I Couldn't Help but Wonder...

Welcome!

2008-05-09T06:35:00.002-07:00

Hi there! This blog is a listing of all of Carrie's questions from Sex and the City. Hope you're getting as excited for the new movie as I am! Enjoy the trailer below.

What Was I THINKING?!

2006-04-26T22:16:00.000-07:00

Sorry that I am not so good about writing here. To be honest, I'm a student, and I get busy, and I already have another blog, and I barely ever write in that. Plus, I know very little about relationships, so what do I really have to say? As such, I am just going to admit defeat at this point, and acknowledge that I probably will not write in here so much, unless I somehow become super-industrious over the summer. However, I will certainly leave the blog up as a service to all those curious SatC denizens out there. Enjoy!

SJP Sighting

2006-02-06T15:43:00.000-07:00

This is why I love Gawker Stalker.

"Everyone’s favorite Village denizen, Sarah Jessica Parker, with no-longer-so-little James Wilke propped on her hip, getting into a cab on University and 12th today with a guy (not Matthew) and a woman (galpal? nanny?). Sporting her big ole’ wrap sunnies, even though it was gray out, and a snug army-green parachute bomber jacket. Oh so tiny, and oh so distinctive."

As we speed along this endless road to the destination called "Who-We-Hope-to-Be," I can't help but whine, are we there yet?

2006-02-05T10:59:00.000-07:00

Episode 4.11/59, "Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda"

So since they're so good, I guess I'll continue with the end of the fourth season. This is the episode where the women find out that Miranda is pregnant with Steve's baby. It's interesting that this show has so many episodes about pregnancy and babies--"The Baby Shower," "A Woman's Right to Shoes," "Catch-38"--but I guess that's an important plot point when you have a bunch of sexually active women.

I think that the best part of this episode is the emphasis on their friendships. The ups-and-downs of their friendships are really the focus, and the confrontation that takes place between Charlotte and Miranda on the street always makes me cry a little. The question is excellent too, and could apply to so much more than just this issue. We give up so much to become the person we think we want to be, but do we ever really become that person? Do we ever really get the life that we want? Or is life just one big journey, where we constantly sacrifice and muddle through in the hopes of eventually getting somewhere that looks (and feels) pretty good? I think that it's both: eventually we get there, but it usually doesn't look like we thought it would. And then there are always those inexplicable paths that we take that lead our life in an entirely new direction, like Miranda does in this episode, totally altering our sense of who we are and what we think we can be. But then again, that's life too, and part of what makes it worthwhile as well.

Own A Bit of Charlotte

2006-02-04T08:42:00.000-07:00

Got an extra $600 lying around? Someone on eBay is auctioning the painting of Charlotte's vagina from episode 1.5/5, "The Power of Female Sex." It's sure to match any sofa, and talk about a conversation piece.

Can you ever really forgive if you can't forget?

2006-02-04T08:06:00.000-07:00

Episode 4.7/55, "Time and Punishment"

Although I didn't list any in my top five, I think that the fourth season episodes covering Aidan's return are some of the best. Now Aidan isn't my favorite--I'm a big Big fan--but there's something about all of these episodes that works. I like this one because you get a deeper sense of Aidan as a character, from his integrity--helping the naked, immobilized Miranda off the bathroom floor--and his indignation--passive-aggressively brushing Carrie off. Do people ever really forgive and forget? Neither is very simple. I think it is definitely possible to forgive, but perhaps not forget. That just doesn't seem humanly possible to me. Instead of forgetting, there must be a constantly conscious choice to ignore what happened, without retribution, whether direct or indirect. Making this choice can be a powerful personal action, and over time, whatever happened may eventually fall to the background.

When did we stop being free to be you and me?

2006-02-01T19:40:00.000-07:00

From Episode 6.9/83, "A Woman's Right to Shoes"

On my other blog, The Daily Jones, I listed my top five Sex and the City episodes, so I figured that I would begin here with my next five. This episode was my Honorable Mention: I like the way that it continues the themes from my favorite episode, "The Baby Shower." While it would be nice to have gift registries for "Avoiding Mr. Wrong" and "My First Cross-Country Solo Move," the greater gesture is in the simple recognition of circumstance and choice. Embracing your life alone can be a major milestone, and aside from DeBeers' marketing for the "right hand" ring, it's rarely celebrated. No one encourages anyone to consciously appreciate living life alone, so for me, that choice becomes even more powerful and valuable.

Welcome!

2006-01-27T22:11:00.000-07:00

I've always loved the question frame from Sex and the City. When I was looking for a list of Carrie's questions last fall, I was surprised that I couldn't find them on the web, so I took it upon myself to start watching all the episodes and writing all the questions. As you can imagine, it was grueling work. Well, the list is finally done, and I'm happy to post them for you here. I'm planning to do a "Question of the Day" kind of thing, so check back in and chat. Thanks for surfing by!

Best,
Jonesie

Season 1

2006-01-27T15:00:00.000-07:00

1.1/1 "Sex and the City"
Were women in New York really giving up on love and throttling up on power?
(Can women have sex like men?)

1.2/2 "Models and Mortals"
If models could cause otherwise rational individuals to crumble in their presence, exactly how powerful was beauty?

1.3/3 "Bay of Married Pigs"
Is there a secret cold war between marrieds and singles?

1.4/4 "Valley of the Twenty-Something Guys"
Are men in their twenties the new designer drug?…. I couldn't help but wonder, what do they see in us?

1.5/5 "The Power of Female Sex"
Where's the line between professional girlfriend and just plain "professional"?

1.6/6 "Secret Sex"
How many of us out there are having great sex with people we're ashamed to introduce to our friends?

1.7/7"The Monogamists"
In a city like New York, with its infinite possibilities, has monogamy become too much to expect?

1.8/8 "Three's a Crowd"
Were threesomes the new sexual frontier?

1.9/9 "The Turtle and the Hare"
In a city of great expectations, is it time to settle for what you can get?

1.10/10 "The Baby Shower"
As I watched Laney tear open a terry cloth baby bib with the same enthusiasm she once reserved for tearing off rock stars' pants, I couldn't help but wonder, was I next?

1.11/11 "The Drought"
How often is normal?

1.12/12 "Oh Come All Ye Faithful!"
Are relationships the religions of the nineties?

Season 2

2006-01-27T14:59:00.000-07:00

2.1/13 "Take Me Out to the Ballgame"
What are the break-up rules?

2.2/14 "The Awful Truth"
Are there still certain things in a relationship one should never say?

2.3/15 "The Freak Show"
Are all men freaks?

2.4/16 "The Shoot Single People, Don't They?"
Is it better to "fake it" than be alone?

2.5/17 "Four Women and a Funeral"
Can a relationship bring you back to life?

2.6/18 "The Cheating Curve"
In a gravity-free world of "anything goes," what constitutes cheating?

2.7/19 "The Chicken Dance"
In a city as cynical as New York, is it still possible to believe in love at first sight?

2.8/20 "The Man, the Myth, the Viagra"
Are we willing to believe anything to date?

2.9/21 "Old Dogs, New Dicks"
Can you change a man?

2.10/22 "The Caste System"
Can we date outside our caste?

2.11/23 "Evolution"
Are New Yorkers evolving past relationships?

2.12/24 "La Douleur Exquise!"
When it comes to relationships, how do you know when enough is enough?

2.13/25 "Games People Play"
Do you have to play games to make a relationship work?

2.14/26 "The Fuck Buddy"
Were we all in fact just dating the same person over and over again?

2.15/27 "Shortcomings"
When you date someone, how many people become emotionally involved? When you sleep with someone, are you screwing the family?

2.16/28 "Was It Good For You?"
How do you know if you're good in bed?

2.17/29 "Twenty-Something Girls vs. Thirty-Something Women"
Twenty-something girls: friend… or foe?

2.18/30 "Ex and the City"
Can you be friends with an ex?

Season 3

2006-01-27T14:57:00.000-07:00

3.1/31 "Where There's Smoke…"
Do women just want to be rescued?

3.2/32 "Politically Erect"
Can there be sex without politics?

3.3/33 "Attack of the 5'10" Woman"
Are there women in New York who are just there to make us feel bad about ourselves?

3.4/34 "Boy, Girl, Boy, Girl…"
If we can take the best of the other sex and make it our own, has the opposite sex become obsolete?

3.5/35 "No Ifs, Ands or Butts"
In relationships, what are the "deal breakers"?

3.6/36 "Are We Sluts?"
Are we simply romantically challenged, or are we sluts?

3.7/37 "Drama Queens"
Do we need drama to make a relationship work?

3.8/38 "The Big Time"
Is timing everything?

3.9/39 "Easy Come, Easy Go"
When it comes to relationships, is it smarter to follow your heart or your head?

3.10/40 "All or Nothing"
Can we have it all?

3.11/41 "Running with Scissors"
Is sex ever safe?

3.12/42 "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"
In a relationship, is honesty really the best policy?

3.13/43 "Escape from New York"
No matter how far you travel or how much you run from it, can you ever really escape your past?

3.14/44 "Sex and Another City"
When it comes to bags, men, and cities, is it really what's outside that counts?

3.15/45 "Hot Child in the City"
In today's youth obsessed culture, are the women of my generation growing into mature, responsible adults, or are we thirty-four going on thirteen?

3.16/46 "Frenemies"
Are we getting wiser, or just older?

3.17/47 "What Goes Around Comes Around"
Is there such a thing as relationship karma?

3.18/48 "Cock a Doodle Do!"
Could it be that the problem isn't them, but horror of horrors, is it us?

Season 4

2006-01-27T14:55:00.000-07:00

4.1/49 "The Agony & the 'Ex-'tasy"
Soul mates: reality or torture device?

4.2/50 "The Real Me"
Why is it that we can see our friends perfectly, but when it comes to ourselves, no matter how hard we look, do we ever see ourselves clearly?

4.3/51 "Defining Moments"
What really defines a relationship?

4.4/52 "What's Sex Got to Do with It?"
What comes first, the chicken (the relationship) or the sex?

4.5/53 "Ghost Town"
When a relationship dies, do we ever really give up the ghost, or are we forever haunted by the spirits of relationships past?

4.6/54 "Baby, Talk is Cheap"
In matters of love, do actions really speak louder than words?

4.7/55 "Time and Punishment"
Can you ever really forgive if you can't forget?

4.8/56 "My Motherboard, My Self"
If giving a man the keys to your apartment means unlocking the door to home cooking and great sex, why were so many independent women… (computer crashes)

4.9/57 "Sex and the Country"
When does the art of compromise become comprising?

4.10/58 "Belles of the Balls"
Are men just women with balls?

4.11/59 "Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda"
As we speed along this endless road to the destination called "Who-We-Hope-to-Be," I can't help but whine, are we there yet?

4.12/60 "Just Say Yes"
In matters of love, how do you know when it's right?

4.13/61 "The Good Fight"
When it comes to relationships, what are we fighting for?

4.14/62 "All That Glitters…"
To be in a couple, do you have to put your single self on a shelf?

4.15/63 "Change of a Dress"
….do we really want these things (marriage and children), or are we just programmed?

4.16/64 "Ring a Ding Ding"
At the end of yet another failed relationship,… you have to wonder, what's it all worth?

4.17/65 "A 'Vogue' Idea"
How much does a "father figure" figure?

4.18/66 "I Heart NY"
Can you make a mistake and miss your fate?

Season 5

2006-01-27T14:53:00.000-07:00

5.1/67 "Anchors Away"
Does that sense of adventure still flicker inside of us, or when it comes to being carefree single girls, have we missed the boat?

5.2/68 "Unoriginal Sin"
What's the harm in believing?

5.3/69 "Luck Be an Old Lady"
If we know the house always wins, why gamble?

5.4/70 "Cover Girl"
If it is instantly clear that a person, a place, or even a profession is not for you, is it better to ignore your better judgment and read between the lines, or should you judge a book by its cover?

5.5/71 "Plus One is the Loneliest Number"
Why do we let the one thing we don't have affect all the things we do have? Why does one minus a plus one feel like it adds up to a zero?

5.6/72 "Critical Condition"
When it comes to life and love, why do we believe our worst reviews?

5.7/73 "The Big Journey"
Are we the new bachelors?

5.8/74 "I Love a Charade"
Is a relationship a relationship without the zsa zsa zsu?

Season 6

2006-01-27T14:52:00.000-07:00

6.1/75 "To Market, To Market"
When it comes to finance and dating…, why do we keep investing?

6.2/76 "Great Sexpectations"
Why is it always something?

6.3/77 "The Perfect Present"
Can you get to a future if your past is present?

6.4/78 "Pick-a-Little, Talk-a-Little"
….When does criticism that is constructive become destructive? Are there times when the ladies should just shut the fuck up?

6.5/79 "Lights, Camera, Relationship!"
Are the men of today less threatened by a woman's power, or are they just acting?

6.6/80 "Hop, Skip and a Week"
Do we need distance to get close?

6.7/81 "The Post-It Always Sticks Twice"
Do we search for "lessons" to lessen the pain?

6.8/82 "The Catch"
When did it stop being fun and start being scary?

6.9/83 "A Woman's Right to Shoes"
When did we stop being free to be you and me?

6.10/84 "Boy, Interrupted"
When it comes to matters of the heart, did we have it right in high school?

6.11/85 "The Domino Effect"
Just how dangerous is an open heart?

6.12/86 "One"
When will waiting for the one… be done?

6.13/87 "Let There Be Light"
When it comes to men, even when we try to keep it light, how do we wind up in the dark?

6.14/88 "The Ick Factor"
Have we become romance intolerant?

6.15/89 "Catch-38"
Why are we should-ing all over ourselves?

6.16/90 "Out of the Frying Pan"
Denial: Friend… or foe?

6.17/91 "The Cold War"
Without sharing your worlds, can even the hottest relationship stop cold?

6.18/92 "Splat!"
Is it time to stop questioning?

6.19/93 "An American Girl in Paris (Part Une)"
No question

6.20/94 "An American Girl in Paris (Part Deux)"
No question