CléaEdit 20 March 09: For an in-depth discussion on question #2, please read the comments. Thanks to all who have contributed.
- Why is time on the computer considered an addiction but not time spent in front of the TV?
- If you’re male, is sex with an unattractive and obese woman better than no sex at all?
- How does one deal with a parrot, the kind of (nice) person who, after telling them something, they repeat it to someone else, as their own, right in front of you?
- How can a utility justify mailing me a colourful double sided card telling me to get my bills online to save paper then dare to insert a glossy colourful brochure with it selling me their product, which I already pay for?
- Is blogging contributing to the overuse of clichés in the written word or merely highlighting them?
- When will men stop taking the metro look too far and go back to looking like real men?
- Which is more green, recycling glass and plastics after wasting water to wash these items when I live in an area that has water restrictions or throwing them in the bin?
- When you constantly see someone on IM but neither contacts the other, no matter how close you were in the past, is this a sign that the friendship has expired?
- Facebook and Twitter aside, are people who comment on news blogs wannabe attention grabbers after their 5 seconds of fame or do they believe they have something worthwhile to contribute?
- With today being St Patrick’s Day, would a Smoky Martini be an accepted alternative to Guinness?
Tags: cbmused, St Patrick's Day
1. I thought they were the same thing? Aren’t they the same thing? I know people consider it the same thing.
2. A gentlemen doesn’t kiss and tell. Then again, what is unattractive anyway if everyone enjoys the moment?
3. Pluck their feathers and leave them be.
4. It’s called hypocrisy, it seems to be all the rage these days.
5. Both, depending on how one uses them in their writing. Mostly the former though since most of us aren’t good writers.
6. When society stops pandering to vanity of human beings and go back to encouraging them to be who they really are.
7. I confess, I don’t usually wash stuff before tossing them into the recycling bin though I do empty the insides as much as I can without water because it’ll all be processed anyway.
8. Yes. Delete or keep them for situations “just in case”.
9. Surprisingly, a lot of comments on the news blogs I read do tend to contribute to the article despite the number of “yes” comments that follow. It’s good to read them and give a bit more insight into what’s been posted on the blog.
10. I don’t know about the smokey martini but isn’t that Irish spirit about fun and merriment? For tonight, I’m going to open the bottle of Midori I have stashed in the corner and make myself a nice cocktail in its stead. That, over a nice piping hot Irish stew cooked with Guinness.
Kami:
1. I know who don’t consider it the same thing.
2. Come on, don’t be so PC! I’m asking, therefore I want to know the truth not some half baked response trying to please everyone.
3. How does one do that? Remember, they’re nice people with an irritating habit.
4. Amen.
5. Agree, because writers avoid them like
6. And spell the end of consumerism?
7. If you don’t wash them, they’ll stink the recycling bin, and it’ll end up with creepy crawlies, maggots and other undesirables. Here, we rinse them including drink bottles.
8. Just in case they want to play nice again?
9. I see a lot of yes people and a lot of devil’s advocates. And many many more people acting like arseholes.
10. Can I come to dinner?
2. Haha, then no. I don’t find them unappealing. They were people I considered friends so in those terms, sex with them was nice and fun.
3. Oh, they are nice people? I suppose then there is nothing you can do about it, you can’t stop giving them things to imitate, neither can you leave them be which I would do. I don’t consider these people nice at all if they irritate me.
6. There is a line between consumerism which is supposed to protect the interests of the customer and manipulating the public into buying things they don’t need. I can do without the latter.
7. If I wipe them clean enough and throw most of the waste into the bin, they wouldn’t stink, neither will it attract undesirables. For drink bottles, we just cap and close them. That solves the problem.
8. Yup. If they have done nothing wrong, we don’t need to burn bridges.
9. Depends on where you go to for the news I guess. Can’t say I haven’t seen face-slapping comments. More often than not though, regular commenters keep things pretty civil.
10. Only if you promise to bring more drinks to toast with.
Kami:
2. Then they don’t fit the criteria. I’m not talking about friends or partners or couples, because in all those cases they are attractive to the person. I’m talking about causal sex, one offs, pick ups, that kind of thing.
3. Only one thing irritates me about them, their parroting. I’m trying not give them ammo but sometimes it slips through normal conversations.
6. It’s grey and blurry line.
7. Wipe them with a dish cloth, and you’d have to rinse it, ie use water. Wipe the with a paper towel, you’re using and paying for more resources. Either way, I’m not convinced what is better, to recycle some items or not. Especially if it’s going to cost me.
9. I see it all the time. Sometimes I wonder if at one point they had their own blogs.
10. But of course!
1. It will change as our definition of “normal” changes. Ten years ago, Internet dating was considered a peripheral activity for loser weirdos. Now there are tons of dating sites out there. Humans shape their world with technology and are shaped by it as well.
2. There are far too many variables at play here to make a judgement. Let’s turn the tables- sex with an unattractive/obese man better than no sex at all?
3. Skewer with the truth. There’s no shame in making sure credit is assigned where it’s due.
4. Green is the buzzword of the hour- how much pollution has been created by companies touting their “environmentally friendly” practices. Closer to my home, there was a traffic jam en route to the Earth Day fair.
5. More impressive is the speed at which phrases can become overused.
6. Fortunately, that particular style has left our shores for the most part. An even stupider phenomena will undoubtedly arrive to fill the void; who knows, maybe it will be kilts and suspenders (it will not be).
7. You have to wash your recyclables?
8. I’d say so, although never seeing them log in is usually a good sign that that’s the case as well. I have a massive graveyard of “friends” who haven’t appeared online in years.
9. In the U.S., there are only two kinds of comments, separated down the line by political party. They can be further categorized by level of insanity.
10. Wear some green and drink some alcohol; that’s what the day is about. And snakes or something.
Mahd:
1. That’s my argument, yet I’m told I’m addicted to my PC and they just watch TV
2. Not you too! Come on guys, be honest here, don’t be shy. As for your question, I’ll answer it after I’ve had more comments so that I don’t pre-empt a response.
3. But when the parrot speaks, it parrots in front of me, so I feed it white lies, I’ll look like an idiot.
4. Hear! Hear! So my recyclable plastics go to China to make more junk. Or it becomes landfill because the cost of recycling is prohibitive.
5. Spot on, Mahd. Spot on!
6. Already left your shores? Wow… But I thought you’d be just the type for a kilt and suspenders!
7. We don’t have to, but if we don’t rinse them, they smell and attract nasties. I’d rather not have to clean a recycling bin with maggots in it.
8. I like your term, graveyard friends. I rarely log on but have been doing so lately due to recent events. Surprising how easy it is to ignore and be ignored for a looooong time.
9. And in my little piddly part of the word, we tend to follow suit.
10. Would you believe I don’t have anything green? But I can pretend Cléa is part Irish and do the drinking part. But not a Guinness.
I love these posts!
1. I think they both are! I know I’m addicted to both and have been accused of such! However, I think that since TV has been around so much longer than computers is more of an accepted addiction. One day computers will be accepted and something new will take its place.
2. Yes. I could expand, but I don’t want to get too crass. But, in general, yes.
3. OMG. Punch them in the mouth?
4. Ha. That’s why this whole “going green” many companies advertise is a crock and all for show and profit. If they really cared, they would have skipped the mail and sent you an email.
5. Ha again. I’m going to say both. And Mahd makes a good point. I remember when I first used “le sigh” on my blog a long, long time ago. I had never seen it on a blog before (not saying that it hadn’t been used, but I just hadn’t seen it) but rather heard it on a TV show and liked and decided to use it. Now I see it all over the place.
6. God. I hope soon. I’m so glad that my husband refuses to wax his eyebrows. Sure he keeps it from becoming a uni, but he won’t wax them. And I’m glad. I really don’t want him using up my wax, thank you very much.
7. I don’t wash out the things I recycle. Not only is it too time consuming, but it’s also counter-intuitive – especially with the example you provide.
8. What’s worse is when you know they are online but they are showing as “offline” to you. At least if you see them online you know that they aren’t hiding and vice versa.
9. I don’t read news blogs because of the comments.
10. Gin & Scotch? I think the micks* would approve.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day, Clea!
*I’m 3/4 Irish so I can totally say that.
SM: I’ve had these floating in my brain for some time!
1. Hmm… what if one starts to watch TV while being on the laptop? Double the addiction.
2. No problem being crass. I’m going somewhere with this question. I may even give it its own post.
3. Difficult to do it when they’re otherwise nice people and good friends. But with a bad habit.
4. And the irony is if they had my email, they’d spam me and sell my details.
5. I’ve noticed fads in blog speak (I’m sure there are the same on Tweets) come and go, keeping the guys at Urban Dictionary busy. As for non-blogging clichés, even those in printed media, books and literature seem to have a use by date. And that used to be the domain of slang.
6. If my man is more groomed that I am, something is not right. And I see a lot of buff guys at the beach plucked within an inch of their lives.
7. I admit to a cringe factor when I do it.
8. Oh I play that game too. What’s good for the goose…
9. Wise move. Most of it is sensational stories designed to generate revenues and give little information.
10. Gin + Scotch + a little vermouth + a lemon twist. And a Happy St. Patrick’s Day to you SM, and the ¾ Irish in you!
Per #2, it does matter on the circumstances in the real world, but if we’re talking about a detached situation of being in bed with a girl or not, it’s definitely the former. If nothing else, there is something ineffable about skin meeting skin that can electrify us and comfort us all at once.
Mahd: By ‘us’ I take it that applies to men in general. Circumstances, I can think of several, and not all to do with wearing beer goggles or being under the influence, though these tend to be predominant. So, there are comforts to be had, and I’m assuming not just sexual, even if the woman is obese and unattractive.
I am deeply concerned by the Smoky Martini question, on a variety of levels. This is very curious because I don’t drink anymore–so why I am concerned is one of the levels.
The “Smoky Martini” appears to be the distant cousin of the Rob Roy. Distant enough of a cousin that if the Rob Roy kissed the Smoky Martini, he could “slip her the tongue.”
I would say that a Scottish libation is acceptable on St. Patrick’s Day if the imbiber is wearing one of those T-shirts with the picture of bagpipes that says, “I’m Scottish–Blow Me!”
The shirt is available here:
http://www.zazzle.com/bagpipe_blow_me_im_scottish_tshirt-235939199417351696
Zen: I never thought of Smoky Martini as female, being doused with a generous dose of Whiskey, more of a man’s drink. But they could be two blokes on a night out, slipping tongues and blowing pipes…
For any Francophone readers out there, I just realised that last bit sounds terribly lewd in French…
I say “No” to number 10. Suck it up and drink a Guinness – little known fact that the common American draft version of Guinness has less alcohol in it than the typical light beer. So for all the “big bad” connotations, it’s most common version in my local bar is a pretty “sissy” drink. Slainte!
GSR: As it panned out, I did suck it up and drink a Guinness. I had a few sips, like I was drinking medicine. I also had a Smoky Martini. I didn’t have to suck it up as hard with this one. Clearly, both drinks aren’t my cup of tea. Now Baileys Irish Cream is another story…
Only answered no. 10?
Danny Boy, the pipes are calling!
Don’t blow it, Danny Boy…
Zen: Oh Danny boy, oh Danny boy, I love you so. And you better be a handsome boy…
Mahd asked me in his comment above:
is sex with an unattractive/obese man better than no sex at all?
Have you ever heard a girl say ‘not even if he was the last man on earth’? The answer is a big fat no. Pun intended. If there is no physical attraction, because he’s unattractive and obese, what’s the point of having sex? But I’m guessing/learning that for men, any sex is better than none.
It’s almost certainly more complicated, but it does seem that men, generally speaking, are better able to separate the physical and emotional aspects of sex. Women, possibly because they are the ones who, by and large, determine when sex happens, want that attraction/connection beforehand. It’s the same reason that women are marketed trashy romance novels and men are marketed porn. Women are thought to want <i>meaning</i>, but men are interested in the moment, which is given meaning by our relationship with that person.
Mahd: How is physical attraction an emotional response to women? Guy walks past. Attractive? Yes/ No. It’s that simple. I agree that it is women who determine when sex happens but not all want an emotional connection nor is it a pre-requisite for a fling. But attractiveness is a major factor.
While we’re talking generalisations and some stereotypes, it is true that less men are into romance novels, (though I know one blokey bloke who loves to write them!) than women are into porn. Yet not all are comfortable admitting it.
And it seems hypocritical that while most men are lured by and rave on about women’s physical beauty, their hotness factor, down to their tits, arse and so on, yet when it comes down to availability, they’d go for anything that doesn’t even remotely resemble that image of perfection.
What prompted the question for me was a situation where a few of us watched a nasty female colleague (who also happened to be unattractive and obese) make overt passes with her body language at a male colleague. I won’t describe what she did, bar to say it was inappropriate and repulsive, that one of the guys was most vocal (and crude) about it with his comments. It was uncomfortable and sickening for all of us to witness. We know that those two got together that night and well cringed. Yet, a couple of days later, the same guy who made fun of it, admitted from personal experience, that sex with an obese and unattractive person was better than no sex at all.
1. Not just an addiction, but in the eyes of TV addicts, somehow inferior
2. Depends entirely on the duration of the drought, and the amount of liquor consumed.
3. “a sphincter says what?”
4. Yeah but you can never have enough electricity.
5. Cliche’s? In blogging? Nnoooooooooooo?!
6. Done and done. In support of your edict I won’t shave this weekend.
7. Or cancelling your offices bottled water contract and replacing it with an expensive, slow, water filter that requires constant maintenance and resource consuming replacement parts.
8. You know, I probably would once have said yes… but after suddenly hearing from two different people after ages, I now wonder.
9. I think the number of LAM’s far outweigh the handful of witty, funny or otherwise worthwhile commenters
10. Pretty much anything should be considered an acceptable alternative to Guiness.
Gboy:
1. Not just inferior, it can be looked upon with disdain, as if one is looking up pr0n all the time.
2. Ahhh… yes. And my guess is that when you add alcohol to the drought, the chances become exponential.
3. Love it!!
4. You too, hmm?
5. if I had time, I’d compile a list.
6. Shave what? Legs? Back? You’re welcome.
7. I swear some people have lost the plot. Told you you’d have to start brining in your own!
8. That’s nice. I haven’t blocked anyone but haven’t had the inclination to say hi either.
9. Absolutely, but one gets sick of sifting through tossers’ comments.
10. Anything? A Margarita perhaps…
It’s social conditioning, I think. Where men can be pretty free with their sexual conquests, women who are quick to sleep around can gain a negative reputation. Obviously, it’s not fair, but it exists, and so I think that can be the impetus for women to be more selective about their partners.
A workplace environment, of course, is a much stricter environment. Take your two people and put them at a club or bar or something. What do we tend to think of a woman who is that suggestive and aggressive (and does the way she looks modify that perception)? What about the man? Do we think about him in the same way? Whose reputation is damaged more- the woman who sleeps with the fat, ugly man or the man who sleeps with the fat, ugly woman?
Mahd: Both genders are breaking free from social conditioning. While it remains at large, as you say, I’m not so sure that women are becoming more selective when binge drinking is involved, something quite common unfortunately in my part of the world.
The bar scenario:
What do we tend to think of a woman who is that suggestive and aggressive?
There’s a time and a place for everything. Her behaviour was totally inappropriate at work. In a bar, it’s up to her.
and does the way she looks modify that perception?
Yes. Which is the point I’m making. It still looks horrible in a bar as it did at work. when you’re obese (I’m not talking just a few kilos/pounds) and unattractive, cleavage down to your waist and huge thighs spread wide in a come hither motion aren’t attractive.
What about the man? Do we think about him in the same way?
Yep. Out to get what he can. He never did anything out of place at work except look open to her advances.
Whose reputation is damaged more- the woman who sleeps with the fat, ugly man or the man who sleeps with the fat, ugly woman?
Both in my opinion. They deserve one other. Those two got together, possibly more than once. What little opinion I had of him plummeted further as a result of this. Which is why I asked the question, is sex with an unattractive and obese woman better than no sex at all.