serious independant person that can pay their own way as well as theirs.
thanx,
bill
"the reason people don't buy conspiracy theories is that they think conspiracy means everyone is on the same program. Thats not how it works. Everybody has a different program. They just all want the same guy dead. Socrates was a gadfly, but I bet he took time out to screw somebodies wife" Gus Vitelli
Any opinions expressed by me are mine alone, posted from my home computer, on my own time as a free american and do not reflect the opinions of any person or company that I have had professional relations with in the past 49 years. meep
questions, help? [link|mailto:pappas@catholic.org|email pappas at catholic.org]
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Post #231,763
10/31/05 5:43:17 PM
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I would have loved to have seen that!
jb4
shrub●bish (Am., from shrub + rubbish, after the derisive name for America's 43 president; 2003) n. 1. a form of nonsensical political doubletalk wherein the speaker attempts to defend the indefensible by lying, obfuscation, or otherwise misstating the facts; GIBBERISH. 2. any of a collection of utterances from America's putative 43rd president. cf. BULLSHIT
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Post #231,762
10/31/05 5:42:16 PM
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Well, ya know, it's only logical.
If they're going to all that trouble they want it to be worth their while. Since women are taught that guys are all basically worthless they at least want to be able to go shopping.
[link|http://www.aaxnet.com|AAx]
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Post #231,809
10/31/05 10:57:33 PM
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The network is sentient, and I have the LRPD to prove it
"So ... how hard is it to get into the Paris Hilton?"
Die Welt ist alles, was der Fall ist.
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Post #231,812
10/31/05 11:04:29 PM
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Costly, no matter how you look at it.
[link|http://www.aaxnet.com|AAx]
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Post #231,813
10/31/05 11:05:30 PM
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I prefer a canister myself.
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Post #231,816
10/31/05 11:06:53 PM
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I defer to your mastery of the subject.
Regards,
-scott anderson
"Welcome to Rivendell, Mr. Anderson..."
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Post #231,849
11/1/05 8:52:02 AM
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I'm going to get back to you on this later
when I have more time. But you KNOW I'm gonna have something to say!
Follow your MOUSE
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Post #231,872
11/1/05 10:36:14 AM
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Oh, I'm sure.
Women always want to get in the last word. :P
[link|http://www.aaxnet.com|AAx]
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Post #231,904
11/1/05 12:27:36 PM
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Be it written, spoken, or signed
A good friend will come and bail you out of jail ... but, a true friend will be sitting next to you saying, "Damn...that was fun!"
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Post #231,924
11/1/05 1:39:05 PM
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Yes, I've seen that 'sign' . . .
. . but I expect Ms. Bio will be more creative, given how deep I've dug myself in so far.
[link|http://www.aaxnet.com|AAx]
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Post #231,992
11/1/05 8:08:13 PM
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Be gentle with them
for they know not what they do dooo
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Post #232,002
11/1/05 9:19:56 PM
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Oh, they know. They just don't care. ;-)
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Post #232,072
11/2/05 5:06:48 AM
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-1; Troll...
Sorry but I'm not going to implicitly condone your misogyny.
If you've only ever met women that shallow, you need to get out more.
Two out of three people wonder where the other one is.
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Post #232,075
11/2/05 5:20:22 AM
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Agreed.
Peter
[link|http://www.no2id.net/|Don't Let The Terrorists Win]
[link|http://www.kuro5hin.org|There is no K5 Cabal]
[link|http://guildenstern.dyndns.org|Home]
Use P2P for legitimate purposes!
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Post #232,083
11/2/05 7:08:43 AM
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I wouldn't be so sure. (Remember, Andrew lives in L.A.)
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Post #232,084
11/2/05 7:34:15 AM
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Won't do any good - not until . . .
. . my buyer finds an economical car that's suitable for my work but looks good enough to not turn off women - not an easy call, but he's looking.
Last woman I met who was interested was very nice, former medical asistant, we got along well despite a little language problem (her Hispanic accent and English comprehension required repeating things frequently). We talked on the phone a few times, had lunch a few times, then she saw that my car was an older Ford Escort wagon. Stopped answering my phone calls. Far from the first time this has happened to me.
One before that was more serious, we had some dates, got along very well, then she found out that though I was a business owner I didn't live in a big fancy house. Stopped returning my calls.
For over a year I looked through a major singles site with plenty of women in Southern California. All the ones in my age range that looked suitable were making a point their biggest interest was travel - in other words they want someone with gobs of money and leisure time.
I'm out and about every day, but the nice women I meet are either waaaay too young or are married to a fat rich guy who makes sure they've got a fresh Mercedes or Lexus SUV to drive.
So I hear about all these "women who aren't like that", but nobody can tell me where they are. "Oh they're out there, you just have to find them" - so nobody else has a clue either.
[link|http://www.aaxnet.com|AAx]
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Post #232,085
11/2/05 7:45:14 AM
11/2/05 7:49:24 AM
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Your taste in women is not a sociological measure.
So you're attracted to shallow airheads with better taste in cars than you.
Choices:
1. Stay single
2. Get a Mercedes C220K (\ufffd10K at 3 years old, holds value, reliable, economical, has large boot (trans: "Trunk" in USian))
Peter
[link|http://www.no2id.net/|Don't Let The Terrorists Win]
[link|http://www.kuro5hin.org|There is no K5 Cabal]
[link|http://guildenstern.dyndns.org|Home]
Use P2P for legitimate purposes!
Edited by pwhysall
Nov. 2, 2005, 07:49:24 AM EST
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Post #232,088
11/2/05 7:58:36 AM
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3. Move out of SoCal.
Of course, there are many downsides with choice #3.
If moving isn't an optin, that part of the world probably has the largest variety of nice cars on the planet. A really nice, interesting, fairly inexpensive car could probably be found without too much difficulty. Maybe a [link|http://info.detnews.com/joyrides/story/index.cfm?id=134|Volvo PV445]? (Man, could you imagine that thing on [link|http://www.mtv.com/onair/dyn/pimp_my_ride/series.jhtml|Pimp My Ride]?)
Luck with the search, Andrew.
Cheers,
Scott.
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Post #232,090
11/2/05 8:11:31 AM
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Bullpucky.
First of all, none of them have been airheads, they've all been nice, solid intelligent women. I'll defend every one of them on that point.
They automatically filter, though, and I'm sure they'll all deny it, even to themselves. It's like an HR department that demands a degree for a job that doesn't require one. They may automatically reject all the best candidaes but they only have to consider a fraction as many people and the ones they do talk to will be "good enough".
A Mercedes? You know what it costs to maintain one of those turkeys over here? $500 headlights anyone? No, I'm not kidding. And a "boot" won't do. It has to accomodate a 6-foot step ladder every once in a while. And it needs good gas mileage - I drive about 70 miles a day through heavy traffic visiting clients.
[link|http://www.aaxnet.com|AAx]
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Post #232,106
11/2/05 10:08:39 AM
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Did you even read that article?
You're over there boo-hooing about your Escort (which, BTW, is a perfectly nice, funcional little car that takes you from Point A to Point B, which is exactly what a car is supposed to do, so I dont see what the problem is) when we woman have *real* problems to contend with.
Try being an educated, competent single woman of a certain age in the 21st century. Professional men find us intimidating. Blue collar men find us intimidating. It does appear that female power is indeed a turn off for men. (Maybe this explains why so many woman are experimenting with same-sex relationships these days. We know we will be accepted amongst are own kind. Just a thought.)
Do men really want woman who need to be rescued? Case in point- My older sister is a psychological mess and has been this way her whole life. In spite of this, or more likely because of this, she always, *always* has a man in her life. She's a trainwreck and men want to take care of her. Granted, the men dont last very long, but this is usually the result of my sister casting them aside and moving on to her next quarry, rather than the men ditching her because she's a nut. She plays the damsel in distress card and the knights in shining armor come running.
Now look at me. I dont want or need to be rescued (although occassionally I will fantasize about that knight charging over the hill on his noble steed). I can manage my life just fine by myself. When the occassional knight does find his way to my castle and realizes I dont need saving, he moves on to find another more deserving damsel.
And while your at it, be grateful that as a man, you will never have to go through the anquish of balancing your career with motherhood. Because either your kids or your career is getting short-changed all the time. It's one or the other, all the time. In spite of all this liberation (which overall is a good thing, because it gives women choice), a mother is always, and will always be, the primary caretaker of our children. It's a hard wired trait. It's what we do. Think about that and be glad that your concern about your car not being a chick magnet is your biggest problem.
Not all woman care about money, cars and travel. Some women simply want a mutually respectful relationship with acceptance-warts and all. Where are they, you ask? You're looking at one.
Follow your MOUSE
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Post #232,110
11/2/05 10:47:00 AM
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only the flip side of the coin
"Try being an educated, competent single woman of a certain age in the 21st century. Professional men find us intimidating." I don't. Many of my buddies don't; they seek out women that match that description, with disaster occurring frequently because you're most likely to find ladies like that at work. I think that you are indulging in a stereotype that makes it easier to explain why you haven't found Mr. Right yet. Not that I'm any better, I have my own personal excuses and stereotypes to overcome. "Do men really want woman who need to be rescued?" Sort of. Not really. Many men - I venture to say 'most' - like to be needed - it sounds like your sister is playing on this. Wanting to be needed need not mean needing 'Needy', though (*whew*). "...he moves on to find another more deserving damsel." It sounds like YOU are attracted to 'needy men' here - men who crave drama. Such men are as common as the women that provide that drama. You seem to be pretty uncommon to me; that you want an uncommon man means that you may wait longer than others. Uncommon men are, well, uncommon. "Not all woman care about money, cars and travel." However, no matter how ugly that fact is, many, many women - perhaps even the majority, do find such things attractive. After all, if a man can provide those things, then at least the initial dates are liable to be more fun (to provide a rationale). It's true that you can have fun with nothing, but it takes a lot more 'chemistry' between the two than usual. That too makes such things less common (and perhaps more 'special'). [link|http://www.runningworks.com|
] Imric's Tips for Living
- Paranoia Is a Survival Trait
- Pessimists are never disappointed - but sometimes, if they are very lucky, they can be pleasantly surprised...
- Even though everyone is out to get you, it doesn't matter unless you let them win.
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Nothing is as simple as it seems in the beginning,
As hopeless as it seems in the middle,
Or as finished as it seems in the end.
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Post #232,117
11/2/05 11:14:08 AM
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Read it end to end.
Yes, the Escort is a fine little car and does the job it's supposed to do for me admirably. Unfortunately, it's not a good color (metalic dirt color, I call it). The biggest problem though, is in this city the "normal" car is a Mercedes, Lexus, BMW or Porche (including SUV versions of all those), or a Volvo (which must always be holding up traffic - so I don't qualify for a Volvo).
Even the Escort might squeek by if it was painted a good color and all the trim and headlight lenses were replaced, but that's too much expense so it has to be dumped. That'll be painful for me - a violation of my principles. I have never before replaced a car that could still be fixed.
Yes, I most certainly do respect you as an exceptional woman (but you're far away and rather younger). No, I'm not afraid of exceptional, educated, articulate or even ambitious women (which probably makes me seem a bit scarey to most women). That's probably the only sort that'll work out anyway - a messed up woman definitely will not (been close enough to know better).
I'm sure there are women of the right sort in my age range around here, but I'm confident enough they use the same initial rejection filters other women do that I'm not going to spend too much effort trying to root them out until Frank delivers on the car deal.
[link|http://www.aaxnet.com|AAx]
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Post #232,128
11/2/05 12:25:11 PM
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Too bad, I was gonna set you up with my sister :-O
That's probably the only sort that'll work out anyway - a messed up woman definitely will not (been close enough to know better). I dont know what I'm gripping about, anyway. I'm too deep in survival mode to be concerned about romance right now. I got bigger fish to fry. Mostly I'm just playing devils advocate with you to support some points made in the article. You enjoy baiting me so much that I felt compelled to respond. ;-) Follow your MOUSE
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Post #232,136
11/2/05 1:05:10 PM
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Yeah, you're a strong fighter . . .
. . opinionated and not afraid to speak your mind, which is what makes baiting you fun. Be assured I evaluate your words seriously, but with a grain of salt when you extrapolate your own opinions to cover women in general. You are not women in general as far as I can see, so that's suspect.
Our culture is not well suited to either men or women and needs some serious rethinking, but that's not going to happen because billions in marketing money are bet on making it even worse. The "in general" are perfectly happy to go along for the ride, enthusiastic even.
[link|http://www.aaxnet.com|AAx]
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Post #232,140
11/2/05 1:43:37 PM
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Article supports his finding
Women want to marry up. The women he wants, don't want him, because he doesn't put on the obvious accoutrements of success.
===
Purveyor of Doc Hope's [link|http://DocHope.com|fresh-baked dog biscuits and pet treats].
[link|http://DocHope.com|http://DocHope.com]
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Post #232,141
11/2/05 1:49:00 PM
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A simple mating display...
[link|http://www.runningworks.com|
] Imric's Tips for Living
- Paranoia Is a Survival Trait
- Pessimists are never disappointed - but sometimes, if they are very lucky, they can be pleasantly surprised...
- Even though everyone is out to get you, it doesn't matter unless you let them win.
|
Nothing is as simple as it seems in the beginning,
As hopeless as it seems in the middle,
Or as finished as it seems in the end.
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Post #232,143
11/2/05 1:52:13 PM
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LIke a helmet and cigar?
-----------------------------------------
George W. Bush and his PNAC handlers sent the US into Iraq with lies. I find myself rethinking my opposition to the death penalty.
--Donald Dean Richards Jr.
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Post #232,145
11/2/05 1:54:00 PM
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Unfortunately, that only works for Presidents.
[link|http://www.runningworks.com|
] Imric's Tips for Living
- Paranoia Is a Survival Trait
- Pessimists are never disappointed - but sometimes, if they are very lucky, they can be pleasantly surprised...
- Even though everyone is out to get you, it doesn't matter unless you let them win.
|
Nothing is as simple as it seems in the beginning,
As hopeless as it seems in the middle,
Or as finished as it seems in the end.
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Post #232,152
11/2/05 2:24:49 PM
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Yeah, but sometimes I fool 'em with a picture of . . .
. . my evil twin.
[image|http://www.aaxnet.com/ajg/ajg107b.jpg||||]
[link|http://www.aaxnet.com|AAx]
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Post #232,154
11/2/05 2:32:54 PM
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thats one scary dood :-)
"the reason people don't buy conspiracy theories is that they think conspiracy means everyone is on the same program. Thats not how it works. Everybody has a different program. They just all want the same guy dead. Socrates was a gadfly, but I bet he took time out to screw somebodies wife" Gus Vitelli
Any opinions expressed by me are mine alone, posted from my home computer, on my own time as a free american and do not reflect the opinions of any person or company that I have had professional relations with in the past 49 years. meep
questions, help? [link|mailto:pappas@catholic.org|email pappas at catholic.org]
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Post #232,159
11/2/05 2:55:45 PM
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Nice tie clip [snicker]
===
Purveyor of Doc Hope's [link|http://DocHope.com|fresh-baked dog biscuits and pet treats].
[link|http://DocHope.com|http://DocHope.com]
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Post #232,173
11/2/05 4:55:38 PM
11/2/05 4:56:06 PM
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I think I like the helmet better...
...but then you're not my type...
(/me ducks...)
jb4
shrub●bish (Am., from shrub + rubbish, after the derisive name for America's 43 president; 2003) n. 1. a form of nonsensical political doubletalk wherein the speaker attempts to defend the indefensible by lying, obfuscation, or otherwise misstating the facts; GIBBERISH. 2. any of a collection of utterances from America's putative 43rd president. cf. BULLSHIT
Edited by jb4
Nov. 2, 2005, 04:56:06 PM EST
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Post #232,176
11/2/05 5:09:50 PM
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Andrew just needs
somebody who gives good helmet
couldn't resist - recently watched a few Mel Brooks movies :-)
Darrell Spice, Jr. [link|http://spiceware.org/gallery/ArtisticOverpass|Artistic Overpass]\n[link|http://www.spiceware.org/|SpiceWare] - We don't do Windows, it's too much of a chore
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Post #232,785
11/7/05 1:28:24 PM
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Survey says cars can play an important role in dating,
..women agree that cars play an important role in dating..
...Eighty-nine percent of males and 95 percent of females said they were extremely or somewhat likely to notice their date's car, according to a survey conducted by Ford Motor Co. ...
Full article here in [link|http://www.cnn.com/2005/AUTOS/funonwheels/11/04/cars_dating/index.html|CNN]
A good friend will come and bail you out of jail ... but, a true friend will be sitting next to you saying, "Damn...that was fun!"
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Post #232,787
11/7/05 1:38:27 PM
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More money wasted on research to prove the obvious . . .
. . but a good reference in case of arguement.
[link|http://www.aaxnet.com|AAx]
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Post #232,788
11/7/05 1:41:22 PM
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Never know when you could use extra ammunition.
A good friend will come and bail you out of jail ... but, a true friend will be sitting next to you saying, "Damn...that was fun!"
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Post #232,795
11/7/05 2:21:25 PM
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Did you expect a survey conducted by
a car company to says cars arent important? ;-P
Follow your MOUSE
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Post #232,797
11/7/05 2:24:12 PM
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Hey, you're infringing on my cynicism.
[link|http://www.aaxnet.com|AAx]
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Post #232,800
11/7/05 2:34:19 PM
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I know.
You're rubbing off on me. Not sure if that is good or bad. Either way, it's fun!
Follow your MOUSE
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Post #232,942
11/7/05 10:12:57 PM
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Yes, rubbing tends to be fun.
I have come to believe that idealism without discipline is a quick road to disaster, while discipline without idealism is pointless. -- Aaron Ward (my brother)
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Post #232,902
11/7/05 7:05:36 PM
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Well.. Ludmilla Loved my Morris Minor saloon ;^>
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Post #235,237
11/20/05 6:20:33 PM
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Well, my buyer's snagged one for me.
Not a chick magnet, but it meets job requirements and hopefuly won't be a chick repellant like the Escort is. It's a Saturn (my buyer drives one himself). I forget what year but it has a lot of miles left in it.
Color is good with no dings dents or scratches (the Escort is "metalic dirt color" with decaying trim). I should have this one in a few days and then I can get down to the business at hand.
[image|http://www.aaxnet.com/ajg/saturn02.jpg||||]
[link|http://www.aaxnet.com|AAx]
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Post #235,239
11/20/05 6:30:20 PM
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Be careful. Remember Boxley's experiences. :-( 46 kB img
It looks pretty good though. All you need is some of these and you'll be set:
[image|http://www.thewheelconnection.com/spinning-images/spintek_ICE882.gif|0||240|248]
:-)
Cheers,
Scott.
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Post #235,241
11/20/05 6:37:31 PM
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I'm not qualified for those. Wrong ethnicity.
[link|http://www.aaxnet.com|AAx]
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Post #235,272
11/21/05 12:56:32 AM
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Eeuuwww.. bling blings___(now retro, too?)
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Post #235,244
11/20/05 7:10:53 PM
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That's the kind I traded in for my minivan.
Mine was the dark blue. I love Saturn. I think they are a great car at a very reasonable price.
Hope you enjoy yours as much as I enjoyed mine. It was reliable and had great gas mileage.
Good luck and happy driving.
Amy
"It's never too late to be who you might have been." ~ George Eliot
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Post #235,275
11/21/05 1:05:36 AM
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Looks decent for hauling the usual regalia
- but close-enough to a er 'sport' sedan that it won't repel.
(Why, even Benz is yielding to the desire for something with useable loading of stuff.. besides monogrammed matched luggage.)
Tally Ho!
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Post #235,460
11/22/05 1:51:04 AM
11/22/05 2:13:16 AM
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Well, barring disasters I'll be fetching this beast tomorow.
My stock brokeress(1) won't have stuffed money in my bank until Saturday (due to Thanksgiving) but since Frank, my car buyer, used to be my memory broker (back when memory cost real money) I'm still on terms.
His customers ask, "West Coast Micro? What the hell does that have to do with cars?". His reply, "Nothing - that's why I'm keeping the name".
I'll drive the Escort down to Irvine and sign it over to Frank, then drive the Saturn back. He kept insisting on giving me some money for it until I told him "it's had an engine fire". That shut him up. Actually the fire was minor but it melted the handle off the dipstick and blistered the paint on the hood (bonnet, Peter(2)) in a couple of spots.
The fire also melted the air conditioning tubes, but the air conditioning never worked even though Frank spent $99 getting it serviced before delivering the car back in 2003. I've never had a car in which the air conditioning worked for more than a month.
Actually, this is a traumatic experience for me - never before in my life have I replaced a car that could still be repaired, never mind one that was still running. It's a violation of my most deeply held principles - all in the name of (potential) love. Women truly are the root of all Eeeeevil aren't they? Hmmmm, never noticed that before - Eve - Evil. What do you suppose that means?
I now quote Frank for posterity: "I've learned one hell of a lot about the car business since I sold you the Escort. This Saturn is going to look and drive like brand new". Frank, you're finally learning to be a used car salesman.
(1) Brokeress: "Lets sell Microsoft, it's way up from XBox publicity. Ooooops, I'll have to sell something else to compensate 'cause MS crossed over into capital gains for you". Actually there was plenty of cash last month but Ms. Brokeress called up and said she was taking it all to buy something that paid a dividend on the 11th. She hasn't given any of that back yet but cash is at $3,600.00 up from $0.00 in the last few days, so I guess that's what I pay Ms. Brokeress a commission for, right?
(2) British auto terminology is quaint, but doesn't hold a candle to Canadian. When I was driving a 1948 MG TC (aptly described as a "coffin riding on four harps"), it had a "crank" clipped behind the seat for times when that newfangled battery thing was low. A Canadian I knew insisted it was a "hand commencer".
[link|http://www.aaxnet.com|AAx]
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Post #235,493
11/22/05 8:07:02 AM
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Happy Motoring!
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Post #235,605
11/22/05 11:54:02 PM
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Man, what a miserable trip back.
40 miles, most of it at 10 miles per hour - and they say tomorrow will be even worse. Average for the 40 miles was 20 mph due to a couple of short high speed stretches in LA County. Orange County was strictly 10 mph. I'm not going out tomorrow - or Black Friday.
The Saturn proved smooth and capable in 5 to 20 mph stop and go traffic, an operating profile the Escort was not at all comfortable with.
[link|http://www.aaxnet.com|AAx]
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Post #235,608
11/23/05 12:17:45 AM
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Glad it was uneventful. Sorry about the traffic.
It's like that around here too, but not quite that bad (except in isolated spots). Halloween traffic, though, usually is a [link|http://dc.metblogs.com/archives/2005/11/worst_nightmare.phtml|nightmare].
I'm with you on trying to stay away from the crowds. I'm just picking up some food tomorrow night from Boston Market for Thanksgiving, and I'm not planning on doing any mall shopping for weeks (and not at all if I can avoid it).
Luck with the buggy!
Cheers,
Scott.
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Post #235,494
11/22/05 8:08:50 AM
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On (2)
"bonnet" and "boot" are no more quaint than "hood" and "trunk".
Peter
[link|http://www.no2id.net/|Don't Let The Terrorists Win]
[link|http://www.kuro5hin.org|There is no K5 Cabal]
[link|http://guildenstern.dyndns.org|Home]
Use P2P for legitimate purposes!
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Post #235,501
11/22/05 9:10:20 AM
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But "hand commencer", one must admit, is.
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Post #235,504
11/22/05 9:34:16 AM
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"Hand commencer": Fnarr! </finbarr_saunders>
Peter
[link|http://www.no2id.net/|Don't Let The Terrorists Win]
[link|http://www.kuro5hin.org|There is no K5 Cabal]
[link|http://guildenstern.dyndns.org|Home]
Use P2P for legitimate purposes!
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Post #235,549
11/22/05 2:24:34 PM
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Of course British for that item is 'starting handle'.
Not as quaint as "hand commencer" but definitely moreso than "crank".
[link|http://www.aaxnet.com|AAx]
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Post #235,497
11/22/05 8:57:20 AM
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Do you think he's trying to bait me? :)
--\n-------------------------------------------------------------------\n* Jack Troughton jake at consultron.ca *\n* [link|http://consultron.ca|http://consultron.ca] [link|irc://irc.ecomstation.ca|irc://irc.ecomstation.ca] *\n* Kingston Ontario Canada [link|news://news.consultron.ca|news://news.consultron.ca] *\n-------------------------------------------------------------------
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Post #235,531
11/22/05 12:29:52 PM
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Only if you take it. :)
--
Steve
[link|http://www.ubuntulinux.org|Ubuntu]
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Post #235,536
11/22/05 1:06:25 PM
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If not, Carl Forde or Ben Tilly will do! :)
Alex
The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt. -- Bertrand Russell
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Post #235,553
11/22/05 4:06:53 PM
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Or Lister. (Or the Cat. Or Rimmer. Or...)
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Post #235,554
11/22/05 4:29:14 PM
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But definitely not Kryton :-)
"It's never too late to be who you might have been." ~ George Eliot
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Post #235,603
11/22/05 11:28:58 PM
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I'm avoiding being baited
Not the least because I would never use that phrase, eh?
Cheers,
Ben
I have come to believe that idealism without discipline is a quick road to disaster, while discipline without idealism is pointless. -- Aaron Ward (my brother)
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Post #235,612
11/23/05 2:33:57 AM
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Jeeeze, what a suspicious lot you all are.
Just because my comments sometimes smell of anchovies it does not necessarily follow that they are bait.
[link|http://www.aaxnet.com|AAx]
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Post #235,616
11/23/05 4:48:39 AM
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:-)
--
Steve
[link|http://www.ubuntulinux.org|Ubuntu]
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Post #235,824
11/24/05 1:46:48 AM
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it's only bait if it's tempting...
otherwise it's just poorly arranged decoration
Have fun,
Carl Forde
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Post #232,162
11/2/05 3:14:10 PM
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Nobody can tell you - wrong
I can tell you.
Most of the ones who are willing to marry Mr. Nice Guy because he's nice are married.
Now single ones I'll have more trouble finding. But I've met some from time to time.
However they do seem scarcer than hen's teeth in LA.
Cheers,
Ben
I have come to believe that idealism without discipline is a quick road to disaster, while discipline without idealism is pointless. -- Aaron Ward (my brother)
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Post #232,462
11/4/05 3:21:46 PM
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You find a lot of the really nice guys around here . . .
. . are married to homely women or plumpers. I suspect these women felt they wouldn't be able to land a real jerk so they'd better take what they could get.
Of course, for the men it has some advantages. These woman aren't going to be phoning their divorce lawyer every time there's a change in men's fashions. Some of them have even learned to cook.
[link|http://www.aaxnet.com|AAx]
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Post #232,464
11/4/05 3:26:20 PM
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Oh cynicism, thy name is Andrew.
Follow your MOUSE
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Post #232,467
11/4/05 4:07:38 PM
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Well, I didn't start out that way . . .
The final turning point was my visit to the draft board, a mill into which I entered as an healthy, optomistic, patriotic young man and exited 6 hours later as a hardened cynic with an undeserved 4F (a long, complex and hilarious story for another time). My one regret is that, still in my innocence in the early stages, I didn't steal the pen that said "Do Not Steal This Pen" on it. I would love to have that framed on my wall.
CYNIC, n. A blackguard whose faulty vision sees things as they are, not as they ought to be. - Ambrose Bierce
[link|http://www.aaxnet.com|AAx]
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Post #232,474
11/4/05 4:58:35 PM
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What did you do for the 4F
Trip, fall, and land in doctor's lap? For my physical, if I could walk up to the table I was 1A.
A good friend will come and bail you out of jail ... but, a true friend will be sitting next to you saying, "Damn...that was fun!"
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Post #232,486
11/4/05 7:19:56 PM
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It was an almost unblievable comedy of errors.
I'll write it up one of these days and post a link. A friend went through there some months later, and even with professional help wasn't able to do better than a 1Y (I understand that's an obsolete classification now).
A few months after that the Los Angeles draft board was shut down for investigation because they'd drafted a guy confined to a wheel chair. The guy's lawyer told him to go ahead and show up for boot camp to avoid an arrest warrant, which he did. It caused a bit of a fuss.
[link|http://www.aaxnet.com|AAx]
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Post #232,489
11/4/05 7:51:13 PM
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Ah, the good old days. [snif] ___________________:-/
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Post #232,568
11/5/05 10:00:25 PM
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Is it as good as Arlo Guthrie's story?
jb4
shrub●bish (Am., from shrub + rubbish, after the derisive name for America's 43 president; 2003) n. 1. a form of nonsensical political doubletalk wherein the speaker attempts to defend the indefensible by lying, obfuscation, or otherwise misstating the facts; GIBBERISH. 2. any of a collection of utterances from America's putative 43rd president. cf. BULLSHIT
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Post #232,498
11/4/05 9:01:58 PM
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Let me guess...
When they said "Spread your cheeks!" you put both your index fingers in your mouth and pulled on the corners of your mouth.
Alex
The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt. -- Bertrand Russell
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Post #232,505
11/4/05 11:23:07 PM
11/4/05 11:28:06 PM
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Well, it was at the embarrassment station . . .
. . where they do all the indelicate exams (OK, drop your pants! now cough!) lined up facing a table of guys in doctor suits who called up certain guys "Front and Center!" (without first reminding them to pull up their pants) to bellow, "IT SAYS ON YOUR PAPERWORK THAT YOU'RE QUEER! IS THAT TRUE?" where things really came unglued, but the groundwork had already been laid at previous stations.
I hadn't thought of that yet, so all I got was "IT SAYS HERE YOU'VE BEEN IN JAIL. WHAT WAS THAT FOR" but a few hours later when things had become really, really strange I added it to my repertory for good measure (I had to stonewall the psychologist though because I hadn't a clue what queers did).
[link|http://www.aaxnet.com|AAx]
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Post #232,506
11/5/05 12:23:45 AM
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I can just hear the song now... Andrew's Restaurant
The 18 minute song about cooking using common engineering principles.
-----------------------------------------
Lying about outing a CIA agent, something that is actually a threat to national security, is first-degree perjury. Lying about a blowjob is....ninth-degree perjury.
--Eddie Izzard
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Post #232,513
11/5/05 1:38:04 AM
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Sarge - I wanna kill.
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Post #232,524
11/5/05 10:01:43 AM
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sent to group W no doubt
"the reason people don't buy conspiracy theories is that they think conspiracy means everyone is on the same program. Thats not how it works. Everybody has a different program. They just all want the same guy dead. Socrates was a gadfly, but I bet he took time out to screw somebodies wife" Gus Vitelli
Any opinions expressed by me are mine alone, posted from my home computer, on my own time as a free american and do not reflect the opinions of any person or company that I have had professional relations with in the past 49 years. meep
questions, help? [link|mailto:pappas@catholic.org|email pappas at catholic.org]
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Post #232,550
11/5/05 4:17:27 PM
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I'm taking up a collection
We need to fly Andrew in to tell that story at 2 a.m. next to the pool at the BeePBash. BeeP can play guitar. I'll bet Box could accompany on harmonica.
===
Purveyor of Doc Hope's [link|http://DocHope.com|fresh-baked dog biscuits and pet treats].
[link|http://DocHope.com|http://DocHope.com]
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Post #232,569
11/5/05 10:02:18 PM
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I'll bring my bass...
...and it'll be a Conspiracy!
jb4
shrub●bish (Am., from shrub + rubbish, after the derisive name for America's 43 president; 2003) n. 1. a form of nonsensical political doubletalk wherein the speaker attempts to defend the indefensible by lying, obfuscation, or otherwise misstating the facts; GIBBERISH. 2. any of a collection of utterances from America's putative 43rd president. cf. BULLSHIT
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Post #232,544
11/5/05 11:49:18 AM
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Re: Oh cynicism, thy name is Andrew.
Yes, but it's a cynicism without bitterness. I can appreciate and enjoy without having to imagine things are other than what they actually are.
People are highly imperfect and perpetually at cross purposes so it's not surprising life is difficult. We just have to enjoy the parts that are enjoyable, recognize the parts that aren't for what they are and not give them the power to destroy us.
That doesn't mean I can't bitch about them or poke fun at them though.
[link|http://www.aaxnet.com|AAx]
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Post #232,796
11/7/05 2:23:38 PM
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I couldnt agree with you more. Bitch away!
Follow your MOUSE
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Post #232,817
11/7/05 3:01:27 PM
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*splash*
Fire All Torpedoes! *chuckle* Some things I just have trouble resisting.... [link|http://www.runningworks.com|
] Imric's Tips for Living
- Paranoia Is a Survival Trait
- Pessimists are never disappointed - but sometimes, if they are very lucky, they can be pleasantly surprised...
- Even though everyone is out to get you, it doesn't matter unless you let them win.
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Nothing is as simple as it seems in the beginning,
As hopeless as it seems in the middle,
Or as finished as it seems in the end.
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Post #232,904
11/7/05 7:07:33 PM
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Why you___mawfaw
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Post #232,790
11/7/05 2:02:04 PM
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Here comes the Statistics
[link|http://www.cnn.com/2005/AUTOS/funonwheels/11/04/cars_dating/index.html?section=cnn_topstories|Linky] Women felt more strongly about their date's car condition than men with 69 percent saying it would at least somewhat effect their attraction to their date compared to 47 percent of men.
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Post #232,792
11/7/05 2:08:36 PM
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Beat ya to it! ;-)
[link|http://z.iwethey.org/forums/render/content/show?contentid=232785|Here]
:-)
A good friend will come and bail you out of jail ... but, a true friend will be sitting next to you saying, "Damn...that was fun!"
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Post #231,701
10/31/05 1:35:06 PM
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Good article. Thanks.
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Post #232,461
11/4/05 3:16:25 PM
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Maureen's book was thoroughtly panned today by . . .
. . the Wall Street Journal's critic (Meghan Cox Gurdon - Weekend Journal section). She said it was composed mainly of sentences, each a separate paragraph, which had little realtionship to each other. She further described the whole thing as pasted together from Maureen's past work and almost entirely pointless.
That bad a review almost makes you want to read it.
[link|http://www.aaxnet.com|AAx]
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Post #232,519
11/5/05 7:20:50 AM
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And another angle
[link|http://www.salon.com/mwt/broadsheet/index.html?blog=/mwt/broadsheet/2005/11/04/contest/index.html| Salon]. [image|http://images.salon.com/mwt/broadsheet/src/bs_masthed.png||||] Attention Broadsheet shoppers! Run, don't walk, to American Girl Place!
Broadsheet boycott update: Where to spend all the feminist do-gooder dollars you're saving by eschewing Target, Abercrombie and Fitch and all things Cinderella? American Girl Place.
Wait, what?
Marjorie Ingall, the Forward's "East Village Mamele" columnist (reg. required), notes this week:
"A few weeks ago, the American Family Association and other conservative groups threatened a boycott of American Girl dolls because American Girl contributes to Girls Inc. (formerly Girls Clubs of America), a 141-year-old national nonprofit youth organization. American Girl is currently selling cute little star bracelets, the proceeds of which support Girls Inc.'s programs in science and math, leadership skills and athletics. The AFA calls Girls Inc. 'a pro-abortion, pro-lesbian advocacy group.' (Wow, like the entire state of Vermont!)
"This is because its Web site (in an area it took me several minutes of clicking to find) declares its support for Roe v. Wade and says that girls have a right to 'positive, supportive environments' when 'dealing with issues of sexual orientation.'"
Also this week, a Catholic school outside Milwaukee canceled an American Girl fashion show that would have raised enough money for a new playground and library renovation -- all, as the Chicago Sun-Times put it, because of "concerns that the doll company behind the show gives money to a national girls organization that accepts abortion and lesbian sexual orientation."
"It's a bargain we'll just have to pass up. The cost is too high. Our integrity isn't for sale," said a pastor at the school, the Academy of Our Lady of High Dudgeon. (The school's real name is St. Luke School.)
How to express our outrage? How to demonstrate true American values? Shop, shop, shop! Writes Ingall:
"I myself have been boycotting American Girl for many years. But only because I think dolls are creepy and want to stab me in my sleep. Okay, and also because the idea of getting dragged into a universe in which you have to buy the dolls (at $87 a pop) and the clothes for the dolls and the matching clothes for your child and the wagons and the beds and the horses and the books and then you have to take the entire plastic mishpocha to American Girl Place and get everybody's hair styled and eat in the caf\ufffd with its special doll-chairs and teas and ... where was this sentence going? Oh yeah, it makes me hyperventilate. (And American Girl is like the black-tar heroin of the doll world. You think you're just going to buy one educational book and one Kirsten the 1854 Pioneer Girl from Minnesota, but before you know it you've bought 42 dolls and you're muttering to yourself and living in a cardboard box on the Bowery ...) Until now, conservatives loved American Girl, what with the dolls being patriotic and nonhoochily dressed. My own mother-in-law has been salivating to buy Josie one since her birth. I've always said no. Now, however, thanks to this boycott, I just told her to knock herself out. Thank you, American Family Association! The enemy of my enemy is my doll!"
That, and you can also donate directly to Girls Inc.
-- Lynn Harris It's all mixed-up-in religio- politico- sexo- balderdash - the Hallmark of Murican dysfunctionality. Just when you think it can't possibly be More-fucked: a new position emerges. Only a rilly Rich screwed up kultur can find so much crap to self-flagellate over, instead of Living.
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Post #232,954
11/8/05 5:15:22 AM
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And another take
[link|http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2005/11/08/dowd/index.html| Salon] Yes, Maureen Dowd is necessary
You can love her or hate her, but you can't dismiss her -- or her inflammatory new book on gender politics.
By Rebecca Traister
Nov. 8, 2005 | Given all the fur that's already flown over New York Times Op-Ed columnist Maureen Dowd's new book, "Are Men Necessary? When Sexes Collide," a weary reader can be forgiven for thinking it has been out forever. But while it was excerpted in a much-maligned essay in the New York Times Magazine last weekend, it hits shelves Tuesday.
The Times piece did not do Dowd's book any favors by chopping it up as if it were a cutesy retro-chic dating manual and a cackling dismissal of feminism. In fact, Dowd's 338-page cultural analysis and memoir of sexual politics is a blistering critique of modern gender relations, dressed up in a pulpy cover and too many puns. She's asking some very uncomfortable questions of her male and female readers, and presenting some startling answers, including the winked-at implication that, as the title suggests, men may not be necessary anymore. Dowd has clearly touched a nerve. And you only touch a nerve by telling a truth.
The Times excerpt pissed off bloggers and Op-Ed columnists alike. Outrage was varied: Women ripped Dowd's casual claims about the death of feminism, along with her assertions about women who want men to pay for their dinners, who believe "The Rules," who take their husbands' names and consider "Mrs." a status symbol. She has been rightly criticized for her reliance on questionable trend stories, many from her own newspaper, about women who want to opt out of careers and men who marry their secretaries. Young women felt they'd been misrepresented as plastic husband-hunters; older women were furious with Dowd's portrayal of second-wave feminists as earnest and Birkenstock-shod. Blogger Catnip snapped at Dowd: "I know lots of smart, career-driven women who ... didn't have to act dumb and dress like a tart to 'catch' their husbands." Feministing's Jessica Valenti knocked her for the "assumption that feminism ended back in the day, [her] reliance on dubious studies, and ... [her] elitism," while elsewhere, ruffled writers like Katie Roiphe and Kathleen Parker squawked their defenses of what Dowd, in the book, terms "the weaker sex": men.
Clearly, Dowd has exposed herself to an enormous amount of vitriol. A recent New York magazine profile of the columnist opens with a description of the naked women decorating her home, and her friend Michiko Kakutani's suggestion that she paint clothes on them. The response she's received so far makes me want to paint clothes on her.
Far from being any kind of feminism-denier, Dowd, the only female Op-Ed columnist at the most powerful newspaper in the world, is the embodiment of its triumphs, and she knows it. What she has to say in this book is sometimes crass, often recycled from old columns, intermittently sloppy, consistently over-generalized and rooted too firmly in her own rarefied D.C.-N.Y. corridor of power. But just because Dowd's sphere is a privileged one doesn't mean her observations aren't both fascinating and true. And, as the blizzard of response demonstrates, Dowd has kicked off a conversation we are desperate to have.
In "Are Men Necessary?" Dowd lays into men and women, calling out their hypocrisies and weaknesses, and engaging in quite a few of her own. She covers dizzying territory; anyone hoping for a single thesis will come up empty-handed. Dowd insists she is not "peddling a theory or a slogan or a policy," rather presenting the "diligent notes ... of a fascinated observer of our gender perplexities."
Her notes cover dating anecdotes (her own and those of her friends), the weakening of the Y chromosome, a recent cultural embrace of frilly-aproned 1950s femininity, and the disappointment of learning that her hero Katharine Hepburn tamped down her vivid personality to please Spencer Tracy. Dowd bemoans the transformation of the female journalist into the female sex columnist ("from Tess Harding to Carrie Bradshaw ... is not progress") and marvels at the matriarchal communities of sex-happy bonobo primates. She argues that Hillary Clinton destroyed feminism, selling out her sisters by sticking with her "dissembling, thong-seeking, wife-betraying husband," and becoming a feminist icon in the process. She decries Botox yet spends $195 on anti-aging cream. Given Dowd's penchant for puns and the breadth of her subject matter, "Are Men Necessary?" sometimes reads like a Jerry Seinfeld routine: What is the deal with Bratz dolls?
Dowd often asks for her chastisement, refusing to fit anyone's model of how we should talk about men and women. She is out of control, yes, wondering if the "cow goo" being pumped into age-defying cosmetics will lead to half-bovine women, "pouty young Gotham beauties, sipping raspberry mojitos at Koi ... running around in circles trying to bite their tails," and "high-powered professional women in leather skirts and Holstein-patterned heels clickety-clak[ing] up to the pool at the Four Seasons restaurant ... slurping at it like a trough."
But gender constructions are Dowd's playthings: She also suggests that Donald Rumsfeld is menopausal and that Al Gore is "practically lactating." Dowd subverts gender stereotyping by treating it as a laugh riot; surely her giggling does not disqualify her feminism. In fact, however grating her tone, her willingness to enter this fray is exactly what feminism needs; she adds heat that will bring long-simmering, difficult conversations to a public boil.
Dowd has always been an equal-opportunity provocateur, winning a Pulitzer for her evisceration of the Clinton administration between flirtily poking the elder Bush with a stick and eating his son for breakfast. Though she writes that she fears being called a catfighter and a castrating bitch, she is not impeded by either. This makes her as useful a critic as any out there; if women are to have constructive conversations about what comes next, we need someone willing to tell us when we make wrong turns or double back on ourselves.
Next page: Who can deny that in some ways feminism has been trumped by narcissism and materialism? Ah yes.. that pair of insightful words again - maybe the US now has Two Gods: $$ and Narcissus (?)
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Post #232,997
11/8/05 12:43:50 PM
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LA Times reviewer . . .
. . (before release) was briefer, concluded that since she got everyone talking (and screaming) the actual content is practically irrelevant - she's done her job.
[link|http://www.aaxnet.com|AAx]
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Post #233,028
11/8/05 2:36:25 PM
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[Heh] I'll buy that..
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