Put to the Question
Answer or go on the Rack!
Friday, June 6, 2008
#4 - Witness Protection
The other night I watched the first episode of a new USA show called In Plain Sight. Mary McCormack plays a US Marshall responsible for people in Witness Protection.
I have to admit; that's always been a fantasy of mine; to just up and leave, to start over. Of course, it would be impossible to do that, with friends and loved ones left behind, but what if I witnessed a horrific mafia crime?
How heroic would I be if I stepped up to the plate and testified at trial, only to disappear into the night right after, to start a new life somewhere else?
It's pretty tempting.
Am I alone? My question to you is: have you ever fantasized about Witness Protection? Would you like to have the government move you secretly, give you a new name and identity, in a new place where no one knew who you were? Is that something you would do? Even consider? Or am I just weird?
Answer the Question or you'll be PUT TO THE QUESTION!
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
#3 Prenuptial
The question, my friends, is simple: if/when you get married, (or if you are currently married, in your next marriage, or, if you want to pretend you're going to stay married to whats-his-name, if you had to get married again), would you want a pre-nup?
Why or why not?
Answer the Question or you'll be PUT TO THE QUESTION!
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
#2 - Children
Yesterday I was reading a book and the author was musing how he wanted his son to turn out: more like Bart Simpson, or more like the Flanders kids.
At first I had to just laugh. How could this even be a contest? We're talking about Bart Simpson, the coolest of the cool! He managed to piss off everyone from Bill Cosby to Barbara Bush. He could skateboard, had friends and flunkies and was charming and street-smart. The Flanders? Not any of those. Bigger nerds you'd be hard-pressed to find, and other than Ralph Wiggum, you can't come up with more loser-kids.
However, the more I thought about it, the more I realized this wasn't a question of which one YOU'D want to be, or which one you'd want to be friends with. Both of those are obvious, or should be. Heck: it's not even a question of which kid would be more fun to have around the house. It's a question of growing up, right?
Either way, the Flanders are much closer than you might think. As kids, they are infinitely more well-behaved and docile. True, sometimes a petty spirit can come out of them, and they are a bit spiritually smug, but c'mon! Compared to Bart Simpson? You'd probably be strangling Bart too, and before you blame it on Homer's rage, note that Lisa, Maggie and Marge never take any whacks.
And as for growing up, even I have to admit you have a better chance of upstanding citizens if your kid were more like Rod and Todd and less like Bart. For that matter, you have a better chance of your kid making it alive to his 21st birthday. That has to count for something, right?
All in all, it's too close for me to call. I've always loved Bart, but actually taking the question seriously, I'm no longer sure. So, I leave it up to you: Would you like your kids to be more like Bart, or more like Rod and Todd?
Answer the Question or you'll be PUT TO THE QUESTION!
At first I had to just laugh. How could this even be a contest? We're talking about Bart Simpson, the coolest of the cool! He managed to piss off everyone from Bill Cosby to Barbara Bush. He could skateboard, had friends and flunkies and was charming and street-smart. The Flanders? Not any of those. Bigger nerds you'd be hard-pressed to find, and other than Ralph Wiggum, you can't come up with more loser-kids.
However, the more I thought about it, the more I realized this wasn't a question of which one YOU'D want to be, or which one you'd want to be friends with. Both of those are obvious, or should be. Heck: it's not even a question of which kid would be more fun to have around the house. It's a question of growing up, right?
Either way, the Flanders are much closer than you might think. As kids, they are infinitely more well-behaved and docile. True, sometimes a petty spirit can come out of them, and they are a bit spiritually smug, but c'mon! Compared to Bart Simpson? You'd probably be strangling Bart too, and before you blame it on Homer's rage, note that Lisa, Maggie and Marge never take any whacks.
And as for growing up, even I have to admit you have a better chance of upstanding citizens if your kid were more like Rod and Todd and less like Bart. For that matter, you have a better chance of your kid making it alive to his 21st birthday. That has to count for something, right?
All in all, it's too close for me to call. I've always loved Bart, but actually taking the question seriously, I'm no longer sure. So, I leave it up to you: Would you like your kids to be more like Bart, or more like Rod and Todd?
Answer the Question or you'll be PUT TO THE QUESTION!
Monday, March 10, 2008
#1 - 400 Years
Although there will be previous posts on this site, they compromise other Questions that have been asked in various branches of the Institute. As far as Put to the Question goes, this is the very first. So feel special.
Background- Watching New Amsterdam, I learned that the main character has been alive 400 years. He has loved, and fathered progeny, all of whom over the course of time have died.
The Question - If you were given the power, would you choose to live another 400 years? The understanding would be that you
Would not Age from where you are now
(People who might have made the choice 400 years ago....)
To me the answer is so obvious it's not even worth thinking about: Yes! Of course I would do it, and I would bargain for more if I could. However, the first two people I asked this question to, my mother and Kaida, both unequivicably said NO WAY! My mom's reasoning was that as women, they are more emotionally invested in people, and would take the losses too hard. I say Bah, and subscribe it to short-sighted thinking.
(400 years from now?)
Hey, I'd miss family and friends too, but whatever the pain, it has to pale in comparison to the opportunity to live that long, to affect this world. Of course, there could be risks. I could end up in prison for 397 years getting gang-raped by the Sisters, but that's a chance I'd be willing to take.
So then, what say you? Would you take the offer of 400 years without aging or dying?
Answer the Question or you'll be PUT TO THE QUESTION!
Background- Watching New Amsterdam, I learned that the main character has been alive 400 years. He has loved, and fathered progeny, all of whom over the course of time have died.
The Question - If you were given the power, would you choose to live another 400 years? The understanding would be that you
Would not Age from where you are now
- At the end of 400 years you would resume aging and die when you normall would have
- No matter what you did, you could not die, and you could not back out of it
- Everyone around you, both family and friends, would continue to live normal lives, which means you would lose everyone you ever cared about for centuries to come.
(People who might have made the choice 400 years ago....)To me the answer is so obvious it's not even worth thinking about: Yes! Of course I would do it, and I would bargain for more if I could. However, the first two people I asked this question to, my mother and Kaida, both unequivicably said NO WAY! My mom's reasoning was that as women, they are more emotionally invested in people, and would take the losses too hard. I say Bah, and subscribe it to short-sighted thinking.
(400 years from now?)Hey, I'd miss family and friends too, but whatever the pain, it has to pale in comparison to the opportunity to live that long, to affect this world. Of course, there could be risks. I could end up in prison for 397 years getting gang-raped by the Sisters, but that's a chance I'd be willing to take.
So then, what say you? Would you take the offer of 400 years without aging or dying?
Answer the Question or you'll be PUT TO THE QUESTION!
