I've got to point out here that she was going to donate a kidney to her sister regardless; making it a condition of their release is just offensive and downright nasty, as though they think that she's going to ditch her sister the moment they're out. And this is leaving aside the fact that their sentence is utterly…

@Charlotte Corday: Seriously—if they think better educated means better paid, I am going to be demanding a damn good explanation/raise when I next see my boss. I will also be informing the bank that my current balance is clearly an error, and then I will be going shopping.

@ms.marvelous: Thanks! I just feel so dumb. I'm like "Ooooohhhh, so the fact that I don't really find men attractive is because I'm gay!" And it's not like I'm in a cultural context where it's not an option—I'm just a bit thick.

@ms.marvelous: How sad is it that I'm just figuring this out in my late 20s. *headdesk*

I do yoga in my room—the only cost is the mat. I took a bunch of classes for some time, but as I have no money at the moment, it's not really an option, and so I'm really glad it's something I can continue on my own. If you can't afford any classes at all, I figure there are always YouTube videos; I often check them…

@omfgninjadude: Yeah, it's definitely a cultural thing. When I moved out of my parents' place (and in fact, to an entirely different city half a country away), the Anglo Saxon part of my family was all "Good for you! Finally!", whereas the Italian part of my family was all "WTF are you doing? How can you do this to…

@A Caving Ape: Aaaahahahahah! It is not possible for me to love him more. Damn right!

Okay, I cannot be the only person for whom this would be a one-way ticket to Thrush City. Seriously. Ouch.

@RaisinGirl doesn't drink white whine: Sorry - not unless you do all of that on some sort of reality programme.

Wow. These are awful, awful people. They're probably the sort of people who would start telling you this story at a dinner party, and then get affronted when you're unable to hide your discomfort.

@accesskathryn: Ah, yes - I though "mal mot" sounded off. I've been learning French basically by sudden, terrifying immersion, so most of my French is just a strange pidgin-y mishmash.

@accesskathryn: May I suggest "mal mot"?

@Le Kangourou de Kataroo: Cynic! How can I know how ashamed to feel if I don't know the exercise schedules of rich people who have lots of time?

Aaahhh, nothing like a blast of utterly banal evil to really get the afternoon rolling. Also: I have rarely wanted to strangle someone so badly in my life.

Holy crap- she looks like a clone of her dad in this photo.

@The Lab: Science geeks represent! (I've actually only got training in philosophy of science, but I'm interested enough in this stuff to actually go to the research when I see something like this reported; I'm appalled by the quality of science journalism, and I'm sure the scientists doing the actual work are, too.)

@The Lab: And furthermore, it's not as though these things thrive on arsenic; it's that they can use it instead of phosphorous if they absolutely have to. And the whole reason arsenic is so poisonous is that it's close enough to phosophorous to trick some processes into using it instead, and getting all clogged up! …

You know, I've read the books more times than I can count - they were a huge part of my childhood. Know what I don't remember? The bit where it said "Oh, BTWs, all the Hobbits are, like, totes wicked-pale. Like, zero melanin. So don't even think about any black or brown Hobbits or any bullshit like that. Now let's…

@sarasasa: I'll be a middle-class, pretty okay person who lives beyond her means. (Also, I shall be pretty okay in the sense of Mal from Firefly- "Mercy is the mark of a great man." *Stab* "Guess I'm just a good man." *Stab* "Weeell, I'm all right."

@Scorpi: Ahahahah, that is awesome! I cannot believe I moved away without doing that. The next time I visit, that will be the theme of my last night in town.