QOTD

343 posts

QOTD: Fifty Years From Now

purplefutureDo you ever turn on one of the rerun channels on TV and gawp at the way things used to be? Shows filmed in the 1960’s and 1970’s have a bevy of corded telephones, stay at home wives and casual racism. Such a wide range of straight white people on the TV back then. Even the degenerate, heroin-addicted criminals on Dragnet look so clean-cut, the men always wearing collared shirts and dress shoes and women in dresses and heels with a big poufy do.

Now let’s say the year is 2063. What about today’s culture (movies, television, pop songs, web videos, Internet memes, lifestyles) do you think will be passe, trite, cliched and past their prime? I have a few guesses. Continue reading →

QOTD: How #YOLO #BALLER are you?

time_travelYou’re in a movie theater, or you’re giving a presentation at work, and a portal to the past opens up near you. Maybe it’s back to the 1980’s, or the 1880’s, or the 1280’s. If you had the chance, would you jump in, not knowing if you could return to our time?

Since you’re thinking about whether you would go or not, what are your criteria for making the decision? If you go back to the 1980’s, you have no Internet, probably no cellphone, and if your livelihood depends on your skills with technology, how would you support yourself? Continue reading →

Anniversary QOTD: What Are Your Favorite Crasstalk Moments?

So many great moments! From Bots’ night out with 4Loko, to Chris’s housekeeper’s candy sampling, to 400-comment Funderdomes, to the Atlanta meet-up with the cat circus, you people have brought the funny and the poignant, both online and IRL, for some 3 years now. Which moments have been your favorites? Continue reading →

QOTD: Tell Us Your Worst Neighbour Stories

fenceThis post is, of course, prompted by my own current neighbour troubles. None of them is really all that dire (no one leaving their outdoor water running so as to wash away my house’s foundations, as I read somewhere ages ago) but they do irk.

The barking dogs, left in their front yard. For a while I deployed a silent whistle, which seemed promising, but it’s REAL tiresome to have to spend the evening dumping the cat off my lap and getting up and going to the door time after time (the whistle doesn’t work through walls or glass). Continue reading →

QOTD: What Would You Go See If You Had Only One Day in…

Alhambra, Granada, Spain
Alhambra, Granada, Spain

What’s your favourite city (you don’t have to have actually been there)?

Suppose you have a chance to visit it, or re-visit, but just for one day. What would you do?

If it’s London, would you immerse yourself in the British Museum, punctuated by a pub lunch and a pub supper? If it’s Barcelona, would you hunt down everything Gaudi ever built?  If Paris, as much strolling along the Seine as you could fit in?

Granada is home to the Alhambra, an old Moorish palace with famous gardens. I’ve never been. Yet. I’ve been fascinated by it since forever, and have at least 5 books about it. Continue reading →

Goodbye

QOTD: Your Ex Wants to Apologize

Today in the Washington Post, there was an article by Carolyn Hax addressing a debate by a couple of friends on whether or not it is beneficial for an ex to apologize for past transgressions. One friend said that it was rather arrogant of the ex and was only to clear his conscience. The other friend said that it might help bring closure to a bad breakup.

What do you think? Is it helpful to the person wronged? Does it let both people get past the relationship? What if a lot of time had passed? Personally, I don’t think there is one answer to this but it would be an interesting debate.

(Photo via Flickr: Woodley Wonderworks)

QOTD: Moving Your Bits and Pieces Around

Any_Questions_About_Your_WorkIf you could redesign the human body, what changes would you make?

For example, would you combine the intakes for systems dedicated to eating and breathing? Or would you have a food-hole and an air-hole? And would they be in the same general area, or would they be far apart?

Would you keep the party equipment integrated with waste disposal, or maybe move it elsewhere?  How about moving the naughty bits to the hands? A handshake could mean a lot more than just “hello” or “let’s do business.” Or maybe it would still mean “let’s do business.” It’s possible that some things remain the same no matter where they’re located. Continue reading →