My top fives

[next_to_normal]

First, an interesting read, courtesy of Mark Ruffalo's twitter: Revenge of the Introvert. Relevant to your interests, I expect, for many of you.

Second, if you are not watching The Americans, WATCH THE AMERICANS. Seriously. This show is incredible. Last night's episode on the Reagan assassination attempt was fascinating - even knowing how it all turns out (spoiler: he doesn't die), it still manages to explore angles by focusing on how our perceptions and history affect our reactions to events, with the Soviets - and Elizabeth, in particular - anticipating a coup d'etat because that's typically what happened when Russian leaders were assassinated, not realizing that that sort of thing just doesn't happen in the U.S. It also neatly illustrates the difference between Elizabeth and Philip, whose instincts on this are a lot better than hers because he's become so immersed in American culture - i.e. the very same thing that made him a liability as a KGB spy in the pilot.

Okay, on to my top five lists.

From goldenusagi:

Top Five Desert Island TV Shows

I had two basic criteria here: one, shows that, as goldenusagi put it, I "could watch on repeat over and over and never get sick of." The other thing I considered was length of the series. I mean, there are plenty of shows I adore that only made it a season or two, but if I'm stranded on a desert island (...with my DVD player, a TV, and electricity, presumably), I'm going to want as much entertainment as possible.

1. Buffy the Vampire Slayer, for what should be obvious reasons. I never seem to stop discovering new layers each time I go back to it.
2. The West Wing. I've already seen the early seasons more times than I can count, and it's still just as entertaining as the first time.
3. Friends. I figured I'd need a comedy to cheer me up while I'm stranded on this desert island, and judging by my inability to pull myself away when reruns are on, I'd say this one stands up to rewatches.
4. Friday Night Lights, because it's so real that it would keep me grounded while I am separated from society.
5. Breaking Bad, which I haven't actually tried to rewatch, since I only just watched it for the first time last year, but I expect it would hold up well, and it's damn good.

From seapealsh:

Top Five National Fast Food Chains

Heh, I don't really eat fast food anymore, so I'm stretching a bit to come up with five.

1. Panera Bread, which has become a tradition, since there's one near my doctor's office. Every time I go for a Remicade treatment, I get Panera afterward. Unless I get Chipotle...
2. Chipotle. I actually rarely eat there, but I've developed an odd fondness for it due to my friend Andrew's evangelism. He LOVES Chipotle, and once described it to me as "their burritos are the size of a baby." Which is why I rarely eat there, lol. My waistline can't afford it.
3. Quiznos, an addiction during my senior year of college, when they opened a store on campus. I never eat it now, since it's not convenient (Subway is nearby but far inferior), but I have fond memories.
4. Chopt Salad. I suppose this qualifies as fast food, even though the line is always abysmally long whenever I go there. I used to prefer Saladworks, but again, a lack of availability in this area has converted me to Chopt.
5. Wendy's, which, again, I don't really eat anymore, but when I did, this was my preference over McDonald's or Burger King. I do like McDonald's fries, though...

Stay tuned. There is more to come!

Comments

[goldenusagi]

I'm not sure if I could stand the intensity and despair of Breaking Bad on repeat, lol. Though it is flawless, of course.

[next_to_normal]

LOL, I can rotate with the other shows when I need some levity.

[frayadjacent]

I really enjoyed the "Revenge of the Introvert" essay, and was actually surprised by how much I identified with it, especially the parts about needing time to think and not being good at brainstorming or thinking on my feet. It helps me understand why I hate meeting with my advisor -- he's constantly interrupting me, firing questions, and I quickly lose my train of thought and get completely derailed. I much prefer discussing my work with him via email, even though we're just down the hall from each other.

And it helps me understand why I usually try to polish my thoughts before presenting them to others -- I always just thought of that as some combination of insecurity and intellectual carefulness cultivated by years in academia.

And even why I loved theater and acting in high school but shied away from improv. And, heh, why I almost always click the "preview" button when making a DW comment. :)

I've tended to think of all this as simply that I need more time to gather my thoughts than other people, and never realized it might be part of the constellation of traits of introversion (and that so many other people feel this way too!).

I was a little confused by the essay's emphasis on the "pursuit of happiness". I only understand what they mean by that in vague terms. I guess that doesn't strike me as a defining feature of our society? I mean, I see self-help books and stuff on that topic, but that's about it. Maybe I'm just not sufficiently tuned into pop-culture, being a bit of an introvert and all. ;)

[next_to_normal]

Yeah, I identified with a LOT of that article. I only have a vague sense of the "pursuit of happiness" thing myself (maybe because we're introverts!), but I think the concept is engrained in most Americans - "right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" - whether they've really thought about what it means or not.

Just thinking about the ways in which our culture encourages us to be happy, I came up with three possibilities:

1. There's this idea that you should be happy with your career - that you are wasting your life if you're not doing something you love - when in actuality, it's extremely difficult to find a career that will pay you to do something you love.

2. The increased awareness, diagnosis, and treatment of depression seems to put a lot of focus on the importance of being happy - and the need to fix things if you're unhappy.

3. As much as we say that money can't buy happiness, we put an awful lot into material goods intended to make us happy. The pursuit of that kind of happiness turns life into a competition - who's got more, how to get more, wanting what someone else has.

I can see how all three of those things might be detrimental to one's well-being, despite the goal being the exact opposite.

[frayadjacent]

Ah, that makes more sense. I bet those are the kind of things they meant. I wouldn't tend to frame those issues as primarily related to pursuit of happiness -- 1 and 3 in particular strike me as sort of basic features of advanced capitalism -- but yeah, I totally see what you're saying.

On the career thing: I totally agree, and it's something that's been on my mind a lot as I'm going on the job market (I'm getting my PhD in July). My recent interest in vidding and whatnot sometimes makes me wonder if I should have gone into video editing/production or visual design, but honestly? I bet I would find as many things to dislike about those jobs as I do about jobs in science. Relatedly, I'm looking at some jobs that are quite similar to the research I already do, and others that would be more challenging and probably more interesting. Part of me feels like I should go for the latter, but then the former would probably require less work (not more than 40 hours per week) and give me more time for other things.

Uh, sorry for the tangent. Anyway, great essay -- I've already shared it with some friends -- and good thoughts.

[next_to_normal]

Heh, I've been having the same inner conflict about careers. Not that I dislike politics (although I do quite dislike my current job), but I've become a lot more disillusioned now that I've actually spent some time in the field (I was so idealistic in college...). And I think about all the things I'd rather be doing, but I doubt I could make careers out of them.

[frayadjacent]

In short: work sucks. ;) :(

[seapealsh]

I love Panera Bread too. And my son always raves about Chipotle but I rarely eat there. If I do I probably use up over 1000 calories!

[next_to_normal]

Yeah, Panera is much better on the calorie count, lol. Chipotle is more of a rare treat.

[ever_neutral]

Word to your top 5 shows (except the two I don't watch). Though I was supposed to watch FNL decades ago.

I WILL WATCH THE AMERICANS.

[next_to_normal]

YOU BETTER.

[mcmegan]

Mmm...chipotle. You could try getting a burrito bowl, and eat it with the chips (my favorite). That way you can stir everything all up (I hate having a random pool of sour cream in one spot in a burrito) and just eat half of it. Those burritos are way too big to eat in one sitting. When Seamus eats a whole one, he has to nap afterwards.

[next_to_normal]

I've never actually tried a burrito bowl. I should!