How can he justifiably argue that it’s false and defamatory when he issued an apology statement?! Wouldn’t that just get dismissed right off the bat?

My husband’s favorite part of the show is watching Clint obviously pine for Joanna. He’s convinced Clint has some really creepy stalker shrine with candles and locks of her hair hidden behind some door in his workshop.

The Secretary also had self-aware humor. And good writing. And good acting.

Tangent: Archivist here. My old apartment blg had a “library” in the basement where people could leave old books (and bookshelves), but it was a big building and eventually the “library” began to run out of space. So I would sneak down at night and surreptitiously weed the “collection.” I slowly but surely recycled an…

I visited Sacre Coeur last year, and despite all of the very prominent “Shut up and don’t take flash photos” signs in multiple languages and with very obvious pictographs, my friend and I were nearly run down by a gang of elderly Polish pilgrims being led by a nun. A nun! They were all wearing their little pilgrimage…

I’ve had the opposite experience— I recently overheard a couple of well-toned, tastefully-ombred-hair mommies bitching in Whole Foods [!] about how they resent that their children will be financially burdened by having to pay taxes to support programs for people [like me] who don’t have children when they age, and…

Yeah, those lawless thugs who pulled down that statue of King George III in Bowling Green in 1776 should definitely been punished. Because that way lies chaos.

True, yes, but I think it’s also been done in very specific ways to very specific ends... think of how Arya appeared in the previous episode when she arrived back at Winterfell. Her outfit wasn’t only about practicality— she was a DEAD RINGER for her father. She wore her hair in the same style, had the same jerkin...…

Good point, and plays out in reverse, as well— Brienne is valued for her physical skill and loyalty and thus shows herself to be an extremely competent asset/ally. Same with Missandei— when given freedom from slavery and provided with personal agency, she becomes an indispensable councilor.

Greil MARCUS, not Martin.

I’d wager it’s not so much legitimate mental illness so much as the Elvis syndrome: this kid’s been surrounded by a giant team of Yes-Men since before he hit puberty (obvs Elvis was older when he hit stardom, but the parallels are the same...)— he has never had to learn to function like an actual adult; he just has to…

Let’s not forget that the NRA ultimately exists not to philosophically defend the 2nd Amendment so much as it exists to SELL FIREARMS. And gun sales have absolutely tanked since SCROTUS took office precisely because his base knows that SCROTUS will not be coming for their precious guns. This is cynical capitalism at…

I had terrible physical side effects with Lexapro, but everyone’s chemistry is different— what’s important is to keep in contact with your health provider and let them know if there is a problem. There are tons of SSRI’s out there, and finding the right one can be a process of trial and error... but when you find the…

Sweet! Thanks for the heads-up!

Isn’t Louise Mensch kind of crazypants, though? I can’t get a good read on her— sometimes she seems to have good info and sensible commentary, other times she seems like a malevolent Conservative asshat. What’s her deal?

Doesn’t anyone remember The Falafel Monlogues?!

I don’t know if it’s a generation difference— I was in college in the early 90's— but the financial aid office at my school flat-out REQUIRED that we sign over our financial aid checks directly to the bursar’s office, where they were applied only to tuition, room and board. I had to pay for my own books, which was…

IO9 used to run really great writing articles that generated great discussions. I highly recommend hopping over there and looking through them. Even though a lot of them reference Sci-Fi and fantasy works, the advice, prompts, and discussions are pretty universal:

YES! THIS!

My first crush was Scott Baio, so I feel your pain. :(