QUESTION OF THE WEEK #142

With Zero-to-60 acceleration in 5.9 seconds, this Domino's delivery guy is at your door in less than 30 minutes.

This Week's Question:

--Junichi

QUESTION OF THE WEEK #141

Southwestsiiiide!

This Week's Question:

Does the flight attendant in the above video make you more or less likely to fly Southwest Airlines?

--Junichi

QUESTION OF THE WEEK #140

I made up my mind: I'm keeping my baby.

This Week's Question:

If you were listening to your iPod while in labor, what songs would you want to hear while attempting to push out a baby?

--Junichi

QUESTION OF THE WEEK #138

This Week's Question:

"That one."

Offensive?

--Junichi

QUESTION OF THE WEEK #137

Online Surveys & Market Research

--Junichi

QUESTION OF THE WEEK #136

Tit-for-Tat

After a long hiatus, the Poplicks Question of the Week is back.

This Week's Question:

An Illinois lawyer was suspended by the state bar for allowing one of his female clients -- who happens to be a stripper -- to perform nude dances in exchange for credits on her legal bill.

(Although there were allegations of inappropriate touching, the disciplinary charges seem to stem solely from the bartering of his services for her services.)

Let's say the lawyer was not cheating on his taxes (i.e., he was reporting the full value of his services as income). And let's also assume that nude dancing is perfectly legal and that both parties consented to the exchange.

What's wrong with a lawyer giving discounts to his stripper client in exchange for lap dances?

--Junichi

QUESTION OF THE WEEK #135

To Kill A Predator?

This Week's Question:

Louis W. Conradt Jr., a former Texas assistant district attorney, committed suicide in 2006 as he was about to be arrested by the police for soliciting a minor online. The sting was part of NBC's To Catch A Predator series.

Conradt's sister filed a $105 million lawsuit, alleging that NBC played a role in the suicide.

A federal judge in New York allowed the case to advance. "If the allegations of the amended complaint are proven," Judge Chin wrote, "a reasonable jury could find that NBC crossed the line from responsible journalism to irresponsible and reckless intrusion into law enforcement."

Should Conradt's estate have any right to recover against NBC?

--Junichi

QUESTION OF THE WEEK #134

"Africa is a nation that suffers from incredible disease."

This Week's Question:

What's wrong with the picture above?

--Junichi

QUESTION OF THE WEEK #133

The dog gone girl is his

This Week's Question:

Michael Jackson's Thriller is now 25 years old.

How has the album most impacted your life?

--Junichi

QUESTION OF THE WEEK #132

Better than Snoop's "Sensual Seduction" video?

This Week's Question:

Is Heidi Montag a genius?

--Junichi

QUESTION OF THE WEEK #131

Don't worry, water polo players in this photo.
Poplicks is not a gay porn site. It just has a wide stance.

This Week's Question:

The Orange County Register recently reported that many photographs of unsuspecting underage male water polo players from several Southern California high schools were posted on various gay porn sites.

According to the Register:

"[I]mages of local high school athletes, some as young as 14, according to parents, are juxtaposed next to photos of nude or semi-nude young males and graphic sexual content. The photos are the subject of lewd comments from chat room participants as far away as Australia. ...

The presence of the photos on these Web sites has alarmed local parents, coaches and school officials and traumatized high school athletes who were unaware they were being photographed. In some cases, boys have sought counseling after learning their photos were on the Web sites, parents said."

Question: Would the boys and their parents still be traumatized if the photos were only being posted on websites catering to women?

In other words, how much of this controversy is about privacy and protecting children vs. homophobia?

--Junichi

QUESTION OF THE WEEK #130

That's the ticket!

This Week's Question:

I am about to send in my absentee ballot for the California Democratic primary, which, for the first time in forever, may decide the Democratic presidential nominee.

Of the three viable candidates, I like John Edwards the most. Among other things, he is the only candidate who has been consistently addressing issues of poverty and income equality.

Unfortunately, John Edwards' national poll numbers are dipping into the teens and he doesn't seem to have a real shot at winning the primary.

Moreover, given that the contest has been reduced to Obama vs. Clinton, a vote for Edwards almost has the same effect as not voting.

I do like Barack Obama and strongly prefer him over Hillary Clinton.

Question: should I vote for Edwards (my first choice) or Obama (my second choice)?


(P.S. Here is my annual plug for Instant Runoff Voting, which would ensure that I am never stuck in this painful dilemma again. Why isn't IRV the national standard for voting?)

--Junichi

QUESTION OF THE WEEK #129

If only Thom Yorke had a better sense of humor ...

This Week's Question:

Radiohead's In Rainbows topped the Billboard album charts this week, despite the fact that the album was available for a "name your own price" (i.e,. "free") digital download from the band's website.

What does this say about the state of the music business? Or, if you prefer, what does this say about Radiohead?

--Junichi

QUESTION OF THE WEEK #128

Worst lodging ever

This Week's Question:

In 1977, the Supreme Court banned the death penalty for persons convicted of the rape of an adult. Since then, every person executed in the United States has been convicted for a crime that involved killing.

The Court just agreed to hear the appeal of a death row inmate in Louisiana who was convicted for the rape of a child.

In your opinion, if it's ok to execute murderers but not ok to execute adult rapists, should it be ok to execute child rapists?

--Junichi

QUESTION OF THE WEEK #127

Who supports this sign more: Republicans or other Democrats?

This Week's Question:

You are a Democrat in Iowa. Your #1 goal is to get a Democrat elected to the White House.

Your favorite candidate is Hillary Clinton, who maintains the lead for the Democratic nomination in Iowa and nationwide.

However, current polls suggest that Clinton would lose in the general election against at least five GOP candidates -- Giuliani, Romney, McCain, Huckabee, and Fred Thompson. The same poll indicates that Obama and Edwards would do better than Clinton among independent and young voters.

For the upcoming primary election, do you vote for Hillary Clinton?

--Junichi

QUESTION OF THE WEEK #126

Is there a reason Trent Lott is retiring so soon?

This Week's Question:

Larry Flynt told Fox News that within the next two weeks he will expose a major bombshell of a sex scandal involving a prominent U.S. Senator.

If this is true, which senator do you predict will be the latest to be involved in a sex scandal? Or whom would you like to see unveiled? And what will the details of the exposé entail?

--Junichi

QUESTION OF THE WEEK #125

Boss, you looked at my rap sheet?

This Week's Question:

As the executive in charge of hiring at your workplace, you need to quickly fill a managerial position that involves employee supervision, customer relations, and significant responsibility.

You've narrowed down the applicant pool to four equally qualified applicants.

The only problem is that your four candidates have each been arrested, convicted, and jailed for a different crime:

(Not photos of actual candidates)

You have to choose one candidate and the only thing that distinguishes them are the crimes for which they were convicted.

Whom do you hire?

--Junichi

QUESTION OF THE WEEK #124

Do Ellen's writers mean less to her than the adopted dog she bawled about?

This Week's Question:

You are TV host Ellen Degeneres. You support the writers' strike, but if you stop taping new shows, some of your staff and crew will lose their jobs. What do you do?

--Junichi

QUESTION OF THE WEEK #122

The roof is on fire and, actually, we do need some water
as we would not like to let the mother burn

This Week's Question:

Some firefighters in San Diego have been working to protect the homes of those who have refused to evacuate.

Which of the following two options should firefighters prioritize: (1) containing the wildfires or (2) saving lives most immediately at risk, at the expense of containing the fires?

Assume that the lives being saved in option #2 are those who knew about the evacuation, had the opportunity to evacuate, and chose not to do so.

--Junichi

QUESTION OF THE WEEK #121

The real heartbreak kid

This Week's Question:

This last weekend, Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married? topped the box office.

Yet again, Perry's latest film stunned pundits and industry predictions by making more money than George Clooney's Michael Clayton and Cate Blanchett's Elizabeth: The Golden Age ... combined. I'm willing to bet that most Americans who aren't black had never even heard of the film before today.

Is this a sign that Hollywood is ignoring the market power and interests of the black community? Or does Tyler Perry just have a loyal/cult following?

--Junichi

QUESTION OF THE WEEK #120

I love it when you call me Big Rerun (R.I.P.)

This Week's Question:

The producers of the Notorious B.I.G. biopic are looking to cast the role of Biggie. (Apparently, the casting call has brought out everyone from men with lazy eyes to white guys who look Eminem.)

If you had to choose from the universe of living celebrities and entertainers, who would you cast as Notorious B.I.G.?

--Junichi

QUESTION OF THE WEEK #119

$100,000 richer

This Week's Question:

Wall Street trader Greg Calvino swore to his then-girlfriend, Elisa Kwon, that he would not "use drugs, stay out late, frequent strippers or prostitutes." He further promised to her that if he broke that vow, she could cash a $100,000 check he wrote in her name.

Calvino allegedly broke the vow one night with his fellow stock traders by gawking at strippers and snorting blow. Kwon cashed the check. Now, Calvino is suing to get his money back.

If you were the judge responsible for settling this dispute, what would you tell Mr. Calvino?

--Junichi

QUESTION OF THE WEEK #118

Not meant for wide distribution

This Week's Question:

Now that Facebook and other social networking sites have made it easy for people to find embarrassing or incriminating photos of you -- including those pics that your frenemies snapped while you were plastered last night and then uploaded this morning -- do you avoid having your picture taken?

--Junichi

QUESTION OF THE WEEK #117

Everybody dance now!

This Week's Question:

Why is football the only sport in which you can regularly watch athletes dance after scoring?

--Junichi

QUESTION OF THE WEEK #116

Shove it, America.

This Week's Question:

Now that he's announced his resignation, what should Attorney General Alberto Gonzales do next?

--Junichi

QUESTION OF THE WEEK #115

These people are either playing poker or reading Poplicks.com

This Week's Question:

If you were a college or grad school professor, would you allow your students to use laptops in class during your lectures?

(Assume students have a free wireless connection while in the classroom and that there's no way to shut it off for temporary periods of time.)

--Junichi

QUESTION OF THE WEEK #114

Not the 19 sexiest people alive

This Week's Question:

If you were forced to vote on a 2008 presidential candidate solely based on appearances (e.g., how they dress, their physical appeal, and the image they exude), whom would you support?

--Junichi

QUESTION OF THE WEEK #113

Hmmmph. Rent me for a weekend, you can.

This Week's Question:

What do you think about FlexPetz, a new business similar to Netflix, except that instead of renting DVDs, people can rent dogs "from just a few hours to a number of days"?

--Junichi

QUESTION OF THE WEEK #112

Looking for a second life ... sentence?

This Week's Question:

The virtual world of Second Life (SL) is leading to real-life legal consequences from copyright infringement lawsuits to criminal investigations of virtual rape.

Assuming everyone participating in SL is 18 or older, should actual cops or courts ever get involved in incidents that solely occur in SL's virtual world?

--Junichi

QUESTION OF THE WEEK #111

Swedish Chef demands you recognize the need for cooks

This Week's Question:

According to CNN and JobBuilder, these are the top 12 occupations that will always be around:

1. Doctor
2. Teacher
3. Mortician
4. Waste Disposal Manager
5. Scientist
6. Tax Collector
7. Barber
8. Soldier
9. Religious Leader
10. Law Enforcement Officer
11. Farmer
12. Construction Worker

What other indestructible occupations are missing? Are there other jobs that you consider to be more badly needed?

--Junichi

QUESTION OF THE WEEK #110

Harry and Draco finally release the tension between them

This Week's Question:

How should the final Harry Potter book end?

--Junichi

QUESTION OF THE WEEK #109

Dog days of summer

This Week's Question:

One of my neighbors down the street walks her dog every morning. She regularly allows her dog to defecate in my front yard and doesn't pick up after it.

Should I return the favor and poop on her lawn?

--Junichi

QUESTION OF THE WEEK #108

Good Vibrations

This Week's Question:

In India, sex toys are banned, but birth control is not.

Faced with sagging condom usage, Hindustan Latex Ltd., a government-owned company, created Crezendo condoms, which contain a battery-operated, vibrating ring-like device. According to the company spokesman, the ring serves as both a "pleasure enhancer" and "helps to hold the condom in position."

Given its ban on sex toys, should the Indian government forbid sales of the Credenzo condoms?


You can read more background on the controversy here.

--Junichi

QUESTION OF THE WEEK #107

Hairkini = what happens when you bet on the Cavaliers

This Week's Question:

Based on what American heterosexual women today find sexy, who has a right to be more insecure about their physical appearance: (a) men with lots of chest hair or (b) men who are unable to grow any chest hair?

--Junichi

QUESTION OF THE WEEK #106

Is Hillary white enough?

This Week's Question:

Are you surprised that Hillary Clinton currently has more support in the black community than Barack Obama?

--Junichi

QUESTION OF THE WEEK #105

Al Sees The Light?

This Week's Question:

Do you support Rev. Al Sharpton, Russell Simmons, and the NAACP's efforts to purge the words "b@tch," "ho," and "n!$$er" from hip hop?

--Junichi

QUESTION OF THE WEEK #104

Al Sees The Light

This Week's Question:

Do you want Al Gore to run for president?

--Junichi

QUESTION OF THE WEEK #103

One Nation Under God

This Week's Question:

Compared to other industrialized nations, why does the United States have one of the lowest percentages of atheists?


Background: For those too lazy to hit the link, here's the percentage in select countries that identified as atheist, agnostic, or a non-believer in God in 2005:

• Sweden: 46-85%
• Japan: 64-65%
• France: 43-54%
• South Korea: 30-52%
  
• Russia: 24-48%
• Britian: 31-44%
  
• Israel: 15-37%
• Canada: 19-30%
• China: 8-14%
• USA: 3-9%
  

--Junichi

QUESTION OF THE WEEK #102

Constitution waiting for six more shots to catch up with 50 cent

This Week's Question:

Do you believe that the strictest gun control laws would have prevented the Virgina Tech school shootings?

--Junichi

QUESTION OF THE WEEK #101

"I arrived in front of the dormitory / Yo could you tell me where is door three?"

This Week's Question:

What is the worst rhyming couplet in music history?

--Junichi

QUESTION OF THE WEEK #100

Here he comes now, wants his alimony

This Week's Question:

In 2004, after 18 years of marriage, Lawrence and Julia Roach divorced. Under the divorce decree, Roach agreed to pay Julia $1,250 per month in alimony until his ex-wife "dies or remarries."

Julia recently underwent a sex change operation, became a man, and now goes by Julio.

Lawrence argues that he shouldn't have to pay alimony to his ex-wife once she became a man. His attorney argues that, "It's illegal for a man to marry a man and it should likewise be illegal for a man to pay alimony to a man." Julio responds that the divorce decree mandates payment until death or re-marriage, neither of which has occurred.

Should Lawrence be forced to continue to pay Julio alimony?

--Junichi

QUESTION OF THE WEEK #99

Forget Tony Danza - I'm the boss

This Week's Question:

Should all professional athletes be stopped from launching music careers?


For your consideration, here's the new single and video from San Antonio Spurs' Point Guard Tony Parker (a.k.a. Eva Longoria's fiancé), rapping in French ...

--Junichi

QUESTION OF THE WEEK #98

Putting the band in contraband

This Week's Question:

According to a new study published in the latest issue of the Journal of Political Economy, illegal downloading of music has had no statistically significant effect on record sales.

What impact has your illegal downloading had on your purchase of records or legal digital downloads?

(Hypothetically speaking, of course. Poplicks readers would never do anything illegal.)

--Junichi

QUESTION OF THE WEEK #97

My favorite inside source / I'll kiss your open sores

This Week's Question:

Should Dolce & Gabbana pull this advertisement, which some have protested as a depiction of gang rape?

--Junichi

QUESTION OF THE WEEK #96

Rest in Piss

This Week's Question:

A television photographer was fired for urinating near a monument in a cemetery while covering the funeral of an Iowa soldier who was killed in Iraq.

The photog claims he couldn't leave to urinate out of fear he'd miss the funeral procession.

Should he also be denied state unemployment benefits?

(FYI: To see what an administrative law judge decided, click here.)

--Junichi

QUESTION OF THE WEEK #95

My roommate is not hot. My roommate is not hot. Must ignore.

This Week's Question:

Should all colleges and universities offer the option of co-ed dormitory rooms?

On a related note, if you had a college-age child, would you mind if he or she were randomly assigned to a roommate of the opposite sex?


(FYI: As of now, at least 20 schools have begun to give undergraduates the option of being placed in residence hall rooms without regard to gender. This trend of eliminating gender barriers in roommate assignments is motivated, in part, by the desire to accommodate transgendered students.)

--Junichi

QUESTION OF THE WEEK #94

Scrota-nized

This Week's Question:

Susan Patron's children's book, Higher Power of Lucky, is this year's winner of the Newbery Medal, the most prestigious award in children’s literature.

However, many elementary school libraries have banned the book because it begins with the 10-year-old heroine hearing another person talk about watching a rattlesnake bite his dog's "scrotum."

Should elementary school libraries ban the book because of its inclusion of the word "scrotum"?

--Junichi

QUESTION OF THE WEEK #93

Skyscrapers on a street of single-level houses

This Week's Question is also a quiz:

The image above captures the page-view statistics for Poplicks.com over the last 30 days. As you can see, for the first twenty days, the average number of daily page views consistently remained around 2500. Then, on February 8, the numbers suddenly skyrocketed, reaching as high as 22,500, on February 9.

What explains this jump?


(And yes, I do know the answer.)

--Junichi

QUESTION OF THE WEEK #92

Superbad

This Week's Question:

In your opinion, should Tomi Rae Hynie be entitled to half of James Brown's estate?

Here's a timeline of the facts publicly available:

• In 1997, Tomi Rae Hynie married a Texas man, Javed Ahmed. She claims the marriage was simply to help him get a green card.
• In 2001, Tomi Rae and James Brown exchanged vows in a wedding ceremony. They have a child, James II.
• In 2004, the marriage between Tomi Rae and Ahmed was annulled.
• In 2005, James Brown sought to annul his marriage with Tomi Rae, but the legal proceedings were never finalized.
• Tomi Rae is now suing for half of James Brown's estate.

--Junichi

QUESTION OF THE WEEK #91

Yet another Mexican banned from the U.S.A.

This Week's Question:

Do you agree with Cartoon Network's decision to never broadcast any Speedy Gonzales cartoons in the United States because they include offensive stereotypes of Mexicans?

--Junichi

QUESTION OF THE WEEK #90

Eyes Without A Face

This Week's Question:

What movie has no chance of getting a Best Picture nomination tomorrow from the Academy, despite your belief that it was one of the best movies of 2006?


FWIW, I'd be willing to bet my underwear that the five best picture nominees will come from the following list of six movies: “Babel,” “The Departed,” “Dreamgirls,” “Little Miss Sunshine,” “The Queen," and “United 93.”

--Junichi

QUESTION OF THE WEEK #89

Pro-Reparations! Anti-war! Actual equality! King 2008!

This Week's Question:

If Dr. King were alive today and decided to run for President in 2008, how far would he get?

--Junichi

QUESTION OF THE WEEK #88

This ... is ... CNN.

This Week's Question:

If you could permanently change your voice to resemble another person's, whose voice would you choose?

--Junichi