Q1 – Special: In addition to standard menu items, many restaurants offer one or more specials of the day. If your waiter or waitress describes an appealing special but neglects to mention its price, would you order it without asking about the cost?
That would depend on the type of special and the restaurant. Most of the restaurants I frequent have entrees that don’t top 30 dollars. If I were on the Upper East Side or in the Tribeca/SoHo area are I would definitely ask the price. A hamburger and fries can easily be twenty dollars plus in those areas.
Q2 – : Earlier this year, pictures showing the Enawene Nawe tribe of Amazon indians aiming weapons at an airplane overhead made headlines across the United States. The photos, according to the producers of ABC’s Nightline television show, inspired them to travel deep into the Amazon to meet the Enawene Nawe, a tribe that reportedly has never before been filmed for television. Do you think there is something inherently wrong with outsiders interacting with or filming never before seen indigenous tribes, or does studying their way of life outweigh any potential negative side effects caused by such actions?
I think we have much more to gain from interaction than they do. I hate when the media turns these things into a sideshow.
Q3 – Housing: In describing the recent financial crisis here in the U.S., President Bush said: “Easy credit — combined with the faulty assumption that home values would continue to rise — led to excesses and bad decisions. Many mortgage lenders approved loans for borrowers without carefully examining their ability to pay. Many borrowers took out loans larger than they could afford, assuming that they could sell or refinance their homes at a higher price later on. Optimism about housing values also led to a boom in home construction. Eventually the number of new houses exceeded the number of people willing to buy them. And with supply exceeding demand, housing prices fell. And this created a problem: Borrowers with adjustable rate mortgages who had been planning to sell or refinance their homes at a higher price were stuck with homes worth less than expected — along with mortgage payments they could not afford. As a result, many mortgage holders began to default.” Do you believe homeownership is a privilege or a right?
I’m a life-long New Yorker and renter. We live in a small rent-controlled apartment. The expense and responsibilty of home ownership has never appealed to me.
i understand why others would want to own a home. If you’re paying market value in New York you are throwing thousands of dollars away every year. The tax benefits and equity of owning a home in town or in the ‘burbs is quite appealing.
I wouldn’t say home ownership is a right, but I would say that the government should work towards making housing affordable for all income levels.
Q4 – Television: What is your current favorite television show — one that you make a point of watching during its regularly scheduled time as often as humanly possible?
I love my Frasier reruns. Call me the Syndication Queen – I am rarely home during prime time.
