Just got a new one: "Karen Lewis is that you?"

"Well when teachers are demanding unreasonable raises and there's a decrease in enrollment of course we have to close schools."

EXACTLY what I was thinking about. Internet high-five, friend.

Totally fair. No shame in it at all. Find yourself a drink and a cute animal video to watch, we've all been there.

I absolutely agree with you. I think you were just reading into this particular author's statement something that isn't there. The Obamas are invested in this in part because of physical proximity and recognition that, in another time/universe, this could be their family struggling with gun violence related deaths…

You might want to check out NPR's "Driveway Moments" series. They have a whole bunch of CDs of some of their best stories (the ones you'd stay in the car and listen to in the driveway rather than get out and go back in the house because you don't want to miss anything) and the collection about dads is great. I gave…

I certainly agree with your statement, but I wonder what you're quibbling with? The author stated physical proximity, rather than similar culture or issues faced. Having lived on the Hyde Park/Kenwood border for a while, I will say that Hyde Park is isolated the closer you get to UChicago's campus, but issues that…

As usual, don't go read the comments on the AP piece. There's only one there now and it's already making my blood pressure spike.

I know that their international audience has increased since they started the podcast (instead of just the radio show), but I'm not clear on how large it is.

Absolutely. I'm just hoping that a civil case will mean she doesn't have to work ever again if she doesn't want to, because goddamn if that woman doesn't deserve to wring her former employer dry.

Sorry, you're right. Still, when I visited my company's office in Toronto (exotic CANADA) I had paperwork to fill out for my employer and training on behavior. My colleague going to India for six weeks is in the same boat, only her training was even more intensive. Either way, she might be SOL.

No real surprise, since, if I remember correctly, she was meant to be an extra and ended up stealing so many scenes that they gave her a real role.

Sadly, she may not have cause. As a foreign national living in the UAE, she might have had to sign a contract about behavior outside the workplace, though I'm not sure how that would hold up in court, either.

I think you'll discover just how quickly you abandon those perks when something else is off balance. I left a job that included a basement with several arcade games, bean bags, free food (snacks and full meals), soft drinks and beer in every fridge, Wednesday BBQs on the roof, half days every Friday all summer,…

Agreed on all points. I love her in everything she's ever been in (she was the best part of the otherwise forgettable Bride Wars) and it's really great to see she's taking a personal responsibility to speak out about the issues addicts face. I think I know several borderline (or full on) alcoholics that cycle…

There are days where I feel like I'm the only woman in the world who has never faked it. Am I?

I agree that with non-couture and bargain manufacturers, pleats went crazy very quickly, and that pleats can certainly work on some people. But for many body types, they end up emphasizing areas that don't need it. I'm a woman, so it's a bit different, but I inherited my dad's skeleton: slim hips, wide shoulders. …

I second the email registration. I regularly (through liberal use of coupons, an in-store credit card, and patience) get between 40% and 65% off clothes from places I shop regularly, and while they certainly aren't couture or incredibly high end, it's nice to walk out with $400 worth of work clothes that I spent…

I didn't say they weren't fashionable, I said they weren't flattering to most body types. Different things entirely.

Absolutely. My mom's family owned a men's clothing store for years and it opened my eyes to the fact that fashion trends and jargon are capricious and flawed for both genders, but we certainly don't discuss them the same way.