Someone please explain further, as my expertise does not extend in this area. Aren't parents in the US required to provide either public school, private accredited schooling, or any education that allows the kid to test to grade level? I thought parents were punished somehow if kids didn't show up in school when they…

You and me both, my friend! Have you seen this? I would stencil it on my wall, if it wasn't stealing intellectual property.

Oh, no, not the liquor! That's the real purpose of that extra glass of water the server always puts next to you.

Granted, the ordering and operating procedures at some of our beloved pan-ethnic buffets (or, god love an adventurous tourist, Teaism) are a little hard to grasp the first go-round. PLEASE ASK SOMEONE so you don't fuck it up for the rest of us who work for shitty PR agencies or whatnot and have 35 minutes for lunch.

Just as long as I'm not alone in my (not so) random word associations :)

Did anyone else accidentally read that as Babu?

Hmm, interesting. I wonder if that means any other vasoconstrictive actions could also help... Espresso shampoo, maybe?

This was my reaction as well. Why is it bad that the clothes get recycled or reused somehow (even if it's marked up some in other markets)? I'm all for my old college t-shirts becoming someone's recycled cotton insulation.

Plus, my point is not that there aren't great story lines out there, just that Hollywood needs to find a story with a very difficult combination of traits: huge mass market recognition of a strong female lead (non-ensemble, as great as X-men has always been). It's not impossible, it's just very hard, and Hollywood is…

SO MANY TIMES have I fantasized about printing a Tourist's Guide to DC and handing it out at the airports to any groups wearing matching t-shirts.

I've found, given the opportunity, a well-aimed drink on the shoes or even ball of spit works wonders.

This. The intellectual bullying is my fear. As a girl in a male-dominated field who occasionally wears skirts or heels *gasp!*, low level harassment just becomes part of the background static of life. But when it comes to my fandoms, I still care, feel insecure, and want to be included, even if I haven't memorized…

Can we just apply all these rule all the time, regardless of vacation status or country location? In DC, these sort of tourists are a carbuncle on the ass of our nation.

Do you think they'd let us name the lead character Jezebel?

There are elements of the story that could work well, carefully treated (for instance, by Joss Whedon), but she was kind of a Feminist Allegory in a not-so-subtle way, kind of like Belle was a Bookworm, Jasmine was Rebel, etc. Now, given the time period of her creation, it was definitely ground-breaking, but I think…

it had SO MUCH POTENTIAL. It was like watching a beautiful rose get hit with a tennis racket in slow motion.

Sad how business gets in the way of art. *le sigh*

I'd adore a well-written new story, but that's just not the trend (comic related or not, female lead or not) for big-budget blockbusters. Studio execs have not been coy about their preference for tried-and-true, bankable stories or characters. That's why we get so many sequels, movies based on bestsellers, based on…

Ah, but those are dudes. The point I'm trying to make is that male superheros don't need all the analysis and crutches that female ones would to get them to the blockbuster, stand-alone status with the studio execs.

You're absolutely right, and, for me, that's the problem. What was wonderful about Whedon's use of Black Widow was the lack of emphasis on the T&A elements (there, but not a focus), which was his hallmark. Brains first, then brawn, then boobs.