I’m not sure what Vallelonga meant by “heirs” or “friends.” Shirley may have left his property estate to someone he was close to - a domestic partner? That doesn’t negate the right of Shirley’s family to speak up about his portrayal, though. At least from the statements of his family, it sounds like they stayed…

Good to know that I still have a few years to do and say unconscionable things! Phew! I guess I can harass my colleagues until my mid-40s at least and then apologize and be congratulated for my sincerity when I am in my 60s.  After all, no one could expect a 40 year old to know how to behave!  

I think I will see it. If I had to choose, though, I’d rather my story be told by my siblings than by the son of some random dude I hired to drive me around for 8 months decades ago.  And whom I fired.  I shiver to think how my life would be portrayed by some of the people I have casual professional contact with.  

I missed The Green Book in theaters initially and was disappointed because I really like Mahershala Ali and Viggo Mortensen. Now it’s back, but I’m not sure I want to see it. Apparently the family of Don Shirley really object to the way he was portrayed. He wasn’t estranged from them as the film suggested. He had…

Yes, my experience of seeing Saudi families in Switzerland was the same. I also don’t support the headscarf ban, but the women in full abayas with their faces covered were something different. I don’t believe anyone would choose of her own free will to be so restricted that she couldn’t properly see or eat or…

I hope so.  Jamal Khashoggi was one of the most high profile Saudis and that certainly didn’t save him.  I hope things have changed.  I think Rahaf needs to go into some kind of witness protection program where she can change her identity.   

I hope her family isn’t well connected and wealthy. I’m not sure there is any country that could truly protect her if the Saudi government decided that she is PR embarrassment that needs to be eliminated. Even if she moves to Australia, I fear for her in a year or two.

I hate clutter, but throwing things away also gives me anxiety. So wasteful! What if I suddenly need a t-shirt from 1998??? What if I go up or down a size? Doesn’t everyone need a storage shed of clothes they wore 10 years ago? My dream is to hire an organizer to come through my house like a tornado and throw…

Yes, she seems really isolated. I get that she doesn’t have a big family, but she only had her mom and a small handful of recent celebrity friends. No childhood family friends or high school girlfriends - no college roommates - no apartment mates from her early 20s when she was a struggling actress. It did strike…

I agree that the royals’ jobs don’t seem too strenuous, but on the other hand, every aspect of their appearance, clothes, and manner is scrutinized and commented on. Everything they say in public is recorded.  To me, that sounds like a nightmare.  I can understand why someone would need several months off post- birth…

So sorry.  That sounds devastating. 

My grandmother was in a wheelchair for the last few years of her life and she talked about how people would completely disregard her and talk over her. I remember being in the checkout lane of the grocery store and the clerk would talk to me, a clueless 18 year old, even though my grandmother, a WWII Navy vet and…

The wheelchair thing happens all the time. My brother is blind and a really fit weight-lifter who works out every day. If he needs help at the airport, they show up with a wheelchair. A few times, they try to insist he sit in it “for liability reasons.” All he needed was a sighted guide to help him get to baggage…

Well, I’ve had a friendship that was similar in intensity but lacked some of the negative jealousy. I thought it was pretty much settled fact that Ferrante is a married couple who co-wrote the books....

I think some girl friends from childhood are like war buddies.  You’ve been through the emotional trenches together and have a bond that no one can understand.  

My intense platonic friendship will last a lifetime. I’ve burned through romantic relationships in which I was passionately in love and I will never feel the intense loyalty and complex love for a partner that I feel for the woman I’ve been close friends with since we were 6. If fact, I never want to feel that bond…

I liked them when I was about 13-17 and an aspiring baby intellectual. All the namedropping worked for me as an adolescent. I aspired to a life where everyone quoted philosophy at each other at dinner.   I remember going out and buying and e.e cummings book because someone quotes him. As an adult, I find the films…

There have been some studies that show that people with authoritarian personalities and rage issues are drawn to three professions: police, prison guards, and teachers. In all three, you have control over vulnerable people. The majority of teachers are kind and dedicated, but there are some abusive teachers out…

Anyone who seriously wants to arm teachers has never worked with teachers. Teachers can be bright, dedicated professionals, but trained snipers they are not. I’m just picturing a harried history teacher juggling stacks of papers. “Kids, I know I put my gun down somewhere! Help me find it.” And that’s not…

I lived in Oxford briefly, but it was well-heated. I lived in Paris and froze my ass off at times. But in France, you put on a sweater so you can have beautiful hardwood. I think it’s just a different aesthetic choice.