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FOUR FOR FRIDAY

Q1 - Human Nature: The new season of “Big Brother” (a popular reality television show on CBS) already has more than its share of controversies. One guy has been accused of being a racist; one woman has been called a whore; another was called the “c” word, over and over, loudly; one man referred to autistic people as “retards”; one couple is pretending to be lesbians; one woman revealed that her dad committed suicide, only to later have a roommate tell her to “go hang yourself.” Regardless of whether you watch the particular television show in question, can all of this be good for the television viewing audience (that these issues are raised)? Or is it just shameless provocation? Is human nature really this bad?

I believe it is the presence of cameras and knowledge of an audience that is making the show’s participants act up and out more.
These reality shows are turning us into a society of rubberneckers and voyeurs.
Every one feels free to sell their, your story, any story for their fifteen minutes of talk or reality show fame.

Q2 - Foreign Relations: Three days after stepping down as Cuban leader, Fidel Castro is calling on the United States to change its longtime policy of sanctions toward Cuba. Do you think the United States should lift its embargo on Cuba?

Yes, I think it would be great for both countries.
Both economies would benefit.
Hey, imagine how many cigars they’d sell us.

Q3 - Stamp It: Earlier this week, the U.S. Postal Service immortalized novelist Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings (1896-1953), best known for her Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Yearling, and her memoir Cross Creek In the foreground of the stamp art is a portrait of Kinnan Rawlings based on an undated photograph. The background depicts a fawn at a watering hole in the Florida scrub, which is consistent with descriptions in The Yearling. Who, if anyone, would you like to see immortalized on a postage stamp, and what imagery would you suggest including on the stamp?

I think we should have a series of stamps that will honor everyday heros.
There could be a website that devotes a page to each.

Q4 - Lineage: How far back can you trace your family’s lineage?

I’ve always wanted to find out more about my mother’s family. Unfortunately she was an only child, and her mother a widow disappeared right after my parent’s wedding.
As for dad’s side, I know I have many relatives in Italy and a few in Argentina.
It would be a matter of going to Sorrento’s Amalfi’s mountains and looking them up.

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FOUR FOR FRIDAY

Q1 - Back Seat Driver: When sitting in the back seat of a car, do you have a preference of which side–passenger or driver–you sit on? What if you were the only passenger sitting in the back… would you have a preference then? Related question: As the driver, do you have a preference of which side a lone back seat passenger sits?

I don’t drive, but if I did I wouldn’t want a lone passenger sitting behind me.  Perhaps that’s the result of too many scary movies. 

When I ride in cabs I never sit directly behind the driver, I sit in the seat directly behind the passenger seat.  This way we can see each other clearly.

Q2 - Lawsuits: A member of the Rutgers women’s basketball team sued Don Imus and CBS on Tuesday, claiming the radio personality’s sexist and racist comments about the team damaged her reputation. Kia Vaughn’s lawsuit says Imus and his former co-host Bernard McGuirk, along with CBS Corp. and CBS Radio, are legally responsible for damage done to her character and reputation. Do you agree that Vaughn’s character and reputation were damaged by Imus’ remarks and that she has legitimate cause for action against the caustic radio host?

I think that the whole Imus-Rutgers debacle is a warning  that something needs to be done about the language used in entertainment today.

Here in New York kids ride around in cars blasting music with lyrics I can’t rewrite here.

And all around town I hear kids greeting each other with derogatory terms.

Imus was definitely guilty of poor judgement, but I do not believe he meant any harm against any one player or the team in general.

I also do not believe that any sane person would hold what Imus said against this person.

Q3 - Recall: Toy maker Mattel announced this week that they are voluntarily recalling millions of units of toys because of “impermissible use of lead paint and risks associated with small, high-powered magnets.” Have you been affected by Mattel’s recall? If not, when was the last time you were directly impacted by a mandatory or voluntary product recall?

I was having a hard time with my first ever laptop.  The technician said he thought the machine might be overheating, and sure enough within a month there was a battery recall.

I ended up paying the tech, and having to buy a new laptop.

Q4 - Impressions: If you could get away with it and do it extremely well, whose voice would you impersonate for an entire workday?

Wilma Flintstone.

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