Party of Five Things

Much to some readers' potential dismay this post will have nothing to do with the show from the Nineties featuring Jennifer Love, Neve, Lacey, and some dudes I haven't seen since. I was not a fan of this show and didn't watch it much so thank your lucky stars that I decided not to write about old episodes. I hold out hope that this post will be more interesting than something about PO5.

The folks over at Nuts and Boaltsbrought this to my attention. The object is to "List five things that people in your circle of friends or peer group are wild about, but you can't really understand the fuss over." As pointed out on Nuts and Boalts, this task is significantly more difficult that addressing generally popular crazes. I tend to appreciate what my friends are crazy about but I will give this challenge a try anyway.

1. Newspapers other than NYT and (well the Chicago Tribune and the Star Tribune) I wish I were smart enough to read papers like the Washington Post or the Financial Times. Confession: I bore immediately at the sight of those peach pages. I suppose most of this probably boils down to an affinity for hometown newspapers but I don't see why I should read anything beyond the New York Times. I'm sure this opinion is open to much critique and ridicule but I posit that all the rest of the news that's worth reading is found within the pages of sweet sweet US Weekly. If I could only find my own insider "source" for celebrity gossip I could stop guiltily stocking up on US and In Touch whenever I'm in an airport. On that note, I'm looking forward to my flights this weekend despite the fact that I'm paying a ridiculous amount for approximately 30 hours in one of my less favorite States. I digress.
2. Gin. I swear it tastes like Pine Sol. Disgusting. Perhaps I and gin are something like the poor souls who detest cilantro and claim they don't have "the gene" for it.
3. Fancy cell phones. It's all about functionality people. With digital cameras who needs crappy picture phones? After all, if you're not in LA you're unlikely to run into any celebs on the street. Also, the advent of digital cameras has done nothing but proliferate the number of crappy photos of me. Somehow, on a digital camera it is easier to catch me chewing, with my butt in the air, or generally looking doofy than with conventional cameras. For that reason, cell phone cameras and fancy phones have got to go.
4. Intellectual Property (or fighting that whole notion of IP). To be honest, I'm starting to get this craze. I definitely respect my friends who study the field and know it well. When I came to Boalt though, I had no idea what I was getting myself into.
5. Driving. Although I haven't tried driving since I was 15 in a parking lot with an ex, I stand behind my assertion that driving is overrated. While public transportation can be smelly and inconvenient, it instills great virtues of patience, focus, and navigation in its devoted users. I wouldn't trade my AC Transit for a car and am proud of my little baby bike too. Not many of my friends in the Bay Area, or in Minneapolis for that matter drive often, but I am one of the few and proud who don't drive at all. [Hopefully, this will change soon. I've got to learn but want to go out proud.]