Make Me Choose

Scott Hardie | February 15, 2020
____________ or ____________.

You fill in the blanks.

I'll make one for you after I answer.

Samir Mehta | February 15, 2020
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Erik Bates | February 15, 2020
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Steve West | February 15, 2020
The Temptations; The Supremes

Erik Bates | February 15, 2020
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Chris Lemler | February 16, 2020
Billy Joel; Lionel Richie

Scott Hardie | February 17, 2020
Samir: Per slice it would depend on the flavors and fillings, but generally I prefer cake. Happier memories I guess? Just the thought of devil's food cake makes me happy, which is likely connected to my eating disorder. Choose Pixar or Marvel, if you could only ever see one's movies again.

Erik: I'm a cat person, so no contest on the first, but I'm trying to develop an interest in dogs since Kelly wants to adopt one. And my answer to the other surprised me: Within the band Black Sabbath, I preferred Osbourne's singing (probably because of how many classic tracks they recorded, including my favorite), but in their careers post-Sabbath, I vastly prefer Dio's work. Choose one team to support: Liverpool or KU.

Steve: Tough call! I like both. I narrowly pick the Tempts as the one I'd listen to now. Ask me in a month and I might say differently. If I could only listen to one song between both, I'd choose "My Girl." Choose between winning a season of Celebrity Goo Game or winning a tournament in Rock Block.

Chris: I'm not a Richie fan exactly ("Hello" is good but I don't know his work beyond it), but I've always had a dislike for Billy Joel, so I'm picking Richie. I think my problem with Joel is, I was still a kid when "We Didn't Start the Fire" came out, and it was my introduction to him, and it's terrible. Musically it's a relentless earworm, and lyrically it's just a list of historical events recognizable to baby boomers. If I turned in a homework assignment for history class that was just a list of events, I'd get an F; how is that considered a good song? I missed Joel's classic work in the seventies so I never quite came around on him, but I do have a soft spot for An Innocent Man. Anyway, I think I know the answer to this because I haven't heard you mention one of them for a few years now, but choose: Bowling or disc golf.

This is fun! I'll take more if you've got 'em. :-)

Chris Lemler | February 17, 2020
Disc golf because its a good way to get exercise and meet some new and good players.

Chris Lemler | February 17, 2020
NCIS; Criminal Minds

Steve West | February 17, 2020
French cuisine; Italian cuisine.

Steve West | February 17, 2020
Tattoos; Piercings.

Steve West | February 17, 2020
Cadillac; Corvette.

Samir Mehta | February 17, 2020
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Scott Hardie | February 18, 2020
NCIS; Criminal Minds

I'm aware of your fondness for the latter show, Chris, but I confess that I've never seen it. I should check it out. I liked NCIS on the few occasions that I saw it, but then Pauley Perrette's allegations became what I think about when I think of the show. If we're picking CBS crime procedurals, can I choose CSI instead?

French cuisine; Italian cuisine.

Although I'm not as much of a Francophile as I once was, I still love French food... on the rare occasions when I get to eat it. Do you know what I eat much more often, like several times per week? I don't know what my diet would look like without Italian food. I grew up eating it. It's a staple of my diet. Italian food is just "food" to me. Easy choice.

Tattoos; Piercings.

Neither? If I had to get one, hmm... Probably a piercing because it would be much easier to undo. But if I had to keep it permanently, a tattoo for sure. Less obstructive and I can forget that it's there.

Cadillac; Corvette.

I've been very lucky to have had a couple of luxury cars in my life, both inherited, and they were definitely a pleasure to drive. But Cadillacs specifically are kind of boxy and undistinguished to me; it's a brand that seems to me to have lost its luster, or perhaps I'm just not their target demographic. A Corvette is still very appealing to me, though I don't know if I could comfortably squeeze into it. Whichever one I fit is a hit.

Winning everything or being right about everything.

I've heard versions of this choice before, and I like it. It's a good way to frame what's really important in life. I think of it as, "Do you want to win the argument, or do you want to get the best possible outcome?" I have very little competitiveness in me (though I do enjoy an occasional win now and then), so I don't care about who comes out on top in a conflict. I don't even necessarily care about getting what I want, unless I'm especially passionate about it. I just want the best decision to be made with the best outcomes for all parties. Convince me that I'm wrong and I'll join your cause any day.

Loving your neighbor or loving yourself.

Another great question. My instincts are to love my neighbor first. As a liberal, I'd gladly pay more in taxes if the money went to help people who have urgent needs beyond their means, but it's more than just philosophical. Someone pointed out that I spend all of my time taking care of other people, whether it's important stuff like helping family or just running games online or offline for other people's enjoyment. Even when I play a game alone, it tends to be something like The Sims where I'm helping imaginary people solve their problems. However, it's been pointed out to me that I don't spend enough time on my own emotional needs, and that's a contributing factor to my eating disorder, since food fills the emotional void for me. I've been working more in the last couple of years on putting myself first sometimes, taking breaks to take care of myself, and it feels good if a little selfish. So if I had to pick one, I'd pick the former, but I'd say the latter shouldn't be entirely ruled out.

Exploring the world or studying science.

I'd love to study science, but I tune out as soon as it gets into numbers and math, when interesting ideas turn into boring data. I watch science documentaries and read science articles, and that's enough exposure for me. Traveling the world and seeking out new places, while expensive and occasionally risky, is far more appealing I think.

Chris: Blues or Cards. You can only support one team. Go.

Samir: This is a weird one, but let's try it. Through some bizarre quirk, you become president, but you have to keep either Mike Pompeo or William Barr in his current role working for you. Choose one.

Steve: I don't know if you missed my challenge or skipped it, so here's another one: Rubber Soul or Revolver.

Samir Mehta | February 18, 2020
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Steve West | February 19, 2020
Sorry, I did miss your earlier challenge. Winning either is awesome, of course, but I find Rock Block Tournaments are a tad - just a tad - more special to me. As for the Beatles, you've asked me to choose between my favorite albums 1A and 1B. As a whole, I'd choose Rubber Soul because the songs on the album are consistently good. It's ironic that Here, There and Everywhere from Revolver was the song Brenda agreed could serve as our first wedding dance; In My Life from Rubber Soul will be the music played for Lauren and I for the father/daughter dance at her wedding in July.

Erik Bates | February 19, 2020
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Steve West | February 19, 2020
Puns by far.

Steve West | February 19, 2020
Samir: Near v. Minnesota; Gideon v. Wainwright

Chris Lemler | February 19, 2020
If its alright I prefer Schnucks. Erik Three Stooges ; Wwe

Chris Lemler | February 19, 2020
Steve, Baseball ; Football

Steve West | February 19, 2020
Tough to choose football when the home team is doing so poorly combined with it being the most overregulated sport on the planet. But baseball is just so tarnished that it really produces few, if any, heroes anymore. I would hesitantly say football.

Erik Bates | February 19, 2020
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Chris Lemler | February 19, 2020
Erik Christmas ; Thanksgiving

Erik Bates | February 20, 2020
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Samir Mehta | February 20, 2020
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Scott Hardie | February 21, 2020
I'd take a Florida summer over an Illinois winter in a heartbeat. I live in a coastal town, where there's a constant breeze coming in from the water, so it doesn't feel too hot at worst. I read somewhere that in its recorded history, Sarasota has only had three days that reached 100 degrees, and it has never exceeded that temperature. I'm not thrilled about the summer heat and humidity and threat of hurricane, but it's way better than the brutal cold that I remember from winters up north, where i could feel the chill in my bones and it felt like I could never get warm. I hated that feeling, and while I'm willing to visit, I'll never live somewhere with that kind of winter again.

Chris Lemler | February 21, 2020
Scott Funeratic ; or RPG

Scott Hardie | February 21, 2020
Funeratic, all day, every day. No contest. :-) I have had some happy experiences with tabletop RPGs, but they take a lot of work for not nearly as much fun, and after the ten-year marathon of Gothic Earth, I probably won't ever run another campaign.

Chris: Live in a habitat on the Moon, or live in one at the bottom of the ocean.

Erik: Become a vampire or a werewolf, with all of the pros and cons of each typically depicted in pop culture.

Samir: Take the red pill and discover some horrible truth about reality, or take the blue pill and go on blissfully ignorant in a fake life.

Steve: Take an all-expense-paid vacation to Rome, or one to Paris.

Chris Lemler | February 21, 2020
That's a tough call i've been in the ocean but it could be too dangerous underwater so I would have to say habitat on the moon so I can say I walked on it

Steve West | February 21, 2020
Paris in a landslide. Rome is on my bucket list but Paris...

Samir Mehta | February 21, 2020
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Erik Bates | February 25, 2020
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