I don’t mean this to sound... I dunno, catty, but the women in the portraits are, to be absolutely frank, more classically proportional and symmetrical, and thus stunning AND unlike her, they have absolutely striking personality and emotion that comes through.

That’s just stupid. We have something in common, and it’s a big thing. I have more in common with native New Yorker of Puerto Rican descent than I do with a Jew from Iraq. Or even a Jew from the suburbs of Sacramento.

What? You’ve never heard of Native New Yorkers of Puerto Rican heritage? Should I be referred to as a Jew instead of a Native New Yorker?

The men were native New Yorkers.

The same thing happened in New York City 15 years ago.

True story. I didn’t appreciate Guns n’ Roses at the time because my middle school self HATED hair bands and made a snap judgement based on their appearance. It wasn’t until a friend of mine found his old Appetite for Destruction tape and insisted on listening to it every time we drove somewhere that I realized what…

I’m a huge fan of British procedurals and mysteries, and even watch the silly ones like Blue Murder <— don’t actually recommend. (I’m also a Robson Green fan.) But, yes, the classic British shows are so much better than what we’ve had here, before cable stations starting copying the Sopranos ambiguity models.

Yeah, but Wire in the Blood is arguably the start of the (much lighter) American mystery procedural trend where the male protagonist is the somewhat incapable and eccentric genius, while the female antagonist is the highly competent and uptight assistant who clears the way for the male to be a genius. Monk, Castle,…

Honestly, I have to wonder if your ex was misdiagnosed. People with BPD are more likely to self-harm than to batter others.

It’s irresponsible to tell people with BPD that there’s no hope for them. Absolutely irresponsible. I’m not suggesting that anyone shouldn’t guiltlessly cut ties with those who suffer from BPD, but to suggest they can’t get better harms the sufferers and their loved ones.

It’s also not true that personality disorders are untreatable. In fact, BPD is the most manageable of the personality disorders, with appropriate intervention.

That’s not necessarily true. Specialized therapy that deals with a) developing empathy, b) shoring up fragile ego points, and c) teaching impulse control can be very effective with a lot of men. Most abusers are not complete sadists or psychopaths, although plenty are. In fact, social education around domestic abuse…

The best way of handling this is to call 911 when someone makes a suicide threat. If they’re serious, you’ll get the help you need. If they’re faking, having the police show up and a possible psych hold will knock that shit off.

I’ve heard too many stories of old ladies dying on gurneys in hospital hallways. My great aunt was left on a gurney, without a blanket overnight in an NYC hospital. She didn’t die, but she said it was the worst night of her life.

These aren’t the most popular names of 2015, or the fastest growing, etc. These are the top name reported among users of one particular site, nameberry.com

We know it’s a boy because of early screenings. So, we actually tested every way til Tuesday at a fertility clinic because of our age, and it was taking us a while to conceive again. We were thinking that if there were issues, we’d go with genetically tested IVF. Turns out, we didn’t need any intervention, but the…

Hey, I had two miscarriages in a six month period, and am now 16 weeks and going great. It really is the luck of the (egg) draw. I was terrified to try a third time, and I’d be lying if I said the first trimester wasn’t frightening, but twice isn’t a foregone conclusion.

On US bases no less.

Here’s a NYT story on the subject from a couple of months ago. It’s definitely an article you have to stop and take breaks from. Soldiers claim that abuse was happening on base and that they were told to ignore it.

It doesn’t matter whether you find it convincing or not. It is what it is. The government cannot use its power to inhibit the protected speech of citizens. Period. By all means, find me an example of case law where a high court said it was a-okay for a government body to demand retribution for protected acts of speech…