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poll

This vs. That: Pancakes vs. Cereal

As I tallied the votes on this debate, I suppose I was not surprised. Disappointed would be a better word for it. But here, I’ll let you see for yourself:

Total votes: 15

Pancakes: 9 votes; 60%
Cereal: 5 votes; 33%
Smoothie: 1 vote; 7%

Cereal, people! Cereal. How could you not choose it? So quick to fix. So many different flavors! Good at all hours, night or day. In fact, just typing this up is making me want some.

But you. With your fixation on steamy, butter-melting, syrupy gooey pancakes. Sheer disappointment, that. And a smoothie? I just can’t even. (You know I’m teasing, right Amy?)

On the bright side? More cereal for me! Because I want all the cereal. All of it!

And now, in the spirit of the Olympics, on to the next debate:

Snowboarding

vs.

Skiing

Speak up:

7 comments

| TAGS:

Cold Cereal, Pancakes, poll, Skiing, Smoothies, Snowboarding, This vs. That

Character Writer or Plot Writer

A few years back I went to a conference, and Shannon Hale asked this question of us: Are you a character writer or a plot writer? Do you come up with characters and then discover their story? Or do you think of a fascinating plot or situation and build from there?

At the time, I wasn’t sure. I debated the finer points of my writing style, but couldn’t decide. Now I laugh at myself for that.

I am a character writer all the way. I discover a character, and then I learn their story through painstaking effort. Painstaking, I tell you. I have to work hard for that plot.

So what are you?

Speak up:

24 comments

| TAGS:

character writer, plot writer, poll, Shannon Hale, vote

No Contest

Honestly, you guys. I really thought the results of the last poll would be a little closer! So here we are:

Total votes: 25

Cruise: 3 votes; 12%

Hawaii: 20 votes; 80%
Cruise TO Hawaii: 1 vote; 4%
Neither: 1 vote; 4%

Though I was leaning towards Hawaii (because it was my favorite vacation EVER), I felt so bad for the cruise that I had to add my vote there. I’m a sucker for underdogs.

And with  the smell of Autumn in the air, I couldn’t resist the next debate:

Fall

Spring

Speak up:

19 comments

| TAGS:

cruise, fall, hawaii, poll, spring

Mistletoe: Really?

I think it’s a rule that you have to include a mistletoe scene in every Christmas movie you make. In fact, I just watched Donald and Daisy kiss under the mistletoe. But I have to wonder, does it ever happen in real life? Does it take away my mystique to confess that I have never kissed anyone under the mistletoe? Okay, so I won’t confess, but you get my point.

You do get it . . . right?

So, in the spirit of polling (once you start, it’s hard to stop), I want to know if mistletoe is just a movie thing, or if it’s actually used in real life. Look to the right margin to vote.

And not to break a newly formed tradition, a bit of mistletoe trivia: While mistletoe can grow on its own, it is more often a parasitic plant (i.e. it preys on the good graces of other plants, usually trees). In Europe, mistletoe produces white, sticky berries which are “considered to be” poisonous (whatever that means). And last but not least, in Scandinavia, mistletoe was considered a “peace plant” and thus, spouses who had argued could kiss and make up under it. In medieval Eurpe, however, mistletoe was hung in doorways to ward off witches. What to make of that . . .

Speak up:

comment

| TAGS:

donald duck, mistletoe, poll

Poll results:

Even though 58% of those polled do NOT like cranberries, 90% reported serving them at Thanksgiving.

My interpretation of this data:

1. We’re tradition-driven.

2. We’re catering to the few.

3. You had leftovers of the cranberry sauce/relish/jelly (whatever you want to call it.)

4. This could very well be a snapshot of society-at-large. 😉

5. Cranberries just don’t taste very good.

6. We all gained weight over Thanksgiving . . . wait! That’s not related . . .

7. There is a conspiracy by cranberry growers to brainwash Americans into believing we MUST have cranberries at Thanksgiving.

Anyhow, these are just my biased, first-glance findings. Please share your own interpretation, I’d love to hear.

And as a little factoid, did you know that polls suggest that as many as 80% of Americans believe JFK’s assassination was a conspiracy? Important information, people. Right here.

Speak up:

2 comments

| TAGS:

cranberry, JFK, poll, Thanksgiving

Cranberries: A Poll

So I just spent the last hour serving Cranberry Sauce (though it looks more like Cranberry Jelly) in the cafeteria of London’s elementary school for their Thanksgiving dinner. I found it very interesting to see who took it and who didn’t. Here’s what I noted:

– Cranberry Sauce is an extreme dish, meaning that people either love it or hate it.

– On average, only about 1 in 10 people took it.

– Like or dislike had no apparent tie to ethnicity or culture (and there’s a broad range in London’s school).

– The universal sign for dislike is wrinkling up your nose.

Then suddenly I was curious about the whole cranberry phenomenon. Why do we always serve this dish at Thanksgiving dinner when only 1 in 10 people eat it anyway?

And having just asked, “Would you like Cranberry Sauce?” a hundred times or so in the cafeteria, I feel like I’ve already conducted a poll, so I thought, “Why not? I’ll put a poll on my blog!”

So here’s the question:

Cranberry Sauce: yes or no?

And as a follow-up:

Does your family include it as part of Thanksgiving?

Please weigh in on the issue (see sidebar poll). This is important stuff!

And just as a little tidbit about cranberries, did you know that cranberries are native to northeast North America? They grow from the mountains of Georgia to the Canadian Maritimes. And in 1620, the Pilgrims learned to use them from the Native Americans who used them as food, dyes, and medicines.

Now you’re smarter for having visited my blog. 🙂

Speak up:

5 comments

| TAGS:

cranberry, poll, sauce, Thanksgiving