She is referring to an all too common theology that anything that happens to you that makes you unhappy is the work of Satan, trying to bring you away from God who is still with you since you're awesome and perfect. Theologically, the issue is she's ignoring all the parts of the Jewish/Christian story where we are…

Correct. I think this guy probably got his idea from the many churches that now have coffee shops and cafes attached to or in them, but all of those are non-profit enterprises which have some portion of their mission dedicated to bringing people together/offering people a safe space to go/etc. The only for-profit…

Yeah, that was so amazingly smart. Supportive, clear obstruction of inappropriate and unwanted behavior, but non-violent and unlikely to lead to injury of the girl. She gets the bystander intervention award.

In the State of Illinois (and many others) all survivors of sexual assault reporting to hospitals and police stations are guaranteed the right of a free Advocate trained in the legal and medical aftermath of rape to help them sort through their options given whatever values and priorities they express. Other kinds of…

Right - has anyone ever heard any story of someone "Method"ing a biopic on Mother Theresa or Gandhi and giving away all their stuff to the poor/fasting for justice? Anybody "Methoding" a kind character who goes through shit and they become more pleasant and empathetic to family and friends? No, just (predominantly…

None of the slogans you quote are geared towards victims, they are geared towards witnesses. No one has a problem with ad campaigns for bystanders telling them to intervene in rapes. They have a problem with the same tired old rules that every raped woman heard and practiced a thousand times before her assault being…

And wasn't his whole last tour not traditional stand-up, but comedy mixed with surveys and testimonies about relationships? I think in Chicago he interviewed a bunch of young people and parents about their marriages and what makes relationships last before a set. If it was a part of that tour, knowing that might have…

I also wonder if, in addition to the "who's that?" thing, there's a "how scary is that?" thing with babies and hair. Because why would they know that shaving your beard is different than having your arm cut off, or cutting your hair is different from losing an ear. To them, it just appears that a part of a person that…

The line I've heard most doctors give is "anything you were doing before, do during." It's dangerous to try and go from jogger to marathoner, but if you were already a marathoner (or epic dancer) go on ahead.

To be fair, any law restricting my choice in names beyond *maybe* names I give my kids that might bring them societal harm (Stupid, curse-words, whatever) is unacceptable to me. What is their reasoning?

Probably not her trick, since she religiously doesn't remove hair from her body:). But good tip!

I hear you, which is why I noted the historical roots rather than you. But actually, the HB is dozens of incredibly different things that were written between 4,000 and 2,000 years ago, and the New testament is different things written over a 75-150 year period. What do you think about the image of God in the Song of…

That is a view with anti-Semitic roots. The Hebrew Bible and New Testament are equally full of misogyny, and equally full of grace, mercy and revelation. To associate the Hebrew Bible with "angry God" or "douchebaggery" or whatever comes purely from historical anti-Jewish sentiment, and would have appalled Jesus to…

Worst is a high bar for pick-up lines. Let's play.

Yeah, because the message isn't "what if (straight) women's eyes/desires were served the way yours are," it's "what if you had to act like these women do." Both important, but different, media critiques.

That experience must have been awkward - but I have to say this seems like such a success story! You were both honest about what you wanted/needed, they didn't match, so it didn't happen and there were no disasters or drag-outs or freak-outs. Pretty emotionally mature for an 18 and 20 year old.

Yes - the question of whether Japan of the U.S. is more 'conservative' or 'liberal' is to my mind silly. We both have different pockets of repression, and pockets of libertine 'I don't care'ness. As I understand it Japan has less street crime, more business/government cabals and corruption. Increased acceptability of…

Yeah, that's what drives me craziest about this - 'Beyonce' just being code for "your stereotypical fears about Black women."

I once had a guy whistle and yell at me while I was on my way to work...wearing my clergy collar. That is now the story I tell whenever anyone is like, "But what were you wearing? How are they supposed to know? My feels!"

My probably worthless armchair interpretation - their first child was not planned, and she was incredibly traumatized by her parents' divorce and wanted her kids' parents to be together so stayed through not really liking him and through him doing some pretty bad crap. That is what kept them together the first few…