The thought of someone bringing an animal, let alone a beloved pet, to the NYC ACC thinking that it will be adopted makes my blood run cold. The ACC, to my understanding, is first and foremost an animal control center, but its public image is that of an animal shelter (they are often mistaken for the ASPCA). In…

It is one thing to talk about the perceptual tendencies of regular folk (or test subjects) and quite another to consider people like high-end fashion magazine editors whose job it is to be highly attuned to people's facial features and other physical details, and for the most part are able to do so with great…

I'm especially intrigued by Miguel Richardson's "Chocolate birthday cake with "2/23/90" written on top." What could that be about? Birth of a child perhaps, but he was taken into custody in 1981.

It seems you are correct about his origins: I saw a video of him speaking on Youtube, and he has a slight but noticeable Japanese accent. It is interesting, then, how he has completely internalized what appears to be a libertarian/right-wing Western, largely American worldview, judging from the content and perspective…

That analysis might make sense for a Japanese native, but it seems likely Kanazawa was born and/or raised in the West. He strikes me as someone who revels in his male privilege, and with the absence of any minority consciousness, together with his love for racist pseudoscience, he probably thinks of himself as having…

@sarahmas: I saw that episode - I seem to recall that the majority of customers did nothing, and only a handful of people spoke up to defend her. That's how it's recapped on the site as well. [abcnews.go.com] But I do remember feeling especially good about the man whose son had served in Iraq standing up for her.

If it were as simple as marrying for love, you wouldn't see these discrepancies along race and gender lines. That's sort of the point of this type of research, and the point of having these kinds of discussions. Racial stereotypes, familial expectations, and societal norms do impact what one would like to think of as…

I get that you don't want to malign suicide victims, and that people should take more responsibility for contributing to situations where someone might end up traumatized or alienated. But there are extremely few scenarios where I could unequivocally say that suicide could ever be a logical alternative to staying…

It is possible to have compassion for suicide victims, while at the same time acknowledging the role of their mental state in the decision to end their own lives. In my view, to say that someone is mentally unwell isn't an indictment of their moral strength or character. Mental health depends on a lot of things - our…

This article seems to be referring to the Brooklyn Central Library branch in Grand Army Plaza, which is a large, historic building with generally good facilities. The picture used in the Post article seems to be (uncharacteristically) accurate, it actually does appear to be an image of that particular branch's…

Well, at least we can click over there to read the already-made intelligent comments explaining why "It's because they want to look white" is such an overly simplistic conclusion to draw from this phenomenon.

Your sentiment reminds me of that extremely tiresome urban legend about diners who bring their pet to a Chinese or insert-whatever-nationality-Asian restaurant, ask the staff to safekeep it while they dine, and then are horrified to see it prepared for them as their main dish. Do you honestly think Chinese people are…

The NYDN article says she "may not" be ready for the 2012 Senate run.

It's curious how Republicans seem to be reaching down to the bottom of the barrel for their pool of presidential candidates - it shows just how much the party has degenerated in terms of intellectual substance. In the case of Michele Bachmann, is it because she’s talkative and photogenic and somehow espouses the…

I was just about to comment that he is racially the same mix as Alexa Chung.

Wasn't that about a dumbass who was so blinded by his "romantic" imperialistic fantasies that he never noticed that his little lotus blossom was really a dude? (I don't think the character was trans; IIRC he was merely a performer in the Peking Opera.) Totally different from this situation, where this man was quite…

That bit of cleverness can't be credited to Aaron Sorkin; according to The Facebook Effect, that was a nickname given to them while at Harvard.

Vogue UK is reporting that Posh's spokesperson is calling the Santa rumor "tabloid nonsense." [vogue.co.uk]

I hear you about the urgency for future yummy boy-toys, I do. But I must point out the existence of multiracial persons, historically, has never had to coincide with an approval of interracial marriage. (See Thurmond, Strom.) I know you were not being serious, but advocating for interracial marriage on the grounds of…

If you read the book, the daughters are not socially maladjusted robots, or shut-ins with nothing but academic interests. It's also kind of insulting to Mark Zuckerberg's girlfriend to imply that she's his "mistress" - as if she isn't accomplished and competent on her own (she's a medical student), and is just…