I read “Tannis of the Flats” recently, which I somehow missed as a child, and I was honestly shocked at how blatant the racism was. I remember her using the n-word (to describe a painted statue) in one of her lesser known books, but for the most part POC just didn’t factor in all — her world was exclusively white.

I’ve read the books. Multiple times. I’ve also read a fair amount of scholarship about Laura Ingalls Wilder and her writing. Which is how I know there’s plenty of racism to be found in the books that has nothing to do with “portraying historical people that actually were racist.” The infamous “There were no people.…

He actually slept with me quite faithfully for the first 3 years I had him, and then he very carefully, very considerately weaned me off it over a period of weeks — first waiting until I was deeply asleep and then switching to his bed one night a week, then two, and so forth, and then following the same pattern but…

Speaking of dogs, what’s your favorite thing your pet does?

Never not funny.

Put me down for love. I love love love the sofritas and the guac and the corn salsa. I actually eat there more since I gave up meat, because there aren’t a lot of fast-casual places that offer tofu options.

I wasn’t scared by Hereditary at all, which is weird, because normally I’m the kind of horror movie wuss who needs to watch large portions of the film through my fingers. I thought it was a great movie — beautifully shot, great acting, brutal and creepy as all hell — but I was never actually frightened. Apparently…

NPR neatly dismantled the inane “policy” argument:

My dog is going to live forever, thank you very much.

Huh. I have really high arches too, and heels kill my back, to the point that I can’t wear them at all. 

I’m a copy editor, and the guy who had my job before me once let that one go through. On a 6x2 sign, no less (the error was caught before the sign was displayed, thank god, but not before it was printed).

But the only thing that makes a wedding cake “gay” is that gay people are buying it. If a straight couple had come in and asked for the exact same cake, without a single alteration, he’d have happily sold it to them. That’s why it’s discriminatory.

To some extent I think it works that way with privilege in general, though obviously the degrees vary. White people take their shit out on black people. Men take their shit out on women. Straight people take their shit out on gay people. And people who lack privilege in one area never seem to translate that experience…

Years ago I read a post on Reddit by a guy who woke up after taking Ambien for the first time and was promptly informed by his wife that he’d gotten up in the middle of the night, grabbed their two cats, and announced his intention to read to them because “those motherfuckers need culture.”

It seems like it’s always the most blatant shit that people try to claim is unintentional. Like, “But how was I to know that creating fake food stamps that show Obama as caricature of an African tribesman surrounded by watermelon and fried chicken was racist? I was just making fun of food stamps! If you think those…

I actually think you’re giving Trump too much credit. He’s more likely to say the baby killers deserved it and the terrorist is an American hero.

Women loners often still have men harassing them, and of course harassment is seen as simple romantic attention. How can you be seen as a loner when people think you have a thing going with some guy who won’t leave you alone?

Thanks for posting this. She writes such beautiful, thoughtful songs. I love love love The Body Electric.

I’m fond of this one as well:

He’s gorgeous, but also, I love how judgmental he looks! This is clearly a dog that does not suffer fools gladly.