Q1 - Art: A woman in the U.K. who was given a painting by Adolf Hitler as a birthday gift from her son in 2006, reportedly sold the painting at auction this week at an $8,900 loss because she disliked it so much. The painting, titled "The Church of Preux-au-Bois," bears the chilling signature 'AH' and dates back to a time when the future Nazi leader was stationed as a foot soldier (sometime between 1915-1918). If you liked this particular painting--which you can see here--and you had the means to own it, would you buy it and put it on display in your home or office, or would you never buy or display anything either created by Adolf Hitler or which came from his regime?
Q2 - Satisfaction: According to the latest figures from the U.S. government, one out of every six U.S. households (15.8%) do not have a landline telephone, but do have at least one wireless telephone. If you have a cell phone, how satisfied are you with your wireless service provider, and are you considering switching providers the next time your current agreement is up for renewal?
Q3 - On This Day: On this day in 1943, Franklin D. President Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet leader Josef Stalin met in Tehran during World War II. If you could put any three world-leaders in the same room and make them talk out their differences, whom would you put into that room? (Extra credit: Have more than three / more than one room? That's fine... do tell!)
Q4 - Open Tryouts: Pick a profession or job that requires extreme skill or training (academic or otherwise). Now read this: "One Day Only... open tryouts for [insert highly skilled job here]!" For what highly skilled job would you stand in line to tryout for?
Q1 - Holiday Shopping: Where will you be doing the bulk of this year's holiday shopping... from a catalog, online, at the mall, shopping? bah humbug!, somewhere else?
Q2 - I've Had Enough: A few years ago, I could not get enough of a certain sandwich at a little deli near my office. For months, no matter what time of day, if you offered me that one specific sandwich and I was hungry, I gladly would have eaten it and thanked you for making me so happy. Then, out of nowhere, I lost my appetite for that sandwich (I guess I just got "burned out" of it). Has this ever happened to you, and if so, what specific food item was involved?
Q3 - Automobile: Would you consider buying a car from an automobile manufacturer who has declared bankruptcy?
Q4 - Hovering: A growing number of scholars, psychologists, educators and pundits think kids today have lost their resilience due to overly hovering parents. What do you think?
Q1 - Work: If technology had not advanced to the point to where it is today (e.g. availability of the Internet, air transportation, telephones, satellites, etc.) what would you be doing for a living? Asked another way, you and everyone you know have been transported to the year 1841... what would you be doing for a living (note: you have no recollection of the fact that you were transported from the year 2008).
Q2 - Thank You!: According to its Wikipedia entry, many people inaccurately assume the word "tip" to be an acronym for terms such as "to insure prompt service", "to insure proper service", "to improve performance", and "to insure promptness", when in reality it is derived from the English thieves' (which may be taken to mean "gambler") slang word "tip," meaning to pass from one to another unexpectedly. Do you tip the person who cuts your hair? If so, how do you determine how much to tip (do you base it on the total cost of the haircut, the outcome, a set amount each time, or something else entirely)?
Q3 - Video Conferencing: Forty years ago, about the only way you could witness video conferencing in action was to tune in to an episode of The Jetsons and watch George Jetson and Jane (his wife) converse over their video phones. Today, over 80% of the Fortune 500 uses video conferencing on a daily basis, and consumers regularly use Skype, iChat, AOL IM and other programs to video conference. Earlier this week, the CEO of Cisco Systems, Inc. said his company is about a year away from launching a consumer/home version of a high-definition (HD) video conferencing system. Putting your concerns about system price and subscription plan cost aside for a moment, would you be inclined to use a home-based video conferencing system?
Q4 - Bailing Out: According to media reports, President-elect Obama favors asking Congress to approve as much as $50 billion to save U.S. automakers. If you were a member of Congress, would you vote in favor of a measure that would result in bailing out the U.S. auto industry?
Countdown's Keith Olbermann (and I) Speak to Opponents of Gay Marriage
The following commentary -- almost word-for-word -- has been running through my head since last Tuesday's election. I know it's a cliche but honestly, from the depths of my heart and soul, I couldn't state how I feel (about the right for gay couples to marry and how the majority of Californians voted on Proposition 8) any better than as follows:
Comments are open... I'm not afraid of what people have to say on this subject. If you disagree with me and Keith Olbermann, by all means, respond and let's keep the dialogue going! And if you agree, be brave enough to leave a comment to that effect as well.
Q1 - Lost vs. Won: Do you think John McCain lost the 2008 Presidential election, or do you feel Barak Obama won it from him? In other words, was this election John McCain's to win but because of his strategy, he lost; or, did Barak Obama "out perform" John McCain at every turn, thus winning this election all on his own?
Q2 - Church Security: In an era when threats and shootings at schools and churches have made headlines, religious leaders are rethinking their security strategies. Last Saturday, a minister was fatally shot and another man wounded outside of a church in Kentucky where the men went to attend a funeral. Such violence, while extremely rare, has many houses of worship hiring armed guards who keep a watchful eye over worship services. In some cases, churches are even turning to their parishioners to join volunteer security teams by carrying concealed weapons. Would you feel comfortable attending church services that were monitored by armed guards?
Q3 - Put em Together: If you could combine any two states, which two states would you enjoin and what would you name the new state?
Q4 - Extra Money: If you had no choice but to earn extra money in order to survive in this economy and were given the choice of doing any job in order to earn that extra money, what would you do (by the way, it has to be a real job, not some made up one)?
