I want to send someone a book that I plan to buy from Amazon.com (Addicted to Perfect - The still Unravished Bride.) It says for all options, the book won't arrive until the 29th or later. Is that true or are they just being really conservative / being on the safe side? That's just too weird. Even with the used books, it's quoting that date. Why on earth would it take that long when some of them say it ships within 24 hours within the U.S.? Is there a way to expedite it or overnight this book, even if I have to pay more? It's a jungian psychology book for a narcissist in need of immediate help.

Is that item actually sold by and shipped by Amazon? They mix a lot of third party items in with Amazon items and intentionally don't make it clear. I have bought things before and only afterwords realized that it was shipping from some vendor in China and would take a month to arrive. I mostly filter by only Prime eligible items now.

I want to send someone a book that I plan to buy from Amazon.com (Addicted to Perfect - The still Unravished Bride.) It says for all options, the book won't arrive until the 29th or later. Is that true or are they just being really conservative / being on the safe side? That's just too weird. Even with the used books, it's quoting that date. Why on earth would it take that long when some of them say it ships within 24 hours within the U.S.? Is there a way to expedite it or overnight this book, even if I have to pay more? It's a jungian psychology book for a narcissist in need of immediate help.

 

That means they probably don't have the item but rather know where to get it. Then they send it to you. Or, they drop ship it. I don't know if Amazon allows drop shipping but in the case of places that allow it that's what goes on.

That's what I was worried about. Ideally, buying online would be more efficient than buying from a brick and mortar store but 9 times out of 10 you're dealing with at least one middle man and if something is coming from overseas, it can take months to get something, sometimes and your order changes way too many hands. This is a pretty rare book, too.

^ Well be thankful for that - if they didn't auto-correct it for you, your message would be snagged up by the DEA via the NSA's database, and you'd end up on a list.

 

Eff the DEA sideways.  They and the ATF are classic examples of law enforcement agencies with narrow jurisdictions trying to maintain and expand same.  As an enforcement agency they have no business lobbying for tougher laws or against lesser ones.  It is a conflict of interest.

I can't believe how many municipalities don't have laws or at least enforce laws regarding shoveling snow and especially ice, from sidewalks. I noticed all of the streets around here are like that - so Shaker Hts, Cleveland Hts and University Heights all apparently don't enforce that or have the city shovel it. You can't walk anywhere without slipping and falling. Even at the commercial strips on Lee, S. Taylor and Cedar, Warrensville Hts and Cedar, etc. Literally every sidewalk around here is just one giant sheet of ice and this is a pretty urbanized area with foot traffic. You know what I do? I walk in the street. I walk out of the house and right into the street, down Fairmount Blvd. where there's one lane plus a parking lane and the speed limit is 35 or 45, to get my sandwich at On The Rise. F_ck 'em. They say bikes have to ride in the street because it's a safety issue, well so is walking on a sheet of ice as a pedestrian. I'm much better off taking a chance getting hit by a car than walking on the sidewalk. I can't wait for a cop to say something to me so I can tell him who he really needs to be going after. I'll tell him or her to go knock on everyone's door to tell them to shovel their d@mn sidewalk. I know it's not fun to bust up ice but if you're proactive about it and shovel it while it's loose snow before people walk along and pack it down, it's a lot easier. Either way, it should be your responsibility as a home or business owner to take care of it or vote to have the city take care of it.

There is a massive portion of the population that can't shovel snow due to time or physical constraints.

First things first, On the Rise has mediocre coffee but amazing, amazing bread. And I love how they're open at 7. Phoenix Coffee on Cedar/Lee is also open that early; Whole Foods in University Hts at 8 (but the coffee shop used to be open at 7). And my favorite, Coffee Phix, is open at 9. Important information here folks; jot it down.

 

Next, I thought cities salt and/or shovel people's sidewalks, then send the bill. Isn't that how it's usually done when the homeowners won't do it themselves?

 

 

There is a massive portion of the population that can't shovel snow due to time or physical constraints.

 

Neighborhood kids these days, don't want to work. No matter how much you're willing to pay them. That's the real problem!

 

First things first, On the Rise has mediocre coffee but amazing, amazing bread. And I love how they're open at 7. Phoenix Coffee on Cedar/Lee is also open that early; Whole Foods in University Hts at 8 (but the coffee shop used to be open at 7). And my favorite, Coffee Phix, is open at 9. Important information here folks; jot it down.

 

I just wish On the Rise had a better selection. I love their sandwiches but that's all they have as far as real food goes and they only have like 5 different sandwiches to choose from. Also, you can only get them from 11-2:30pm even though they're open all day. Have you had their brownies? Those are really good too but as far as pastries go, I think Stone Oven is the best place around here to get those.

 

Do you live around here?

On the Rise has the absolute best bread in town.  I do LOVE their sandwiches, but I agree, they could use more variety.  I was hoping they'd add more variety with their expansion, but that obviously hasn't happened.  Also, while the expansion is nice, it doesn't seem like they really added all that much seating.  Sounds like I am complaining, but they really are great and I'll be picking up 2 dozen dinner rolls Saturday morning.

There is a massive portion of the population that can't shovel snow due to time or physical constraints.

 

If I get home late on a snowy night I like shoveling the entire block's sidewalks.  I'm like the tooth fairy. 

+1 for on the rise. They're chocolate chip cookies are fantastic and they do a great lemon tort, as well as great bread. The cookie leaves the bag clear, so you know it's full of buttery goodness!

Luna Bakery on Fairmount is also quite good (and now that I think of it, I'm pretty sure they're open at 7).

 

Also, I live in Chicago but am in Cleveland ever 2 to 3 weeks to help with my folks. And we go to a lot of coffee shops in the metro area. My parents really enjoyed Rising Star on 29th during my last visit -- but my dad is absolutely enamored with Coffee Phix in South Euclid. He's there virtually everyday, no exaggeration, and is close with the owner and some of the regulars.

There is a massive portion of the population that can't shovel snow due to time or physical constraints.

 

If I get home late on a snowy night I like shoveling the entire block's sidewalks.  I'm like the tooth fairy. 

 

I wish you lived on my street.

 

I used to walk around downtown and if someone's time expired on their meter while they were still parked there, I'd turn the knob so that they could get an extra 10 minutes for free, hopefully saving them from getting a parking ticket. That's like the only good deed I've ever done, in my entire life.

There is a massive portion of the population that can't shovel snow due to time or physical constraints.

 

If I get home late on a snowy night I like shoveling the entire block's sidewalks.  I'm like the tooth fairy. 

 

I guess snow plows are too big to fit down the dead end portion of the street where I live, because it hardly ever gets plowed (sometimes a small pickup truck shows up and does it but not every time it snows). Me and a guy from across the street end up having to shovel the entire street because the incline is just a little bit too steep for most cars to get up.

I usually shoved the bus stops on W. Clifton and then both sides of Klotter to the point where it mysteriously narrows down by that house with the big double garage door.  Then I come back on the other side.  It doesn't take that long. 

^I'll have to pay attention more this winter, I usually shovel up to the top of the hill at the intersection, where the people with garages are always on top of shoveling their snow. Between the few of us we could probably get all the sidewalks done on the entire street.

There are a lot of odd and unneighborly people near my house.  I found a lost cat stuck on a neighboring roof about two years ago and called the number on the lost cat posters...the girl was at Mac's Pizza and whatever guy she was on a date with came down to get the cat instead of her.  He was a total dick to me.  We used my ladder to get up on the roof but he kept bossing me around.  Then when she showed up about ten minutes after he got the cat she didn't say thanks or make eye contact with me and the dude kept lobbing mild insults, calling me "boss" and "chief" and all that.  Years later I still see her and she won't wave.  I found her cat's collar in my back yard this past summer and put it in her mailbox, then I saw the cat a few weeks later with the collar on it.  So you do neighborly things for people and they just don't give a damn, at least not where I'm at.     

^ It is a pretty eclectic street. I have good neighbors on either side of me, which is nice because we can basically reach out and shake each others hands from our decks. There's definitely a few oddballs around, too, though. Then there's some really nice people like the guy in that big brick house that maintains all those planters out on Clifton, which is no small task since he's got that little pickup truck with a water tank in it that he uses to water them in the summer. I notice there are a lot of single, empty-nester, baby boomers who seem to have lived on the street for decades. By a lot I mean almost every other house. The older people are all pretty neighborly for the most part, while the younger people tend not to be, especially the students.

There is a massive portion of the population that can't shovel snow due to time or physical constraints.

 

Neighborhood kids these days, don't want to work. No matter how much you're willing to pay them. That's the real problem!

 

 

This is true--and the adults aren't much better.  Too many people need to devote that 20 minutes of shoveling time to Dr Phil instead of fresh air and a little exercise.   

 

In the neighborhood I grew up in, we used to shovel 2-3 house in both directions because the neighbors would always pay you back on a day wouldn't you couldn't make it out.  These days, it's ever man for himself... sad.

People have changed; neighborhoods have changed dramatically. I can imagine someone taking a spill while shoveling or de-icing a neighbour's sidewalk and immediately calling his attorney.

One time, my neighbor wouldn't let me borrow his ladder when I locked myself out of the house with my keys inside and needed to get to the second floor balcony because his ladder would become a "liability." Everyone is so afraid of being sued, to the extent that you can't even be a real neighbor. I bet a lot of people wouldn't hire kids to shovel their snow even if they were willing to, fearing that the kids parents might sue them if they injured themselves. I picture the 10 year old version of myself going door to door in 2016, asking people if they want me to shovel their driveway or sidewalk for $5 and being turned away because I'm not insured / bonded.

People have changed; neighborhoods have changed dramatically. I can imagine someone taking a spill while shoveling or de-icing a neighbour's sidewalk and immediately calling his attorney.

 

I lived in a shared house for a few years in Corryville, so if a package arrived and you weren't expecting one, nobody paid attention to it.  But one had been sitting on the table inside the front door for a week so I looked and saw that it was addressed to the woman next door.  I took it over to her and it turned out that it was Christmas gifts that were a week late.  She started yelling at me, as if I had executed some sort of plot to ruin her Christmas.  I mean, I could have just tossed the stuff. 

 

Where I am now my address is 210 but there is a 20-unit apartment at 201 so I get mail from those people all the time.  I find them on facebook and then walk it over to them.  So far I haven't gotten a 'tude from any of them. 

 

 

It is a rational fear; we are an awfully litigious society. Look at some of the footage of Muslim women being harassed on trains and no one doing anything about it; it's not that people are complicit but rather aware of a lack of Good Samaritan protections. If they step in, they can be fined, arrested, sued, lose employment, etc. Americans are not allowed to be vigilant and it's a shame -- and it wasn't always quite like this..

It is a rational fear; we are an awfully litigious society. Look at some of the footage of Muslim women being harassed on trains and no one doing anything about it; it's not that people are complicit but rather aware of a lack of Good Samaritan protections. If they step in, they can be fined, arrested, sued, lose employment, etc. Americans are not allowed to be vigilant and it's a shame -- and it wasn't always quite like this..

 

No, THAT is being complicit.  You're not going to get fined, arrested, sued, etc. for standing up for someone being harassed.

Also, you could unwittingly co-star in a viral cell phone video and be judged a hero or villain by the unwashed masses and their clickbait-generating masters. 

It is a rational fear; we are an awfully litigious society. Look at some of the footage of Muslim women being harassed on trains and no one doing anything about it; it's not that people are complicit but rather aware of a lack of Good Samaritan protections. If they step in, they can be fined, arrested, sued, lose employment, etc. Americans are not allowed to be vigilant and it's a shame -- and it wasn't always quite like this..

 

No, THAT is being complicit.  You're not going to get fined, arrested, sued, etc. for standing up for someone being harassed.

 

That sounds like something that would be left to the officer, who is allowed to use his own judgement and dealt with on a case by case basis. At least, it should. Harassment takes on so many different forms.

 

What I hate is people who have mastered the art of subtle or passive-aggressive harassment. Or people who say really nasty things about you to someone next to them but use their words carefully enough to where they could get away with saying they weren't talking about you. I'm not sure if there's a word for it. I guess it's like taking being a smart-ss[/member] to the extreme in a form of intimidation. I've been dealing with that a lot at one of my jobs from a couple people who hate me for no apparent reason and are trying to get me fired and do that all the time when I'm really busy, seemingly to break my concentration and cause me to make mistakes. I started documenting everything but it looks weak on paper because they've mastered their tactics. I'm still trying to figure out the best way to handle this, since this just started happening and I'd rather resolve it with these guys than running to the boss because then I'd have to worry about retaliation.

 

I digress and stuff that happens at work is a whole different ball game than being in public, obviously.

 

I really thought that people were allowed to defend themselves, if necessary. What exactly are we talking about? If a Muslim woman gets harassed on a bus, you can't step in by doing what?  Escalate it by harassing the harasser to get him to knock it off? Punch him in the throat like he needs to be? I think that in a situation where someone is being threatened, the person being threatened or someone stepping in, should be allowed to defend themselves, to terminate the threat. As long as it's reasonable and they're not abusing their right to defend themselves. Basically, that which is necessary, should be legal.

 

JMeck, you bring up a good point and it blows my mind how many of these crazy videos I see posted on social media where people are standing there with their phone, filming fights or in one instance, there was a video I saw of a woman at a bar whose hair caught on fire by a flaming cocktail that the bartender lit up. You really expect the phone to go dark or the phone to instantly get dropped on the ground as the person jumps in to save someone but there's countless videos online from sick people akin to Jake Gyllenhaal in Night Crawler where the potentially viral footage trumps saving a life.

People have changed; neighborhoods have changed dramatically. I can imagine someone taking a spill while shoveling or de-icing a neighbour's sidewalk and immediately calling his attorney.

 

I disagree and think it a location by location.

 

In those urban neighborhoods where you walk and see your neighbors you wouldn't do that, but in an area where people want to build big homes where they cannot see or be seen by their neighbors I can see that happening.  These "new communities" are generally places where there aren't established block associations or meetings so you don't see your neighbors.

I hate having a weird Japanese legal name. My legal name is Seisuke D. Kohno. I've always gone by David, my middle name. My grandma re-married to a Japanese man who adopted my dad, so I ended up with that last name and my damn parents decided to name me after him (his first name) because I was born on the same day as him. As a result, I'm the most generic, all-american looking white boy on the face of the planet with the most Japanese name ever. I got teased a lot in school when I was younger and it used to be really embarassing in situations like a traffic court room or urgent care waiting room, hearing people publicly butcher the hell out of my name (it's pronounced 'say-skay' but looks like suzuki on paper.) However, eventually the name sort of grew on me for the simple fact that I became used to it and I started enjoying watching people embarrass themselves trying to pronounce it in front of a large group of people. It's also a really good conversation piece whenever I'm in a situation where I have to give my legal name or hand over my ID. I've had to explain the story a million times. I don't mind it anymore.

 

Unfortunately, having a really weird name can have dire consequences. When you have a name like mine that no one has ever seen before -- it is very likely, especially if it's being entered in computer systems, for official forms, from handwriting on documents; it gets misspelled all the time. I just set up direct deposit with my new job and there was already a delay in getting my direct deposit set up (i.e. a delay in getting PAID)) because of the Patriot Act and the fact that my driver's license says I live in Columbus Ohio but I live in Shaker Heights and need to give my Shaker mailing address to receive my debit card to activate it. I hardly ever get physical, post-marked mail that can prove where I live when trying to update my license or open a bank account or anything like that. Anyway, I finally got things straightened out so that I could accept direct deposit (the only form of payment my company and it's payroll company are willing to use - it must save them a dollar or two per pay period) only to find out long after I was supposed to get my first check, after calling the bank, that I never received money because my direct deposit was "rejected" by my bank because a payment was made to my account for a Mr. "Kehno." The dumbasses in payroll spelled my name wrong and the bank told me it takes six days just for them to transfer the payment back to payroll.  So all together it seems i'm looking at 10 business days or basically two weeks longer than anticipated, to get my first check when I really need the money.  :x  It's not my fault people aren't careful entering in information. Why can't they just write me a damn check? Just give me my money. I asked my bank if  I'm going to be charged a fee for a "rejected payment." I mean, this is payroll sending a payment to my bank that is getting rejected and has to be sent back to payroll, only for payroll to re-send the same payment again, but to someone whose name has one different vowel near the beginning of his name. Something tells me they're going to try to charge me for this. She just masterfully beated around the bush and didn't answer my question in a way in which I didn't feel inclined to question it at the time.

Do you think it helped you get a computer-related job? LOL Though my perspective is that since computers were completely different in Japan until Windows 95 hit that maybe it wouldn't be helpful. "Hey, I'm really good with FM Towns Marty and hiding games in .jpgs."

I'm going to be honest. I love you GCrites but  I have no idea what in the hell you're talking about.

Maybe that kind of talk is a bit ancient for you ;). Look up the history of Japanese computers such as the PC-98 to see what I mean.

I'm going to be honest. I love you GCrites but  I have no idea what in the hell you're talking about.

 

It's kind of disturbing that I do.  Sort of.  :)

Oh, I thought he just went nuts.

Don't worry, that's the kind of stuff that a lot of women have said to me.

David your name situation is pretty unusual.  It's like the opposite of when white parents adopt Asian kids and give them completely American names, including their last name.  Dude is Asian but his name is Barry Mathews.  The most extreme name-denial I've dealt with recently was a guy from an African muslim family whose real first name was Nazier but he insisted on being called Gravy. 

I've always wanted to open a Vietnamese-BBQ fusion restaurant called Phở 'Que.

I've always wanted to open a Vietnamese-BBQ fusion restaurant called Phở 'Que.

 

We did have a restaurant in Clifton called Deep India.  Then somebody told them (or was offended, or something) and now it's Adeep India.  But they merely added an A to the older sign, and it doesn't quite match. 

 

 

How long has it been "Adeep India"? I've been there fairly recently and didn't notice.

^It's been changed for probably about a year now. The rumor I heard was they wanted to be higher up in the phone book, which doesn't really make sense since no one uses phone books any more.

Old people do

There was a Japanese Prime Minister named Takeshita.

There was a Japanese Prime Minister named Takeshita.

 

A guy I went to college with said there was a woman in his hometown named Crystal Ball. 

 

I lived in a neighborhood where there was a woman named Heidi Hoe.  I never saw her but my grandfather went out of his way, at least once per year, to obnoxiously drag her name into a story.  For example, if someone was rattling off the people who were at some event, then they hesitated because they couldn't remember one person's name, he would interject with something like "oh I know who you're talking about but I can't remember her name either...didn't she used to live right by Heidi Hoe?"

 

 

 

David your name situation is pretty unusual.  It's like the opposite of when white parents adopt Asian kids and give them completely American names, including their last name.  Dude is Asian but his name is Barry Mathews.  The most extreme name-denial I've dealt with recently was a guy from an African muslim family whose real first name was Nazier but he insisted on being called Gravy. 

 

I used to work with one of my friends who is Korean and we'd carpool and have to pass through security every day before clocking in to work. We had to go through metal detectors, hand over IDs to enter the building and we'd always have to hear jokes from the security guys about how the Asian guy was named James LaGore (a very white name) and the white guy had the asian name you'd expect, Seisuke Kohno. It was pretty ironic.

 

I honestly think the name thing has caused deep seated issues with me, since I was a kid. Causing me to feel like an outcast and was the reason I was always sort of an introvert; although I've come out of my shell within the last couple of years. I've literally never met anyone else in my situation, having a first and last name that that is from an entirely different race and culture. The only people who know, after hearing or seeing my name, that I have a Japanese connection, are Anime nerds. Sometimes, but very rarely, I'll hand over my ID or debit card to a first or second generation Japanese-American who, every time is all like, "Anatawa Nihonjin desu ka?" which means "Are you Japanese." They're all extremely surprised to see a blue eyed, dirty-blonde haired person with a very Japanese first AND last name. They always want to know how I got that name and I never feel like telling the story of how I got that name because I[ve had to do it a million times. Very very very rarely, a South Korean will ask me if I'm Japanese (Koreans are literally the only Asians who can recognize a Japanese name. Despite Japan being the second biggest economic power in the world, most Asians don't care about Japan and don't know that much about their culture, including common names. What's funny is that my name comes from a country that absolutely despises "Gaijins" (foreigners). Japan is seriously as Xenophobic as it gets; it's not progressive like most people would think. They are very isolationist, protectionist, etc. Japanese-Americans know this so when they find out my name after taking a look at me, you can imagine how the questions abound. Ugh. You know that Johnny Cash song, "Boy named Sue"? That's basically been my life. My dad literally walked out of my life shortly after I was born, after giving me that f----cked up name and pretty much saying sayonara after that.

I know a Steve Miller and a Rod Stewart. Both are young enough that it's not a coincidence.

Despite Japan being the second biggest economic power in the world, most Asians don't care about Japan and don't know that much about their culture, including common names. What's funny is that my name comes from a country that absolutely despises "Gaijins" (foreigners). Japan is seriously as Xenophobic as it gets; it's not progressive like most people would think. They are very isolationist, protectionist, etc. 

 

One night CDM, ink and I were over at Walker's house. We fire up the PS2 game Katamari Damacacy and the little guy in the game starts picking up various 'hood staples that were placed in the level such as 40s and BBQ stuff and rolling them into a huge ball. CDM's like, "This is racist!" All I could say is "Japan's pretty bad about that kind of stuff."

Japanese people do NOT like Black people at all. They feed into the negative stereotypes perpetuated by the American media (including Hollywood which I think is actually mostly to blame.) My grandpa bought a house in exurban Atlanta in a gated mountain, purposely because there were no Black people there and that it was very unlikely that a black person would ever enter the community. He paid a premium for that. Probably a hundred thousand dollar premium. They moved back to Japan but come to the U.S. pretty frequently and sometimes he'll consult me before he books a hotel and he'll call and ask me if there's a lot of black people in the area where his potential hotel is located. I try to tell him he's being ridiculous; especially when he's booking a hotel in Columbus where there's a lot of well-educated, well-to-do Black people who don't fit Hollywood's stereotypes at all but I just can't convince him. It's really sad.

I know a Steve Miller and a Rod Stewart.

 

I work with a Don Henley. 

Japanese people do NOT like Black people at all. They feed into the negative stereotypes perpetuated by the American media (including Hollywood which I think is actually mostly to blame.) My grandpa bought a house in exurban Atlanta in a gated mountain, purposely because there were no Black people there and that it was very unlikely that a black person would ever enter the community. He paid a premium for that. Probably a hundred thousand dollar premium. They moved back to Japan but come to the U.S. pretty frequently and sometimes he'll consult me before he books a hotel and he'll call and ask me if there's a lot of black people in the area where his potential hotel is located. I try to tell him he's being ridiculous; especially when he's booking a hotel in Columbus where there's a lot of well-educated, well-to-do Black people who don't fit Hollywood's stereotypes at all but I just can't convince him. It's really sad.

 

I’ve heard different things about how socially acceptable white-American blood is in Japan but I have definitely heard that being part black is a taboo comparable to being Ainu, and has been said Japanese culture really doesn’t care about expressing its views on such topics.  Indeed, I suspect it’s one of the ways the Japanese try to distinguish themselves from us culturally.

 

Korea of course is different, any kind of American blood is at best neutral but more likely a positive, especially if you look at their pop culture.  Koreans would rather distinguish themselves from Japan, so they embrace American styles without reservation.

 

Japan is of course culturally hierarchical at a level comparable to India, even moreso than Mexico.