As the child of an unrepentant asshole (mother, not father), I can only say that everyone has to get through their shit in their own way. For me, though, holding a grudge was a way of holding on to the false hope that Asshole would realize their assholishness and that eventually there would be a reckoning where all my…

Given that most of America has been eating GMOs for the last forty years, with not a single proven side-effect or individual case of getting sick, the "corrupt" and "whore" are not the only incendiary, pointless words used in this comment. "Poisonous" is just as unfounded and untrue as the others.

Because it isn't my first time abroad? I've never been to China, but I've lived abroad for long periods of time before. I'll be teaching at a vocational college where the facilities are brand-new - I'm not even certain I'll have to get used to a squat toilet as part of my daily life, it'll probably remain something…

Unfortunately, you're unlikely to get sick from your own poo germs, unless you already had a stomach problem and were basically recirculating those germs. Other people can definitely get sick from your stuff, but not yourself. It's unfair because anyone who would take that attitude definitely deserves to be suffering…

I'm about 90% sure I'm going to teach English in rural China after this summer, and I'm actually excited about getting to learn to use a squat toilet. I'm only 50% joking. Granted, I AM one of those annoying "every setback is an adventure" people when I'm traveling (because when you're traveling a huge amount of the…

I also had that exact same dinosaur, and loved him. Toy dinos are the best.

I had that same dollhouse. Playmobil was actually the best. Better than Lego, better than Barbie.

You and me both. I try to keep the corner of my eye on the fashion world, just for entertainment mostly, and while some criticisms make sense to me (the Rihanna stuff looks like things that already exist, though not particularly trashy), the Hedi Slimane stuff, while all over the map, also had a bunch of stuff that I…

I'd like to read that study. Given the thousands of years people have been consuming these things all over the world (and the deep ambiguity of the word "sugar" - glucose? Fructose? Almost everything breaks down to component sugars during digestion) I am always skeptical of claims like this. Not skeptical enough to…

I'm sorry for your friend. He's obviously doing a job that needs to be done by someone, but perhaps that someone shouldn't be him. Remind him that it's frightening but not impossible to start over, and a lot of the foundational things we consider to be keeping us in our current life can actually form the basis for…

Same here. I believe strongly, 100%, that every single accused person has the right to robust, qualified defense. But I wonder at the people who can live with doing that job. As much as I stand behind the first statement, looking at some of the crimes being committed and the types of defense that are deemed most…

In my case, it seems like every job is either for someone with 5 years more experience than me, OR kids still in college whose parents still pay for everything. What is up with that?!?

You and I can do tequila shots off of young attractive people at 60. It's a date.

I am sometimes freaked out by my age because if you asked me when I'm distracted, I'd probably say I'm 19 (I'm 27), because honestly that's the last time getting older made me feel *different,* so it's still in a way how old I feel. But considering I plan to continue being awesome well into my 60's, I have nothing but…

I'm glad you had this reaction, because I had the opposite one. In my head, talking about whether or not someone is a feminist after they've stated that they are is about the least-feminist thing you can do. But your point is correct that it will provoke an interesting discussion about the nature of feminism, which is…

I think with women and weight, "no winning" is sadly the name of the game. I think the only way that changes is if we back off entirely except in the cases where we suspect a serious health issue with our very closest friends and relations.

It's not the toy in the bottom of your cereal box, it's information. It doesn't have to surprise you.

All I can say is that I'm sorry you had that experience, it sounds awful and I hope you are feeling better now. Good for you sticking to your guns with your family!

My original comment had an (I think) after the initial statement, but I took it out because while on the one hand you're right and I have no idea what it is to receive the constant im-and-ex plicit criticism of our entire society, I also DO know myself, and I know how much of my sense of self-worth is based on how I…

I think even many people who have struggled to lose weight find it offputting when people compliment on it, for lots of reasons: I'm still the same person/I didn't do it for others/I'm not a better person now/It's none of your business are all things I've read from for example, my Tumblr friends who have lost weight.…