TheListServe Blog

Hi Listserve, I live and work in Washington D.C. I'm 25 and I've worked in the DC non-profit world my entire professional life. While much can be said about the pros and cons of working in such a field, in my opinion the best part is working for an organization with a mission you can believe in. So I'd like to use this space to share some information about the Project On Government Oversight (POGO). Lewis Black called POGO "the most ass-kicking, name-taking, bunch of goodie-two-shoes, good government types in America." POGO is a nonpartisan, independent watchdog that champions good government reform in the U.S. We work with whistleblowers, government insiders and the Congress to expose problems and explore solutions. For 35 years POGO has investigated corruption, waste, and misconduct in order to achieve a more accountable and ethical federal government. We work on all kinds of issues, from wasteful spending in the defense department, to conflicts of interest on ...

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This was the single word response of Anthony McAuliffe sent to the Germans’ ultimatum for surrender. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- There was a clown, I forget his name, but he once said that to be entertaining, you must be interested, not interesting. So long as someone has a passion or an eagerness for something, even the most mundane things come alive! Words. Auto-Antonyms are words that can act as opposites of themselves. Fast: can be to move quickly, or can be used as an adverb “To hold fast” means to not move. Silly competitions. I took 6th place in the North American Wife Carrying Championship. It took me and my “wife” 19 hours of driving, rush hours in New York, Philadelphia and DC, my car’s water pump, and a house fire to get there and back. I competed in the World Stone Skimming Competition on Easdale Island in Scotland. It took me two attempts to get to it, and I nearly missed it the second time if I hadn’t had ...

How rare and amazing is it to set your sights on what you suspect might be your dream job, aggressively pursue said job, and find that in practice you love it even more than you could have imagined? Well, it happened to me. And then I quit. Because something fell into my lap and I felt a sense of duty mixed with a sense of impending FOMO. I would win the listserve while traveling across Iowa in a 12-passenger van on day five of my new job. I can't offer you any solid life advice because I don't know yet whether this crazy and borderline idiotic thing I just did will pay off or not. But I do know that there is a reason I'm here. It's the thing that led me to my dream job (did I mention I loved that job?) and to this new situation and will probably ultimately drive me to do something even more outlandish at some future point. And that is that 95 years ago, Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify the 19th Amendment (thanks, Harry T. Burn - google it) and [many] women gai...

On History Gavrilo Princip knew the tension in Europe Was high, so he caused the whole nation to erupt In a bloody war, and he went out and killed Archduke Ferdinand and yo, that wasn't ill! BOOM! Like a powder keg, the Earth exploded Like a fat kid after dinner feeling bloated Allied powers v. Axis powers For four years? 24 hours if they had Jack Bauer At first USA followed international law… -- The above is what I can remember from the rap I wrote on World War I when I was about 15 for a World History class. I thought it was incredibly clever. I am glad to inform you all that as an adult, I now know that Europe is not, in fact, a nation, as I referred to it in the first stanza. -- I currently live in Chicago, and am searching for a good tattoo artist who does detailed custom black & gray stuff, so if you’ve had any similar work done and it was a positive experience, please let me know! Danielle dop[AT]u.northwestern.edu Chicago

Hello all, Thanks so much for the opportunity for a few minutes of your time. I recognize the specialness of this experience, and thank you all for the chance to be a part of it! If you’re strapped for time, just jump to the centered paragraph at the end. I’m at a place in life where I’m more exhausted than I think I've ever been. It’s been a rough two years. It was a place of privilege and opportunity that left me this tired, but at the end of the day, it doesn't make it any easier to put one foot in front of the other. I was so exhausted that when I got the email that I had won, I honestly thought about just passing, since the pressure of writing anything felt like too much. Isn't that crazy? Has anyone else thought the same thing? Previously, when I thought about winning, I always had images or idea of sending something fun and positive. So with that, this is the best I have for you: Something that has helped me before was mindfulness. Not sure, maybe it can help someon...

Hello everyone! There's a phenomenon that exists only auditorily, wherein certain sounds or musical phrases can elicit a response similar to having sex, eating fried food or doing recreational drugs. You feel a chill down your spine, you get goosebumps on your skin, and you become slightly euphoric (due to the sudden flood of dopamine). While infrequent, this response to certain musical phrases or sounds makes the act of listening to music one of the most pleasurable activities in which one can engage. I've therefore spent a good amount of time digging through my mental trove of sounds that cause me to react this way, and have shared them with you below. You can copy and paste the string of characters below to the end of Youtube's homepage URL (or replace that same part of the URL of any specific Youtube video) to be taken to the exact part of the song I've specified. The harmonica solo in Beautiful Way by Beck: /watch?v=wQS9_ei66Co&t=3m22s The synth breakdown in ...

Here we go. I was homeless for about 2 months. My fault, my mistakes; I won't talk about them here. I do want to share with you some interesting circumstances I lived through during these 2 long months. Food was hard to come by but I got to know where free meals were being served eventually. Some places were great, others not so. When I finally got into a homeless shelter this one short woman who though she was the queen of the world kicked me out for laughing at her. I tried to stop myself but she got so caught up in the fact that there was a pillow thief running around. So I went to this horrible shelter. Drug addicts, alcoholics, etc. I tried using the restroom but because that was the only place with no cameras, all the addicts would snort, inject, smoke stuff and there was always a perpetual haze in there. I would come out all dizzy and light-headed from the fumes. This one time, a dude I've never seen before tried to show me something in the bathroom. It glinted shiny so ...

Hi all, I am going to keep it pretty short today. I am not a writer, a poet, or anything related by training. But I like to jot in the margins--create someone's story on BART (public transit), have a solo-beer and draw etc. I am curious to hear what y'all think about this poem, and if you really want to take it to the next level, workshop it and send me edits! "I want to set you up with the girl I am tindering" I'm lost in your bloody marry tree house. Rope swinging by fibers of your savory thoughts, Splashing on the shores of your vodka soaked vitamin D, Drying off on a beached bun, Tiptoeing on the rim of your glass. Tipsy, I tumble off your edge, Cascading down oblique hills of olives. I plummet through vodka paradise, Straight into a pillow of pulp. You look down, Open your mouth, and without words, Swallow me whole. Best, Dave dcynman[AT]gmail.com Oakland, CA Also huge shout out to my main man Shark in Gurgaon and DBenny who is in the room as I type this. SUR...

Hey People! Funny how i get to send this mail right now. This morning i realized that i've been collecting listserve emails for over a year without reading them so i started to read them again and will keep reading a couple of them a day until i read them all and it’s great! I am sorry in advance for the text, i will probably jump from one text to another. Something about me maybe. I am computer security enthusiast, beginner Geocacher (check out Geocaching), programmer both private and professionally, nerd and a little bit of an all doer. I used to think that the word nerd were negative and usually got angry when someone called me that but i changed my mind and now i think is great to be a nerd. It usually means that you are an enthusiast of something and i would guess pretty good at it. From my perspective it seems like the nerds are more fun than other people as well. This weekend me and my girlfriend went geocaching in the forest nearby and it was pretty exciting because it was ...

Hello, I believe that everything happens for a reason. An article of faith that helps keeps me sane. I think of you, Bubbe. For always cutting roses for me. Cracking walnuts with your bare hands. For rye bread and butter. Your love for Grandpa inspires me. My parents are my role models. Thank you for keeping me innocent. And protecting me. For teaching me right from wrong. Establishing a home that encourages warm hospitableness and inviting anyone and everyone. K, thanks for designing my engagement ring. Mine has pomegranates. And always being there for me. To help. To listen. I love you, Platty. So incredibly, insanely, tons. I am excited for our adventure. Parts of me to share: A poem: Yawning after the Noon I listen to the silent chatter of outside, sprinkled with white pieces of sky. It’s a mystery to me. How placid I feel while the Earth journey through the chaos Do I stand still, chained by my sludgy temperament? Or do I swirl alongside frosted dust? I choose to flutter down the ...

Go outside. Close your eyes. Grab a piece of paper currency out of your pocket, wallet, or purse without looking at it. Then let it go. Do not check what the denomination is first. Do not crumple it, or rip it, or burn it. Just let the wind take it. We do not want to destroy it. We want someone else to get it. If you cannot stand the idea of doing that, then my Las Vegas advice is not for you. But if doing something like that has any kind of appeal - the randomness, the recklessness, the “guess what I just did?” storytelling aspect, or imagining what the person who FINDS the bill will feel...then read on. I love Las Vegas. There is an energy there that is palpable. I know I am not alone, because the city draws 40 million tourists a year from around the globe. And everyone has advice for what to do - the top 10 lists, the must-see lists, and so on. We can dispense with that quickly. There is only one must-see: the Bellagio fountains. What I want to tell you is how to get an experience ...

First off all of you do me a favor and listen to a band that I donate my time to because i believe in them. All it takes to launch a career is the right person to listen at the right time. They run their band like a business but do it for the art. They are getting play on Live 105 and quite frankly deserve the recognition! Type into google: Wild Imaginaries little weight (spacebrother remix), then Wild Imaginaries Carousels I am really glad I won this today. This has been the last three weeks of ups and downs. I was PIP'd at work but I managed to not get axed but forced my work to give me a demotion because it looked very suspect they wanted to lay me off right before my baby's due date. I have started baby classes for my second child. First one is a girl named Gracie and the second is a boy who is coming June 15th. Any names you guys recommend? I am 34 married and grew up in San Ramon Ca. I didn't go to IVY league I actually failed out of college and went back as an adult ...

A little about me: my name is Zoe. I am a recent grad, West Wing fan, NPR podcast listener, trying to find a happy and peaceful physical and mental place to be. My brain works in lists so here a list of the 10 things I thought of while walking home from the gym. 1. I've been in love twice in two very different relationships. 2. Both endings were equally sad even though one ending was more obvious than the other. 3. I believe we'll always have love for those we've loved deeply once upon a time. Even if you 'hate' them now. 4. I've never met a dog I didn't like 5. I hate the color orange. 6. Sunrise is far superior to sunset 7. Our society needs a moral revolution (re all the isms) (note: I am not perfect and have bias' but we can have a goal). 8. Sunflowers are the best type of flower. 9. I want to ask Hillary why she voted in favor of the Iraq war. 10. I haven't decided what I think my definition of successful is. Thanks for reading! Feel free to ema...

Dearest Listservians, It has been my pleasure to read your stories, musings, pleas, playlists, tips, tricks, philosophies and travelogues. I love the fleeting glimpses into so many interesting lives that the listserve lottery elicits. As for me, I am currently recovering from running a startup with my wife for seven years. The company lives on, but it needs city planners with spreadsheets and procedures, not pioneers with machetes and delusions of grandeur. As a result, I find myself, once again, trying to decide what I want to do when I grow up. My early background was in film and television and I have always been drawn to storytelling arts of one kind or another. When I first left our startup I was so steeped in the silicon valley Kool-Aid that I became deeply allergic to social media in almost every form. I felt that mass communication was becoming infinity wide and about a micron deep. Avoiding social media isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but just thinking about the amount of ‘socia...

Hi there, Thanks in advance for reading this! Thank you to Aaron for introducing me to the Listserve and to the Listserve for letting me write to you all :) A story It's late Sunday afternoon and I am sitting in front of the mural I have been painting for the last two days. The sun is streaming in from the widows to the west and I am listening to Mark Farina - Dream Machine. The mural is one large square wall and mostly abstract shapes - like an Arshile Gorky painting. Before I started, I was trying to describe to my friend how I felt about the mural - "it's like how you feel right before performing if you're a musician or before playing a game if you're an athlete... it's emotional. It's gonna get tough in there if the wall doesn't agree with me, I'll have to work through the challenges until it's where it feels right." A request I'd like to use this opportunity to reach out to the thousands of readers here for some help. Do you have f...

I'm a bit of a healthcare reform nerd, largely due to my experience as an entrepreneur trying to keep myself, my family, and my employees insured while bouncing from company to company and state to state. At one point, due to seemingly imaginary "pre-existing conditions" I came very close to not being able to buy insurance for my family at any price, despite us all being healthy. So I was glad that the Obama administration had the guts to push the Affordable Care Act through, even though it ended up being a Frankenstein's monster that's almost fatally compromised by the various concessions to industry that were necessary to ensure its passage. Nevertheless, it's built on a solid foundation of good ideas. But here are some of the mostly-unintended, especially nutty aspects of the law. Some of them are pretty harmful, in large part because people don't know much about the ACA other than the spin that the talking heads are making, pro and con. Did you know......

Dear, listserv Do you ride a bike? Have you ever heard of critical mass? If you do and you havent, this is my call to action to you. Critical mass is the most fun you'll have on a bike. So what is it? Its an informal mass bike ride that happens on the last Friday of every month. In Los Angeles, it meets at Wilshire and Western. Its a good idea for riders to meet beforehand, but as long as you get your ass to the start point at 730, when the ride rolls out, you're good to go. Last friday, I was winding down work for the week and getting ready for critical mass, when the the listserv gods tapped my shoulder. I wanted to share this monthly ritual I have with you all, so that the ride may grow into the listserv community. The point of the ride is to gather enough cyclists on the road that it forces cars to heed to the 'critical mass' of bikes. Cars might hate it, but don't judge us until you've been on a ride yourself. It's a envigorating experience, and I gua...

In ancient India, the inventor of chess showed his game to the King, who was so pleased with the invention, the King announced that he would grant the inventor anything he desired. The inventor sat in silence thoughtfully, then replied that he merely wanted some rice to feed his family. To determine how much rice he would receive, they would use the chessboard square as a counter. The inventor suggested that, for the first square, he would receive one grain of rice, two for the second square, four for the third square, doubling each the amount for each successive square. The King laughed at this seemingly modest request and immediately accepted, tasking his treasurer with calculating the entire amount to grant the inventor. Weeks went by without hearing from his treasurer until one day, the King summoned his treasurer and asked why there was such a delay. When the treasurer showed him the total sum exceeded the rice count of his entire kingdom, the King was bankrupted and the inventor...

Such a day, it was won the listserve and so was the pink slip served निशांत मोडक Nishant modak.nishant[AT]gmail.com undefined

“The various cloud shapes and hues meant nothing, what they looked like at any given juncture was based on chance, so if there is anything the clouds suggested it was meaninglessness in its purest form.” --Karl Ove Knausgaard, My Struggle: Book One *** That thought you just had, or the one you’re having right now, or the one you’ll have in the next instant—how do each of these thoughts that float across your conscious mind come into existence? It’s instinctual to believe that we author our own thoughts; that each of us has “free will” and thus can choose to think whatever it is we want to think at any moment in time. But what if this was not true? What if free will was merely an illusion? What if the feeling that we were the conscious authors of the inner narrative of our minds, was only that: a feeling? And that instead, those things we interpret as conscious thoughts were in fact the result of biological, chemical and physical forces beyond our control and simply the product of the s...

I'm an engineer. I'm an engineer in the sense that my paid vocation is in engineering, but I'm also an engineer in the broader sense that I enjoy solving problems wherever I can. This isn't always a virtue - I sometimes find that one problem is just the top of the rabbit hole, and the rabbit hole gets deep very quickly. Nonetheless, it means I think frequently about the gap between what's possible with current technology and what currently exists. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the field of medical technology, where I currently spend most of my time. Medicine is a funny area, disconnected from the market norms that define most of the world. People are willing to spend all their money on their health, and often do (and then some). Given this, I feel there is an ethical obligation on those of us who provide medical technology and services to do so in a way that is not driven by pure profit maximisation. Unfortunately much of healthcare is not like this, irrespe...

Two outcomes: you will never get what you want and you'll believe that that's why you're unhappy - OR - you will get what you want and realize that it doesn't actually make you happy and you'll find something else to be dissatisfied with. I've been everywhere. Pyramids kinda sucked. China is dope. Everyone's been to Europe. Best travel story - was meeting up with an Aussie friend in Saigon. We originally met in Istanbul. We bought motorcycles for $200 and drove through Cambodia and flew out from Bangkok. Worst - losing my mind on hash when I was sleeping on the ground in a concrete room with my brother in the slums of Rabat. The Moroccan guys were actually incredibly nice though. I don't really read these Listserve messages but I'm sure they're stocked with people telling you about how worldly they are. Sorry. Thanatopsis - Why is death such an awkward topic? It's the only thing we deterministically all share in common. Everyone dies. I am g...

The site is called Watsi. Google it and change someones life today. To my fiancée, Kelly Harvard, I love you. I may not be the best at showing it publicly, but you deserve more than I could ever give. You are beautiful, witty, and compassionate. You bring out the best in me, and I am so lucky to be able to spend my life with you. I hope everyone reading this can find someone that makes them as happy as you make me. Help me tell Kelly how much she is loved by using the instagram hashtag: #RyanLovesKelly2015. How's that for PDA? :) Go Warriors and Go Giants! @RyanGiesen Ryan Giesen ryangiesen+listserve[AT]gmail.com San Rafael, CA

Last Wednesday, my grandmother died. After 88 years of living a full life, she died in bed in the apartment building she called home for over six decades. Many know my grandmother as “Sam’s wife.” Sam Kimberg, my grandfather, has become a part of the Student U story, with an award given each year in his name for the person in the our community who brings the most joy to world. My grandmother was the light that transformed Sam’s depressive darkness into joy. Under every crazy hat, behind every kazoo song, next to every center stage performance, was my grandmother. She was Sam’s foundation, Sam’s home base, Sam’s safety net which allowed him to dream so fearlessly. Sam’s School, the book written to memorialize my grandfather’s life and his connection to Student U, begins in a hospital room as Sam conducts his family in one final symphony. With oxygen mask on, IV’s connected, he lifts his hands and I play “You are my Sunshine, my only Sunshine…” on my kazoo as my family sings along. Sam...

Have you ever used a computer that cost $200 million? Did you ever envision something so complex that, despite appearing crystal clear in your mind, escaped every time you tried put it into words? This is my job. I work with supercomputers. My favorite Listserve stories are those where people share insights into their daily lives. I am pursuing a PhD in computer science. A common question for me is: "Could you tell me what you're working on? Can I comprehend this at all?" -- which really is more depressing than flustering. Right now I'm sitting on a couch in Baton Rouge. I'm collaborating with scientists from LSU (hey there!) on a project to improve the fidelity of storm surge prediction. Not complicated at all. Do you remember hurricane Katrina? But let's start at the very beginning. What is a supercomputer? For starters, it's not the new MacBook. Supercomputers are essentially tens of thousands of networked computers. They are so huge that the largest on...

Hi, I am on this list for a very, very long time, but I never thought I'd win, and I never thought it would be that hard to write this post, so this is just a small collection of some thoughts: Always have fun in what you are doing, if you don't have fun anymore do something different, even if it is hard to change. It has worked for me (until now, I'm 44) really well. Live is easy, enjoy it. Really, it is easy! I love the quote "Stupid, but smart!" from architect Rem Koolhaas when he described a part of one of his building. I think it fits my life quite good. Be a news junkie. Be informed what happens in the world, it is our world! I am working right now on a project to connect local farmer direct with customers, cutting the "middleman", the markets. If you have any ideas on this please contact me: max[AT]kossatz.com. Best, Max max[AT]kossatz.com Vienna, Austria Michaela, i will always love you!

I go to school at a prestigious university, and I am studying theatre. That gets varied responses—people don’t understand why if I’m smart enough to attend such a school I study something that won’t get me very rich. So my answer is usually “I’m majoring in theatre, with a minor in marrying for money.” But I don’t blame people for judging my decision. The industry is oversaturated with talent as it is. Just today, I saw an incredible play which featured 28 incredibly accomplished professional actors who were paid nowhere near a living wage. They all have to work day jobs, and then come to this tiny theatre, get into costume and makeup crammed in this tiny room, and then pour their hearts and souls into this beautiful play, go home, get some sleep, and go back to the daily grind. And these are some of the (relatively) successful. There are ways to work around this: apart from the obvious getting a big break and miraculously being able to support yourself in the theatre, there are many p...

It is only fitting that I write about the one person who has been my inspiration, my late brother. It's been more than a year, I still don't know how to deal with it and I don't know if I will ever be. Because it still hurts. I still feel the pain. A lot of pain. He was the most amazing, kind-hearted man I have ever known. And definitely was my biggest fan. No farewell words were spoken, no time to say goodbye. It happened so quickly, I didn't think it was real. I miss his laugh. I miss his hugs. I miss everything about him, even his stinky socks. My heart still aches in sadness, because the reason for losing him will never be known. But, I know in my heart that you are there, protecting and guiding me through. Until we meet again. You are forever in my heart. I love you. J Alexandra xo.jalexandra[AT]gmail.com Anchorage, Alaska

I stopped paying attention to the Listerve emails months ago, because there’s just too many and quality is haphazard. Fitting that I should win now, instead of during the initial honeymoon phase. I do remember that the Listserve entries that stuck with me the most were the ones that introduced something new to my life, whether it was sharing the life story of someone different, a passionate cause I hadn’t heard of, or even just a good book recommendation. So that’s what I’ll do here - tell my story, share recommendations, and end with a bad joke. I grew up in the heart of Silicon Valley, surrounded by the kids of dotcom millionaires and Stanford professors. This was all I ever knew, so I came to think the pervasive innovative/technologist thinking was the global norm, and it was only after living in Europe during college that I realized how special the San Francisco Bay Area is. I learned more in that year of travel than I ever did in a classroom, about the world and where I wanted to ...