Good point. Faked orgasms to blame? I know that if a guy doesn't know what he's about and I'm getting bored, I'll fake one just to move on. Am I damning the sisterhood?

You lucky dog. For my experiences, it's been about 50/50 when it comes to guys knowing that.

It's a good thought. The only studies that have shown this have been studying the problematic effects of repetitive habits in masturbation: i.e., always using the same pressure/grip/angle when you get off. When women always use their vibrator in the same way, it can have a comparable effect as when men always jerk off…

So right. But imagine the doctor's/mother's response: "Oh, we put her on a diet of X calories a day and she's still gaining weight? I guess we need to cut it back to an even lower amount." It turns into a vicious cycle. I don't think the mom responded well, but I can understand how it got to the point of complete…

I agree that it is not a good response. I'm saying that it's a response that I—and, I'm pretty sure, every single parent and teacher—understand.

Mostly the ones she mentioned above. It can still feel really good. You enjoy the foreplay. The intimacy and connectedness is nice. It can be hot fodder for future fantasies. It can turn into something more regular where orgasms are more likely. Etc.

You're right that this would be a completely rational and gentle response. But a major thing this mother said that she struggled with—which resonated with me—were the fact that these frequently turned into power struggles between her and her daughter. I know that when you tell most seven-year-olds, "No, you will not…

I think this is spot-on.

I'm interested in some specifics on this. You're at a bake sale, some other mother gives your kid three brownies. You want to encourage healthy habits, in a way that doesn't involve taking the brownies away from the kid and saying, "No, we don't eat this," like the mother in this article did. What do you do?

I know we'll be unpopular for this, but I think about this all the time. If I hadn't been eating junk food throughout elementary school, that would have had a dramatic difference on my long-term health. My metabolism and eating habits were shot to hell for years—and healthy living is still a struggle—because my…

Ha! I love these. Keep 'em coming.

OK: Let's see if we can figure out how these guys are interrelated. Hamm was in The Town, which Affleck directed. Clooney co-produced Argo. Affleck and Clooney are Eskimo brothers, via their similarly timed shtupping of Blake Lively. Blake once named Hamm as the man in Hollywood who is most her physical ideal. Hamm…

HA!

Seriously? In the world of Girls—fresh out of liberal arts college, living in Brooklyn—completely white friend groups are absolutely a common reality.

Am I missing some lyrics where he's speaking disparagingly about black girls? I hear all the obsessive Asian/Persian-focused stuff, but I haven't caught him speaking badly about ladies of his own race.

Don't jump to the wrong conclusion: he doesn't speak disparagingly about black girls, from what I've listened to—he just fetishizes Asians and Persians to an absurd degree in his lyrics, with ladies of his own race being conspicuously absent.

Who are you talking about? He's been on the talk show circuit for the last 2-3 years talking about how much he loves the single life.

A lot of jobs don't give sick time. If it's between working while sick or being unemployed, you'll get out of bed even when every cell in your body is screaming not to.

Maybe the wild card factor is the fact that some ladies find Ben's obscenity-laden Bostonian-ness hard to resist? I hate him in movies, but I love him for the ribald genuine shit he says in interviews.

God, but not taking a chance to hook up with George is hard.