Ugh, fail. No is a great word! We should teach kids boundaries and consent!

Yeah, that kid is going to be a delight when they are older! (if they're not now) Kids are not tiny adults. They are kids. Kids are kind of like tiny sociopaths—the world revolves around them (which you can't blame them for; it's usually just them and their parents!), their ability to lie and manipulate is top notch,…

THIS. Blows my mind. I said it elsewhere, but especially with young children, WHY would you give choices to a tiny human who doesn't even have the ability to reason/logic? Like you said, it enforces this idea in the kids that they are on the same level as their parents, that their opinion matters insofar as household…

I've read about the phenomenon, as well (in the book NutureShock), and it baffles me. My mother is an older Boomer, raised in a strict Irish-Catholic Great Generation home, so I ended up getting a mostly old school upbringing (sans religion, thankfully), interspersed with some modern stuff (mom respected me and…

Captain Awkward! http://captainawkward.com/

Exactly. Early education is really important to the kids who have the least access to it. The super rich parents are scrambling to have their super-genius babies get into elite pre-schools that will make them super geniusy-er, meanwhile kids from poor/underprivileged backgrounds who would really use pre-school don't…

I actually read the Daily Beast article (b/c JFC this one was kind of a mess), and my gut instinct continues on: I have very little sympathy for the mega rich who can't get their babies into elite pre-schools. In the link, they mention there's very little evidence pre-school makes any difference in development vs.…

Susan Cain's "Quiet" should be required reading for everyone :) I'm severely tempted to give it to all the extroverts in my life.

Not to kill your theory, but every cat owner I know is an introvert. The dog owners are a mixed bag, but there's definitely a trend among the cat owners. Lots of introverted creative/academic types who are homebodies. (trufax: cats actually like being around people, so homebodies are great for them—a happy cat is one…

Yeah, not stopping at stop signs is huge. Also, Los Angeles drivers LOVE to run yellow lights. Yellow does not mean slow down here, it means "drive at full speed to get through the light." I've also seen many a driver take a left turn on a full red, or drive through a light on a full red. The latter is what…

People get ANGRY at you for being afraid to drive. Like you are the most stupid, irrational, cowardly person they have ever met. I experienced it all the time pre-license (up to age 26) and I experience it now post-license, as I live in L.A. and don't have a car. Yes, I legally *can* drive now, but I really don't want…

I liked JP III, too! I love me some Alessandro Nivola, and the return of Sam Neill brought the first story full circle IMO. I liked returning to the island and seeing what had become of it, as well as seeing new areas. It's a solid movie, just not as good as the first. I hated the 2nd one though. Not a good movie.

Ooooh, there are some really good recent movies! Bollywood has become very Hollywood-ized and a lot of recent films are shorter/have more condensed scripts/even poppier music. I highly recommend Jhoom Barabar Jhoom (on Netflix), Anjaana Anjaani, Ra.One (with SRK!) & Jab We Met. (I am behind on my own watching, but…

Oooh, then definitely try Intimacy! They absolutely shocked me — I was able to buy pretty, frilly bras that actually supported my boobs and were comfortable! Mind, BLOWN. Basically they only carry European bras/sizes and they have a wide range of band sizes, cups and styles. They don't measure you; the ladies are boob…

Don't know about Dillards or your local, but VS is AWFUL. Their bras are not well-made (or sized) and their sales people don't really know what they're doing. I got very well-fitted at Intimacy, so that's my rec. They are pricey, but it's at least worth it for the fitting and one or two foundation bras.

My friend that has hair just like this little girl's uses DevaCurl products. They're not too expensive and you can buy them on Amazon. (I think they're starting to get carried in mainstream stores, as well) DevaCurl also makes a special hair dryer attachment that is meant to replicate fingers—my hair dresser has used…

That's how I feel, too! Despite any angst, re: child support/general annoyingness at dad's lack of interest in me as a human being, at the end of the day I am better off. I didn't have a selfish, quasi-alcoholic "raising" me—I got the kick-ass feminist single mom who taught me to be independent.

Agree completely! Unpaid internship culture is the reason I am not a journalist — I couldn't afford to move to NYC and work for free for years just for the hope of getting a job. I ended up in marketing (via several sideways moves!) because I needed jobs that paid rent and enabled me to feed myself. (and pay student…

The sad part is, my older sister is the nicest human being on the planet (she has a great mom!), so despite the fact she's only seen our father sporadically in the last thirty years, she would totally take care of him! But I meant winning in terms of his propagating his genes into the future — he basically got three…

Well, in the 80s she didn't really have a choice — we were poor. She had to cash in her 401K because we needed the income. The 90s were kinder to us, and so it was easier to table pursuing child support for another day (and I recognize we were in a privileged situation by that point—mother got a better job—and I am…