Polls only: No discussion

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
3929

Let’s do this again.
Which of these characters from literature do you (pretty much instantly) recognize?
(answers spoilerized at the bottom)

  • Anastasia Steele
  • Antonia Shimerda
  • Augustus McCrae
  • Bigger Thomas
  • Billy Pilgrim
  • Binx Bolling
  • Daisy Buchanan
  • Dean Moriarty
  • Holly Golightly
  • Humbert Humbert
  • Jake Barnes
  • Judge Holden
  • Lucy Honeychurch
  • Meursault
  • Neddy Merrill
  • Newland Archer
  • Nora Charles
  • Quentin Compson
  • Tom Joad
  • Willie Stark
  • Not a danged one of them
0 voters

ANSWERS:

Anastasia Steele – Fifty Shades of Grey, by E. L. James :laughing:

Antonia Shimerda – My Antonia, by Willa Cather

Augustus McCrae – Lonesome Dove, by Larry McMurtry

Bigger Thomas – Native Son, by Richard Wright

Billy Pilgrim – Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut

Binx Bolling – The Moviegoer, by Walker Percy

Daisy Buchanan – The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Dean Moriarty – On the Road, by Jack Kerouac

Holly Golightly – Breakfast at Tiffany’s, by Truman Capote

Humbert Humbert – Lolita, by Vladimir Nabokov

Jake Barnes – The Sun Also Rises, by Ernest Hemingway

Judge Holden – Blood Meridian, by Cormac McCarthy

Lucy Honeychurch – A Room with a View, by E.M. Forster

Meursault – The Stranger, by Albert Camus

Neddy Merrill – The Swimmer, by John Cheever

Newland Archer – The Age of Innocence, by Edith Wharton

Nora Charles – The Thin Man, by Dashiell Hammett

Quentin Compson – The Sound and the Fury, by William Faulkner

Tom Joad – The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck

Willie Stark – All the King’s Men, by Robert Penn Warren

3930

I want some of this action too.

Which of the following composers do you recognize?

  • John Adams
  • Alban Berg
  • Marc-Antoine Charpentier
  • John Dunstable
  • Edward Elgar
  • Gabriel Fauré
  • Carlo Gesualdo
  • Johann Adolf Hasse
  • Charles Ives
  • Josquin des Prez
  • Aram Khachaturian
  • Léonin
  • Claudio Monteverdi
  • Conlon Nancarrow
  • Johannes Ockeghem
  • Florence Price
  • Roger Quilter
  • Joe Raposo
  • Samuel Scheidt
  • Georg Philipp Telemann
  • Nobuo Uematsu
  • Antonia Vivaldi
  • Eric Whitacre
  • Iannis Xenakis
  • La Monte Young
  • Ellen Taaffe Zwilich
0 voters
3931
  • I recognized none of the composers above, and I demand a poll option to say so.
  • I recognized at least one of the composers above, but I believe there should be a NOTA option in principle anyway.
  • I like bacon and/or pie and/or clicking on little boxes in polls
0 voters
3932

Did Gyrate screw up and write “Antonia Vivaldi” instead of “Antonio Vivaldi”?

  • Yes
  • Still yes
0 voters
3933

Vivaldi had a less-well-known sister, maybe…?

  • Sure, could be, what the hell
  • Nahhh
0 voters
3934

Have you ever had whitewall tires on your car?

  • Yes, full whitewalls
  • I’ve had tires with a thin white stripe
  • I’ve had tires with some other color stripe, like red or blue
  • No, I’ve always had blackwall tires on all my cars
  • I don’t know. How the hell do you expect me to remember what tires my car had 50 years ago?
0 voters
3935
When there’s an actor portraying a dead body on screen, do you watch them carefully to see if they move?
  • Yes. I enjoy catching them breaking character.
  • Sometimes. Depends how long the shot is.
  • Sometimes. Depends on something else.
  • I don’t, but if I catch someone, I can’t ignore it.
  • No. I prefer not to break suspension of disbelief.
  • Something else.
0 voters
3936

Would you like movies in the theater that were very good, but deliberately made to be only 30-50 minutes long?

  • yes, I’d like it
  • yes, but I wouldn’t like it as much as a normal-length 2-hour film
  • no
0 voters
3937

Select your favorite M&M flavors.
Include the flavors that you have not tried but would probably like.

  • Almond
  • Caramel
  • Caramel cold brew
  • Crunchy cookie
  • Dark chocolate
  • Dark chocolate mint
  • Dark chocolate peanut
  • Fudge brownie
  • Milk chocolate
  • Mini
  • Peanut
  • Peanut butter
  • Pretzel
  • Strawberry shake
  • A flavor not listed
  • I do not like any M&Ms
0 voters
3938

The NYT online seems to have more and more video/gif/looping type content on the home page. It drives me nuts, and I shut them down whenever I can. Then again, I remember the NYT when all illustrations and pictures were in black and white, and a grumbled when they went to colors. I’m a curmudgeon …

So, how do you feel about motion/video on the New York Times webpage?

  • I find them highly irritating and wish they’d go away.
  • They bug me, but I could put up with it if there was a way to stop them permanently.
  • Meh.
  • Love them!
  • I don’t read the NYT online.
0 voters
3939
Your employer suddenly became massively profitable and is expanding the business. They are now offering employees their choice of an additional benefit.

Which of these would you want?

(if you don’t work someplace any of these would be relevant, just pretend you do)
  • Completely flexible hours; just put in 40 hours a week, we don’t care which 40
  • Door-to-door chauffeured car service for commuting, up to 2 days a week
  • Extra 2 weeks of paid vacation
  • Free on-site childcare
  • Free lunch, up to $15/day
  • Student loan repayment, up to $3500/year
  • Your own office with a door and a window
  • Your own private restroom
0 voters
3940

Do you prefer a shower or a bath?

  • Shower
  • Bath
0 voters
3941

Assuming you’re not hot and/or dirty, when do you prefer to bathe?

  • First thing in the morning
  • Just before going to bed at night
  • The middle of the day
  • Some other time
0 voters
3942

All things being equal, how do you prefer your shower or bath water temperature?

  • Very hot
  • Hot
  • Warm
  • Tepid
  • Cool
  • Cold
  • Very cold
0 voters
3943

In the movie A Few Good Men the court rules as follows:

Murder Not guilty
Conspiracy to commit murder Not guilty
Conduct unbecoming a United States Marine Guilty as charged

Do you believe this was correct?

  • Yes. Spot-on. Nailed it.
  • It was correct, but I didn’t like it
  • The “conduct unbecoming” was an unnecessary kick in the balls
  • No, it was technically incorrect (“Conduct unbecoming” only applies to officers)
  • Something else
0 voters
3944

According to Bubba in Forrest Gump, shrimp is the fruit of the sea. How do you like yours? You can pick as many as you want.

  • Barbecued
  • Boiled
  • Broiled
  • Baked
  • Sauteed
  • Shrimp kabobs
  • Shrimp creole
  • Shrimp gumbo
  • Pan fried
  • Deep fried
  • Stir fried
  • Pineapple shrimp
  • Lemon shrimp
  • Coconut shrimp
  • Pepper shrimp
  • Shrimp soup
  • Shrimp stew
  • Shrimp salad
  • Shrimp and potatoes
  • Shrimp burger
  • Shrimp sandwich
  • That’s about it, according to Bubba, but I like another kind of shrimp he didn’t list.
  • I don’t like any shrimp or can’t eat shrimp due to an allergy
0 voters
3945

I’ve had major surgery:

  • Once
  • Twice
  • More
  • Never
0 voters

I’ve had outpatient surgery:

  • Once
  • Twice
  • More
  • Never
0 voters
3946

I have meds I take every day:

  • Yup
  • Nopers
0 voters

I take my daily meds:

  • At bedtime
  • In the morning
  • Morning and night
  • Some other time
  • I don’t take daily meds
0 voters
3947

Which of these rockers’ names do you (pretty much instantly) recognize?
(answers spoilerized at the bottom)

  • Billie Joe Armstrong
  • Brandon Flowers
  • Bryan Ferry
  • Burton Cummings
  • Chad Smith
  • Cherie Currie
  • David Johansen
  • Duff McKagan
  • Fred Schneider
  • Geddy Lee
  • Ginger Baker
  • Gordon Gano
  • Jacoby Shaddix
  • Jake Kiszka
  • James Hetfield
  • Jane Wiedlin
  • Jay Buchanan
  • Joe Perry
  • Joe Strummer
  • John Bonham
  • John Deacon
  • John Entwistle
  • Krist Novoselic
  • Leslie West
  • Levon Helm
  • Lou Reed
  • Lynval Golding
  • Marc Bolan
  • Mark Farner
  • Mark Mothersbaugh
  • Michael Hutchence
  • Paul Kantner
  • Paul Rodgers
  • Paul Weller
  • Phil Lynott
  • Ray Davies
  • Ray Manzarek
  • Reggie Mantle
  • Ric Ocasek
  • Rick Nielsen
  • Ritchie Blackmore
  • Robert Spracking
  • Ronnie Van Zant
  • Steve Marriot
  • Tina Weymouth
  • Tom Morello
  • Tom Verlaine
  • Walter Becker
  • Wayne Kramer
  • None. Not a one. I prefer Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major.
0 voters

Billie Joe Armstrong – Green Day

Brandon Flowers – The Killers

Bryan Ferry – Roxy Music

Burton Cummings – The Guess Who

Chad Smith – Red Hot Chili Peppers

Cherie Currie – The Runaways

David Johansen – New York Dolls

Duff McKagan – Guns N’ Roses

Fred Schneider – The B-52s

Geddy Lee – Rush

Ginger Baker – Cream

Gordon Gano – Violent Femmes

Jacoby Shaddix – Papa Roach

Jake Kiszka – Greta Van Fleet

James Hetfield – Metallica

Jane Wiedlin – The Go-Go’s

Jay Buchanan – Rival Sons

Joe Perry – Aerosmith

Joe Strummer – The Clash

John Bonham – Led Zeppelin

John Deacon – Queen

John Entwistle – The Who

Krist Novoselic – Nirvana

Leslie West – Mountain

Levon Helm – The Band

Lou Reed – The Velvet Underground

Lynval Golding – The Specials

Marc Bolan – T. Rex

Mark Farner – Grand Funk Railroad

Mark Mothersbaugh – Devo

Michael Hutchence – INXS

Paul Kantner – Jefferson Airplane

Paul Rodgers – Bad Company

Paul Weller – The Jam

Peter Criss – Kiss

Phil Lynott – Thin Lizzy

Ray Davies – The Kinks

Ray Manzarek – The Doors

Reggie Mantle – The Archies

Ric Ocasek – The Cars

Rick Nielsen – Cheap Trick

Ritchie Blackmore – Deep Purple

Robert Spracking – Eh, I just made that one up :smile:

Ronnie Van Zant – Lynyrd Skynyrd

Steve Marriot – Humble Pie

Tina Weymouth – Talking Heads

Tom Morello – Rage Against the Machine

Tom Verlaine – Television

Walter Becker – Steely Dan

Wayne Kramer – MC5

3948

Let’s do some science that may never have been done before.

When clasping fingers together, like this…

…there are two ways of interlocking the fingers together. One starts with having the index finger (pointing finger) of the left hand closest to the thumbs, and the other with having the index finger of the right hand closest to the thumbs.

One way may feel more natural/comfortable than the other.

  • I am right-handed and it feels most natural/comfortable for the index finger of my left hand to be closest to the thumbs.
  • I am right-handed and it feels most natural/comfortable for the index finger of my right hand to be closest to the thumbs.
  • I am right-handed and both ways feel equally natural/comfortable.
  • I am left-handed and it feels most natural/comfortable for the index finger of my left hand to be closest to the thumbs.
  • I am left-handed and it feels most natural/comfortable for the index finger of my right hand to be closest to the thumbs.
  • I am left-handed and both ways feel equally natural/comfortable.
  • Other.
0 voters