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The List App Archive (Page 9)
The List App, later rebranded li.st, was a short-lived social media app from, of all people, B.J. Novak of The Office fame. A friend of mine who’s way more looped in to this kind of thing than I am sent me an invitation during the pre-release beta period, when The List App was tiny and finding its footing.
The app was something like twitter for lists of things. There were lists, likes, re-lists, and trends. But the content of a post was always a list—bulleted, numbered, reverse-numbers, but always a list of things. I think Novak envisioned things like “My favorite restaurants in LA” and “Best albums of the year” or whatever, but TLA pretty quickly turned in to a weird sometimes beautiful place where a core of likeminded and somewhat bookish people shared things that made them happy, gave encouragement, and evolved a subculture. It was fun while it lasted (and it did not last long).
When the app shut down I archived all my posts because I’m a digital hoarder. You can find them all here.
My Lists
Kinds of Ugly Moe Szyslak Knows He's Been Called
“I wanted Mary Ann on Gilligan’s Island ugly, not Cornelius on Planet of the Apes ugly. TV-ugly, not ugly-ugly.” Read more…
Things I Always Forget to Do
Like and/or relist after making a suggestion.
- Read more…
All These Lists About Childhood Smells…
They are lovely. They remind me of the beautiful passage from Proust when as a grown man his mother offered him tea and a Madeline cookie and he sought to understand the pleasant feeling it elicited. The whole passage is beautiful but here’s the part about the recovered memories. Inspired by people inspired by @ChrisK. Read more…
Birthday "Cakes" for My Family
I love to bake… Read more…
Comprehensive List of Reasons to Sell This Kind of Sock in Multiple Colors
This kind.
1: To make it harder to pair them up when folding.
- Read more…
My Facebook Like Button Usage
This is what it means when I click Like. Read more…
Worst Kind of People, Ranked
Xenophobes
Violent criminals
- Read more…
Two Cats: A Study in Contrasting Personalities
This is Rosencrantz. He is five months old.
He has been running around the house like a madman since we brought him home 18 hours ago. He has jumped in my lap, over-consumed water and regurgitated it on the floor, and made a hilarious failed attempt at jumping up to the table. He occasionally overestimates the traction of the wood floor and I hear him skittling across the hall and into the wall. He checks in with me at my desk every hour or so.
This is Guildenstern. He is eight months old.
He has been hiding under the couch since we brought him home.
- Read more…
Honest Gender Issues Question
Does it make sense to have separate awards categories for male and female actors?
Just dawned on me it is maybe kind of weird.
- Read more…
Things Barbers Always Overestimate
Their ability to make my hair lay flat.
This has happened since I was a little boy.
- Read more…
I'll Have "The Sally"
Salad
Chef salad with the oil and vinegar on the side.
Pie
Apple pie a la mode. But I’d like the pie heated. And I don’t want the ice cream on top, I want it on the side. And I’d like strawberry instead of vanilla if you have it. If not then no ice cream, just whipped cream. But only if it’s real. If it’s out of a can then nothing.
- Read more…
Joyful List App Profile Picture Smiles
In which we learn that women are far more likely to smile in their pictures than men. I need this list sometimes. Please suggest! Read more…
Irrational Relative Nervousness
Interviewing a candidate at work with my coworkers makes me more nervous than interviewing for a job.
Way more. Being the interviewee doesn’t make me nervous at all but I stress so much about interviewing someone. I think this is just because I’m very confident in my profession but never claimed to be a competent interviewer.
Speaking in church before 150 people makes me more nervous than speaking in a conference in front of 1000 people.
No idea why but I even shake!
- Read more…
Superlative Shakespeare
Cutest scene
Henry V Act V Scene II: When Henry flirts with Katherine of France.
Funniest fight
A Midsummer Night’s Dream Act III Scene II: When Hermia and Helena fight and Hermia gets a complex about her height.
- Read more…
Things I Know Because I'm Making My Daughter Kraft Macaroni and Cheese for an Early Dinner
I am the greatest dad in the world.
Because she loves it and she’s been working super hard lately and deserves a comfort food treat.
I am the worst dad on the world.
Because it is packaged convenience food and I’m poisoning my family.
- Read more…
The Meaning of Life in Five Bullet Points, According to Me
Inspired by @ChrisK Read more…
Why Nerdy Girls Are Sexier
This was a hard list request. I rethought my approach three times and I’m still not sure I’m making the case correctly. But here you go! Read more…
Different Ways to Pronounce Your Name
I’m interpreting this as ways people have pronounced my name. When I was a kid people seemed to universally be confused by my name but now almost everyone gets it right. I think I have Geoffrey the Giraffe to thank for that. Read more…
Am I the Only One?
This was my thought process just now…happens more often than I care to admit. Read more…
My Name Made Up of Sentences I Would Never Say
G — Growl ginger gadfly peppermint.
E — Effortless elevation eternal potpie.
- Read more…
Objective Reasons to Find Grits Good
Grits, like all grain-based hot cereals, are objectively good. Read more…
Failed Galactic Empire Commercial Ventures
Light saber hula hoops.
You know, for younglings!
Decorative Exhaust Port Frames
- Read more…
Verb Nouns
I ran out of steam on this. Someone take over… Read more…
Tell Me
Adapted from the song by Tom Waits. Apple Music: Link Spotify: Link YouTube: Link Read more…
My Girl in the School Play
@imc played Tituba in her school’s performance of The Crucible. It was awesome and she was super great. Chilling and moving. Picture time :) Read more…
Southwest Airlines / American Airlines: Compare and Contrast
Southwest: Yes! Bringing luggage is an implied aspect of travel so of course you can check bags. Some reasonable restrictions on size and quantity apply. Here let me take your bag!
American: Psh. Bags? Why do you need bags? Look, fine, maybe we can find some space somewhere in the hold idk. For $25 per bag I guess we’ll take them. Weirdo.
Southwest: We are very egalitarian here. Sit wherever you like! First come first serve of course.
American: Wait you are six foot three and would like a seat that isn’t unbearably awful? How bad do you want it? I see you have an Amex…
- Read more…
An Honest Exchange
Cashier: Are you going to eat your cookie right now or do you want it in a bag?
Me: I would like to have it in a bag so I can set it on the table and imagine I will wait till after my food comes and then break down and eat it now.
- Read more…
💯 Voices in No Particular Order
I love all these voices so much. Read more…
People That Like Three Musketeers Bars Better Than Snickers Bars
My mother
Weird people
- Read more…
A Running List of Trick or Treaters at My House
This was inevitable right? Also it was hard… Thanks to @imc and @sophster for the help! Read more…
A List App Conversation With My Kids
Me: I’ve had like three or four lists trend this week. Not sure what happened.
Isabel: You did?!
- Read more…
Best Parts of the Hobbit Movies
When Legolas dances with that troll guy. So elegant.
When Kate from Lost smirks like she knows it’s all a dream.
- Read more…
Some of My Favorite Literary Conceits
The all caps dialog of Owen Meany
Cormac McCarthy’s spare punctuation around ornate sentences
- Read more…
Toddler Thoughts: Halloween
You haven’t lived til you’ve taken a toddler on her first Halloween trick-or-treat outing. Oh @imc I remember it like it was yesterday. Read more…
Some Thoughtful Lines From Moby–Dick
This is my oldest extant list. I made it in a text document maybe 10 years ago, then copied it to my iPhone notes app, then a new app I used for a while, then Evernote, and recently back to the (improved) iPhone notes app. Read more…
Things I Just Blew Up Due to Improper Care in the Use of My Charcoal Smoker
Me
Don’t worry. I’m fine. My hair looks a little funny though. Sigh.
- Read more…
Some Fun Paradoxes, Ranked
Zeno’s Tortoise Paradox
Hercules challenges a tortoise to a foot race. Seeing as he is Hercules he gives the tortoise a 100 yard head start. The race begins with the tortoise walking slowly and Hercules in an all out sprint. Soon Hercules has run 100 yards and reached the tortoise’s starting point. But by now the tortoise has walked ahead some. Hercules must now catch up to that point. When he does, obviously the tortoise has walked further still. It is clear Hercules can never catch up.
Galileo’s Paradox
9 squared is 81. 10 squared is 100. All the numbers from 82 to 99 are not perfect squares. In this way it can easily be shown that for every square there are many numbers that are not squares. But any number can be squared. So there is clearly one square for every non-square number. So there are both more non squares than squares and an equal number of both.
- Read more…
In Which My Daughter Sophia Confesses to Gross Early Childhood Misunderstanding
You know the movie The Emperor’s New Groove? My girls loved the movie when they were little. I was talking to Sophie today (she’s 13 now) and she made these related confessions… Read more…
Things That Amaze Me
You can type anything into Google and it can show you all the web pages in the world that mention it ranked quite well by relevance. In milliseconds. From California.
There are little molecular machines in each of the billions of cells in your body unzipping your DNA, transcribing it, duplicating it, correcting errors, and stitching it back together again. Right now.
- Read more…
Words You People Use
Squad
This is apparently not just cheerleaders although it is maybe kind of cheerleaders.
Jam
Not, apparently, fruit spread.
- Read more…
How to Love (Almost) Anybody in Four Easy Steps
Before you start ask yourself, out of all the people in the world, how many are good enough? I don’t mean do calculus, or study statistics. I’m asking philosophically. What does it mean, fundamentally, if people—so far as we know the only things in the universe to which goodness really applies—aren’t mostly good enough for you? Now you’re ready… Read more…
Magic Numbers, Ranked
This may be the dumbest nerdiest list I’ve ever made. It embarrasses me. Read more…
Medical Science Is the Reason I'm Here
I’ll put the people I love. You add you! Read more…