I'm not sure if you all saw this or not, but I'm curious what people think. Below is a love letter written by a little boy to a little girl and her response to him.
In this letter, the boy informs the girl (Ashley) that he likes her "alot" and he asks if she will "please" be his girlfriend. Very polite kid... bet he wore a clean shirt the day he asked too. To facilitate her answer, he offers her three possible answers she can circle: YES, NO, MAYBE. With the MAYBE option, he has indeed covered all possibilities... very scientific. Future leader here!
Sadly, Ashley responds by circling NO and then writing this: "I'm sorry I alredy have a boyfriend Kyle ***** but when we break up your my next choice." [sic] She then adds in a P.S. "that will proboby be a month or two."
Here's the letter:
(You can read the story here: LINK)
I'm not sure what to make of this. On the one hand, I think this is really cute. There's something very innocent here about how casually, yet professionally both seem to be handling this issue. I've known business people who aren't capable of communicating this effectively and who aren't as "customer oriented" as these two. I also commend Ashley for her ability to forecast her change of status so accurately.
On the other hand, it's clear that Ashley doesn't quite get the idea of a real relationship. In fact, a cynic could read this and say that Ashley is headed down the very wrong path here. If she was 18, then uh yeah, I would agree with that. But assuming Ashley is around 10, then I suspect our cynics are wrong.
But what of poor Kyle, who will be getting the axe but doesn't know about it yet? The world knows. Poor kid.
Thoughts?
Also, if Kyle is Obama and Ashley is the Democratic Party, does it strike anyone that Hillary wrote this letter?
In this letter, the boy informs the girl (Ashley) that he likes her "alot" and he asks if she will "please" be his girlfriend. Very polite kid... bet he wore a clean shirt the day he asked too. To facilitate her answer, he offers her three possible answers she can circle: YES, NO, MAYBE. With the MAYBE option, he has indeed covered all possibilities... very scientific. Future leader here!
Sadly, Ashley responds by circling NO and then writing this: "I'm sorry I alredy have a boyfriend Kyle ***** but when we break up your my next choice." [sic] She then adds in a P.S. "that will proboby be a month or two."
Here's the letter:
(You can read the story here: LINK)
I'm not sure what to make of this. On the one hand, I think this is really cute. There's something very innocent here about how casually, yet professionally both seem to be handling this issue. I've known business people who aren't capable of communicating this effectively and who aren't as "customer oriented" as these two. I also commend Ashley for her ability to forecast her change of status so accurately.
On the other hand, it's clear that Ashley doesn't quite get the idea of a real relationship. In fact, a cynic could read this and say that Ashley is headed down the very wrong path here. If she was 18, then uh yeah, I would agree with that. But assuming Ashley is around 10, then I suspect our cynics are wrong.
But what of poor Kyle, who will be getting the axe but doesn't know about it yet? The world knows. Poor kid.
Thoughts?
Also, if Kyle is Obama and Ashley is the Democratic Party, does it strike anyone that Hillary wrote this letter?
More importantly, why hasn't this boy been suspended and placed in a juvenile center for his blatant sexual harassment?!
ReplyDeleteBad administrator... back in your dungeon.
ReplyDeleteAndrew....These have been going on for generations. Harmless way to see if someone likes you when you're a child. What I love is the casual manner of "Ashley" deciding when she'll dump Kyle. Oh..a month or so.
ReplyDeleteI wonder...Is this an "unwanted sexual advance?" I think children should just go back to single sex schools once they hit 5th grade. We have female teachers neutering our boys because boys are icky, dirty and loud. Definitely not raising future men in the current environment.
Why are we all assuming that Ashley is a girl? Ashley can also be a boy's name. The world "girlfriend" only suggests gender in heteronormative use. You are just expecting that children will automatically conform to stultified, out-dated, and puritanical ideas of gender. It's healthy for children to explore the multitude of forms that human gender roles can take--as long as they don't explore traditional male/female ones.
ReplyDeleteOoh, I hate those heteronormatives...uh, what are they again?
ReplyDeleteJudging from this note, young Kyle is destined to work for Gallup or Rasmussen and Ashley is destined for the stripper pole.
Yeah, those heteronormatives are jerks. Of course, they did breed with the homosaxons to form Britain.... explains a lot, doesn't it?
ReplyDeleteBev, Very nicely diagnosed! Definitely pollsters... of a different type of course, but definite pollsters.
ReplyDeletePatriot, The whole thing has a funny casual air to it. It's more like a transaction than a pursuit of the heart. I'm thinking this note was actually written by some "kids" in an MBA program.
ReplyDeletetryanmax, Indeed, traditional gender stereotypes are wrong and out of date....and if we see any of you kids unwittingly conforming to them, we will nail your sorry rears.
ReplyDeleteI keep seeing ads for Southern New Hampshire University. Their website, which they are advertising is:
ReplyDeletesnhu.edu
That is perhaps the worst web address I have ever seen. It's not catchy or memorable. It's not intuitive either. It's the kind of thing that still leaves you trying to figure it out by the time the commercial is over. It's like a stock ticker symbol gone wrong.
And if you try to pronounce it, it sounds like a Dr. Seuss creature.
ReplyDelete"And now I will show you
A thing that is new
A thing that is different
And that thing is a Snhu.
This Snhu is quite friendly.
This Snhu is all right.
This Snhu will play with you
Until Saturday night."
It does! LOL!
ReplyDeleteThe closest I can come to pronouncing it is, "Snu-hu.edu." But that doesn't help me remember the website. In fact, it gets its wrong.
They should have picked something like:
sonew.edu
snew.edu
sonewu.edu
southernnh.edu
Those are easier to remember.
I don't know if any of those are any easier, but it may be a moot point. I heard earlier this week that 2-screen television viewing is up 400% over a year ago, with 44% of survey respondents reporting that they at least sometimes watch television while using a second device. And I would assume those demographics skew younger. So memory won't be an issue for any of those.
ReplyDeleteOn a completely unrelated note, I'm watching LSU at Alabama, and the CBS announcers couldn't possibly be more in the tank for LSU if they tried. It's so annoying. Especially considering the level of mistakes LSU has been making.
At least they're pronounceable.
ReplyDeleteI hate biased announcers. That's something that drives me nuts in the NFL: almost all their announcers favor the same handful of team, e.g. the Patriots. I get sick of hearing them cheerlead for their favorites.
tryanmax, I'm watching it on and off, too, and, frankly, compared to how Bob Griese and Brent Musberger have been in the tank for Michigan in previous years, these guys are amateurs. Oh, Keith Jackson, how I miss you!
ReplyDeleteOf course, it could also be that they're giving the underdog a chance or that people are just getting tired of all Alabama, all the time. As far as I'm concerned, Nick Saban is college football's version of Bill Belichick. Which makes sense, since Saban is Belichick's protege from their years together in Cleveland.
Rustbelt, yeah, I guess I have seen worse, but it's still pretty bad. And Alabama does have a history of getting rooted against when they're doing well. Not unlike my home state team.
ReplyDeletetryanmax, my alma mater has been viciously hated by the media for a little better than a decade now. And the better they do, the angrier the media gets. So, I think we can both drink a shot to how much the sports media sucks.
ReplyDeleteYou know, Nick Saban is a serious grade-A assh*le, but I get the sense that most of these guys are. There are very few coaches that seem to be decent human beings.
ReplyDeleteP.S. The media doesn't even know my alma mater plays football.
"There are very few coaches that seem to be decent human beings."
ReplyDeleteAndrew, after having had a front row seat for the recent Sandusky scandal here in PA and hearing far more than I ever needed to know, that pretty much sums it up.
Rustbelt, Even without that level of extreme, you just constantly hear stories about all these guys that make them out as borderline sociopaths... and I'm not entirely sure on which side of the border they are standing!
ReplyDeleteEven the ones who seem decent pretty quickly get involved in some form of mischief that would be a criminal act if done in any other company.
Andrew, this stuff has been going on forever. It's not recent. Woody Hayes and Bear Bryant got away with all kinds of stuff that would get them fired today. They think they're omniscient and their schools (and media allies) go out of their way to protect them.
ReplyDeleteIn fact, Bobby Bowden even admitted that he had too much authority on campus and that administrators should work harder to retain their authority.
Rustbelt, Oh, I know. This has been going on forever and it will probably keep going on forever. And it goes all the way down to at least the high school level.
ReplyDeleteOkay, this is dragging the mood down. On biased media, did I mention how much Phil Sims sucks?
ReplyDelete...how the NHL needs to show more Don Cherry so we can all lock arms and hate his out-of-control mouth in unison?
...how Bill Belichick struts around like an arthritic old woman with clubbed feet, looks like a human catcher's mitt, and probably smells like socks?
...how if American broadcasters showed more pregame, less announcers, and actually put effort into their intros, games would be even more exciting? Like the CBC does, like this...and then, like this.
...and because I want to show happy stuff, this is pretty good, too.
Phil Simms does suck. He scream in monotone, he says the most over-used platitudes, and he favors northeastern teams. I've actually noticed that he will get depressed and stop commenting if the Patriots start getting blown out.
ReplyDelete"I've actually noticed that he will get depressed and stop commenting if the Patriots start getting blown out."
ReplyDeleteAndrew, that's always the best part.
Rustbelt, I have to admit, that part makes me happy. I am less happy though when he tells me how the 10th string backup just called up from the Patriot practice squad is just another Hall of Famer in waiting being on this team of heroic supermen.... "and isn't Tom Brady handsome?! He can do no wrong. Even his interceptions are intentional. I'll bet his ___ tastes like candy."
ReplyDelete//Price strangles his television
Andrew, think of the health of your TV set! It's done nothing to deserve this! Besides, you'll only have hurt an innocent while that jerk laughs in pure smugness from 1,500 miles away. Better to get one of those inflatable boxing dummies and take your wrath out there.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, my point of those intros and halftime show is that even when the announcers aren't being jerks, they're just being boring, saying obvious and common sense things everyone in the audience already knows. I can't tell you how many people I've talked to who would rather watch the pageantry that makes games unique and pumps in the energy. After all, they're still watching, No ad revenue lost. The only thing lost is time for the talking heads that the audience doesn't care about anyway.
Also, at all times, Tom Brady has the look of a man hit with a fish. (Thanks, Crow.)
ReplyDeleteRustbelt, I've actually stopped watching the pregame shows. I cannot stand those shows -- mindless retards screaming platitudes at each other in broken English as if they were wisdom. Yeah, I can't wait to see 15 hours of that before each game. I don't even watch the halftime shows anymore.
ReplyDeleteAndrew, I concur. (I put up the links only to show what we could be watching instead.)
ReplyDeleteI still watch these shows every now and then just so I have substance to complain about in conversation. But I've noticed something else. This happened when they were going on and on about the Colts' owner's comments about Peyton Manning's lack of playoff production. Five guys on ESPN's pregame and they all held the same opinion. The only difference was how- in broken English- they agreed with each other. Could we have some different opinions?
And honestly, I watch college pregame than pro. With the exception of Lou Holtz and Robert Smith on ESPN, I can't stand any of them. They all think and talk alike. Okay, they don't actually think- they read their cards from the producers. But if they're all in agreement, what's the point of having a group in the first place?
Rustbelt, So true! They argue and argue and argue, but they all say the same thing. Every single issue results in each of these guys reading the same opinion from their cue cards, only translated into their particular style of gibberish. As trained monkey acts go, this one has gotten tiring.
ReplyDeleteAs an aside, I hate the phrase "First Ballot Hall of Famer"... which is only needed because of steady grade inflation as every football player is now described as a "Future Hall of Famer." Hence, we needed the "first ballot" addition to separate those who are more perfect than the others, who are also perfect, just not as perfect. This has replaced "the most underrated guy in the NFL" as the standard phrase for "I don't know how to describe this guy's level of talent accurately but he seems pretty good on that play."
P.S. One of the things I don't like about the college announcers is the fake enthusiasm for whatever school they are at. They use the same over-the-top praise and pretend that they personally engage in whatever idiotic tradition the local school has: "Today, we're drinking sewage out of an old boot! It doesn't get any better than this!"
ReplyDeleteAndrew, don't you know that every single bum in the NFL who just made a standard catch is a first-ballot hall of famer? The loser calling the game told me so!
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of college announcers, I'm torn for my 'worst of the worst' award between two: first, Beth Mowins. She's often paired with Joey Galloway. She's either always over-emphasizing every other syllable, trying to sound butch...or coming off like the unholy offspring of Nancy Pelosi and former Pittsburgh Mayor Sophie Masloff. Her timing also sucks. She often refers to the underdog's opportunity to beat the big team and have the biggest win in school history (obviously a student of the Tony Schiavone School of Broadcasting*). Problem is, she often says this with said team down by four scores with three minutes to go in the fourth quarter.
And second, Matt Millen. Seemingly everything has to compared to Saint Paterno the Great. When Matt was in college, the Old Fart did this and this and this. Did he also mention that Paterno would've done this instead? -or how the team in question is obviously inferior to what the old Man would've done? Also an offender for using the comment, "It's like my grandfather always said, 'Youth is so wasted on the young.'" He says it EVERY game. (Clearly, another student of the Tony Schiavone School of Broadcasting.) And don't get me started on his defense of the Old Man when the s*** hit the fan.
*- The Tony Schiavone School of Broadcasting: Tony Schiavone is a former announcer for now-defunct wresting promotion, WCW. He became known for over-the-top emphasizing of EVERYTHING and endless fighting with his co-announcers both on and off the air. He also talked about things that often had little to nothing to do with action the ring, but were important to him. (Exactly why he would occasionally report the crowd numbers as being smaller than they actually is a mystery to this day.)
ReplyDeleteBut he was also known for phrase, "THIS. COULD. BE. THE. SINGLE. BIGGEST. NIGHT. IN. THE. HISTORY. OF. OUR. SPORT!" The problem is, when you say something like that every single episode of Nitro on Monday night, it kind of loses its luster after a while.
In short, this school is characterized by a bombastic style, lack of chemistry, irrelevant comments, bad timing, and mindless repetition symptomatic of laziness.
Rustbelt, Exactly, they're all first ballot hall of famers and superheroes no matter how crappy they are.
ReplyDeleteI don't watch enough college games to sort out the announcers (and I usually watch on mute), but at one point I know they were better than the dipsh*ts who do the pro games. The last few times I've turned in however, they've been exactly what you get from the pro announcers. It seems to be a disease that is spreading from announcer to announcer.
Maybe it's a form of the Schiavone Syndrome I mentioned. It's a very dangerous disease. I mean, just look at what happened to World Championship Wrestling.
ReplyDeletePerhaps mediocrity is the new black..?
If only it were mediocrity. I see this more as welfare for former athletes. If you and your posse have burned through your spendin' green, don't go hold up a liquor show, we'll put you on one of the networks where you'll get drug money and we can babysit you. Gee, that sounds harsh. Oh well.
ReplyDeleteIt could be Schiavone Syndrome. WCW used to be fun. :)
Andrew, that's a little dark. But we live in dark times, with the No Fun League leading the way.
ReplyDeleteWell, I think I need to call it a night. I'll be back tomorrow. Good night, my friend.
We do indeed.
ReplyDeleteGood night, my friend.
LOL! I see I touched off something I never meant to. I concur with everything guys. I never watched WCW, so I never knew about what's-his-butt.
ReplyDeleteI'll bet his ___ tastes like candy." -- truly one of the most disturbing things I've read in a long while.
My latest pet peeve with football announcers in particular is how nearly all of them have become bobbleheads for whatever the latest new safety rules are. Not that I think they are "girlyfying" the game, but if they really believed these things were important, they wouldn't wait until after the rule changes to be so adamant about them.
Yeah, it is disturbing, but I swear I can hear Phil Simms think it.
ReplyDeleteAgreed about the safety stuff. It's not that I think it really changes the game, but they act like advocates for the league.
Millen kisses (kissed) Paterno's ass? Funny, considering how Millen, a longtime member of the Second Mile board of trustees, threw Coach under the bus in the wake of the Sandusky scandal. Thank God for John Ziegler, Franco Harris and a growing group of others who seek the truth and nothing but in the face of ESPN's falsely created narrative, sadly still championed the "Worldwide Leader," and accepted by far too many. FramingPaterno.com, correctly and diligently holding the media (and beyond) accountable for their lies.
ReplyDeleteJust finished reading this collection of short stories named 'That Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All'. All of the stories fall more or less within Lovecraft's Cthulhu
ReplyDeletemythos but its very, very good reading.
The writer puts a ton of effort into characters, setting and dialogue (many lesser horror writers view people as just bags of meat that monsters do gruesome things to) and I literally could not tear myself away once I started.
Anthony, I haven't read those, but I have noticed the trend that most horror writers just treat their characters as cannon fodder. I'll have to check those out. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteEric, That stuff was a real mess.
ReplyDeletePrimarily with Sandusky, AP. The ESPN-led media only wants you to think it was messy re. Paterno and Penn State. Ziegler deserves awards for the investigative journalism he does, but because he's beyond adept at calling out the media on its gaffes and hypocrisy, that'll never happen. In addition to Framing Paterno, I also highly recommend his Blocking the Path to 9/11 and Media Malpractice, the latter available via Netflix (streaming and DVD).
ReplyDelete