the writing and photography of Neil Kramer
(via thisisbroken.com)
Ah, youth. Wasn’t it only yesterday I too was trashing the steps in front of Columbia University’s Low Library after the senior class’s "annual drinkathon." Now I drink red wine because it can help lower my cholesterol. How sad.
There are many obstacles to a romantic relationship being a success. There can be differences in personality, religion, attitude towards family, work ethic, etc. Any of these can cause a couple to split up. Yet there is one obstacle that can break up even the most loving of couples. Yes, I’m talking about liking different types of movies.
I remember once bringing a date to watch “It’s a Wonderful Life” on DVD. She had never seen the movie, which seemed unbelievable to me! I couldn’t believe my luck. Not only would I introduce her to this heart-warming classic, but I would surely get lucky after that!
What happened? Let’s just say I had as much luck as George Bailey getting out of Bedford Falls. She hated the movie and called it “corny.” How could I like such a cold-hearted woman?
I bring this up because yesterday, I discovered YMDB (note 12/06: now defunct).  This isn’t IMDB.com, the best movie resource around. This is “Your Movie Database.” Basically, you create a list of your favorite twenty movies and then can see links to other users whose movie lists are statistically similar to yours. You can even find others who picked the same #1 favorite movie as you.
I do not know anything else about you, Dinah, but you and I are the only ones to pick this somewhat obscure French film as our favorite movie. Let’s get married.Â
I had my own little "Debbie Downer" moment last night at a Santa Monica restaurant. I was having dinner with some new acquaintances when the woman next to me tapped my shoulder. She was a very attractive Asian woman with long black hair.
"I see you’re wearing the Lance Armstrong bracelet. He’s my hero."
As she spoke about Lance Armstrong, it was clear that she knew a lot about the man and his career. Everyone turned to us, and soon, Lance Armstrong was the topic of conversation.
The table agreed that Lance Armstrong was amazing, an inspiration, the coolest guy in the world, etc. I should have just agreed with everyone, but my tongue had a mind of its own.
"It was pretty cold for him to dump his wife. She stood by him throughout his struggle with cancer and was at his side for all his treatments, and now he’s going to movie premieres with Sheryl Crow."
It was like I had just mocked Jesus or told a racist joke. I should have known better.
THREE RULES TO LIVE BY
The attractive Asian woman with long black hair hardly looked in my direction for the rest of the meal.
Qrio Robot
Is California now sending robots to school?
Qrio, a humanoid robot developed by a Sony Intelligence Dynamics Laboratories Inc has been attending a nursery school in California since March to play with children up to 2 years of age in an experiment to help develop a robot that can “live in harmony with humans in the future.”
This is very scary, not because of any “2001” scenario of robots taking over the world.  My biggest fear is that these robots won’t be able to pass any of their standardized tests after going through the California school system.
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