True or a big generalisation?

Eddyz Aquila said:

I understand James' analogy as well but even if people set themselves their own plateaus, it should be considered some achievement at least that you managed to finish a book.

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why?

I'm not disagreeing, but you're trying to mandate what is a value judgment. Plenty of folks may not consider it an acheivement, they "should"? Why? They can do as they wish, no?

And finishing a book may be an acheivement, but there's planty of crap out there, so its hardly an end-all--Paris Hilton has a book, I believe. the Situation will shortly, for Christ's sake

I get hassled for not considering some of these things a great acheivement. "No you should, you're a writer now". My self-esteem is just fine thanks. I'll decide what I think is or is not a big deal.

quicklime said:

why?

I'm not disagreeing, but you're trying to mandate what is a value judgment. Plenty of folks may not consider it an acheivement, they "should"? Why? They can do as they wish, no?

And finishing a book may be an acheivement, but there's planty of crap out there, so its hardly an end-all--Paris Hilton has a book, I believe. the Situation will shortly, for Christ's sake

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The Situation. At least I now know what the old reggae song was all about: "Many people see I, many people ask I, why am I a Rasta man? It's because of the Babylon, and the Situation." Geez, that guy looks too young to have gotten around so much.

Phaeal said:

Um, no, they're not. Check out the Oct. 24 Nature episode. Or just look at the associated FAQ:

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/a-murder-of-crows/crow-facts/5965/

Specifically:

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Please don't say um. I detest the expression. There must be a difference in definition of crow, because where I come from, rooks are social and crows are solitary. See Crow Country by Mark Cocker.

Edit: There's a discussion of this subject at birdforum.net

maestrowork said:

(on the other hand, it seems like on talent shows it's only the Brits that are abrasive... The Americans are often the "oh, you're so lovely" sorts)

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I always suspected that was intentional. There's always a mean British guy and a sweet American woman, just like Simon and Paula from American Idol. Now, I haven't studied the phenomenon in depth, so I suppose it's possible it existed before American Idol, but I still call copycat.

Are we done now? I'm going to lock this before we get into a flame war over crows.