Croc

Hmmm... So, I'm struggling to see where your issue is. I never told anyone to "be nice"--hello, have we met? I'm Croc. I certainly never said that certain things should not be said even if we think them--but that speech is contextual and certain, sensitive things need to be communicated more tactfully around certain individuals who are more likely to be sensitive due to historic/cultural/regional/etc. predispositions. Also, I most certainly would not say those things to her face, because as I said above and in that other thread, "political correctness is a part of being gracious (on the outside) and therefore part of good manners." If I were to meet Susan Boyle, I would congratulate her for blowing everyone away with her talent, praise her for being so gracious and unassuming (presuming that doesn't change), and wish her the best of luck in the future. In my head, I'd probably think, but not say, that she should really get a stylist. See how that works? But from what I've read, Simon Cowell is already working on getting her to where she needs to be in that department, so by the time I meet her, that may have been addressed. So, again, I fail to see where I have contradicted myself at all. But no worries, I like the Cayman Islands, so going to Hell won't be much of a bother.

Excuse me? Since when is stating the obvious fact that someone is "unkempt"-looking, with the demeanor of a crazy cat lady being politically incorrect? Or were you objecting to the assertion that the people on TV talent shows that look/act "eccentric" (to put it nicely) usually do not have the talent to present? Or was it my allusion to someone who thinks he/she has an incredible talent and nobody in the world knows until he/she is nearly 50? I don't really see anything in my abstract answer to Casket Demon's facetious post that would suggest political correctness is present or relevant...???

If it drives well, is comfortable, well-put-together, contains high-quality materials, and fits my lifestyle comfortably, then I don't see why not. I'd probably wait a year or two, though, at the very least.

Unkempt people, with that demeanor, usually don't sing THAT well. Not on a TV talent show. Not when they're pushing 50 and look like showing up for the talent show was the first time they left their cats unattended since the 1980s.

So someone else spends their money? I dunno, I kinda think it's a lot to ask someone, personally.

Dude, it costs so little to do it. Last time I used Carfax, you paid X amount for X number of lookups...I'd be surprised if anyone on here went for your favor.

But when she went out there for the show, she was so unaware of just how good she is. She seemed genuinely shocked to get a standing ovation. It's very rare for someone with that talent to emerge in their 40s.

How in the hell would that actually play, though? Wouldn't it be floating all around the place? Sounds like something that seemed like a good idea at the time...

What year CRV is it? Honestly, I've never had those problems with the honda cars that I've driven. Compared to Toyotas, the Hondas are much sportier. Of course, it could also be that it is an SUV--the only SUV I have driven that was actually pretty fun to drive was the SRX. YMMV

We already had a thread on this, but yeah, she's damn talented.

If it would make money tight, don't do it. This is not an economy for risk-taking of that sort. Wait until you can actually afford the Genesis, and then buy it. Chances are that it will be better-equipped in that time, too.

I don't really think we are of different generations here, unless, of course, you were born sometime after 1990. I certainly agree that the problems of racism generally stem from previous generations, and that is exactly what I am getting at; because of the histories involved, certain things are potentially offensive when said to/around certain audiences. I will say that the test (at least as you described) would not pass scientific muster. Was everyone in the class a classic Type A and goal-oriented? Were the least-performing group members actually closet racists, or were there many indecisive/passive people in that group? Of the two best-performing groups, was everybody represented? Was it really a group project? There are a lot of variables in play and I don't see how the speed at which a team completes a project correlates to racist tendancies or the lack thereof. That seems to be an overly-simplistic analysis, at best. Being aware of what you say and to whom you say it is necessary in the practice of good manners and getting along with other people; as such, political correctness is also necessary.

I see reading comprehension is not either one of your strong suits. I never said you had to refrain from saying certain things. I never said "this is good," and "this is bad." If you haven't noticed yet, speech is contextual. Someone dies an untimely death due to their criminal involvement in someone, you probably don't want to remark about that in front of their grieving family. You don't make a disparaging remark about molesting priests and your views of the Catholic church's response to the problem outside a Cathedral as people are leaving Sunday mass. All I said was that political correctness is a part of being gracious (on the outside) and therefore part of good manners. I didn't even say anything was "bad" about asking an African about chicken and watermelon--just that it is different than asking an Asian the same thing, and asking an Asian about chow mein and eggrolls could be offensive. Not necessarily is, but could be. Speech is contextual. That's where tact and diplomacy come in. Go ahead and have a conversation with an African person about fried chicken and watermelon, I won't stop you--but you DO have to be a little more tactful about it if you want to ensure you won't offend him or her. Seriously, this isn't rocket science here. And please explain to me the correlation between political correctness and closet racism--because last time I checked, someone is either a racist or they aren't, and it has nothing to do with running at the mouth inappropriately. Just because you don't ascribe any meaning to something like "fried chicken and watermelon" doesn't mean that anyone else is aware of that fact. Many other people have historically ascribed negative connotations to that context so that the natural assumption, in a general context, is that if that is directed at an African person from a Caucasian person, it is ignorant at best, racist at worst. And yet, it still depends on the context, and how much social finesse you have. This is 2009, and I am amazed at how often the ignorance of the need for a degree of "political correctness" is presented on this board. This isn't the 80s, guys.

No, political correctness is necessary as it's a part of having good manners: making people feel comfortable, especially if you do not know them. And asking an Asian about fried chicken and watermelon is way different than asking an African person the same thing...just like there's nothing wrong with asking an African person about chow mein and egg rolls, while that could be offensive to ask an Asian.

THAT'S SOOOOOOOOO TRUE!!

No, he doesn't drive one of the new Oldsmobiles, just a Buick.

... I don't get the premise of your question. Maybe it's a generational thing, but I don't associate certain jobs as "male" or "female" jobs. And makeup artist is DEFINITELY a "male" job judging by the people at the cosmetic counters at the mall. Maybe this is one of those things that doesn't translate well from Italian to English?

No, a hotlinked pic.

He shouldn't have to look too hard on that one...

The nice thing about Grand Lux (created because a Vegas casino wanted a CF but CF had a non-compete clause with another casino) is that they test new menu items before they cross over to the CF branded restaurants.

Prius owners should be $h!ting themselves.

Wow, FIAT has used GM to its advantage once before, why not again? I have to respect the acumen of the people running this company--they know how to play cutthroat.

But it is a joke. Objectively. Compare it to any other equivalent on the internet. If there are 50 breaking pieces of news a day, then there should be 50 updates. This is no reflection of you, more the disorganization of the site as a whole. This is far too big of a job for one person to be entirely responsible. I don't remember when you joined, but back around 2005/2006 we had a really good thing going, and we were actually pretty relevant as far as car enthusiast sites go...now we aren't. This isn't about placing blame, this is about stating our deficiencies so we can figure out a way to get ourselves back...or become something else entirely. We have quite a few hard choices to make if we want to stay relevant, just like GM does.

Same here, buddy.

Yup, that's her. Truly a unique individual, with an extremely unique point of view.