I'm genuinely empathetic to your situation, I just do not think telling people BS like "It will happen when you least expect it" or "There's someone for everyone" is better than saying "What if actually you are alone forever? Then what?". Being happy single is about letting go of societal, and biological, imperatives…

As I've said to other replies, I wish him the best finding someone. My comment was more aimed at the fact that societal attitudes put too much emphasis on the importance of love in living a happy life. If this doesn't work I think he'll feel even worse than before, partly because he's been mislead by the idea that…

I worry that if this doesn't work he will feel even worse, and society's attitude that finding the right person is vital to your existence isn't helping. If we had more acceptance of "There isn't someone for everyone" we'd have more options for people to find fulfillment in other ways.

I don't think it is a choice to be single, but it's a choice to be happy being single. I absolutely wish him the best in finding someone, but I think if he doesn't this whole process will be even more damaging to his self-esteem all because society tells us that finding someone is the most important thing any of us…

Gelatinous. I like the soft start and the long second syllable, and the 't' in the middle kind of grounds it so it's not too squishy.

It's sad though, she couldn't be a ballet dancer because of the period of starvation - her body couldn't produce the muscle required, which is how she ended up doing stage shows and eventually films.

I've read a couple biographies and nothing indicated she had an eating disorder. She was in Holland (not Belgium) in the war and they were literally starving - they tried to eat tulip bulbs and bread made from grass. She was about 11, which is one of the key growth ages, and if you don't get enough nutrition at that…

I do hope that Dan finds someone, but I also think this is a reflection of society's obsession with coupling up. If you don't find someone, you're a failure, but is that really the worst thing ever? Are all single people miserable and all couples happy? The best advice I ever read (which I think was Captain Awkward…

You just didn't read enough regency romances as a young impressionable teenage girl. I could tell you a ridiculous amount about royal titles etc. but I'm not entirely sure how accurate those books were. If the quality of the writing was indicative of the quality of the research it's possible England didn't even exist…

I have to say, I am guilty of this and I think it's because I don't have any close friends who are religious, and I don't come from a religious community. I just assume people who are smart and reasonable aren't religious. I know it's not fair, but it's hard to break the habit because I've had so little exposure to…

I read a great article by a high school teacher about why Catcher is no longer relevant for today's disillusioned teen, and they recommended Black Swan Green, by David Mitchell. I grabbed it from the library and would highly recommend it. I'm not a teacher and I don't know any teenagers so can't say if it would be…

YES! I got that from a guy that I liked in high school after we met again in university, both in new (but what turned out to be long term) relationships. He really could have kept that to himself...

I don't think anyone in NZ is making the kind of blanket statement you're suggesting (hellloooo strawman), but if no one is asking for a boys only group then nothing will change. But I don't have that information, hence wondering whether it was a demand based decision, or a national oversight.

Putting Pushing Daisies and Misfits in the same bracket is just cruel. I'm also sad to see Sliders against Game of Thrones because I know it's going to lose by a lot, and it was so good! And where's Quantum Leap?

Neil Degrasse Tyson!

I saw a documentary about a company that incorporates ashes into an artificial reef that then gets dropped into the ocean and creates habitat for coral and sea life so that's my new favourite idea. Mostly I don't care - do whatever the people left behind want. Want to see my corpse on display? Sure! Want to burn me…

I work for an HR news website and I keep posting stories about the benefits of mid-work naps (Even just 15 minutes makes you more alert than having a cup of coffee, says science!) in the hope that my boss will see it and suddenly decide this is acceptable work behaviour.

I worry I would have the opposite reaction - more like when I find a big spider in my room. *high pitched scream* "A baby! A baby! Get it out! No! Don't kill it! Just put it outside."

Yeah, I agree. My family knows it's a sign it's serious once they get a name. I don't remember the name of some of my first dates, but I still sometimes tell stories about "Irish Guy" or "Bold Engineer" - no one in my circle met either, or will ever remember their names so if I want to talk about them then it's…