The Vox Box

Mon., Oct. 8, 2007

Fortune cookies offer pessimistic advice

Tony Cenicola/The New York Times

Wonton Food in Queens, NY, has created a line of fortune cookies that are not as full of the optimism and vague advice most are used to.

“We wanted our fortune cookies to be a little bit more value-added,” marketing director Bernard Chow said. “We wanted to get some different perspective, to write something that is more contemporary.”

Full article...

Some examples:
“Today is a disastrous day. If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.”
“It’s over your head now. Time to get some professional help.”
"Plan for the best, prepare for the worst."
“Perhaps you’ve been focusing too much on yourself.”
"There may be a crisis looming, be ready for it.”

Go for it: If you were writing them, what would your pessimistic fortune say?

Posted Oct. 8, 2007, 1:20 p.m.

In 2006, then-editor Steve Smith of The Spokesman-Review had the idea of starting a publication for an often forgotten audience: teenagers. The Vox Box was a continuation of the Vox, an all-student staffed newspaper published by The Spokesman-Review. High school student journalists who staffed the Vox made all content decisions as they learn about the trade of journalism. This blog's mission was to give students an opportunity to publish their voices. The Vox Box and the Vox wrapped up in June 2009, but you can follow former staffers' new blog at http://voxxiez.blogspot.com.