@la.donna.pietra: Definitely true! Did he ever comment or explain why he didn't test on himself? That's one part of the story I can't remember hearing about...

@la.donna.pietra: Yeah, I knew about the inoculation parties for smallpox (with smallpox), but I still think that it was a huge leap (which he deserves the props he's gotten for it) to assume that it would work with cowpox, that he had the right "dose" so to speak, and that he waited the right amount of time to expose…

@la.donna.pietra: Well right, he was definitely protected by it, but Jenner at the time had only a working hypothesis that cowpox had protective effects on smallpox. And he had no idea if his method of inoculation with it would work; the milkmaids who he based this hypothesis on contracted cowpox much differently from…

@brokenscope: Oh god, just read the Wiki on that and...wow. Vivisection without anesthesia? Burying people alive? Torturing children? Ugh...

Heh, I saw this ad in a Capitol Hill bar. As the game was starting, I said something to the date I was with like, "Oh god, we have to see Tim Tebow's stupid commercial", and he said, "I bet everyone boos. Watch— people here are going to boo."

@amoureuse est heureuse: Yup!

@mandiandi: I so wish that movie would be made too! Or make it into a tv series, with my above quoted lyric as part of its super cool theme song!

@amoureuse est heureuse: Get a cast iron pan and use it once or twice a week...works great for a lot of people that don't absorb supplements easily.

@suiterkin: I'm still anxiously awaiting Werewolf Bar Mitzvah*!

@ms negative the easy-going unicorn: I had shin splints all the time until I went and got fitted for running shoes at a good store (Fleet Feet in Chicago and DC, though I've heard Nike stores will do it too). They have you try on shoes, and watch you run in them from the front and from behind, and it makes all the…

@PorkStore: It is boring, I agree, but for me usually helps my mood so I try to go somewhat regularly. One thing that works for me is downloading books on tape or podcasts from NPR on my iPod— definitely helps pass the time!

@Rilo-Andy: I think, though, that there's a difference between censoring oneself because one thinks that men don't like smart women, and realizing that no likes a know-it-all (male or female), so cutting down on behaviors that come off as such.

@PrisonBreakShaker: This is so true, I never thought about it! I love your toothbrushing takeoff of it...now if you throw some whiskey in to the mix there, we could make fun of Ke$ha too!

@Whole Broad: Well if they had anything to do with convincing the Administration of the folly that having SoTU tonight would have represented, please thank them on my behalf!!

@likepenguins: No, snowballs can really hurt! I was somewhat tomboy-ish as a kid but *hated* snowball fights with boys because man those things could really hurt!

@likepenguins: Snowballs are much harder than volleyballs, and because they are smaller represent a much more concentrated (and therefore potentially destructive) force. That being said, concussions suck and I hope you feel completely better soon!

Cannot wait for the premiere tonight!! I work in a political industry, and it was really awkward trying to explain why SoTU would not be on Feb 2 to a roomful of executives last month. They just.didn't.get.it. and I outed myself as a total fan in explaining why this particular season premiere was special.

@blackbird_pie: Yuck, HATE the lower back (or sometimes shoulder) touch. I have older male co-workers who would never ever do the same to my male counterpart, so why is it okay because I'm a woman?? Skeevy and condescending.

@clevernamehere: The chances of all three kids being diabetic is extremely slim, and even if they were, diabetics can (usually) have some limited amount of chocolate and other sweets, as long as it's in moderation and taken into account with the rest of that day's diet.

@MewMaw: I agree that it's hard to learn *any* foreign language if you weren't immersed in it as a child or spent significant time in a country where it's spoken.