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This vs. That

This vs. That: Snowboarding vs. Skiing

So I haven’t done this in forever, but I’m feeling in the mood for something light and fun, so here we go. Drumroll, please!

Skiing? Snowboarding? What did the masses choose? . . .

Total votes: 13

Snowboarding: 5 votes; 38%
Skiing: 8 votes; 62%
I voted skiing because I have never been snowboarding, but I’m kindof curious to try it. And at the same time, maybe not interested enough to give up my skis. Because I’m pretty good on skis. So why give up proficiency to learn something new, right? Okay, not right, but there we are.

How about you? If given the chance, would you try something new, or go with the tried and true? Gee, maybe that should be the next This vs. That! (Except I have a better one . . .)

Speak up:

3 comments

| TAGS:

Orioles, Royals, Skiing, Snowboarding, This vs. That, trying new things

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

This vs. That: Potato Chips vs. Cheese Puffs

I really meant to get to this a long time ago. And I could sling excuses all over the place in explanation, BUT . . . I know you’re all dying to hear the results of this debate. Dying!

And I cannot in good conscious be the cause of anyone’s early demise, so here we go:

Total votes: 13

Potato Chips: 9 votes; 69%
Cheese Puffs: 3 votes; 23%
Popcorn: 1 vote; 8%
Interesting. Everyone had an opinion. Not one person was split or wanted to vote for both. I place the blame entirely on the powdered cheese. It has a polarizing effect kind of like Hilary Clinton. Either you love, love, love it, or you can’t stand it. No middle ground involved.

I voted for potato chips, but I confess that watching Toy Story 2 kind of makes me want to inhale a bowl or two of cheese puffs. Gross, I know. Which in the end is why potato chips won.

Another interesting note on this topic is that they have inverted initials: PC (Potato Chips) vs. CP (Cheese Puffs). Funny, huh? AND both initials stand for something else. PC: Politically Correct OR Personal Computer. CP: Critique Partner.

If I had noticed the initial thing sooner, I might have chosen Cheese Puffs solely for the preferable word association. Because I LOVE my critique partners. Hi guys! *waves at all my CP’s*

Alas I digress.

So on to the next debate:

Cold Cereal

vs.

Pancakes

Speak up:

7 comments

| TAGS:

Cheese Puffs, Cold Cereal, Hilary Clinton, Pancakes, Potato Chips, This vs. That

This vs. That: Cats vs. Dogs

Wow it has been forever-and-a-day since I did one of these. Have I really been that distracted? (And uh, no need to answer that.)

So I went back to tally the votes on cats vs. dogs, and what I am really learning is that I need to stop with the pre-conceived notions thing. I TOTALLY thought this vote would go a certain direction and it did not. So lets see those results and then have a chat.

Total votes: 27

Cats: 13 votes; 48%
Dogs: 8 votes; 29%
Raccoons: 1 vote; 4%
Both: 4 votes; 15%
Neither: 1 vote; 4%

I was certain, certain!, dogs would take this thing. Hands down. And yet here we are. So I want to break this down. WHY did I have that mistaken notion? Was it because I simply don’t know my readers well enough? Am I unfairly biased against cats? Was I brainwashed by an evil dog-lover?

Surely not! And I have a theory. When was the last time you saw an unfavorable portrayal of a dog in a movie? Or even in a book. I mean, they must exist, right? But I can’t think of one. Perhaps part of it is that Cats and Dogs has been in my car DVD player of late and therefore watched a bajillion times or so (well, heard, as the case may be). But that movie is simply evidence of the stereotype that has been perpetuated over the years that dogs are loving and loyal and inherently good, whereas cats are selfish devils surely working on some sinister plot.

Lady and the Tramp. 101 Dalmations. Old Yeller. Lassie. Air Bud. Beethoven. The list goes on.

My husband brought up Aristocats, but not one of Disney’s more successful films. Am I missing something? What are your thoughts? Is it a conspiracy? Have dogs taken over the media?

Okay, so I’ll step off my soap box now and move on (and no, I’m not telling you what I voted for because I fear backlash).

Anyhoo, next debate (in honor of the upcoming Superbowl):

Speak up:

13 comments

| TAGS:

cats, Cheese Puffs, dogs, Lady and the Tramp, Potato Chips, Superbowl, This vs. That

This vs. That: Stay-up-late vs. Get-up-early

First, I want to thank everyone for their great reading suggestions from last week. In fact, I think you are inspiring me to add another page to my blog. Something along the lines of “Book Suggestions.” The idea is definitely swirling in my brain.

Now on to the subject at hand as a This vs. That post is LONG overdue. So, without further ado, I will jump to the numbers. As you recall, we were debating the finer points of staying up late vs. getting up early:

Total votes: 21

Stay up late: 10 votes; 47%
Get up early: 7 votes; 33%
Neither: 2 votes; 10%
Both: 2 votes; 10%

Clearly we have a couple of crazies with us. Both? Egad you two are gluttons for punishment. At the very least, I hope you sneak in a nap somewhere. OR, I guess if you have superpowers, that would work, too.

Ooh! Random thought: Next time someone asks, “If you could choose any superpower, what would it be?” I am totally choosing the superpower of not needing sleep. Wouldn’t that be awesome??? Think about how much you could accomplish!

Okay, okay, back to the subject . . . Other than those two bizarre votes, these results are as they should be (so hopefully you can guess where I voted). As one commenter said (and I’m paraphrasing), the glory of staying up late is that you have this huge supply of extra time you can take advantage of! And don’t we all need extra time? (*wink,wink*)

On the other hand, if you get up early, the day starts at the same time, just like every other morning and you get no extra time. Why not? Because you had to get up early to make up for the lost time of going to bed early. Seriously. Think about that.

But not for too long, because you have to make some decisions on the next debate:

Speak up:

28 comments

| TAGS:

bedtime, cats, dogs, superpowers, This vs. That

This vs. That: Oranges vs. Apples

They may say you can’t compare Apples and Oranges, but we, here on this blog, have proven them wrong. (I have no idea who “they” and “them” are, but whoever you are, you’re wrong!) Apples and Oranges can, indeed, be compared. And here’s our results:

Total votes: 22

Apples: 7 votes; 31%
Oranges: 10 votes; 45%
Neither: 1 vote; 5%
Refuse to take sides: 1 vote; 5%
Depends: 2 votes; 9%
Chocolate: 1 vote; 5%

Ah, but you guys bring me joy with your reasoning. Though I now fear that all my future polls will get at least one vote for chocolate . . . you know who you are! And I can hear a mini avalanche of apples and oranges dropping to the ground while the rest of you change your vote.

So enough asides. My vote went to Oranges. Why? Because as messy as the are, the thought of a sweet juicy orange bursting in my mouth just makes me happy.

Now on to the next debate:



Courtesy of DailyClipArt.net



Speak up:

21 comments

| TAGS:

Apples, Chocolate, Oranges, This vs. That

This vs. That: Resolutions vs. No Resolutions

Of all the polls I’ve done, this one surprised me the most. In truth, I thought this would be a ‘no contest’ event, but boy was I wrong. However, I found it fascinating to hear about all of your opinions on resolutions and goal-setting. Good stuff!

But lets get to the interesting stuff:

Total votes: 17

Resolutions: 8 votes; 47%
No Resolutions: 9 votes; 53%

I really thought that while people might ignore resolutions or #fail at them (it just sounds cool to add the pound sign), most people would be pro-resolutions. So yes, I voted in favor of them.

However, I forgot to consider that most of my readers are writers. I should have realized that semantics would play into this. Unlike most people in the world, we writers make the distinction between goals and resolutions.

Nit-picky bunch, aren’t we?

That said, I have a feeling that if I did Goals vs. Resolutions, Goals would win hands down. They seem to be preferred based on all your comments.

Okay. Now on to the next debate:

Speak up:

22 comments

| TAGS:

Apples, Goals, New Year's Resolutions, Oranges, This vs. That

This vs. That: The Grinch vs. Ebenezer Scrooge

First a quick note on the Chocolate-less Chocolate Chip Cookies. I read through all your votes and I was going to add them all up . . . but the double votes, and vote changes, and blah, blah, blah, and my head started pounding. Which is why I up and decided to use my dictatorship authority to choose.

SO . . . the new name for Chocolate-less Chocolate Chip Cookies is now:

Because that’s just funny. But I give a close second to Choc-less Chip Cookies, because how clever is that? I love me a good word-play! (Now I guess you all know that funny trumps clever over here . . .)

Anyway, on to the vote I think this was a record low for the number of votes on one of these, but I completely blame myself as I fell off the map for most of December. Or I could assume that the responsibility of the decision was just too much so no one voted.

Yeah . . .

That’s it. 😉

Aaaand on to the results:

Total votes: 15 

How the Grinch Stole Christmas: 7 votes; 47%
A Christmas Carol: 8 votes; 53%

I love both of these, but ultimately I went with the Grinch because of the simplicity of it all. Being the simple person that I am . . . this story never fails to hit me deep down. Make me wonder how I’d react if all my stuff were stolen (uh . . . spoiler alert? But seriously, who hasn’t read this thing or heard it in some form?). And on Christmas day no less! This book makes me want to be a better person.

Now, on to the next debate:

(So, I couldn’t come up with a good picture for these, so just bear with me here. Boring to look at, but the debate is still just as real. Right?!)

Speak up:

19 comments

| TAGS:

A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens, Dr. Seuss, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, New Year's Resolutions, This vs. That

This vs. That: Chocolate Chip Cookies vs. Sugar Cookies

Hello, hello! I’m so happy to be back. Especially because today is a This vs. That post. AND we had a record number of votes. So very awesome.

However, I find the results somewhat disappointing. I mean, really people. Does chocolate truly throw all other considerations out the window? But I digress. On to the results:

Total votes: 35 

Sugar Cookies: 10 votes; 29%
Chocolate Chip Cookies: 25 votes; 71%

Of those who voted for chocolate chip:
ONLY if gooey: 2 votes; 8% (of the 25 who voted for ChC)
ONLY if crispy/dunkable: 1 vote; 4%
Coated with a layer of chocolate: 1 vote; 4%

I had to add the subcategories, because I found it fascinating. And just for the record, there were a couple of you who voted chocolate chip, but said you’d change your vote if the Sugar Cookies had a specific frosting or sprinkles.

Hello! Of course the sugar cookies are made exactly to your specifications. You crazies. So your votes went to Sugar cookies. Besides, they could use the help.

And is there really a question about my vote? I went sugar cookies all the way. No question. In fact, when I was little, I used to pick out the chocolate chips or eat around them. If I could. Some cookies were more chocolate than cookie. If I were around when my mom made them, I would request chocolate-less chocolate chip cookies.

So here’s a question for you . . . what do you call a chocolate-less chocolate chip cookie? Seriously. I’m taking suggestions.

Okay, okay. On to the next vote. I debated this one. Last year, we did Real vs. Artificial, and I was sorely tempted to do it again just to see how the results compared (last year they tied). But there are so many great Christmas debates, I couldn’t resist a new one. Are you ready?

Speak up:

15 comments

| TAGS:

A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens, Chocolate chip cookies, Dr. Seuss, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Sugar cookies, This vs. That

SPECIAL EDITION: This vs. That – Trick vs. Treat

First, I want to thank all you great people who have stopped in and commented . . . and apologize for not responding*. Life has been hectically crazy here. I’m sure most of you know all about craziness. Especially the week of Halloween, which brings me to the REAL purpose of this post: The results!

Trick or Treat?

Total votes: 23

Trick: 3 votes; 13%
Treat: 19 votes; 83%
Depends on who’s tricking: 1 vote; 4%

 Okay, no real surprises here. Who wouldn’t like a treat? However, who said the trick had to be mean? SO . . . I voted for Trick, because I am playing a trick on all of you.

Random.org spit out a number, and the number was Old Kitty’s. Just send me your address within 24 hours if you dare, and I will send you something that is NOT a treat (bwa ha ha!).

If you miss the 24-hour mark (aka, 7 AM Nov. 4), Random.org will choose a second someone and so on and so forth. Even if I have your address, you still have to e-mail me! (see that “Contact Me” tab up there? Use it!) 

*If you have your email address connected to your account, I reply by email to your comment

Speak up:

15 comments

| TAGS:

Halloween, Results, This vs. That, Trick vs. Treat