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    #76
    Annoying New York Times articles

    Parents need to lighten up about this "I'm afraid my kids will become little consumers" because I'm pretty fucking sure the parents saying that aren't living like Thoreau, so come off it. If you work, somebody is consuming your labor, etc. Don't pretend you're not part of the machine just because you always buy local.

    God, I hate people.

    I think the best argument against little plastic trinkets is that they're just more clutter and more shit that gets stuck in the vacuum. One of my mom friends said she'd much rather the kids be given candy that is consumed (often by dad or dad's friends who come over to watch football, like me) than more plastic.

    Comment


      #77
      Annoying New York Times articles

      benjm wrote:
      If you have the wrong napkin rings at your wedding, your marriage will fail.

      It must be true: all the wedding magazines say so.
      Well we had no napkin rings at all at our wedding, and it failed.

      Comment


        #78
        Annoying New York Times articles

        I loved this from the article:

        When Sarah Swain’s children lug home loot from parties, “I throw it out and then I feel guilty — there goes another giant piece of plastic in the trash — but it’s not like you can give it away,” said Ms. Swain, 33, a mother of two and a nursing student who lives near San Francisco. “It’s not useful.”
        First off, the kid probably would have enjoyed having that toy, so it would have been useful to them. Yes, it wasn't made by a local artisan toy maker, but give it a shot.

        You certainly could give it away. I'm guessing San Francisco has those clothes/shoes/toy big donation bins. Or just take it to the park and leave it at the playground or in the sand pit. I'm convinced that no one actually buys plastic buckets or shovels. They just all sit in the sand at parks. Sure, maybe someone takes it home, but then they bring it the next time they go to the park and forget to take it home, and the cosmic ballet goes on.

        Finally, what a great lesson to be teaching your kids: we don't like this and it isn't useful, so let's throw it in the trash. I think that's a far worse thing than letting your kids play with some crappy plastic toy.

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          #79
          Annoying New York Times articles

          Keep it up and the Times will write a new "How We Live Now" article with just that premise.

          Comment


            #80
            Annoying New York Times articles

            Heliotrope wrote:
            I don't really understand the need to have favors for wedding guests, either, but then I don't get a lot of the whole wedding industrial complex anyway.
            From my understanding, it's entirely predicated on the phrase "It's your special day. Don't you want it to be memorable?" After you accept that, we're just haggling over the price of the bubble machine.

            Comment


              #81
              Annoying New York Times articles

              I'm longing for another thread from inca that ends with DIE IN A FIRE.

              But maybe that's just me.

              Comment


                #82
                Annoying New York Times articles

                Renart wrote:
                There is often beer for the adults at kids' birthday parties here in Austin. One reason I love the place.
                The way birthday parties work here is that you have to factor in an hour of drinking time when you go to pick up your offspring. Beer is only if you're trying to stay sober, since otherwise you are practically obliged to knock back significant numbers of shots of palinka ( fruit brandy). At least one shot per arriving and then again leaving parent.

                Comment


                  #83
                  Annoying New York Times articles

                  I didn't realize they drank so much palinka in Sheffield!

                  Comment


                    #84
                    Annoying New York Times articles

                    Erm, ad hoc hasn't been in Sheffield for a long time.

                    Comment


                      #85
                      Annoying New York Times articles

                      I was joking, though I don't know where he is now. Hungary maybe, I assume?

                      Comment


                        #86
                        Annoying New York Times articles

                        Transylvania

                        (except I'm not actually at the moment, I'm in Moldavia, but I was referring to Transylvania in my comment)

                        Comment


                          #87
                          Annoying New York Times articles

                          I would think that it works for Moldova, too.

                          I know it works for Slovenija (which is a bit scary, as lots of people drive to and from such events).

                          Comment


                            #88
                            Annoying New York Times articles

                            Ah, I see. What brought you there, if you don't mind my asking?

                            Anyway, those birthday parties sound rough! That sort of peer-pressure "let's all take shots at the same time" drinking tends to make people very, very drunk.

                            Comment


                              #89
                              Annoying New York Times articles

                              The Exploding Vole wrote:
                              I'm longing for another thread from inca that ends with DIE IN A FIRE.

                              But maybe that's just me.
                              Heh, what was the last one that I did that in? It was recently, I know. Was it the parents from Urban Baby?

                              If you could combine clueless complaining about quality of life from people making hundreds of thousands of dollars a year with steampunk, that would probably turn me into the Hulk.

                              Comment


                                #90
                                Annoying New York Times articles

                                Well, that might be fun for us, too.

                                Comment


                                  #91
                                  Annoying New York Times articles

                                  I did, however get a spicy lamb sandwich at Xian Fine Foods, which was worth a heck of a lot more than the 3 bucks I paid for it.

                                  the idea of a sandwich for €2.30 in dublin, never mind one that you could eat, never mind a good one is mindboggling.

                                  Comment


                                    #92
                                    Annoying New York Times articles

                                    Renart: The usual. Love. Moved in with a local, got married, now have two kids (one step, one bio). Turned freelance at the same time and work wherever people pay me to which is all over the shop with online stuff at home.

                                    Comment


                                      #93
                                      Annoying New York Times articles

                                      Ah, thanks, ad hoc. Just curious, because it's a part of the world you don't hear about much, or at least we don't over here. Years ago I wrote a brief article about plans to build a Dracula theme park in Transylvania, but I don't think it was ever built. I was hoping I'd get to go on a press junket if they ever actually did build it!

                                      Comment


                                        #94
                                        Annoying New York Times articles

                                        I was always happy with a piece of cake and a balloon, still am really.

                                        Comment


                                          #95
                                          Annoying New York Times articles

                                          Incandenza wrote:
                                          If you could combine clueless complaining about quality of life from people making hundreds of thousands of dollars a year with steampunk, that would probably turn me into the Hulk.
                                          Ha. I'm sure there is somebody on boing boing who bitches that those custom steampunk masks from Russia are just too damn expensive.

                                          Comment


                                            #96
                                            Annoying New York Times articles

                                            I like the people who complain when things aren't real steampunk.

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                                              #97
                                              Annoying New York Times articles

                                              I'm currently reading The Difference Engine and rather like it so far, so I guess I'm pro-steampunk.

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                                                #98
                                                Annoying New York Times articles

                                                Well, if you're coming to it now as someone over 35, it's more Retro Pro-Steampunk. If you're under 30 and you're doing it for a laugh, it's Ironic Steampunk. I don't get all the hatred, so I'm Anti Anti-Steampunk.

                                                Comment


                                                  #99
                                                  Annoying New York Times articles

                                                  I expect that The Cost of Steampunk is Too Damn High will be Matt Yglesias' next e-book.

                                                  Comment


                                                    Annoying New York Times articles

                                                    Steampunk is played out, man. I'm into Watermillpunk now.

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