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Post by My Avatar Is A Hot Babe on Jul 14, 2018 17:39:02 GMT
Interesting. Someone I know who works in the industry assured me that Elvis Presley isn't dead, and, in fact, he sings lead on about 20% of all hit songs recorded since his supposed death in 1977 (although no rap songs; Elvis hates rap). He also sang a few of the "Paul" lead vocals on albums like Abbey Road after Paul died a couple of years earlier. According to this insider, Elvis absolutely refuses to record to digital, though, so even though very little AAA has been used since at least 1966, all the Elvis stuff is recorded all analog, always. Elvis also really dislikes mono, which is why Abbey Road was never issued in true mono: Elvis was only willing to sing on that album if they assured him they wouldn't make a mono mix. Yeah, Becker's widow wanted to license the name for her Steely Danskins line. Fagen said no. Hence the lawsuit.
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Post by My Avatar Is A Hot Babe on Jul 17, 2018 18:04:31 GMT
The online dating profile: Funny versus sincere...Wow...big differenceSo...I'm on one of the online dating websites. I have had a profile on this site for a couple of months. The profile I've been using is funny (or attempts to be, and I've been told it is) and irreverent, although filled with actual information as well. It's more or less like my "on" public persona...I've been doing OK with that profile, getting a response or two a day most days (well, many days). No deluge. As an experiment, I created a new profile. This time, instead of "on", I went for sincere and earnest, emphasizing more of the characteristics people who know me well and long would focus on. Some humor, for sure, but way way way dialed down. I think it's a very very good profile of the "this is what I want, this is who I am, this is why you might like me, this is how I'm different" sort. It probably stands out for a certain self-awareness that isn't entirely common. The second profile is really a ying/yang from the first. The factual details in the two profiles are the same (height, body type, city, what I do, education, etc.) Someone who was alerted to figuring it all out might be able to guess the two profiles are the same person. But the styles are very very much different. For the second profile, since I don't want to create confusion (and I didn't want people to know just yet it's the same person), I just included a generic picture of a guy (not even me, although it could be--same body type) from the back. Basically no picture at all. Wow. I can't believe it. I'd say I'm getting about a 30-40% response rate from people who look at the profile...with all kinds of "LOVE the profile" stuff. I mean, I've received 15 unsolicited emails since last night on the profile. And this is with no picture. I am shocked, really. Not only that the new sincere profile is working so much better, but also because so many people have written actual emails (not winks) to a profile without an identifiable picture. I didn't think anyone did that... Interesting... Maybe the first one isn't as funny as you think? Well, I'll put it this way: I'm most own harshest critic when it comes to humor. Usually other people think I'm funnier than I do. But I've had several women write and tell me it's the "funniest profile I've ever seen." I can think of at least a handful who've written to me and started with some variant on "I have never instigated a conversation on OKC before, but after reading your profile I had to..." I have no delusions. Just because someone likes it doesn't mean anyone else will. And I definitely don't think it's the funniest thing on god's green earth. I am not all that in love with my own words...Some like it, some surely not so much. Anyway, that's a long winded way of saying it may not be incredibly side-splittingly funny, but it's not far far far off the mark, either. Sorry, I won't reproduce it here or provide a link. That would go 10 steps beyond my comfort zone
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Post by My Avatar Is A Hot Babe on Jul 17, 2018 18:04:59 GMT
My self-summary I'll bottom line this for you, because you're busy. I might be perfect for you. If I'm perfect for you, then I'm the guy you thought you wouldn't encounter on a dating site, the guy who your mom and friends harpingly told you you might find as you reluctantly and disbelievingly put yourself out on this site to shut them up.
And then again...
The short version of who I am, to be followed by the longer, more amusing but way-too-verbose version below...
I am:
1) Smart, witty, funny (so they say), successful (so society says); 2) Warm, in touch with myself, and capable of forming deep emotional bonds with my friends 3) Alternately intellectual and silly; fits in anywhere 4) Not a player 5) Kind/nice. Everyone seems to use those words to describe me. It makes me sound like a fuddy-duddy, so I am disinclined to include those descriptors here, but they seem to be universal. 6) Looking for similar individual who finds something of merit, or is at least slightly amused, by the treatise that follows this summary.
OK. If that scares you off, I've just saved you precious time. Thanks for looking. If you aren't scared off, you may find some chuckles and additional details in the sketch below.
---o----
(Warning: This profile is long. But so is "War and Peace". And people are still skimming that boat anchor near 150 years after it was written.)
(And while we're at it, I assure you that the following overused phrases will appear nowhere but here: "I Look great in either tux or jeans," "I am often mistaken for Brad Pitt," and "I just got back from flying first class to Pago Pago and am looking for that lucky little lady who wants to accompany me on my next trip to OhShuddupAlreadyLand.")
I'm highly (over)educated, with both B.S. (we could discuss the truth in that degree designation) and Ph.D. degrees in Chemistry from "prestigious" (we could discuss the importance of that) California universities. I have many dozens of publications to my name, and I'm famous in my little sliver of the scientific world, but as an old (liberal arts) Professor girlfriend commented: "Your verbal skills are more like a liberal arts person than anyone I've ever dated." And my post-doctoral adviser asked why I wasn't a comedian. I guess that's my long winded way of saying: scientist, but not a total nerd.
I have a professional position in project management, and I'm financially secure. I love music, especially rock/folk/pop. I almost assuredly love it more than you, or at least as much as you! I'm also that record collecting guy with thousands of anachronistic vinyl LPs, CDs, etc. who can tell you an uninteresting piece of trivia about every one...(Don't worry: I also have enough self-awareness and good enough social skills to know when not to talk about any of that!)
I'm not much into the bar scene; I'd rather hang with friends though I don't mind meeting at the bar for drinks. I like all the stuff that doesn't differentiate me from anyone else, e.g. good movies, good TV, blah blah blah. I can skip the latest CGI spectacular, but clever adult dialog gets me every time. I prefer American movies to foreign films, which I suppose pegs me as a certain type of simpleton. I'd rather see a good musician in a small club than a famous band from across a football stadium. For me, it's more about worthwhile experiences than about the scene or being seen.
Apropos to nothing, but perhaps insight into my sense of humor: My favorite local radio show is The Phantom Gourmet, which never fails to make me laugh. (It is the sound of three brothers tearing into each other, as only siblings can, with much humor and love).
Insight into my food preferences, which may raise or lower my stature in your eyes: Boston has good Indian food, mostly bad Mexican food (burritos excepted), OK but overrated Italian, bad Chinese, so-so bagels, mostly bad delis, and a lot of bad pizza (Regina's and Upper Crust excepted; New York has the best). Any pizza that comes from a House Of...needs to be disposed of, and quickly.
I love to argue, but hate to fight. I think sarcasm is underrated, but irony is frequently overused. I think bad puns are way funnier than they are given credit for, and bad jokes can be good. I am typically disgusted by both political parties.
(WORTH NOTING: almost every partner I've ever had has differed with me politically; I embrace the intelligent debate that difference brings.)
I moved to Massachusetts the better part of 20 years ago, but I still feel California is home to some extent. Less so than I used to, however.
A couple of my favorite quotes:
"I used to be disgusted, now I try to be amused" (Elvis Costello)
"The Democrats are the party that says government will make you smarter, taller, richer, and remove the crabgrass on your lawn. The Republicans are the party that says government doesn't work and then they get elected and prove it." (P. J. O'Rourke).
I have a 16 year old daughter that I share with her mother (ex wife). She's a great kid except when she is driving me to despair. (The rest of the world only sees the great kid part...typical!) She and I are not looking for a new Mom: she has one. My daughter's part of the package, obviously. But if you're thinking "oh no oh no I have no idea if I could do the Mom thing right now, and he seemed like such an interesting guy but this is just freaking me out and why did he even write to me in the first place oh no oh no..." just take a deep breath right now. I'm looking for a partner for me and hopefully you'd like my daughter (if it gets that far), but I'm not looking for someone to step up to the minivan plate. (On the other hand, if you are already at that plate, and you weren't hyperventilating to begin with, that's fine, too :-) ).
(Nearly) Final note: Dating sites are like job fairs, or worse, cold call sales pitches. You have to toot your own horn hoping to get noticed--a one-sided perspective. The side that gets lost is the me that all my friends would describe: Sensitive, thoughtful, nice, warm, modest. Of course, those are the kinds of things friends tell you to your face, right? I mean, that's why I picked them as friends.
I have been told repeatedly that I am a "great first date" because I am verbal and smart and knowledgeable enough to make things interesting. A "great second date"? Well that, of course, depends on chemistry (and not the kind that partially comprises my day job). But you know that recurring dream you have, where you go on a blind date, the guy shows up and looks like a slob, smells like a compost heap, can't string two words together, forgets his wallet, keeps talking about how those charges that sent him down river were a setup, and your waiter announces there's a problem in the kitchen, there will be a 17 hour delay before the food is served, and the power to the doors of the restaurant has just gone out and no one will be able to leave until the power company fixes things--tomorrow. Oh, and you forgot to study and forgot to put on your clothes? Yeah, that dream? Trust me: I'm not the guy in it.
I feel you can get some sense of a person by what they miss. I miss B&M (brick & mortar) record stores and book stores and their sense of community, pinball arcades (not video games), being able to be truly out of touch on occasion (no cell phones), the sense of shared experience that only a few broadcast TV channels and no DVRs/VCRs imparted on society and families, a top 40 stew of music that drew from rock/pop/r&b/novelty/country/jazz, rather than a ghettoized radio spectrum programed from a single monolithic home office, the apple pies at McDonald's that were deep fried for extra unhealthiness and the fries cooked in lard, when 29 looked old, the gravitas of reportage in a pre-24 hour news-cycle, and the fearless naivete of youth.
I don't, however, miss the lightness of wallet of youth.
I am eternally curious, and if you do something different than I do I consider that great ! Never taken a science or math class, but you're extremely creative and/or accomplished? Extra great! Can't add to save your life but have read both The Iliad and War and Peace in their original languages, worked for both the Peace Corps and as CEO of a Big 5 consulting firm, did a stint at a Presidential speechwriter and are still pop culture aware enough to have a discussion where we pivot from the potential perils of the Fed's easy money policy to who has the higher IQ: Snookie or a gerbil? Fabulous!
I'd like to close with a quote from Martin Luther King, perhaps best known for his relationship advice. When Dr. King was asked whether one takes a risk effectively dating blind through online sites, he responded:
Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase. -- Martin Luther King, Jr.
I've tried to reveal a few of those steps in this profile. You may or may not like them, but I'm guessing you can kind of see the direction they lead. The rest is up to you.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- (parenthetical aside forced upon me by a friend)
A friend recently wrote me and told me I should include the following disclaimer in my profile. I was resistant, but she was insistent and as you know, when a -tant and -tent word collide, you either get a Broadway song or things happen. Anyway, here is the disclaimer. Her words, not mine. Well, I use the same words. I don't think she gets to own those words or anything. But she put them together in the way they are presented here.
Five Things You Need to Know About Funeeeeguy before you read his profile:
1) He is much much kinder than he may appear in this profile 2) He is much much much warmer than he may appear in this profile 3) If there's no chemistry you may still want him as your best friend 4) He's funny, but not 'let me tell you a traveling salesman joke funny' more observational quip and sharp mind funny 5) If I weren't married, I'd take him. Don't tell my husband.
Well, there you have it. If you tend to take your advice from someone you don't know, with no apparent credentials, and whose name is not even revealed, then you know what you have to do now.
(end of parenthetical aside forced upon me by a friend who may soon be looking for a good divorce attorney) -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please note: Operators are standing by. First ten callers are eligible for substantially discounted rates.
What I’m doing with my life Moving mountains in my career. Moving dustballs in my personal life. Looking to change that mix.
By Day: Project management, which means figuring out what the market needs, drawing up the specs, selling the specs internally, overseeing the implementation and then trying to sell the resulting product. All for a tool to produce better pharmaceutical drugs.
What I'm REALLY doing: Hoping to be off these dating sites for good.
I’m really good at Reading, riting, rithmatic. Maybe not spelling :-)
I'm pretty good at all things brain-wise. My English teachers were convinced I should be a writer. My science teachers wanted me to be a scientist. My math teachers were sure I should be a mathmetician. My PE teachers wanted me to sit on the bench :-)
I have had a few people email me back with comments like this one, from an English Professor at local university that I won't mention, but which starts with a H and ends with vaaaahd: "When I got your email it made me laugh. It was so well written I was a bit shocked to find out you're a scientist. I have to ask: Did you really write it?"
Needless to say, that made my week! :-)
The first things people usually notice about me I'm smart, quick witted and I make people laugh.
First dates usually notice that I'm pretty much who I represented myself to be in my profile.
Favorite books, movies, shows, music, and food Music: Beatles, '70s Genesis, David Ackles (oh so great...),'60s Kinks, Aimee Mann, Warren Zevon, The Raspberries, Kate Bush, Simon & Garfunkel, Peter Himmelman, Jimmy Webb, Renaissance, Elvis Costello, Stevie Wonder, Nick Drake, The Everly Brothers.
Movies: Shawshank Redemption, Testament, Die Hard, The Godfather, One Flew Over the Cookoo's Nest, Momento, Planes, Trains & Automobiles, Groundhog Day, Monty Python & the Holy Grail, This is Spinal Tap!, Airplane , Baby It's You
TV (present and past): The Wire, Deadwood, Breaking Bad, Justified, The Killing, The Shield, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, EZ Streets, Hill Street Blues, Homicide, 24 , The Good Wife, The Walking Dead, Thirtysomething, Lost, Rubicon, Once and Again, Futurama, The Simpsons, Seinfeld, Cheers, Monty Python
Food: Indian, Italian, pizza, ice cream, French, burgers. I could live on great New York pizza and super premium ice cream. Well I could live until I died early. But I'd die with a smile on my face. A fancy hamburger is way underrated as an epicurian treat. Great French food justifies the price. If Indian food is so hot your face turns red, it's starting to be hot enough.
For books, I tend to read non-fiction. The last couple of books I've read have been "Provenance: How a Con Man and Forger Rewrote the History of Modern Art" by Salisbury and Sujo; and "Catch a Wave: The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson by Peter Ames Carlin (interesting but flawed).
The six things I could never do without 1) My daugther (though she drives me crazy, too!) 2) My friends 3) A guitar to play at night 4) My music collection 5) The internet 6) Pizza (NY style) + ice cream(super premium, please) + blow-your-mind-out HOT Indian food
I spend a lot of time thinking about ...whether participating in these online dating sites is a lot like tilting at windmills.
Perhaps you can help me make up my mind.
On a typical Friday night I am the same person I am on any other night. Surprising, that, as I was always led to believe that on Friday you turn into a pumpkin. Hasn't happened to me. Yet.
Which is good, because I don't particularly love pumpkin pie.
The most private thing I’m willing to admit I don't hate pork rinds.
You should message me if ...I am feeling tense.
Oh wait, that says message, not massage.
Oh, never mind. Let's start again.
You should contact me if one or more of the following strikes a chord:
A) When you see the adjective "quirky" associated with a profile, you're more, not less, interested;
B) You understand the following:
Two people who respect and love one another can have a vigorous argument with each other--it might even be a shouting match--with each heavily invested in their opinion. There are no low blows (no personal insults), and each side is logical, but they simply don't agree. At some point, the argument ends, they hug, they kiss, and they are even more attracted to each other than before because intelligent discouse and debate seeds deeper respect and love, and passion--even for an opposing view--is sexy.
C) You understand and embrace the difference between (B) and fighting. Fighting sucks.
D) You don't wear a total ignorance of popular culture as a badge of honor.
E) You find profiles that contain statements of the following nature to reflect a certain close-minded suckiness. Opinions are great. Passion is great. Ostriches are not so great. As partners, anyway.
If you don't agree with me about [The President/Global Warming/Recycling/Second Hand Smoke/Health Care/ Mac-versus-PC/yadayadayada] please don't contact me as we clearly have nothing to discuss. And you suck.
Again: That sentence above (in italics) is bad. It is not MY vision. (Just in case you're merely skimming my profile). It seems like the equivalent of kissing yourself in the mirror versus meeting someone else.
F) You don't have to be blindingly funny or witty (though bonus points if you are), but you at least think I'm somewhat at least one of those, and I can repeatedly make you (at least) smile.
G) Narcissists need not apply. Nothing personal. It's just that I could never love you as much as you love yourself.
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