@i_mock_you_with_my_monkey_pant...: It's a tremendous book by Susan Faludi about the anti-feminist and anti-woman backlash against women in the 80s and early 90s. In addition to great coverage of Randall Terry (who was just getting started on his anti-abortion crusade at the time) one of the chapters talks about Fatal…

You know, ever since I read Backlash I've disliked Michael Douglas. But that was a pretty funny line.

Good for Melissa Leo—one of the most consistently great actresses since her days way back on Homicide.

So they cut to Jane Lynch? Because, yeah, gotta show a lesbian since Benning won for playing a lesbian?

You know you're on the mark when you make De Niro lose it.

@CoreyHaim8myDog: Way to prove the point about the pomposity of a certain section of readers. I'm amazed you even deign to grace Io9 with your superior knowledge. (And sorry, but you're wrong on Saramago—the man's writing has the vitality of a warmed-over tv dinner.)

I call BS on Weight Watchers. My mom started dragging me to meetings when I was 10 and I was on the program (including official weigh-ins) on and off for at least a few years as a kid. Maybe now they require a doctor's note, but they sure as hell didn't back then.

@CoreyHaim8myDog: I think the idea that "one might win a Nobel and one won't" is a pretty poor explanation. All sci-fi is stuck in the "sci-fi ghetto" when it comes to big mainstream literary awards. (Witness Kim Stanley Robinson's recent dig at the Booker Prize—something Mieville also addressed in his last Arthur C.…

@jespree: Ha! Yes, but I assume Sam the Eagle would peck the flesh from their scraggly old muppet bones if they tried it. Plus, somehow, I imagine Statler and Waldorf as being like the grumpy older guys who hang in the park near my house...they HATE litterbugs. (Wow, clearly I have way too many thoughts and opinions…

@browngirlinthering: Thank god I'm not the only one. Totally distracted me. I hope it was some cute inside joke, because all I could think of is "What kind of douchy muppet litters in a park and laughs about it?"

@LaComtesse: I think the real "unsuspecting clients" are the women who mistakenly wander into "crisis pregnancy centers" thinking they'll be offered actual help—and instead just get told that they have to put the kid up for adoption.

@archaeo_girl: I was just about to recommend this. For people who haven't seen it, the film goes through the insane, arbitrary way the MPAA makes its ratings (did you know the Catholic Church gets a say in how our movies are rated??).

@Spacemilk: If you bothered to read what I actually wrote, you would see that nowhere did I claim that it was Coach Kelly that sent Declan up on the scissor lift.

@caitinacube: But it's not just about Lizzy's case. The fact that Declan was sent up on a tower, basically to his death, for something so incredibly stupid is a clear indication that the people overseeing the team do not have the best interests of those around the team at heart.

@caitinacube: True, but I think Dave is making the point that this absolutely what the "death penalty" *should* be used for. That there are other moral and ethical considerations besides cheating that impact sports and, especially, those get are in the orbit of sports teams, like Lizzy and Declan.

A friend of mine, sportswriter Dave Zirin, has called for Notre Dame football to receive the NCAA "death penalty" and be suspended for a year. In addition to the awful treatment of Lizzie Seeberg and her suicide, it's pretty apparent that the recent death of videographer Declan Sullivan was a result of willful…

@Vidya108: Actually,Wilton's rolled fondants are often certified kosher and not made with gelatin or other animal-derived products. (As for this specific fondant, I can't tell whether or not it's got gelatin in it.)

Mel Gibson, is that you??

@Alasdair95: If you are more into politics, particularly a certain brand of socialist politics, I'd recommend starting with "Iron Council." But, really, I enjoy pretty much everything he's written.

And *THIS* is why I now carry pepper spray with me, especially late at night on the train.