I find it kind of funny, I find it kind of strange.

[raybear]

Today I'm having this overwhelming feeling of "what's the big deal?" as in, something that has been on my heart and head for a few days has pretty much dissipated to a reasonable non-dramatic level. Probably because I got a lot off my chest last night. I also woke up with inspiration for an art project that I'm hoping to do this weekend.

I've had some interesting conversations at work and via phone this week which I'm summing up by taking it to the polls and finding out what my constituents think. I think my slanted language in the questions reveals what my personal opinion is. The general rule is that if your answer is "maybe" or "depends", than it's actually "no". Sort of like true/false questions -- if it's not wholly true at all times, it's false.

I wonder if your ballots had more fluffy questions like these if people would come out to vote on other political issues as well.

The title of this poll is supposed to be "Raybear's Propositions", but for some reason it got cut off.

[Poll #299768]

Comments

OMG YES!!!!!

[dommeyourass.livejournal.com]

starfucks coffee tastes soooooo nasty and burned.

Re: OMG YES!!!!!

[raybear.livejournal.com]

i'm drinking dunkin donuts hazelnut right now (on top of the hazelnut from home i already had). i'm starting to think the hazelnut is equally addicting to the caffeine.

Re: OMG YES!!!!!

[nineinchlovely.livejournal.com]

That's just the robust roasty flavor goodness... (NOT)

Re: OMG YES!!!!!

[dykestar.livejournal.com]

YES! The few times I've actually had it, it's always tasted like someone put a cigarette out in it! I think the very first time I had it (239525) years ago I literally walked back up to the counter and got another one thinking that's actually what *had* happened... and then upon drinking the "fresh" cup I realized that this is just how Starbucks tasted... and began to wonder why there was one of these on every block...

[lakenaiad.livejournal.com]

#3: OK, while I totally support anyone's right to identify as they choose, and while as this sentence testifies I think the "they" formulation in coloquial language is OK and sometimes necessary, it still just tweaks my grammar-fascist tendencies a little too much to think it's a good idea as a personal identifier. But then, that's obviously my own problem.

I'm in complete agreement on everything else.

[freakysparks.livejournal.com]

I am all for the idea behind #3, too, and have even used it...but it is PLURAL. You cannot use a plural pronoun to refer to one person. So...I'm torn.

[raybear.livejournal.com]

um, yes, i know it's PLURAL, hence the whole "grammatically problematic" description.

as far as what one can or cannot do, sparky, if you can dream it, be it.

;)

[freakysparks.livejournal.com]

Ok: That should be corrected to read "One SHOULD NOT use a plural pronoun to refer to one person. (But people often do.) " I have no wish to dictate how other people choose to use pronouns. I just know it looks funny on the page, but I usually don't even notice in conversation.

[dykestar.livejournal.com]

I agree with this. I find it less problematic in speech than on a page... but conversely I find "ze" and "hir" FAR more problematic in speech than written. So... perhaps the answer is incorrect plurals in speech and newly-discovered singulars when writing...

[lakenaiad.livejournal.com]

Clearly grammar is a tool of The Man.

[nineinchlovely.livejournal.com]

I'm in agreement. While I agree with personal identifiers and whatnot, in this case, I support the use of "they" and whatnot assuming the person on the receiving end (i.e. the gendermessy person) doesn't get their undies in a bunch when people mess up or aren't able to wrap their head around it.

[dykestar.livejournal.com]

I, too, am a grammar fascist, but you know what? "they" and "theirs" as far as "working it into spoken speech" most certainly beats "ze" and "hirs". I will most certainly use those pronouns according to people's preference but godDAMN they're awkward to actually say outloud...

[dommeyourass.livejournal.com]

hear hear sister!!

ze and hirs is soooooo difficult. and often ends up sounding like the pronouns one is trying to avoid.

i like the use of "one" as a singular and "they or theirs" as a plural.

[freakysparks.livejournal.com]

I'm not quite understanding the Starbucks question. Here's how I read it:

In theory, if someone tells you that Starbucks tastes better, is it unilaterally a result of marketing? or a result of their own personal taste?

I think that if they prefer the way Starbucks tastes, they like how it tastes, even if it's the burned-taste. I'm willing to give people the benefit of the doubt. And their own free will.

[louche.livejournal.com]

man. sparky is snarky today.
watch out!!

[thedemonnemo.livejournal.com]

this was my interpretation as well.

[sleekgeek.livejournal.com]

on the starbucks thing....don't think it's exactly either/or....as in it could be a conclusion reached through taste-tasting, but that taste-test can never take place without the context of the marketing lurking somewhere in the background--which doesn't mean that people don't think it tastes good. (although i hate both starbucks and starbucks coffee...*shrug*)

[vimandvigor.livejournal.com]

#1- i love getting word challenging love notes... so sexy...

#2- labels can be hard... because so many of them fit me in interlocking ways... but one label never truely encompasses everything... complicated.

#3- i have a problem with the grammatical portion of this. i wish there were an alternate personal identifier that was not gender-based. for people like me, i just go by whatever people want to refer to me as, unless i'm doing a certain "character" like Butch Chastity (f) or Chet Checkers (m).

#4- starbucks coffee is alright. they brew it extra strong. the science behind how they chose their blends/strengths are interesting. but i must say, i really love their espresso.

what language is this?

[dommeyourass.livejournal.com]

so my lj is translating
"poll" into "Kysely"
and "view results" into "Nayta (with umlats over the "a"s) Vastaukset"

what language is that? i think it's a cool glitch though.

Re: what language is this?

[raybear.livejournal.com]

mine did something similar at one point! though i'm pretty sure mine was russian (because there were "backward R's" -- i can't remember the actual name for this letter).

try going to http://www.dictionary.com and using the translator function.

Re: what language is this?

[dommeyourass.livejournal.com]

o.k...YOU go to dictionary.com's translator function and you'll see why that doesn't work so well.

Re: what language is this?

[raybear.livejournal.com]

oops. must have been thinking of a different website. however, when i typed "Kysely" into google, it appears it might be a Finnish word.

this one rocks

[raybear.livejournal.com]

http://translation.langenberg.com/

Re: this one rocks

[dommeyourass.livejournal.com]

it still requires that i know what language i'm translating from. that's my problem.

Re: this one rocks

[dommeyourass.livejournal.com]

sorry...i didn't scroll down far enough.

does appear to be finnish.

thanks!

[saltjam.livejournal.com]

now don't get me wrong, smart is hottt. but if i got a love letter and had to look up the meanings of the words in it i'd find that really really really obnoxious and not sexy at all. yes for number two...i dunno about number three...i do it myself and sometimes it's necessary but i'm still not satisfied with that and i notice it when i do it myself and question whether i should change it. number four is crazy. ha. how is it that you came to poll that? i like it though. the question, not starbucks. but it's still crazy.

Mots justes make me concupiscent.

[ladyoffables.livejournal.com]

I voted an enthusiastic yes on this one. I would agree entirely with the statement if it read:

Receiving love letters/notes that contain words that require you to consult a dictionary is incredibly hot.

But I'm a kinky logophile like that.

[sean7232.livejournal.com]

um, i'm having a strong desire for a likert scale or something, especially with respect to the Starbucks question...clearly i would have to say that branding accounts for a huge degree of purchasing decisions and also a personal identification with products that is quite frightening, but i'm not sure i could say opinions are based solely on marketing--though my conspiracy-theory-identity-is-socially-constructed-through-ideology part of my (illustionary)self is screaming YES, SAY YES BITCH

my answer also feels deceptive since i can count on my hand the number of cups of coffee i've purchased or dra(u?)nk

[raybear.livejournal.com]

yes, not the most sociologically sound poll, but i decided to embrace the voting poll method rather than even pretend i'm trying to achieve some sort of bell curve. though if i want to truly embrace a method that mirror our country's process, i will now throw out the votes from some of the less desirables.

nice to see you in my comment box!

[sean7232.livejournal.com]

methodology is over-rated :-)

i also wanted to tell you that i'm really happy you're delving into your writing more

i feel fortunate know such a talented and articulate person

[raybear.livejournal.com]

aw, thanks. it really helps to have lots of people encouraging me and at times having more faith in me than i do that i'm not making some huge mistake. so thanks for that.

how's grad school going for you? New Paltz still treating you well?

[milosh.livejournal.com]

re: #3, i used to think this was incredibly frustrating, for the grammatical reasons folks mentioned, but once i started using it for a few people, i realized that A) it *is* easier, at least for me, to say "they" or "their" than "ze" or "hir," and B) it's kind of fun to reference one person as plural, in the "royal we" kind of way. or to think of folks as having multiple gendered components to them, which therefore require plurals to be used.

above all else, i think it's important to respect folks' pronoun requests, and if someone is most comfortable with "they"/"their," then everyone else just needs to deal...