Fly on the Wall: “37signals. They rock the party that rocks the body.” 20 Jul 2006
21 comments Latest by Luis
Some of the activity this week at our internal 37signals Campfire chat room:
Rocking your body
We discussed the kind words of this post which included the following: “So yeah. 37signals. They rock the party that rocks the body.” 37signals rocks your body?! Yet another similarity between JF and JT (Justin Timberlake):
Lost Larry King columns
We discussed the need to write quickly in order to get ideas down which led to a discussion of Larry King’s unique writing style. Soon we were posting snippets from Larry King’s Lost USA TODAY Columns. Man, this stuff is golden. Samples:
“If you don’t love limes, then you have a screw loose.”…”If I could buy stock in a color, that color would be olive.”…”Only now after his death do I realize the importance of Jacques Cousteau”…”I am personally opposed to cloning, except in the case of Ann-Margret.”…”As terrific as clouds look in the sky, I believe they look even better from above in an airplane.” “At the top of my list of underrated river is: the Thames.”…”Anyone who doesn’t enjoy creamed corn is just being difficult.”
Ann-Margret
That Ann-Margret bit led to a story: She went to New Trier High School. So did Jason’s dad. Same age. They were “walk down the aisle partners” at graduation.
Getting chatty
David’s road trip has brought him out to LA and he’s noticing that lips get looser the further west you go. “People in general seem more outgoing and interested in striking up random conversations…The more you go east, the less that seems to be the case ;)…Chicago definitely less so and, personally, I found NY even less as well…Until you hit Denmark where random conversation never happens ;)”
“What do your bare feet say?”
Jamis asked his daughter, “What do your bare feet say?” She answered “Rowrrr!” Pretty good answer. Is this some sort of trick question or what though?
Quotes
“If you think you are too small to be effective, you have never been in bed with a mosquito.” You can seee this and other quotes Jason digs at this Backpack page.
Lymon
You may think Jason wants less of everything. You would be wrong. “For the record, if you squeeze one lime into a glass of Sprite it makes it like 10x better,” he writes. “The right lymon balance is the key. And that balance requires MORE LIME.”
The question of marriage
Ryan found this quote from a Barry Schwartz podcast fascinating:
People could always choose whether to marry. And they could always choose, having decided to marry, whether to end the marriage. And they could always choose whether and when to have children. In the old days however, although these choices were available, the default assumption was so powerful that most people didn’t feel like there was any choice. There was a choice of mate but after that the program just ran its course. You got married as soon as you could. You started having kids as soon as you could. It’s obvious that none of that is true anymore in our society. Should I marry or shouldn’t I? Should I marry now or should I marry later? Should I have children or shouldn’t I? Should I have them now or should I have them later? Each and every one of these decisions is a very consequential decision and a very real one, at least in the minds of the students that I teach. Enough so that the amount of work I assign in my courses is about two thirds what it used to be because they need to spend a significant portion of their lives answering questions that I didn’t realize were questions when I was their age.
21 comments so far (Jump to latest)
Dani�l 20 Jul 06
I’m seeing double and I’m not drunk.
Greg 20 Jul 06
The west coast really is more chatty. My folks moved from Annapolis to Seattle, and were absolutely floored by how friendly people were over there. I went to visit one Christmas, and some guy in line at the grocery store started chatting with me about the beer I was buying.
Apparently the drivers out there are a lot more timid, as well, and don’t seem hellbent on running into the back of you because you’re in their way. Though that might be a Baltimore problem, and not anything good about Seattle in particular.
Mark 20 Jul 06
I think there’s something inherent about kids and roaring. My son did it when he was 2 and now my daughter (who just turned 2) is starting as well.
TomT 20 Jul 06
Man, the similarities in the pictures are creeping me out….down to the smile and stubble.
Dan Boland 20 Jul 06
JF = JT? He wishes…… ;)
Mark Gallagher 20 Jul 06
The topic of random chat with strangers is very different between Chicago and the west coast.
If you meet a stranger at a wedding reception in Chicago the first topics discussed are where you work, what you do, and who you know.
In western states, the “chat” topics are about wine, dogs and vacations.
It’s also an urban thing. If David took a roadtrip south from Chicago to “downstate” Illinois, he would be engaged by most strangers with eye contact and friendly chat.
Seth Thomas Rasmussen 20 Jul 06
Shake your butt!
( not too hard! )
Chris 20 Jul 06
Honestly, I suspect when Jason’s drinking Sprite he’s thinking, “needs less lemon.” :-)
Christopher Walsh 20 Jul 06
More Larry King satire from The Onion. I sort of can’t get enough of it.
Kevin Olbrich 20 Jul 06
Mom’s Lime Daquiris
1 can limeade
2 cans of rum
3 cans of water
Freeze until slushy.
Now *that* is the right lime balance.
Killian 20 Jul 06
For those times when you could really use a beer but all they have is Bud or Bud Light or some other tasteless option just order that junk beer and squeeze a lime into it- *presto* drinkable swill.
Erin 20 Jul 06
I think it’s not an East - West dichotomy; I think it’s a difference in climates. Sure, the East coast and Midwest swelter in the summer, but for six months out of the year you’re bundled, hatted, protecting every bit of warmth you’ve got. It doesn’t foster communication, and I think that same insularity carries over even into the warm months. People who enjoy clement weather year-round wear less clothing and carry themselves openly (rather than huddling into their peacoats,) and I think it inspires a more open culture. Send David to Florida for empirical evidence. :)
Alex 20 Jul 06
Ann-Margret. Learn to spell and fact-check, boys.
Lateef Johnson 20 Jul 06
Not to take anything away from Senor Timberlake, but I think the whole “rock the body” thing refers to an MC Lyte lyric:
I rock the party that rocks the body
You rock the party that rocks the body
I rock the party that rocks the body
You rock the party that rocks the body
http://www.lyricstime.com/mc-lyte-cold-rock-a-party-mc-lyte-main-version-lyrics.html
Incidentally, this M.C. Lyte jam replicates a sample from “Upside Down” by Diana Ross, which is pretty cool.
Mike G 20 Jul 06
LOL,
I mentioned to my partners last year that JF was equal parts Justin Timberlake and Screech :)
LMAO!
Mike
blame 21 Jul 06
I immediately thought of the song “Rock the Party” by 1.8.7. It features a sample of a woman repeating that exact lyric. I hadn’t thought before about the origin, but it definitely sounds like it could be MC Lyte.
daibatzu 21 Jul 06
On the question of marriage, I think it has a lot to do with the divorce rate and divorce settlements. Very scary indeed.
Will McInnes 22 Jul 06
Hi all - it was my original post that quoted the lyrics, and yep - it’s the MC Lyte track which has been remixed lots and lots and crops up all over the place :)
Danno 23 Jul 06
I like that people don’t talk a lot in New York City.
It’s comforting to be on a crowded subway car at 7am and the only sound you hear is the shriek of metal on metal.
I mean, not that metal tearing across metal is a pleasant sound, but it’s a sort of peace and quiet that usually doesn’t happen when there’s a lot of people in close proximity.
Luis 24 Jul 06
Hello, JF is way hotter than JT, anyday.