Some friends of mine got married a couple of years ago in her parents nothing special back yard. Her dad built a little stage in one corner under a couple of trees with low-ish branches and the bride and her mother hung a few strands of Christmas lights through the branches. The bride made her own (simple, very…

I knew a woman named Candace who married a man with the last name Barr. And she chose to go by Candy.

I always feel sorry for those kids. I know a Jordynne (Jordan), a Ryleigh (Riley), and a Syrus (Cyrus). Their names are going to be misspelled on every single birthday party invite, in every piece of mail they receive, etc. It just seems silly.

I knew a Cookie Cutter in high school.

I think it depends on where the person generally smokes. I have two co-workers who smoke. One of them smokes in her car, smokes in her house, and takes a few outdoor smoke breaks during the day. She smells like an ashtray. The other doesn't smoke in her house or car, only outside. I have never smelled cigarette…

The generous maternity leave policies that other countries give new parents (see: Scandinavia), as well as subsidized day care, etc., mostly grew out of panic that people weren't having enough babies and that was going to cause problems down the line. We've never had to do that because our birth rates have remained…

Oh, okay, because I was thinking, What is it about cop cars that suddenly seem to be such an aphrodesiac for people? Good to know it's still just the one incident.

James Deen... was Bill... in a True Blood porn parody. My brain can't even process that. However, my fingers can Google it. I'll be back later. Don't wait up.

They're very, very different, but I think the analogy holds up. Both have rabidly devoted fan bases. Both get/got massively positive critical reviews. Both reward repeated viewings (in both cases, rewatching episodes reveals hidden depths and jokes that may not have been obvious at first). Both featured a cast of…

Dear NBC, this is your Arrested Development moment. Yes, you have a low rated, critically beloved show right now. Cancel it now and you become the dummies everyone loathes, especially as more and more people discover it on DVD and on streaming video. I say, start promoting the hell out of it on Hulu now (or, better…

Totally true. Also, dudes, this is who you want to be like.

Oh, yeah, keeping him on as the guidance counselor, that's better.

There have been 12 debates so far? I knew there had been a lot, but 12?! Jesus. What can possibly be left to ask at this point? What can possibly be left to say? If the Republican voters can't make up their minds after, what, more than 24 hours worth of "debating", then we should probably declare their indecision…

Jesus Christ on a pogostick, the awful just keeps coming.

Me too! I was hoping there would be information on how I could join!

Should but, sadly, doesn't. And unfortunately, we are so overwhelmed by the notion of the Protestant Work Ethic that anything that carries even a whiff of shirking duty gets the side eye from a large portion of the country.

During the debates over the health care bill, there were people in Congress (men) who argued that maternity coverage shouldn't be standard for health insurance - women should pay extra if they wanted to get pregnant. You're more than welcome to have a go at getting them to see maternity benefits as a right, but…

I know, insane, right? Craziest of all, Sweden found that for every month of paid paternity leave a man took, his partner's income over the next five years after she returned to work increased by more thatn 5%. Lunacy!

When the Falconbaby arrives, I will get 3 months paid leave at 100% of my salary. I feel so insanely lucky to have that. A good friend just had a baby - she got six weeks paid at 60% of normal salary. Another friend got no paid time off and so had to go back to work one week after giving birth. She said she sobbed…

My cousin is getting married today at 4:00 pm. So, I'm going to miss the wedding, but I'll make it to the reception (hey, it's the end of the year, I don't really have any vacation time left). Part of me wishes that they'd made the ceremony a little later, and the other part of me is kind of grateful that I'm not…