INTERESTING: Life isn’t fair

Thursday, March 6, 2008

http://www.happiness-project.com/happiness_project/2008/03/life-isnt-fair.html

Life isn’t fair, or, why people who are irritable get more irritable, and people who are cheery get more cheery.

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I love finding a precise term for things I’ve observed in the word. It’s so satisfying to discover concepts like Schadenfreude, or “acting in reliance,” or wabi-sabi. One of my favorite parts of writing my book Power Money Fame Sex: A User’s Guide was making up new terms: platinum rule, eye stray, object lust, ubiniquity.

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‘pleasure taken from someone else’s misfortune’
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schadenfreude

an economic harm for acting in reliance on a party who failed to fulfill their obligation.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reliance_damages_(law)

beauty that is “imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wabi-sabi

Platinum Rule as “Never ever, ever, ever ‘love’ thy neighbor.” His point was that one should never date someone seen on a regular basis, e.g. someone at the same workplace, a next door neighbor, etc. because such relationships never work out in the end and lead to never-ending suffering, as those involved would see each other constantly.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platinum_Rule

“eye stray”?
Girl watching while with your significant other?

“object lust”?

ubiniquity?

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Posted by reinkefj

FUN: Why Are Wedding Dresses White?

Thursday, March 6, 2008

From: Frau Reinke’s High School Chum
Sent: Wednesday, March 05, 2008 7:38 PM
Subject: Why Are Wedding Dresses White?

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I’d take a bet that this guy never said this loud enough so his wife can hear this:

>Son asked his mother the following question:
>
> “Mom , why are wedding dresses white?” The mother replies, “Son, this shows everyone that your bride is pure.”
>
> The son thanks his Mom and goes off to double-check this with his father. “Dad why are wedding dresses white?”
>
> The father looks at his son in surprise and says, “Son, all household appliances come in white.”

*** end quote ***

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No sucker money here. But, it is funny. Especially in today’s day and age.

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Posted by reinkefj

WRITING: “survival fiction” — some further thinking

Thursday, March 6, 2008

It might be interesting to write “a story with choices”.

I remember paper books being published which at the bottom of every page gave you a choice. “If X should go left, turn to page number Y. If X should go right, turn to page Z.” I remember being very anal in those days and literally ripping the book apart and mapping the various alternative choices. It was amazing in that the author (script writer?) had several choices “rejoin” a string. I used the same technique when I played Willie Crowther’s (original author) Adventure. It was Don Woods’ expansion that led me to “contribute” my time to the computer industry’s two week delay while everyone solved the game. You know the one with “twisty caves all alike”. The man was diabolic. At least I wasn’t diverted into real life D&D (popular with the Princeton U crowd) or lured into computer gaming. No, I stayed focused on the Wall Street and its money. Never made it, but chased it for decades.

So it would seem that it would be possible — easy in the days of blogs and the web — to translate a story in this form to a user experience. It would really translate into print, but it might be like a very “flat” computer game.

Hmmm?

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Posted by reinkefj