Michael

True story. Merry Christmas! (No, I'm not late; its 12 days long.) ]

Donating more than $49.99 to emtcity buys you ad-free viewing, except for the new ones on the upper-right-hand-corner of each post, which cost how much, Admin, to eliminate? Just sayin'. :wink:

[web:0433bb70a1]http://www.news4jax.com/news/18295358/detail.html#-[/web:0433bb70a1]

[web:f480813a19]http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/southamerica/argentina/3866797/Real-life-Mowgli-kept-alive-by-cats.html[/web:f480813a19]

It would be hard to tell one apart from other Americans until you hear, say, the South-African accent, since they come in all different colors. For example, doesn't Dustdevil have African heritage, and isn't that why he favours British spelling?

Like there's really ever a difference around here.

May a sweet chunk of cheese await you at the end of every maze, May each bell-cued squirt of salivation portend something sizzling to sink your fangs into, May your synapses hop to the pizzazziest cycles of stimulus, And may your conditioning always be operant.

I've told you a million times not to exaggerate.

Some of us find polls silly, and some of us find certain polls silly, and therefore skip them. That, by the way, was discovered by taking a poll.

4cmk6, we don't disagree. I was addressing the first of four questions on the list labeled "Personally," which comprised a separate list from the set of four questions in the category labeled "Workplace." Just as with practical jokes, I believe humor that conveys disrespect is appropriate only when you know the butt of the joke so well that you can accurately predict a pleased response to both its delivery and its circumstances. Since the perpetrator cannot control all the relevant circumstances of public venues (such as workplaces), decency requires erring on the side of preserving everyone's dignity. As you rightly said, risqué humor is for one's own time, where all parties are free to protest without inviting repercussions, or to withdraw from the association.

There are occasionally fires to put out in these parts.

In all fairness, Dan Savage, who writes the syndicated weekly sex-advice column "Savage Love," is militantly gay and fields inquiries from every possible permutation of attractions and antipathies that God's green earth affords. He receives queries (so to speak) from male, female, and undecided gays, straights and bents of all directions. When, after consulting knowledgeable informants, he addresses both straight and gay readers' questions about techniques for managing female plumbing, he often adds that he is personally revolted by the mental images that accompany contemplating any of it. It's funny. His point is that you can't help liking and disliking what you like and dislike; all you're obligated to do is leave people alone who doing that in their own way, unless they're actively suppressing your liberties. I don't share many of his views, but it's refreshing to hear the outspoken distaste that a gay man expresses for phenomena that the majority unconsciously assume is universally attractive. Shoe on the other foot; instructive for our empathy.

I was at the mall the other day eating at the food court. I noticed an old man watching a teenager sitting next to him. The teenager had spiked hair in all different colors: green, red, orange, and blue. The old man kept staring at him. The teenager would look over and find the old man staring every time. When the teenager had had enough, he sarcastically asked, "What's the matter, old man, never done anything wild in your life?" The old man answered in a level voice, "Got drunk once and had sex with a peacock. I was just wondering if you were my son." :wink:

Welcome! How do you manage to to be always smiling, and is the condition infectious?

Does that test work as well with jokes about Jews who don't know you? If not, why not?* Oversensitivity knows no absolute racial boundaries, although political correctness has fostered a robust industry of victimology. I don't need to take a poll to know that jokes about Jews and Catholics (not a race, but makes the same point) are more acceptable than jokes about blacks. Of course, they're funnier, too. Oh-oh! Can I say that here? :oops: *No fair saying "But Jews know everyone!"

Polish jokes belong on a different thread.

Jokes about race are hardly proof of racism. It depends on the joke, how it's told, to whom it's told, and with what intent.

Good goal, but not sure it wouldn't have the reverse effect, because "essential" is a broader category than "emergency." The phone company switched their "Information" service to "Directory Assistance" because they were getting all kinds of queries of help with kids' homework and the like. Aren't all medical services, with the possible exception of some elective cosmetic procedures, "essential"? Emergent seems like a higher bar to cross than essential, which could include dentistry and treatments for chronic as well as non-emergent acute illnesses. First prize to whoever can evoke pre-dispatch triage with the right label!

Easy on the eggnog, Fella.

This thread may interest you.

Jackass! Where the Hell's your Goddam Christmas spirit?!

Hi again! You know, this happens every year at Advent: People become exceptionally touchy. The peace of every Christmas, like the peace of the first Christmas, has to be earned. The stress will pass. But be on the lookout for it in years to come. Bye again!

"The driver slammed on the brake and I got out with a jerk."

What did I miss in the story of Kevin Carter? It seemed as though he agreed with Wendy: If he'd given the girl something to eat after taking the picture, might he have hated himself less and maybe not killed himself?