Ewg! That lady has an anger problem. Why would anybody respond to a compliment with that sort of bitchery. She must have other issues going on like secretly jealous of you for some reason.

As a kid, I grew up in an era when I basically entertained myself and stayed occupied with bikes, books, and buddies —- from the time I was 4 or 5, my own mother was free from breakfast on (unless needed for bandaging duty).

That’s the crux of it. If your child is 15 months old, a big elaborate party is not going to be remembered, so why put yourself through it? In fact, until your kid is old enough to participate in making party favors and food and has some idea of the meaning of the holiday, save your strength. (Unless it's just an…

The worst thing about our prisons is the way they are now overwhelmingly occupied by minorities, often for offenses that whites —- particularly wealthy whites —- are given slaps on the wrist for. The incredible unfairness of the “justice” system goes unaddressed decade after decade as politicians battle to hornswoggle…

Oh lordy. When I had my daughter, they were not giving any meds at all at Dominican Hospital in Santa Cruz —- it was "all-natural" childbirth. They said you could have one shot of Demerol if you insisted, but that was it, and they’d prefer you do without it. So I did without it: 13th century style childbirth. I was in…

Yes to that. I took a shower while they were footprinting and registering my baby and blew my hair dry and put on my makeup. When they brought my baby back, my husband and a stream of relatives and co-workers and friends were flooding into my room; there was no stopping them. Don’t feel guilty about wanting to refresh…

Menopause is so wonderful. I feel like a child again. Absolutely no cycling, no PMS, no nothing. No having to count days or remember to buy supplies. I rarely got hot flashes, no dryness for me. I am just set free.

Laura Scudder. Crunchy. Just peanuts and salt. I don’t like when they add a bunch of sugar and flavoring and stabilizers and all that; who needs it?

I’m Jewish, and this doesn’t bother me a bit. One thing I love about Judaism is the irreverent, self-mocking humor. In my family, nothing is sacred except not crossing a picket line. I’ll take my family over the pious variety, but it takes all kinds. I like the idea that Franco is comfortable with his Judaism, and I…

Yes, it’s always the responsibility of each driver to avoid or prevent an accident, no matter who is obeying the letter of the law. In this case it looks to me like the swerver, a choleric and impenitent old man, acted out of ire and impulse, which makes this an attempted vehicular homicide in my eyes. That said, the…

When I was in rehab, there was a woman there on the second or third day that the leader asked to read our little inspirational paragraph to the group. She started “reading” but all of her words were totally garbled; not a comprehensible syllable came out of her mouth. The leader gave me a significant look, like “take…

So where is John O’Hara territory?

You’re absolutely entitled to your strong feelings and responses, as are we all. (I didn’t even know there was such a thing s “tone-policing.”) But you can be passionate and forceful without being abusive, which STFU is. Maybe my own background with my mom made me wince, but it is actually a distraction from your…

Geez, I hope you’re not that choleric with your kids. Seriously, I had a hot-tempered mother with a low flashpoint and I grew up walking on eggshells. Maybe you feel strongly but you don’t need to tell people with differing opinions to STFU and fuck you and call them an asshole etc. etc. Try tempering that abusive…

Yeah, but a baby is an attention magnet. You sort of can’t help focusing on which way those first little squeaks and fusses are gong to go: either the baby will settle back down, or the baby will grow increasingly noisy and then kick out the jams. So you have one ear/eye on the baby and one on the speaker: which way…

I have two major exes with whom I have stayed friends; one is my ex-husband, with whom I have a daughter, and one other man. Both of them broke it off with me. I’m perfectly fine being friends with them (although their women get uncomfortable, so I let them call me, I don’t call them). I am much happier being just…

I don’t think opiates or cocaine are considered teratogenic, although being born addicted is of course dreadful. (I don’t think Frances was born addicted either.) Exposure to alcohol in utero is much riskier, from what I read. And it’s weird that cat feces are potentially more dangerous to the fetus than shooting…

Frances is 5’9” according to the Internet, so at least she got a nice height despite the drugs, although she looks a lot shorter than Courtney in that picture.

Sad to see this. I’m going to read some of her books. I was a little English major litsnob who would only read sex scenes if they were in DH Lawrence or some other faculty-approved “great writer.” Insufferable.

First-rate research and writing. As a Californian, I'll know what to look out for now.