Crazy Story: Crazy people on the train

„New York is the most amazing city in the world. There is no other city where you will find such a diversity of culture, religion, race, and personalities of people in general.” Veronica, who explained these facts to her friend, spent two weeks in NYC. Inspired by her idol, Kim Kardashian, she wanted to experience the American lifestyle by herself. Her vacation was also a welcome break from her parents, as they didn’t approve her lifestyle as a couch potato.

After a couple of days, she realized that Americans don’t know how to travel by train in an efficient way. The biggest problem is that people stand up as soon as the train leaves the station before they have to exit. As the trains shake a lot while riding on the old tracks, a lot of people, especially elderly, have problems to stay on their feet. Veronica asked some people why they are getting up so early and she discovered that people have the fear of not having enough time otherwise.

As Veronica liked to play with toy trains as a kid, she had the solution right away: expand the time a train stays at a station. As there was a customer satisfaction survey going on at the moment, she called the hotline and explained her proposal. As the train company was aware of the problem but unable to find a solution, they were very glad that Victoria called.

After a couple of months, Victoria was back in her unhappy life as a couch potato, her parents saw that a letter arrived from the mayor of NYC. They were curious and opened it. They were overwhelmed when they realized that her daughter Veronica helped the city so much that the mayor personally thanked her.

SCI-FI Story: Fat Hollywood

Fancy Hollywood faces some trouble in society. There is an illness spreading, which makes people combine food strangely. This disease is not a sentence to death but all wannabe-actors are getting fat because they stopped watching their diet. Luckily, the illness hasn’t spread to other cities. But unfortunately, the government has no idea how to cure this strange new disease.
Martha, a middle-aged struggling dancer who lives Hollywood, is shocked by the news. When she switched on the news channel, she heard about this terrible disease. This made Martha reflect her beginnings as a dancer. Suddenly, she was sad again. After Martha regained her spirit, she was determined not only to stay away from the virus but also to find a cure to it. Martha knew exactly how it feels to be fat and not to fit in the seemingly perfect world of fancy Hollywood.
She knew what to do. When Martha needed money, she wanted to work in a restaurant as a dancer. Since she was too fat, she only got a job in the kitchen. Martha never believed that she ever will be thankful for this experience. Now was Martha’s time. She finally could prove everyone that she is important.
Having the cure in her mind, Martha headed to the city centre, a megaphone in her hand. She started to shout, “Guys, you don’t need to suffer anymore, I have the cure!” Martha also distributed flyers with an address on it. It was her own address.
The next day, lots of people gathered in front of her house to get the cure. She invited five people at a time, taught them to cook, how she learned it in that old shabby kitchen. Even though nobody thought that this would work, the people were cured.
Although Martha initially wanted to be a dancer, she found now her real profession. She opened a restaurant and is very successful. Hollywood, by the way, never faced such troubles again.

New Kind of Toy

Response to: Money can’t buy success in Sport

I totally agree with Slow starter. I think it is good that those teams have to face the reality. A team made out of star players is not guaranteed to win a tournament. Slow starter mentioned that rich people buy the teams and use them as a toy. Exactly that happens right now in Switzerland. The problem is not that a rich guy buys a soccer team and supports it with money. But one treats his players very badly. They don’t have any rights, and if they don’t score a goal they’re kicked out of the team. Even worse, they also get threatened by the club owner. In my opinion, there has to be drawn a line. Athletes are employees as well and they have to be protected.

"Less Really Is More"

http://nymag.com/arts/architecture/features/shop-architects-2011-11/

Less Really Is More

Taking the example of this article, the SHoP Architects, here also called "the masters of post-boom buildability", really embody the often stated quote "less is more". In building their architectural designs as simple sd possible while using cost-effective material, they achieve a symbiosis of striking design and low costs. It's no coincidence that this quote is so often used in the area of design, as it is a lot of times much more difficult to make complex things simpler than the other way around, which is a big part of design. This concept is often seen in great products, as their design is simple but yet not too obvious, rather transparent.

Money can’t buy success in sport!

The NBA is (probably) back!

“The deal will make it more difficult for the Knicks and the then-Brooklyn Nets to just outspend everybody else, like they’d like to.”

http://nymag.com/daily/sports/2011/11/nba-is-probably-back.html

In this article it is said that the NBA season will finally get started after some discussions between owners and players about money. The quote implies that these two teams have had more money to spend during the last seasons than other teams. However, none of these teams was able to win the championship for a long time now. The same pattern can be seen in European soccer as some rich men (Russian oil profiteers or Arabic sheikhs) took over some clubs and try to win the Champions League. So far, none of these “toys of rich men” won this prestigious tournament. Actually, I’m happy that owners can’t just buy success in sports; it still needs talent, determination, and teamwork to win.

Why Do Sitcoms Giggle?

The Return of the Sitcom Laugh Track

“After a few years of silence, sitcoms are giggling again.”
http://nymag.com/arts/tv/features/laughtracks-2011-12/

This quote made me think of why do sitcoms have to giggle. I’m sure there was a reason to stop the giggling in sitcoms, but I don’t know the real reason for taking it up again. I love sitcoms and I have to admit that I’m addicted to watch them. But the thing I don’t get is why do creators have to add the laughs of the audience – which isn’t necessarily there when they’re filming. Isn’t it enough when people, watching the sitcom at home, are laughing? For me, the question comes up if the sitcom wouldn’t be as funny without the “artificial” laughter.
Anyways, those sitcoms are funny and I’m glad they are produced – with or without the giggling.

What am I thankful for in life ?

Even tough we might not realize it or think about it every day, but we're pretty lucky to be born in a western cuntry which provides us with tons of oppertunities. I'm thankful to be born and raised in one of the best developed countries of the world, thankful for having the possibility to have a good education, thankful for having enough means to travel and discover the world, to stay healthy, thankful that I can decide over my life. These things are luxuries and are related to money. But i'm also thankful for having such a great family and friends. I think that's the most important part, as it lets all the other things fade. Life can bring a lot of joy and I value all the great moments I've experienced until now.

What I am thankful for..

There are many things in my life, which I am thankful for. To begin with there is my family who always supports me and who is always there for me. They can even help me in the most hopeless situations and I am very thankful that I can always count on them. Additionally to my family, there are my friends who I can share all my good experiences, as well as all my problems with. I am very thankful that I have friends who don’t judge me for the things I do and support me in every situation, even if they don’t have the same opinion as I do. But the thing I am most thankful for is my health. Every day I see so many people on the streets who have disabilities or who are injured, and in these situations I’m always very thankful for the fact that I am healthy. The reason why I am most thankful for being healthy is that I think that if I wasn’t healthy I couldn’t enjoy my life in the way I do and I couldn’t enjoy the things I’m most thankful for.

Thanks New York!

I’m thankful for so many things. My family and my friends mean a lot to me. They are always there when I need them. Not only do they support me, but they also stop me when I’m trying to do something stupid. In other words, I can always rely on them, no matter what I’ve done, they stand always behind me. In connection to that, I’m so grateful that I’ve found good friends here in NYC. They are such a big part of my language stay. Without them, I would probably suffer more from homesickness. We have so much fun together, and because I don’t think that I can take that for granted, I’m even more thankful for these contacts I’ve made in the Big Apple. They’ve earned all the best words especially after this weekend. Since it was my birthday, they surprised me with so many things, and took care of the whole weekend. Finding people that nice is definitely not given at any time in someone’s life.

Additionally, I’m very thankful for my health. Of course, I was ill like everyone, but I’ve luckily never had some major issues with my health. Neither have I been operated, nor am I allergic to something, which would restrict my living or eating habits. When I heard that I’m allergic to penicillin, I thought, “Sure, it had to be me.” But seriously, I’m so lucky for being blessed with a good health.

Even though I’m most thankful for things that are not connected with money, I have to admit that I’m glad that I was born in a hardworking family, that does not have to worry about essential things like food or a home. All the homeless people in New York make me feel bad because I don’t have to worry where I sleep or where I get my food. New York really taught me that everything I have is special and worth to be appreciated.

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What I'm Most Grateful For In Life from Anonymous

The things I'm most grateful for in my life are my health, friends, and family. Although I've asthma and been operated because of my toes, I'm very grateful for my health. When I see people on the street who are blind, lost their leg or have a growth disorder, I feel bad that I can be down because of a lost tennis game. When you bruise something, you get to know how much you use your whole body and you will be grateful that you only bruised it. Secondly, I'm grateful for my good friends. When I'm feeling down, there is always a friend that knows how to cheer me up. I don't think you need much more in life than being accompanied by great people. Those great people include my family. Although we sometimes hate each other, they will always be my family. Especially my mom, who knows me best, is someone I can't live without. Sometimes we might forget what is most important in life, but that's okay as long as we know what is significant to us when we do think about it.