Questions of the Week

1. Is it okay to laugh at racist jokes in movies, if the movie was made before racism was frowned upon?
Added by: WildeLover

2. Do you think music is done evolving?
Added by: dalejurney

3. Will you dye eggs for Easter?
Added by: Pendergast

4. Do you regret what you named your YT screen-name?
Added by: oh_phuck

5. Do you trust your government?
Added by: Wanderer

1. Which Super Hero are you?
Added by: THE_O

2. What kind of shoe are you?
Added by: rw95

3. Which Halo 3 character are you?
Added by: kack2912

4. Which Get Fuzzy Character Are You?
Added by: Mishazzi

5. How FAKE are You?
Added by: snowmanshoes

Funniest Comments of the Week

Random Journal:
IloveuGod: Matthew 11:28- Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Jesus is that pillow. Jesus is the rest. Why is it difficult for some people to rest?
er...: The other night I had a dream that I was eating a giant marshmallow. when I woke up, my jesus was gone.

In a thread titled 'Dad kills girl for texting':
heatherlw: Um... couldn't he have just taken away her cell phone?
TheKaiser: Then she wouldn't have gotten the message.

From the General thread "I think it is wrong to name children.. ":
Mizu: I once took a 13 hour long haul flight to Thailand. Upon landing in Bangkok, I took a 10 hour coach ride south. From there a two hour ferry ride to Ko Samui, and from there a half hour sail boat trip to Ko Pang Gang. Upon arrival on Ko Pang Gang, we took a two hour hike through jungle, to arrive at some huts built into the side of the cliff face - huts we would call home for the next few days. We met the guy who lived there ...who went barefoot everywhere and wore only dirty, tatty shorts. over twenty four hours solid travelling, further away from any idea of civilisation I had ever been. We asked him what his name was. He told us. It was Tony.

In the thread in news commemorating the death of the creator of Dungeons and Dragons, Gary Gygax:
Boredofu: The vision of Noldor, Dacash and Wertzro as nerdy college RPG'ers is illuminating. Particularly Noldor instantly regressing to type by the use of the word awesome.
wertzro: Who said anything about nerdy? I played sports, had good grades, that was another way to relax *stuffs BOU into a bag of holding*
Boredofu: Unleashes 40 armies from Kamchatka into Alaska and destroys your continent.
smilodan: You can't win a land war in Asia. INCONCEIVEABLE!

In a thread in Music, where it was rumoured that a band named "Boys night out" were breaking up:
pennywise: That's normally the fate of boy bands. They break up after one hit song, because they can't decide who will be who's butt buddy.
kit_kat_428: I am doubting you really know who they are...Real useful there.
Jesse: That's normally the fate of emo bands. They break up after one hit song, because they can't decide who will be who's cut buddy.

Joke of the Week

Grandma

A 5-year-old boy went to visit his grandmother one day. Playing with his toys in her bedroom while grandma was dusting, he looked up and said, "Grandma, how come you don't have a boyfriend now that Grandpa went to heaven?"

Grandma replied, "Honey, my TV is my boyfriend. I can sit in my bedroom and watch it all day long. The religious programs make me feel good and the comedies make me laugh. I'm happy with my TV as my boyfriend."

Grandma turned on the TV, and the reception was terrible. She started adjusting the knobs, trying to get the picture in focus. Frustrated, she started hitting the backside of the TV hoping to fix the problem.

The little boy heard the doorbell ring, so he hurried to open the door and there stood grandma's minister. The minister said, "Hello son, is your grandma home?"

The little boy replied, "Yeah, she's in the bedroom bangin' her boyfriend."

Member of the Week

The member of the week is NarcoticNico. A member since January 2008, Nico recently won the KeyKwest 2008 contest. Run by former MOTW Bookworm.RLB, the contest featured dozens of contestants, but Nico won after enterering it late and getting more movie quotes correct than any other. Congrats!

JoeInterview's Member Feature

This week's interview features pepperdrinks. This interview was conducted by chips2001, Amyla516, and travbowman.

JoeInterview: How did you find YT?

pepperdrinks: It was so long ago, but I think I found it through IAB or some such website for general boredom. I remember thinking that it was a unique sort of place... the combination of forum and polls. And I liked the people I met, so I kept coming back.

JI: What forums do you spend the majority of your time in, and why?

PD: I actually spend time lurking all of the forums. As you can tell by my post count, I don't always have a lot to say... and a lot of that is that I enjoy reading the debates that other people are having. The forums I spend time actually posting in are Music and Questions. Also a bit in Generals and OS. Music, in particular, is a favorite place to be. I was a choral singer all through school, and have always solace in music in general. Plus, we've got some great music experts in Matthias and jdappleton.... travbowman and Abzurd. Just a bunch of people who really know their stuff.

JI: What sort of music has been getting the most play from you lately?

PD: I've been listening to a bunch of different stuff lately. I'm getting back into some things I haven't heard in awhile, like XTC. I've always really enjoyed New Wave... that kind of lyrically interesting, experimental sound. The XTC album Drums and Wires is an all-time favorite. Recently, I've been going back through all of the Ben Folds stuff I have and giving it another listen.

And klezmer... secular Jewish music. I'm a fan of The Klezmatics, who are more of a klemzer fusion band. They take traditional Yiddish tunes and combine them with music from other cultures. They did an album that incorporated the work of Woody Guthrie that was quite good.

Also, Australian pop singer Sia Furler. I've been getting into her stuff as well. She has released, I think, three albums? She's known for working with the group Zero 7 and also for having a song used on Six Feet Under called "Breathe Me." I've picked up two of her albums and am really enjoying them so far.

JI: What are you currently doing job-wise?

PD: I'm a vault clerk on the graveyard shift at a casino. We count money and chips... send deposits to the bank... make sure all the different departments have the money and chips they need to function... sort through money and send "ugly" money to the bank. It is one of the better jobs I've ever had. The late hours really work for me... I'm an insomniac and always have been. And the job is pretty consistent. It is the same nearly every night. For some reason, this isn't as boring as it should be.

I'll be with this job until later this month. I'm moving from California to Missouri to be nearer to members of my family I've never gotten to spend any time with in person, like my sister. Who knows what I'll be doing then...

JI: So a heist like Ocean's 11...could it ever be pulled off?

PD: I don't know... probably? The security is good, but I doubt it is impenetrable. And it might just be the fact that I don't work for a Vegas casino, but it just wouldn't be as cool and glamorous as in the movies. No fancy steel doors and pressurized floors... laser systems and passwords that change on the hour. I wasn't expecting all of that, but I wasn't exactly expecting what the vault is really like either. I was, at the very least, expecting a windowless room, which it isn't.

JI: What do you anticipate will be your biggest adjustment in moving to Missouri?

PD: It will be hard to be so far away from the family I'm close to here. My parents are here... and the siblings that I did grow up knowing. At the same time, my closest family member is the sister I'm going to be living with in Missouri. We've spent a total of maybe five hours together in person in my entire life. And that will probably be an adjustment: Having a relationship that isn't by phone.

Also... just the differences between living in Missouri and living in California, whatever those end up being. I live in the more religious conservative part of California, the part that's two hours from the beach. It is farm country out here. I'm hoping Missouri isn't so unlike this place I'm used to.

JI: You've been a YTer for a LONG time. How have you changed in that time?

PD: Wow... I've changed quite a bit, actually. It has been five years and during that time, I went through my big moving-away-from-home rebellion. That is to say... I drank a lot and was generally self-destructive. I don't exactly regret that time, but I'm happy to have moved on and become a bit more adult. I've gone from having no clear idea where I'd like my life to head to having actual wants and a plan to get them. I was still claiming to be straight five years ago. I've since come out to most of my family, all of my friends, and been in a few relationships.

As far as YT goes, I probably posted a lot more in the beginning. I left for a bit and when I came back, I became a bit more anonymous. I'm actually surprised that I'm being interviewed because I feel like I don't really put myself out there for people to get to know, something I've been trying to change lately.

JI: You said you have a plan [or at least a bit of one]. What do you want out of life?

PD: I've always wanted to be a writer. When I was younger, the dream involved fame and fortune and that sort of thing, but as I've gotten older, I've realized that what I really want is to be successful enough in my own little niche that I can write and it will be enough to pay the bills.

I've become fascinated over the past few years by comedy writers who start as improv performers... people like Amy Sedaris and Stephen Colbert. I ultimately want to go to New York and take improv classes. I'm writing now, but I'd love to see the way that my literary voice will change as I develop as an improv performer.

My sister, who is a teacher, has been using improv games in her classes. We're planning to go to New York together. She'd like to see how incorporating improv into her English classes will continue to help her students become better writers.

So... Missouri for a few years, then New York. Improv classes, writing. And a girlfriend would not be out of the question.

JI: What does your religion mean to you?

PD: At the moment, not a lot. I was in the process of converting to Judaism, but have had sort of a lapse of faith in recent months. I tend to just say that I'm religiously searching. I enjoy studying different world religions, but have always had a difficult time finding a true connection to any one of them.

JI: What sort of spiritual influences did you have growing up?

PD: Hmmm... My parents are what I've always called "vaguely Christian." They would talk occasionally of a belief in God and would pray from time to time, but both were so tired on the weekend that going to church was completely out of the question. I'm not even sure what Christian denomination they are... I don't think they know either.

In fact, I went to church so rarely that I remember the exact number of times - twice. I went once with my grandparents when I was very young and once with a friend in high school. Both times I remember being bored, the second time accompanied by a sense of complete discomfort. I felt like I didn't belong there.

Honestly, my biggest religious influence was probably my birth mother, who has been largely absent from my life. She was not the best of people for a long time... she did a lot of pretty terrible things. And then she found God one weekend at some tent revival sort of thing and turned her life around. She runs a small ministry now... And that's all good, of course. She isn't doing the hurtful stuff she did when I was a kid. At the same time, I think I've been subconsciously mad at God ever since.

JI: Was it easy to integrate your birth mother into your family structure after such an absence?

PD: No, and she doesn't really have a place in my life now. When I was 14, I decided that I needed to take some time with her out of my life. I told her that, and we didn't communicate again until I was 18. We started to talk at that point, and it wasn't bad at first. We saw each other a few times and spoke on the phone. Just when I was started to come out to people in my early 20s, she decided that many of the people in her family were not religious/moral enough for her and that she needed to stop talking to them. She didn't do that to me, even upon finding out about my homosexuality, but the fact that she has done it to family members I care about has made it difficult. I know that if I were not this daughter she has been trying to reconnect with, if I were anyone else at all, she'd have cut me off too. It doesn't sit well with me. We don't really talk now.

JI: Personality-wise, do you take after your mum, your dad, or both?

PD: I take quite a bit after my dad. He and I have the same sort of dry sense of humor. I developed my music tastes based on his. He's really good with cars and at building things, and I'm very good with electronics. I think I got that ability to understand how things work from him. We don't have the same political opinions, but we're both passionate about those opinions. The passion came from him.

I have less in common with my mom (stepmom). We both really love to cook. That's about it.

JI: What's the best dish that you make?

PD: Wow... I don't know. I like to bake. I make good cakes and cookies. I find baking relaxing when I'm particularly stressed out.

I've been learning how to make Indian and Filipino food. There aren't any Indian restaurants where I currently live and there aren't any Filipino restaurants in the place I'm moving to, so I'm having to learn how to make my favorites. I made shahi paneer, which is a fried cheese in a sort of gravy. It turned out pretty good, actually. And the Filipino stuff isn't too hard so far... I've only really made pancit though, which is just noodles.

JI: How did you get introduced to Indian food?

PD: A friend took me to an Indian place while on a trip to San Francisco a few years back. I like to get foods that aren't available where I live while on trips like that. In San Francisco in particular, I always go for Indian food, Caribbean food, Thai food... There's a great Ethiopian place on Haight Street.

I'm not really into cheeseburgers and fries, steak and potatoes, that sort of thing.

JI: Outside of the food, what's the best part about visiting San Francisco?

b>PD: Oh wow... Everything? Can I say that? I have had the best experiences of my life in San Francisco. I love the different neighborhoods. I love how you can just walk from neighborhood to neighborhood with endless amounts of stuff to do and fantastic places to eat. I feel my most comfortable there... People just don't care what you look like or what you're doing.

I love to take a train up there (cheaper than driving) and stay with a friend... Just wander around. Stay away from tourist stuff as most of it isn't as cool as what you'll find in other parts of the city. I've been to concerts there... book signings. I love that place.

JI: Where have you never visited that you're just dying to see?

PD: New York City. I have become so obsessed with New York City in recent years. The neighborhoods, theater, comedy clubs, restaurants.... all of it. I've lived in California for my entire life and only seen states along the Southern part of the US.

I'd also love to visit England... India perhaps. These are places that intrigue me.

JI: Give me a reason as to why it's great to be pepperdrinks.

PD: Hmmm... That's a tough one. I'm a special snowflake. I probably wouldn't have said that it is great to be pepperdrinks a few years ago, but now... I've got a plan for myself. I know what I want to do. I'm happy enough with who I am that I'm not out there trying to be someone else to impress other people. It's a good position to be in.

JI: I love your choice of favourite movie. Rear Window is such a great movie. How did you discover it, and what does it do for you?

PD: When I was home from school on summer vacations, I spent a lot of time watching classic movies on TV because I couldn't really go anywhere during the day. I watched Rear Window when I was in junior high and was just fascinated by it. I loved the idea of interesting action played on screen without dialogue.... just little snippets of people's lives through a window, through one man's eyes. Also... playing with the notion of the strange noises you hear from the house across the way or the strange things you observe your neighbors doing. What if the random conclusions your mind can leap to end up being the truth?

JI: Who would you say is the modern day Hitchcock?

PD: Oh wow.... No such thing. I don't feel like there is a director/writer out there at the moment capable of crafting a thriller that touches on what we are really afraid of like Hitchcock could. The horror flicks and thrillers of today rely on our visceral reactions.... Show us blood and gore to shock us into being frightened. I don't enjoy those films at all.

There are directors working today that I find fascinating. Wes Anderson's stuff is fantastic. Michel Gondry is another whose work interests me. He has a particularly quirky vision that I enjoy seeing translated to film. But modern day Hitchcock? I don't see one.

JI: What's been your favourite Wes Anderson film so far?

PD: I love Rushmore. I've enjoyed every film, but Rushmore was the first one I saw. It was the one that got me hooked... and it remains my favorite. The character of Max Fischer was such a perfect anti-hero. I love characters who are complicated in such a way that you can't decide for sure whether or not you like them. And Jason Schwartzman was spot-on. Bill Murray was also quite brilliant. The work he has done in Wes Anderson films has been his best, in my opinion.

JI: What is the most popular misconception about you?

PD: That my username has anything to do with Dr. Pepper? I don't actually know the answer to this. I don't really pay attention to what others think of me.

JI: So what is the story behind your username?

PD: It is such a silly thing... and proof that you should be careful when picking your username because you'll be stuck with it.

I was high school choir and we used to go on these weekend retreats. One morning at breakfast, my best friend at the time was being particularly irritating and someone put pepper in her hot cocoa. She caught him doing it and said she'd still drink it, no matter what he did to it. So we ended up adding whatever we could find to it.... ketchup, mustard, yogurt, soda. And she drank it. We called it a pepperdrink.

I was trying to come up with something that no one else would possibly have. This is the only website where I use this name now... I've since moved on to better names.

JI: Any parting words of wisdom for your fellow YTers?

PD: I think I'm too young to be wise. That could be my answer maybe... 26 is too young to be wise.

This week's article is titled 'Woman sat on toilet for 2 years', and the thread was posted by Cindy_.

This week's link is titled 'If Celebs Moved to Oklahoma', and the link was posted by anthropology.

Best Avatar of the Week	Best Profile Design of the Week
Pandora_03	"Indian Summer (VinA-gfxartist)" by Kiomi

Article of the Week

Newbie's thoughts on the people behind the persona
Excerpt: I'm new to YT (yeah, I know, don't post anywhere that you're new) .. but I'm new to this site, though I'm not new to online chat forums. It surprises me that people think they know the people they chat with.

Written by VoyConU

Check it all out at YouThink.com!