December 7, 2007
FOUR FOR FRIDAY
Q1 - Holy Crap!: What would you do if you saw someone who looked exactly like you? Would you approach them and attempt to have a conversation, snap a picture if you could get away with it, or just run like hell?
Q2 - Dreams: According to many sources, with a little training and discipline, it is entirely possible to control your dreams. Would you want to be able to control what you dream about when you are asleep, and if so, what are some of the things you think you'd choose to dream about?
Q3 - Pay Phones: After years of seeing its public pay-phone business migrate to cell phones, AT&T said earlier this week it will phase out its pay phones in 13 states by the end of 2008. While AT&T's decision doesn't mean the end of the pay phone--Verizon, one of the nation's largest pay phone providers says it is still committed to the pay phone business--public phones are becoming more difficult to find. When was the last time you used a public pay phone, and are you concerned that pay phones may eventually disappear altogether?
Q4 - Lingerie-clad Models: In Carmel, Indiana, some residents are demanding City Hall do something about the local Victoria's Secret window display. Parents are concerned that Victoria's Secret goes too far with its public-facing displays, and that local children are being made vulnerable to inappropriate images. Do you feel stores like Victoria's Secret should tone it down a bit, or is how they choose to entice shoppers into their store okay as is?
Posted by Mikal at December 7, 2007 10:34 AM
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Q1: I would challenge them to a fight to see if their skills best my skills...in the ring. The winner would get to keep our personality. The loser would have to become the girl version.
Q2: Well, I already live me dreams, so I guess it would be like playing Second Second Life for me to be able to control them.
Q3: Meh...paying for phones...coins...cords...thats all so last summer. Although with recent reports about cell phone companies tracking your whereabouts and freely giving that to big brother...I guess it might be better to not have a cell either sometimes.
Q4: I think stores should be responsive and respectful to the communities that give them business. If they are getting complaints, they should do something about it.
1. I think I'd want to talk to them, find out if we are actually twins separated at birth, and figure out if I'm the good twin or the evil twin... I hope I'm the evil one...
2. I so seldom remember what I dream about that I don't think it would make much difference if I was in control of the dreams or not. If I remembered more of my dreams, I still think I'd rather let my mind loose, just to see what kind of insane things my mind likes to think when left to its own devices.
3. When I was in high school, my parents got an 800 number so that my siblings and I could call home from pay phones without needing change. My youngest brother got a cell phone in middle school because it was cheaper than maintaining the 800 number. Not a great comparison for everyone, but with the ease of cellular calling, I don't think the demise of the pay phone really matters.
4. While I think that most of the vocal American public is prone to totally over-react, I think there is some merit to this particular point. Everyone recognizes the name Victoria's Secret, to the point where their public displays are probably unnecessary. Additionally, there are probably plenty of tasteful ways to store front advertise without being as scintillating. I think the real crux of the matter is that its just as easy to find far more sexually charged imagery on your average TV station, and it seems to me that choosing to change the channel is no harder than choosing other places to shop.
Q1 - I would probably want to talk to them. I'd be interested to find out where they are from, who they are, and most importantly, are they cool?
Q2 - I don't want to control what I dream about. It's fun to wake up in the morning laughing because of the funny dreams I have. It cracks me up.
Q3 - I think it would be good to have a few pay phones in each city in case of emergencies but other than that, I don't care if they disappear. I haven't used a pay phone for at least 10-12 years.
Q4 - I think there should be limitations on what they can do, but as long as there is not full nudity or obscene/perverted displays I think they should have full control over their own displays.
Q1 - I honestly doubt I would recognize myself on the streets. Kind of like hearing a recording of your voice.....
Q2 - Hell no. That would take all the fun out of dreams if you could control them.
Q3 - I used one approx. 1 week ago to call a cab. Got stranded at the train station and my mobile was dead. I'd also like to take this opportunity and tell the train attendant who stranded me with his false schedule info to kindly F*$%! off!
Q4 - People need to chill. Let the market decide. If people don't agree with the display then they wouldn't shop there and VC would have to change their marketing strategy.
1- Well, being an identical twin, I'm used to having someone look exactly like me. So I have plenty of pictures of use together. When I see someone who looks somewhat like me, I actually say to myself "she looks like Cassi".
2- I would totally control my dreams if I could. I often realize when I'm dreaming, but only twice have I been able to control it - both times when I was in elementary school. The first time, I "wished" to be rich, and suddenly my family was standing in a grocery story, obviously ready to buy whatever we wanted. Then I wished that a certain boy would like me, and *bing* he was there, standing next to me. The other time, I just wanted to fly.
3- I used a public phone in an airport a couple years ago when my cell phone died. I don't remember much about the phone call, but I do know that it was a very important one. So I think public phones should at least always be available in transportation hubs. Just in case my cell phone dies again. Oh, and for people on the Amazing Race.
4- As long the mannequins aren't spanking each other, I don't think 'public concern' is going to work. If they don't like it, don't shop there - if the displays decrease their profits, they will change them. But if you bring more attention to the store, even negative attention, it's going to increase sales and encourage the same type of displays in the future.
Q1 - That would be awesome!!!! Conversations would be happening and they would be mostly regarding taking breaks from your current life, switch roles once and awhile maybe setting up a great magician show where I could throw a hat from one door to the next and he could pop out the other side and catch it. I think that would blow people’s minds.
Q2 - Sex….but in a large variety of places that are not considered acceptable to have sex. Like in the middle of a train station. A jet plane, but not in the bathroom, right in the middle of the floor, or in first class, or out on the wing. It would also be really cool in space, like on the moon. Heck you could do it anywhere….AWESOME!!
Q3 - Well it seems companies that have a monopoly of a product have the right to do whatever they want. Screw the person that gets stranded and desperately needs help. I guess they have the option to muscle all of us into doing cell phones. But it would make sense that if they chose to do that that they should also provide an emergency only subscription. So you get the cheapest phone on the market but it gets reception anywhere and it is totally affordable. Like the same amount that you spend on a pay phone every year. Like $5 for an annual membership.
Q4 -Well it’s not like they are sitting on the street slapping pamphlets in their hands and shoving pictures of naked woman in your pocket. If they are going to place control on the advertising that Victoria Secret presents then they should probably stick stricter rules on the local pool, beaches, and bedrooms. I do feel that our society is going south more and more because so many companies tap into our instinctive traits and attract our animalistic wants, but Victoria Secret deals in that industry how can they show their product line correctly if it isn’t with real people wearing it. Real people that look incredibly amazing and make majority of the woman feel inadequate in their natural state and cause for the mass quantities of the insecurities woman hold in a daily basis. I think the fight should go directly to any company that portrays woman in a false light. The rule should be if your gonna show a woman with a 36, 26, 36 figure than you also need to show a woman with a 45, 56, 64 figure that is wearing the exact same product, or publicly disclaim “This woman has been artificially enhanced with unnatural products. “ There that should solve it.
Q1 - Holy Crap!: I would probably walk up and say, "Holy Crap, you look just like this guy I know." And then see if they got it that you were actually talking about yourself and see what they would say to that.
Q2 - Dreams: Not really, because of you kept dreaming of being rich, or getting beautiful women every night, then every morning would be a complete disappointment.
Q3 - Pay Phones: Can't remember the last time I used one, but every time I see some pay phones I think to myself, "Does anyone even use those dang things anymore?"
Q4 -Lingerie-clad Models: Of course it is okay. No one is making your kids look at it. No one is making you drive by it. So, if you've got a problem, deal with it! (And going to City Hall to tattle-tail is not the answer.)
1. Maybe it's your twin--of course you want to meet them. Read "Identical Strangers".
2. I can't even control my waking hours, so I think I'll leave my dreams up to my subconscious.
3. The last time I tried to find a pay phone and couldn't find one was driving across country at a rest stop where I had no cell phone coverage--it sucked. Pay phones are important until cell phone covereage is everywhere and access to cell phones is more pervasive for all socio-economic groups.
4. VS is the worldly embodyment of Satan on Earth. Just like they did in Houston when they hauled a reproduction of the statue of David to the top of a mall after parents expressed concerns about a naked statue in the mall's courtyard, I think they should replace the VS storefront displays with Tele-Tubbies...oh wait, is that promoting a homosexual agenda?
1. I would totally talk to someone who looked like me and find out how they deal with having such a large nose.
2. Though I don't control the overall content of my dreams, I do have some control over them. For example: if a person dies I might go "wait a sec, I don't want that to happen" and my dream rewinds to an earlier point and then continues with the correction. I still have some pretty freaky dreams though; Greg, you say you want to know what crazy things your mind can come up with, but trust me, you don't.
3. As long as people in stores are nice enough to let you use their phone if your cell phone's dead, I see no reason for lots and lots of pay phones. The last time I used one was 2 years ago--before I got a cell phone.
4. People keep on saying that no one is forcing you to look at an image in the store of a window, but really they are. Any giant image of anything--person, place, or thing--is automatically looked at. It is our human nature to observe the world around us.
Victoria's Secret definitely needs to tone down their posters; many times I have felt embarrassed walking by the store with my mom and dad. I mean, basically everyone in the group is trying not to look at it for different reasons and we want to be respectful of each-other. Also, its very annoying when guys are loitering outside of the store staring at the pictures and getting hard-ons. I mean HONESTLY! Go home and look at them on the internet instead of scaring all the women!
Q1 I'd look right into his eyes and say in my best Robert Deniro voice, "You lookin' at me?"
Q2 - I'd love to control my dreams. As for what I would dream about, I believe your blog is censored. Some of the cleaner dreams--flying, swimming like a fish in the ocean (no snorkel or oxygen tank required), viewing tornadoes, beating up mean people.
Q3 I just used one last week to call my daughter's cell phone so she could pick me up at the grocery store on her way home from work. In college (1978-82), I used to call my folks from a pay phone at the Student Union. Those were the days. I've noticed pay phones becoming scarce. I love the pay phone. Please don't take them away! Then I'll have to get a cell phone.
Q4 I really don't think these displays have much of an impact on kids. Maybe the catalogues, but not the window displays.
1. I get told all the time that I look like various famous people, so if I saw someone who looked exactly like me, he'd probably be famous, so I would totally go up to him, talk to him, get a hug, and slyly steal his wallet.
2. At first, I was going to say that no, I wouldn't want to control my dreams, then I read on to Q4, and started thinking about those scantily clad Victoria's Secret models in all of the advertisements...then I thought, hell yes, I'd want to control my dreams!
3. If there are no payphones, that means no phone booths. WWSD (What Will Superman Do)? I haven't used a pay phone in probably 8 years? I was joking the other day with an old friend about how they used to mount them kinda low at some gas stations, so you could just pull up in your car and roll down the window- we used to call them "car phones" and talk about how convenient they were... I was recently in Africa and nearly everyone (seemingly) there had cell phones. I do think there should be cell phones available at critical places in cities and roadsides for emergencies...and for Superman.
4. I think it largely depends on where the ads are located. There is a Victoria's Secret here in Denver that is right on a major thoroughfare and I'm fairly certain that their ads are responsible for numerous car accidents and possibly deaths. I think this is entirely and utterly socially irresponsible. We're starting a campaign here in Colorado to put an end to just this kind of advertising--the kind that does such a good job of getting your attention that it's actually bad for people. I believe this is entirely the company's fault and the drivers have no culpability. As for poisoning little kids' minds with this filth? People need to take a chill pill. These same folks probably plop their kids down in front of the TV for hours on end and don't even wonder what they might be watching. Viva hypocrisy!
1. I would definitely talk to the person and have our picture taken together. It would also be kinda freaky in a "Twilight Zone" way.
2. I wouldn't want to control my dreams because I like "seeing" what my subconscious comes up with. But I might want to control my dreams if they could give me the answers I seek to specific questions.
3. I think it's important to keep public pay phones around because there will always be someone who doesn't have a cell phone or maybe you're somewhere that you can't use a cell phone, like a hospital and need to make a call or you forget your cell phone and need to make an urgent call. I say keep them, it would be sad to see them go. My local library has two.
4. I never even really notice what they have in their windows and don't really care. If someone is offended by fake mannequins wearing underware in a "suggestive" pose or whatever the complaint is about, then they need to work on some issues of their own. If they make it into a big deal then it becomes a big deal. I'm sure most little kids don't know what V.S. is anyway. Whatever.
1. MY TWIN: I'd probably ask myself out on a date, given that 1. the Carly Simon song, "You're So Vain" aptly describes me and, 2. I am gay so same-sex attraction is what gets me. Ha. Ha.
2. DREAMS: I'd LOVE to be able to program my dreams. Aren't there some sci-fi movies about this? I'd like to wake up, thinking I'm in the middle of a dream, and be able to return to sleep in that same moment in the dream. That would be very cool.
3. PAY PHONES: I think pay phones will always be around - and think they should be. I'm sending my cell phone in for replacement today (because it won't power on and because I bought in online!) and I may very well be in need of payphones this weekend. It's a good thing I live close to my office, I guess.
4. WINDOW DISPLAYS: I think V's Secret & all other businesses should display whatever they want. Parents ought to be more concerned about how their kids react and view life and its myriad components and less concerned about someone else's tastes, whether good, bad, or questionable.
1. Holy Crap!: Honestly, like Tyson, I really doubt I would recognize that somebody looks like me. I would have to rely on somebody telling me. Then I would probably just look at them and be like, "Whatever, they don't look anything like me!"
2. Dreams: I've done limited dream control when I was younger, but didn't find it satisfying enough to pursue it further. I usually dream about decapitating people these days, so I don't bother.
3. Pay Phones: It's been about 10 or 11 years since I last used a pay phone when my car broke down on Idaho. Am I concerned about them disappearing? Sort of. I mean, how would Dr. Who hide his time machine otherwise?
4. Lingerie-clad Models: I like Bryce's answer. If enough of the public want it changed, it should be changed. Or maybe people just need to chill out... easy to say that if you're not the one being offended. What if I put up a picture of me humping your mother? You'll just avoid driving past it? What if I put it up in the window across the street from where you work? What then? What if I put it somewhere that requires you a heavy inconvenience to avoid it? What if you don't want your kids to see me humping their grandma? What are you going to do to stop them from seeing it? Well, you'd probably shoot me in the head and burn the picture. So my answer is that if Victoria's puts up a sign that says, "We sell sexy lady's lingerie," people that actually WANT to see that can go inside the store and have at it.
Q1: I've heard of people saying they met someone that looked just like me. I think I'd get a picture with them if they would allow it.
Q2: No, I'm too lazy to put in the training and discipline, besides it's fun to be surprised with some weirdo dreams sometimes ;).
Q3: I used one last year, I didn't have my cell phone on me and needed to check in with kids. I think there should be some around still. Though some are nasty dirty, ick.
Q4: I think that everyone knows what Victoria Secret sells, they just do those ads to get more attention to their stores. Ditto to Bryce too :)
Holy Crap: I'd probably walk up to him and say "so which one of us is the evil one?"
Dreams: Nope. If dreams are how your subconscious mind works issues out, why would you want to constrain it?
Pay Phones: Wow. It's been years since I've used one but I can't say that I'm concerned about their disappearance since I rarely carry change to use one anyway.
Lingerie Models: Sex? In Carmel? Do they have that there? Heck, the lingerie in a Victoria's Secret window is on a mannequin and not a real human being. I'd submit that the poor, impressionable children see much worse in mom and dad's magazines and mail order catalogs, as well as on cable. As to children being subjected to inappropriate images, where do you draw the line? I can't help but think that a department store's color circular for Brassieres or mens briefs would cause some people to clutch their pearls and run for their smelling salts.
The bottom line is that it's obviously profitable for V.S to have a store there, so one would assume that their imagery isn't offensive to a sizable percentage of the local population.
Q1 - Holy Crap!: If they looked exactly like me, I'd probably just turn and head another direction and be freaked out for a while.
Q2 - Dreams: I wouldn't want to control them. 99.9% of the time I don't remember any dreams anyway, but Amy tells me sometimes I get pretty animated and talk out-loud in my dreams.
Q3 - Pay Phones: Last time I used a pay phone was in Italy in July. My supposed international cell phone didn't work, so I had to use them several times over there.
Q4 -Lingerie-clad Models: Communities have the right to do whatever they want in regards to decency. So it's up to Carmel, but in general, people need to lighten up. Besides, if you take down the victoria secret displays and pictures, what does a guy have to look forward to when his wife/girlfriend drags them out shopping?
1) I have a twin I've never met. We were seperated at birth back in 1969. My father ran into "me" in 1987 in Indy while I was in school 25 miles away and wanted to know why I was not in school that day.
2)I can sometimes make myself fly in dreams.
3)Rural areas should still have access to pay phones. My parents live in a farm and their cell service is horrible.
4) Carmel housewives could use some crotchless panties and a good smack on the ass. Worthless Stepford Wives. The same women are complaining about galleries in Carmel with naked art. I hope these Puritans shower in the dark. Like I said, worthless Stepford Wives. The probably have sex through a hole in the sheets. When I'm emperor, I'm nuking Hamilton County from orbit.
Q1 - Great question! I would definitely buy him and I a round of drinks, sit and bull-crap and see if he's having any better luck with the ladies then I am.
Q2 - No way...I would not want to control my dreams. I wouldn't be able to wake up in complete shock if I were able to control my dreams...and I like to wake up not knowing what the crap just happened.
Q3 - I remember calling collect to my parents from the mall to tell them to come and get me. When the prompt came to say a name...I would just say, "Come get Jake from the mall" and they would decline it. Free communication! That was a long time ago. I am sure there will always be some type of public communication device similar to the pay phone...but more along the lines of the phone/internet/thingy from the movie, "The Island"
Q4 - Ok as is...it's all part of competition and getting attention...which they are getting.
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