Is there anything to do with a ton of frozen (very ripe) mango besides smoothies? There are only so many smoothies I can drink and I like non-mango-centric smoothies better anyway. Can you make mango version of banana bread? Any other ideas? I really have a lot of it.

@avclub-6beb5f589a9fd04c21fcd50db3d9c80c:disqus Ditto. I wasn't even going to comment today because I have so much to do at work.

One of the things my mom often says is that there is never exactly the right time to have kids, so you might as well have them whenever. While I think it's definitely true that you can have an idea of what point in your life might be better to have kids than not (e.g. my example of after you are done with grad…

I always wanted to get married, and have kids, on the young side too. My parents were older when they got married and had me, and while that turned out fantastic on all counts, I always wanted to do it differently, though at this point, I'm creeping toward typical age for those things (assuming it does happen). I'm…

People tend to only mention the bad things in a relationship when they are writing in about a problem. There are probably lots of things she really likes about him, like maybe she loves talking with him more than anyone she's ever met. We only see one side of it. I'm sure even those in a happy relationship could…

@avclub-e57f718840a576abbb40a7d046c4e3b0:disqus This is one of the best and most concise defenses of taxes and critiques of libertarianism that I've read. I want to print it out, laminate it and brandish it at people. Especially your last paragraph.

This is a lousy episode. The only funny parts are Robin and Barney's mom. The twist ending is very telegraphed (though I appreciate the way they spun it out). The reveal is definitely awesome, and I can't get enough of Barney's weird Chinese gambling secret identity, but I don't think having the reveal be awesome…

@jerodast:disqus That wasn't an implication. You might be the only person with that dirty of a mind.

@avclub-6dfb04136529fba8a8b870b91b59f8e6:disqus Yeah, the books about the Austins are my absolute favorite (one of my favorite series of all time) and A Ring of Endless Light is possibly my favorite of those. I love, love, love them. I've read every single one. The Twenty-Four Days Before Christmas is also my favorite…

Huh. I just heard of him for the first time the other day, when I bought the EP of Sierra Leone remixes. This is a bad version of that thing where you learn a word for the first time and then see it several times in a row.

Of course.

One of my more embarrassing moments is getting into an argument with a fellow student in my (graduate - we were all grownups) Holocaust class, the nature of which was "It's graphic novel." "NO, it's comic book!" As soon as I realized it was happening I immediately shut up.

I didn't really read the first paragraph as condescending at all. I thought the "graphic novels" line was just a joke about how some people think they should be called that in order to taken more seriously. I have absolutely no idea what "But now that grittiness is the law of the land, the idea of setting
costumed…

Thanks :) I don't want to sound like I'm bragging about my precocity or anything. But my dad had a lot of his science books out in our house, and I read a lot of them. We would also go to the library and get other, usually more age-appropriate, science books from there. My absolute favorite, favorite was a book of…

That sounds like the best. I'm so jealous. In comparison to, say, European or Asian history, which stretches back so far, it's easy to feel like American history is kind of bankrupt, because so much of it is either boring political stuff, taxes related, incredibly shameful, or all at once (i.e. the Civil War). But the…

I thought April was so cool too - I changed my name a million times when I was a kid and once to April, because of her. What a great book. Creating that kind of "secret world," and kids having their own life that was given importance within the broader world (like their relationships with adults), were themes that…

@LurkyMcLurkerson:disqus I could be whitewashing it in my recollection, but I recall Pa giving Laura a reasonably ethical lecture on why he couldn't steal her an Indian baby, and also that when they were forced off the land, they accepted it because the land belonged to Indians and it would be wrong to stay. There are…

Pearls of Lutra is maybe my favorite too. That and The Legend of Luke. I think Triss might be the last one I read. I also really liked The Bellmaker - that's the one where they are trapped in a high tower, right? That was a really memorable scene for me.

I LOVE The Westing Game, and all other of Ellen Raskin's books. My favorite is The Tattooed Potato and Other Clues. Even though they're short and don't use complex language or inappropriate themes, I think that her books would all work equally well as adult books. They are all about grownups and the adult world. Even…

I hate the Giving Tree. It's depressing, bleak, and sentimental.