Enjoying a fab Howell Mountain cab - I’ve not been drinking much these days, but it’s perfect for a cold night with some great food. Congrats on the paper!

Amen to all of that - it pains me to drink bottled water, and I do my very best to avoid it. I don’t think they comprehend just how big the problem is, even though I know they know about it. It’s mostly just, oh, we recycle, so we do our part. If they were just idiots I would feel better, but they’re not, so it makes…

There’s one super popular brand that they buy that is no kidding bottled 30 minutes from where they live. It’s in the same county. It’s the same water as what comes out of their tap. It says so on the bottle, and I’ve totally showed that to them. They still swear it’s different and tastes better. SMH.

That is depressingly accurate.

My parents refuse to drink tap water - they only drink bottled. I’m like, seriously?! Their tap water is fine, it’s not like they live somewhere with water sanitation problems. They refuse to believe that it’s literally just packaged tap water. Not to even get started on how awful some of the companies are (looking at…

True, I guess I just don’t see why the airline would put up with it is all.

This is what I’m not understanding here - why wasn’t he moved? Surely someone would have swapped, right? I travel pretty frequently, and have been reseated due to allergies on occasion. I fully understand that it’s a me problem, not a them problem, so I would never ask for someone else to be moved as a result. I know…

I love your analogy - from one basic white thirtysomething to another!

It always startles me how much people smoke when I go overseas. It’s not like I don’t notice it here in the US, but it’s so much more prevalent in Europe and Asia.

It’s weird, because I really didn’t feel like I had my head in the sand at the time - we moved there in 2005, and Bahrain was definitely the more liberal, open place to be in the Middle East. We were treated very well, by both expats and locals, and I really did leave with a good impression of the country. Of course,…

This was a fascinating read - I lived in Bahrain for several years and I am conflicted about that time of my life. I loved my time there, including traveling to the UAE, but in retrospect I was so naive to what was going on beyond the expat community. I’m uneasy reading things like this, but it’s so important that…

And this is what I really don’t understand - clearly enough Republicans like him that he’s killing the primaries, but I know a lot of conservatives, and they’re all horrified. I’ve been deliberately avoiding talking to my father about the primary because he’s devoutly religious and very conservative, and I don’t think…

OMG, Watership Down scarred me for a long time. My mom rented it for us when I was probably 7 or 8 having no idea what it was about (ooh, bunnies, good choice for the kids!)

I’m so jaded to internet stories that I immediately felt like this was a hoax. But then again, I have seen some people do some weird ass shit, so maybe not?

That’s...not right.

For starters, I’m glad you got your liver, and hope you’re now well! I’m so excited that we can open up a source of much needed donor organs in addition to (hopefully) reducing the stigma surrounding people living with HIV.

The judgment is terrible! I have a family member who died of lung cancer last year at 48, and he never smoked a day in his life, but so many people act like it was his fault. I’m glad your brother is better, and I hope that it gets to a point where there is more awareness and better treatment.

We’ve done the same at our vet’s recommendation, and it’s worked wonders!

My Cuban husband’s older relatives are legitimately afraid of anything that remotely passes for socialism (and they watch Fox News round the clock, so they’re pretty much terrified of anything Obama does), and I can understand that to some degree. The lack of empathy for other immigrants is still frustrating to me…

I’m white, and married into a Cuban family, and the politics are baffling to me, especially when it comes to immigration. A bunch of them are legit build a wall types, and even his most moderate family members feel like immigrants need to “do it the right way,” like it’s nbd. The most infuriating part to me is that…