TGIF

Four For Friday

Q1 - 180 Degrees: If you could suddenly proclaim that any one work of fiction (be it a movie, novel/book, short story, fable, fairy tale, play, etc.) was actually true, what would you choose?

Wizard of Oz.

Q2 - Airline Safety: According to a recent report, approximately 96% of people involved in airplane accidents survive the accident itself and, aside from a fear of flying, experience no long-term health problems. When flying, do you take certain precautions or care to increase your chance of survival in event of a crash (i.e., choosing a certain seat in a specific part of the airplane or counting the number of seats between yourself and exit) or do you not like to think about such things?

Interesting question, and what I thought was BULLSHIT statistic. So, I looked it up. In the 2000s decade, the number of people surviving a plane crash is 24%. But I also discovered most aviation safety statistics are manipulated with miles traversed, passenger numbers, trip time vs the same data in automobiles, so go figure. Or as the old saying goes, "You can prove anything if you make up your data."

And with the Wonder that is the Internet, I found an article on HOW TO SURVIVE A PLANE CRASH with lovely tips under the heading "If it seems certain the plane is going to crash."

#4 Empty your bladder to reduce the chance of internal injury.

Brother, if the plane is about to crash, that's the first thing I'll do. And I'll have a nice warm seat for the event.

Anyway, back to the question -- I have a private pilot's license and am married to an Aviation Safety Inspector, so, alas, yes, I know more than I like about Aviation Safety. And, no, I don't do anything about it. I sit where they park me and bleat in my seat like the rest of the sheep.

Q3 - Citizenship: Have you heard about this one? The latest effort to rewrite the election of 2008... an accusation that that President-elect Barack Obama is not a legitimate natural-born American, and therefore cannot be sworn into office. The argument, which is being taken all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, goes something like this: When Barack Obama was born in 1961, Kenya was still a British colony. Obama's father was from Kenya, and therefore a British citizen. That British citizenship automatically passed onto his son (President-elect Obama), and that means that President-elect Obama--who was born in the U.S.--was born with dual citizenship and should not be allowed to hold the Office of the Presidency. What do you think this? Should the President of the United States be allowed to hold dual citizenship? (By the way, for the record, President-elect Obama's dual citizenship expired when he turned 21.)

The Republicans need to take a breath and get over it.

Q4 - Overrated: Who do you think is the most overrated (you choose... actor, politician, professional athlete, or musician)?

David Letterman. And while I'm at it, Jay Leno.

If you want to watch an interesting late night host, try Craig Ferguson.