Paradise Lost, Carnivorousness Gained
Mar. 31st, 2007 07:01 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
vovatThe T-Rex ate coconuts! That still doesn't explain what tapeworms did back in the pre-Fall times, though.
One thing I kind of have to wonder is, if you take the Garden of Eden story literally (which I obviously don't), why did animals also suffer after the Fall of Man? It wasn't like THEY ate the forbidden fruit, yet many of them also have painful childbirths, and apparently many of them suddenly became prey for others. So what's the deal? Is it a group punishment, like when the teacher makes EVERYBODY stay after class because one kid did something wrong, or the scene in Full Metal Jacket where R. Lee Ermey makes Vincent D'Onofrio eat the doughnut while everyone else does pushups? So when you hear about a tiger mauling a person, is that its way of saying, "Thanks for ruining that whole Eden thing for everyone, you dumbass species!"?
Also, from what I hear, Rush Limbaugh has said that he thinks John Edwards wants to use his wife's cancer to his advantage in his presidential campaign. Even putting aside the total lack of human decency (which goes without saying for Rush), I had to wonder whether anyone ever voted for a presidential candidate because they felt sorry for him. And then I remembered who the current president was.
Now let's take a survey. Or rather, I'LL take a survey, and you can read my answers.
1. If you were to attend a costume party tonight, what or whom would you go as?
Would I have a chance to assemble a costume, or not? I think I might still have some of the parts of my old pirate costume around, so maybe that.
2. What are your choice of toppings on a hamburger?
Bacon and cheddar cheese. I'll also usually add ketchup.
3. You are chosen to have lunch with the President. The condition is you only get to ask one question. What do you ask?
"Have you ever considered that you actually misheard God when He supposedly told you to run for President?"
4. It's your first day of vacation, what are you doing?
Probably something on the computer
5. What is your concession stand must-have at the movies?
I never get anything from the concession stand.
6. Which do you dislike most: pop-up ads or spam email?
Pop-up ads. Spam is really annoying, but usually easy to recognize and get rid of. Pop-ups can show up so quickly that it's hard to close them right away, and slow down your computer. And they'll sometimes show up in places that makes it too easy to click on them by accident.
7. What do you think Captain Hook's name was before he had a hook for a hand?
Captain Hand? Captain Flesh? No, I agree with![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
unclemilo that it was an ironic coincidence. Such things happen sometimes.
8. Rock, paper, or scissors?
Paper. The pen is mightier than the sword, but pretty much useless without something to write on.
9. Which is worse, being in a place that is too loud, or too quiet?
Too loud, although unusual quietness can sometimes be uncomfortable as well.
10. What is one quality that you really appreciate in a person?
A sense of humor.
11. At the good old general store, what particular kind of candy would you expect to be in the big jar at the counter?
Hmm...penny candy?
12. What is the most distinguishing landmark in your city?
Well, if you consider Philadelphia close enough to be "my city," then probably the statue of William Penn on top of City Hall. Either that or the sign at Geno's telling people to speak English when they order.
13. How many times did it take you to pass your drivers test?
Four
14. If you had to have the same topping on your vanilla ice cream for the rest of your life, what topping would you choose?
Probably blueberry
15. You are offered an envelope that you know contains $50. You are then told that you may either keep it or exchange it for another envelope that may contain $500 or may be empty. Do you keep the first envelope, or do you take your chances with the second?
I'd probably keep the $50. That's a lot of money to be gambling. If it were, say, $10, I might be more willing to take the chance.
16. If you had to choose, which would you give up: cable/tv or dsl/internet?
TV, although then I wouldn't be able to write about the new Simpsons episodes on Sunday nights.
17. What is your highest level of education?
Master's degree
18. How much is a gallon of gas in your city? What was the highest it's been?
It's not in the city, but it's $2.40-something per gallon at the Wawa where I usually refuel. The highest it's been at that particular place is over $3.
19. What kind of lunch box did you have as a kid?
I seem to recall having Ewoks, Voltron, and My Pet Monster ones at various times, despite not actually knowing much about any of these things.
20. What would you rather have, a nanny, a housekeeper, a cook, or a chauffeur?
I guess the cook. I need more variety in my diet.
21. Would you rather be trapped in an elevator, or stuck in traffic?
Stuck in traffic.
22. Lets say a brick fell on your foot, and your kid is standing right next to you, what is your 'cleaned up' swear word?
Probably just whatever nonsense syllables come to my mind.
23. Do you still talk to the person you lost your virginity to?
Yeah, I stop by the whorehouse every week.
24. What would you do with 1000 plastic spoons?
Create a model version of the Spoon Brigade of Utensia.
25. What kind of music did you listen to in elementary school?
I didn't listen to that much on my own. I do remember having a Disney tape that I listened to quite frequently, though, and my favorite songs on it were the ones from The Jungle Book ("I Wanna Be Like You" and "The Bear Necessities").
26. What is the best thing about your current job?
The fact that it's close is definitely cool.
27. Do you wish cellphone etiquette was a required class upon purchasing one?
Not really. I think most cell phone etiquette is common sense, and you can't really teach that to people who don't have it.
28. What's the most messed up food combination that you've had that was actually good?
That's a tough one, since I tend to eat most of my food when it's very plain. I will say that pizza with pineapples (which my dad once ordered at Pizza Hut) wasn't as weird as I might have expected.
29. Have you been on a date in the past week?
If you count going out to eat at Applebee's as a date
30. If yes, how did it go?
All right.
31. Where are you going on your next vacation?
Yeah, like I go on vacations.
32. Are most of your friends new or old?
Old, I guess. It takes me a while to make friends with someone.
33. What's one of your most random pet peeves (something that annoys you)?
Yeah, I know what a pet peeve is, Mr. Parenthetical Phrase. What comes to mind is people constantly opening windows when they don't need to be opened, especially during allergy season (although I guess that's not all that random).
34. What do you wish someone would buy you?
Oh, a lot of things.
35. What are you wearing right now?
A t-shirt picturing Mario and Luigi running away from a Bob-omb, green pants, and gray socks.
36. When is the last time you had Mom's home cooking?
A few weeks ago. She brought over part of a quiche, and it was great.
37. Do you like your parents?
Yeah.
38. Where were you born? Where do you live now?
I was born in southeastern Pennsylvania, and now I live in southern New Jersey.
39. Tell us about the last conversation you had.
It was withbethje, and it involved a lot of different things, including putting cats on leashes, the Keithies, and the upcoming Hostel sequel. Unless those count as several different consecutive conversations with the same person.
40. Where do you see yourself in one month?
Probably about the same place I am now.
41. What is your favorite smell?
I've always liked the smell of sawdust.
42. What do people label you as?
A geek, a dork, and a weirdo, probably.
43. Do you consider yourself bipolar?
Isn't that something that has to be officially diagnosed, and not just decided by the individual person? But no, I have mood swings, but I don't usually stay in one phase as long as bipolar people do.
44. What is the outside temperature at the moment?
According to weather.com, 42 degrees Fahrenheit
45. Are you missing anyone right now?
Not really. I just got in a fair amount of socializing, and now I need some time alone.
46. What does your livejournal username mean?
It's derived from the way variables in physics (initial velocity, final velocity, acceleration, and time) were arranged on a piece of paper.
47. Elaborate on your default userpic.
It's Wart, the final boss in Super Mario Bros. 2. What else is there to say?
48. Who introduced livejournal to you?
No one in particular. Back when blogs were still fairly new, I remember reading a few people's LiveJournals, and I really didn't like the service. Once they decided to make it free, though, I made my own.
49. On what date was your first LJ post using this username?
December 29, 2003
50. What's your current problem?
I still haven't started on my taxes.
51. What are you doing right now?
Um, filling out this survey. What do you think?
52. What's one type of person that really bothers you?
People who put on an act
53. What's one type of person that you enjoy being around?
People who...uh, don't put on an act. Well, as long as I LIKE who they really are.
54. What random things make you happy?
Pretty much anything that makes me laugh.
55. If you could go back and change something, what would it be?
I'd save Lincoln from assassination, and then team up with him, Moses, and Peter the Great to fight crime in Istanbul.
56. If you could be any animal or creature for one day, what would it be?
It's not exactly the most creative answer, but maybe a cat.
57. Ever had a near death experience?
No.
58. Name one obvious quality you have?
Humility. But wait, does saying that's a quality mean I'm NOT humble? That's sort of a paradox, but not really.
59. What's the name of a song that's stuck in your head right now?
Well, I'm listening to "Absolutely Cuckoo," by the Magnetic Fields, and it's really catchy, so it's certainly in my head.
60. Are you happy today?
I'm all right. I've always been a little unsure as to what constitutes "happy," which is a word that gets constantly thrown around by insecure, self-absorbed people. I prefer "content," which is an easier concept to understand and get behind. So am I content? Not totally, but I'm doing pretty well at this particular moment.
61. Do you believe in Heaven?
I find the concept of a personality outliving a person to be rather problematic, and that seems to be a large part of what Heaven is all about.
62. Who will copy and paste and fill this out first?
rockinlibrarian is the one who appropriates the suveys I take most often, but I don't know for sure that she'll take this one, especially if she's busy giving birth. {g} By the way, it's her birthday today, so happy birthday!
One thing I kind of have to wonder is, if you take the Garden of Eden story literally (which I obviously don't), why did animals also suffer after the Fall of Man? It wasn't like THEY ate the forbidden fruit, yet many of them also have painful childbirths, and apparently many of them suddenly became prey for others. So what's the deal? Is it a group punishment, like when the teacher makes EVERYBODY stay after class because one kid did something wrong, or the scene in Full Metal Jacket where R. Lee Ermey makes Vincent D'Onofrio eat the doughnut while everyone else does pushups? So when you hear about a tiger mauling a person, is that its way of saying, "Thanks for ruining that whole Eden thing for everyone, you dumbass species!"?
Also, from what I hear, Rush Limbaugh has said that he thinks John Edwards wants to use his wife's cancer to his advantage in his presidential campaign. Even putting aside the total lack of human decency (which goes without saying for Rush), I had to wonder whether anyone ever voted for a presidential candidate because they felt sorry for him. And then I remembered who the current president was.
Now let's take a survey. Or rather, I'LL take a survey, and you can read my answers.
1. If you were to attend a costume party tonight, what or whom would you go as?
Would I have a chance to assemble a costume, or not? I think I might still have some of the parts of my old pirate costume around, so maybe that.
2. What are your choice of toppings on a hamburger?
Bacon and cheddar cheese. I'll also usually add ketchup.
3. You are chosen to have lunch with the President. The condition is you only get to ask one question. What do you ask?
"Have you ever considered that you actually misheard God when He supposedly told you to run for President?"
4. It's your first day of vacation, what are you doing?
Probably something on the computer
5. What is your concession stand must-have at the movies?
I never get anything from the concession stand.
6. Which do you dislike most: pop-up ads or spam email?
Pop-up ads. Spam is really annoying, but usually easy to recognize and get rid of. Pop-ups can show up so quickly that it's hard to close them right away, and slow down your computer. And they'll sometimes show up in places that makes it too easy to click on them by accident.
7. What do you think Captain Hook's name was before he had a hook for a hand?
Captain Hand? Captain Flesh? No, I agree with
unclemilo that it was an ironic coincidence. Such things happen sometimes.8. Rock, paper, or scissors?
Paper. The pen is mightier than the sword, but pretty much useless without something to write on.
9. Which is worse, being in a place that is too loud, or too quiet?
Too loud, although unusual quietness can sometimes be uncomfortable as well.
10. What is one quality that you really appreciate in a person?
A sense of humor.
11. At the good old general store, what particular kind of candy would you expect to be in the big jar at the counter?
Hmm...penny candy?
12. What is the most distinguishing landmark in your city?
Well, if you consider Philadelphia close enough to be "my city," then probably the statue of William Penn on top of City Hall. Either that or the sign at Geno's telling people to speak English when they order.
13. How many times did it take you to pass your drivers test?
Four
14. If you had to have the same topping on your vanilla ice cream for the rest of your life, what topping would you choose?
Probably blueberry
15. You are offered an envelope that you know contains $50. You are then told that you may either keep it or exchange it for another envelope that may contain $500 or may be empty. Do you keep the first envelope, or do you take your chances with the second?
I'd probably keep the $50. That's a lot of money to be gambling. If it were, say, $10, I might be more willing to take the chance.
16. If you had to choose, which would you give up: cable/tv or dsl/internet?
TV, although then I wouldn't be able to write about the new Simpsons episodes on Sunday nights.
17. What is your highest level of education?
Master's degree
18. How much is a gallon of gas in your city? What was the highest it's been?
It's not in the city, but it's $2.40-something per gallon at the Wawa where I usually refuel. The highest it's been at that particular place is over $3.
19. What kind of lunch box did you have as a kid?
I seem to recall having Ewoks, Voltron, and My Pet Monster ones at various times, despite not actually knowing much about any of these things.
20. What would you rather have, a nanny, a housekeeper, a cook, or a chauffeur?
I guess the cook. I need more variety in my diet.
21. Would you rather be trapped in an elevator, or stuck in traffic?
Stuck in traffic.
22. Lets say a brick fell on your foot, and your kid is standing right next to you, what is your 'cleaned up' swear word?
Probably just whatever nonsense syllables come to my mind.
23. Do you still talk to the person you lost your virginity to?
Yeah, I stop by the whorehouse every week.
24. What would you do with 1000 plastic spoons?
Create a model version of the Spoon Brigade of Utensia.
25. What kind of music did you listen to in elementary school?
I didn't listen to that much on my own. I do remember having a Disney tape that I listened to quite frequently, though, and my favorite songs on it were the ones from The Jungle Book ("I Wanna Be Like You" and "The Bear Necessities").
26. What is the best thing about your current job?
The fact that it's close is definitely cool.
27. Do you wish cellphone etiquette was a required class upon purchasing one?
Not really. I think most cell phone etiquette is common sense, and you can't really teach that to people who don't have it.
28. What's the most messed up food combination that you've had that was actually good?
That's a tough one, since I tend to eat most of my food when it's very plain. I will say that pizza with pineapples (which my dad once ordered at Pizza Hut) wasn't as weird as I might have expected.
29. Have you been on a date in the past week?
If you count going out to eat at Applebee's as a date
30. If yes, how did it go?
All right.
31. Where are you going on your next vacation?
Yeah, like I go on vacations.
32. Are most of your friends new or old?
Old, I guess. It takes me a while to make friends with someone.
33. What's one of your most random pet peeves (something that annoys you)?
Yeah, I know what a pet peeve is, Mr. Parenthetical Phrase. What comes to mind is people constantly opening windows when they don't need to be opened, especially during allergy season (although I guess that's not all that random).
34. What do you wish someone would buy you?
Oh, a lot of things.
35. What are you wearing right now?
A t-shirt picturing Mario and Luigi running away from a Bob-omb, green pants, and gray socks.
36. When is the last time you had Mom's home cooking?
A few weeks ago. She brought over part of a quiche, and it was great.
37. Do you like your parents?
Yeah.
38. Where were you born? Where do you live now?
I was born in southeastern Pennsylvania, and now I live in southern New Jersey.
39. Tell us about the last conversation you had.
It was with
bethje, and it involved a lot of different things, including putting cats on leashes, the Keithies, and the upcoming Hostel sequel. Unless those count as several different consecutive conversations with the same person.40. Where do you see yourself in one month?
Probably about the same place I am now.
41. What is your favorite smell?
I've always liked the smell of sawdust.
42. What do people label you as?
A geek, a dork, and a weirdo, probably.
43. Do you consider yourself bipolar?
Isn't that something that has to be officially diagnosed, and not just decided by the individual person? But no, I have mood swings, but I don't usually stay in one phase as long as bipolar people do.
44. What is the outside temperature at the moment?
According to weather.com, 42 degrees Fahrenheit
45. Are you missing anyone right now?
Not really. I just got in a fair amount of socializing, and now I need some time alone.
46. What does your livejournal username mean?
It's derived from the way variables in physics (initial velocity, final velocity, acceleration, and time) were arranged on a piece of paper.
47. Elaborate on your default userpic.
It's Wart, the final boss in Super Mario Bros. 2. What else is there to say?
48. Who introduced livejournal to you?
No one in particular. Back when blogs were still fairly new, I remember reading a few people's LiveJournals, and I really didn't like the service. Once they decided to make it free, though, I made my own.
49. On what date was your first LJ post using this username?
December 29, 2003
50. What's your current problem?
I still haven't started on my taxes.
51. What are you doing right now?
Um, filling out this survey. What do you think?
52. What's one type of person that really bothers you?
People who put on an act
53. What's one type of person that you enjoy being around?
People who...uh, don't put on an act. Well, as long as I LIKE who they really are.
54. What random things make you happy?
Pretty much anything that makes me laugh.
55. If you could go back and change something, what would it be?
I'd save Lincoln from assassination, and then team up with him, Moses, and Peter the Great to fight crime in Istanbul.
56. If you could be any animal or creature for one day, what would it be?
It's not exactly the most creative answer, but maybe a cat.
57. Ever had a near death experience?
No.
58. Name one obvious quality you have?
Humility. But wait, does saying that's a quality mean I'm NOT humble? That's sort of a paradox, but not really.
59. What's the name of a song that's stuck in your head right now?
Well, I'm listening to "Absolutely Cuckoo," by the Magnetic Fields, and it's really catchy, so it's certainly in my head.
60. Are you happy today?
I'm all right. I've always been a little unsure as to what constitutes "happy," which is a word that gets constantly thrown around by insecure, self-absorbed people. I prefer "content," which is an easier concept to understand and get behind. So am I content? Not totally, but I'm doing pretty well at this particular moment.
61. Do you believe in Heaven?
I find the concept of a personality outliving a person to be rather problematic, and that seems to be a large part of what Heaven is all about.
62. Who will copy and paste and fill this out first?
rockinlibrarian is the one who appropriates the suveys I take most often, but I don't know for sure that she'll take this one, especially if she's busy giving birth. {g} By the way, it's her birthday today, so happy birthday!
