For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world

Well, eBob finally came back online.

I'd post this over there, but Señor Squires doesn't allow yahoo email addresses.

Anyway, I'm following this thread: Is wine the only commodity that is "allocated"

And here are some of the posts:

POSTER A: Try to get in on the ground floor of a hot IPO sometime. But also new models of cars, guitars, high end hi-fi and, believe it or not, a LOT of sneakers these days. I read last week where a kid FLEW from Detroit to Miami then camped out for two days so he could get one of only 200 pairs of some flash sneaker that was ONLY sold to that store by Nike.

POSTER B: Concert tickets for shows that are expected to sell out are limited to a small number per customer (a gesture of a measure taken against scalpers). Now, if you were asking for a cult winery analogy, women of course have every right to be as oddly decadent as the men on this board. Witness the years-long waiting lists for certain handbags chez Hermes.

POSTER C: Tables at Rao's restaurant. Tougher to get than Screagle since you can't buy them at auction. Superbowl tickets for seasons ticket holders of participating teams. Not that I have had to worry, as a long-time Jets fan.

Not to sound too self-righteous, but Bimbo del Vino is thinking to herself - Is this what it's come to? Is this all there is? Aren't we better than this?

And by "we", BdV means not "we" the vino people, but "we the people".

For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

[Robin Garr]

doesn't allow yahoo email addresses.

Is this a wacky Internet joke?

The rest of your post is a real thought-provoker, though. Thanks, Virginia! I might add Clubhouse tickets at the Kentucky Derby.

Well, eBob finally came back online.

Yeah? Didn't notice.

I'd post this over there, but Señor Squires doesn't allow yahoo email addresses.

Why bother?

POSTER A: Try to get in on the ground floor of a hot IPO sometime. But also new models of cars, guitars, high end hi-fi and, believe it or not, a LOT of sneakers these days. I read last week where a kid FLEW from Detroit to Miami then camped out for two days so he could get one of only 200 pairs of some flash sneaker that was ONLY sold to that store by Nike.

POSTER B: Concert tickets for shows that are expected to sell out are limited to a small number per customer (a gesture of a measure taken against scalpers). Now, if you were asking for a cult winery analogy, women of course have every right to be as oddly decadent as the men on this board. Witness the years-long waiting lists for certain handbags chez Hermes.

POSTER C: Tables at Rao's restaurant. Tougher to get than Screagle since you can't buy them at auction. Superbowl tickets for seasons ticket holders of participating teams. Not that I have had to worry, as a long-time Jets fan.

See what I mean?

Not to sound too self-righteous, but Bimbo del Vino is thinking to herself - Is this what it's come to? Is this all there is? Aren't we better than this?

And by "we", BdV means not "we" the vino people, but "we the people".

As human beings or capitalists?

For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

Soul? How about Karma? Want to come back as a slug? Or a waterbird destined to be soaked in oil or eat poisoned fish?

Not to sound too self-righteous, but Bimbo del Vino is thinking to herself - Is this what it's come to? Is this all there is? Aren't we better than this?

And by "we", BdV means not "we" the vino people, but "we the people".

For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

Interesting post, Virginia. I read Alain de Botton's book Status Anxiety a couple of months ago, and it came to mind when I read what you wrote. Items that are tightly allocated have an inherent status about them that often transcends whatever other value they may have. And the drive to achieve high status is something that seems difficult for many humans to overcome. Unfortunately, it would seem that we are not much better than this.


Mike

Is this a wacky Internet joke?

Apparently Señor Squires has a policy that says you can't use Hotmail, Yahoo, or Gmail for your email address.

I was gonna post this over there, but since he doesn't seem to want me, I figured I'd come some place where I'm a little more welcome.

Hey, Bimbo del Vino likes a nice glass of Vino about as much as the next chicklette, but can you imagine flying to Zachys and then camping out for two days to get the latest release of Chateau Puntos Grandes?

Does Señor Bloomberg even allow people to sleep on the streets anymore?

Although the Señorita might understand the Hermes bag thang...

[Robin Garr]

can you imagine flying to Zachys and then camping out for two days to get the latest release of Chateau Puntos Grandes?

I can't imagine me doing it. I can imagine some people doing it, especially if it's multiply pointy.

Does Señor Bloomberg even allow people to sleep on the streets anymore?

Isn't that one of those Qualify of Life things inherited from his predecessor, El Jefe?