I work (at an elementary afterschool program) with a kid who, in so many ways, is a little 8-year-old real life version of Sheldon. I don't think my kid is on the spectrum, but in any case Sheldon Cooper is definitely a character who exists in the real world.

Say what you want about TBBT, but Sheldon always felt a fully-realized character to me: an arrogant, self-absorbed prick who happens to also probably be on the spectrum. He never felt at all like a caricature to me.

There are many forms of masculinity. Masculinity itself isn't toxic. Toxic masculinity is toxic. There is a massive difference.

… oh, God, I didn't even notice that pun until now …

Also, it was terrible, despite the rest of the series itself being great.

He really didn't fuck up either of those franchises, though. Even "Into Darkness" was a pretty great film in most respects - heck, "Into Darkness" even did a good job staying true to the spirit of "Star Trek," if we're being honest here.

But those three millennials did do exactly, though: they successfully rescued Rey and destroyed the Starkiller Base.

Take a look at the fellow we re-elected to be our governor for a second term.

There really is such cruelty in the world, all around us, even in our everyday lives, but it's usually a much more casual form of bullying. The way King portrays it is just over the top in how ridiculous the behavior is.

Thank you for being that guy. This was quite informative.

I think it's safe to say that every single fandom is pretty nastily toxic. That kind of stuff is inevitable in a large collection of people all enthusiastically obsessing over something. You've just got to try to avoid those corners of the fandom and stick to the good stuff.

That's the real question, isn't it? Especially with gerrymandering and voter disenfranchisement campaigns, and focusing on local elections to stack school boards and municipal governments with right-wing partisans - they have the opportunity to push a lot of crap through at both the national and at the state and local…

I think the US as a whole is better now that it was ten years ago, or five years ago, or even a year ago. The majority of Americans are more or less on the right side of things on most issues, and support for human and civil rights for people who are different is rapidly expanding - look how quickly society has come…

"TERMINATED"

It was thoroughly watchable, in a perfectly enjoyable sort of way. You're not missing anything if you don't catch it, but you won't regret it if you do see it. And it's worth a watch just for the visuals.

It's related to the dianoga, which survives on garbage and lives in landfills, sewers and trash compactors.

"It's powered by love! Also you have to wind it."

A German friend of mine informs me that the Wacken metalheads do a wonderful job of keeping the place un-trashed, both in the sense of not destroying anything and of keeping it free of litter.

If they're misgendering her and calling her a traitor, I have to assume that these are members of the non-liberal or the wing of the resistance, certainly not the liberal wing.

Yeah, that did not look like a great slice of pizza in general. Girl deserves a quality slice of pizza after what she's gone through.