I am absolutely reading that book. Thanks for the suggestion.

When I was a little kid my dad's barber shop had a magpie that talked. You could feed him cracked corn and peanuts and he prattled on in various voices. I was head over heels for him, and never missed one of my dad's weekly haircuts. I have a major soft spot for the Corvids - smart, interesting and beautiful birds.

Yeah, I don't like to condescend or offer advice where it isn't wanted, but genuinely I think a doctor might be able to help her. I clicked, because I am just that girl. You are on the money here.

This is a rare case that calls for the pillory. Of course, these days, someone would just show up and shoot the pilloried and ruin it for everyone else.

Oh MARU! Love me a little Maru.

Seriously, what the fuck is wrong with people? How can so many people be missing the compassion chip? I have been down with flu for three days while my partner is out of town. We live overseas, so I can't call on family or old friends to babysit. As a consequence, I have had to scramble, while aching and out of my…

I think you just hit the nail on the head. There is and Us Vs. Them attitude in the US. We were practically founded on it and we carved out every last bit of territory by taking it by force (and murdering and displacing the original inhabitants, but that's a whole other story). That Us Vs. Them carried over and grew…

I shot competitively, and I love the precision and coordination that goes into shooting a .22. That said, I'd happily register my rifles and limit myself to target rifles and hunting rifles. Currently, I keep them locked in a gun safe at my dad's house. And I'd be perfectly content to see a ban on all semi-automatic…

I had never heard of the Lumbees and just spent a fascinating half hour researching. Thanks. Very interesting!

My poor mama, who is a preacher's daughter and life-long follower of the "rules" of the church, is currently having herself a moral crisis. She is beginning to suspect that *bless her* gay people are born gay. It's not a character flaw or a sinful choice, but an inborn component of their sense of self. This is…

He did not. I believe he was pretty clean-shaven.

I really miss that about NYC too. Thanks.

You really put it better than I could. The two things that stand out in my memory are 1) how really very bright blue his eyes were, against his very dark gold-tanned skin and 2) that I was headed to my boyfriend's place and I still thought my boyfriend was more alluring. Reader, I married him (the boy, of course). But…

Quite a few years back he nearly ran me over on his bike near Chelsea Markets. He was very apologetic, and I must say he was ungodly beautiful. I wasn't exactly attracted to him, which surprised me, but he was caramel colored and his hair was tawny gold and his eyes were a most intense blue. It was unnerving. I was…

Yah. This whole comment threw me off my game terribly. I have golden downy hairs on my face and I have always considered them an asset, like a natural light diffuser or halo. They make me kinda soft focus and golden. It never occurred to me that anyone might be judging my golden glow!

The bit about her dad calling her mom got me too. It's beautiful how loving and supportive her family has been. She's really lucky not to have to fight the battle alone. Good mama and papa!

Why yes, yes it is. Favorite gif, favorite movie. So in love with Jeremiah Johnson! I watch it at least once a year. Poor mrbytherecordmachine groans when he hears the theme music, and then brings out the ipad. He's not a "westerns/mountain men movies" person like me.

I am a believer (but a super-lefty ambiguity is okay believer) who comes from a family of fundies. I have tried to explain this to my mother so many times I have lost count. It's like talking to a wall. I am very shy of discussing faith on Jezebel, though. There are a lot of folks here who have had awful experiences…

That is very very cool. Tell us more. Are you finding anything interesting in the language that would surprise us? Ambiguities or translation choices from Tyndale or NIV or whatever that you disagree with? This stuff fascinates me but, sadly, I am a linguistics idiot.

Of course. I kind of like Aussie rules football (I live in Sydney now), but that's the extent of my sports interest. My family is another story. Dad and brother played college ball and mom is a fly-the-flag-on-game-day sort.