A really simple, delicious vegetable thing a friend showed me: buy a bunch of different types of root vegetables: parsnips, yams, turnips, beets. Wash, peel, and cut them into ~2 inch cubes.

That's the same age I was when I moved to the West Coast from the mid-South. So, basically everything.

I made chicken tikka masala over the weekend, and it was so, so good. I can improve on it next time, but for a first effort I was happy.

Miracle Whip is sweeter, and… I'm not sure how to say this, but it's sort of aggressively creamy.

Well, that's interesting. I know some foods can give some people tinnitus, so maybe she's telling the truth.

Is it the texture you can't tolerate, or the bitterness?

I'm with you for the most part. I like certain sea foods prepared certain ways, period.

I read somewhere about how the "traditional" Irish diet, before the potato famine, was surprisingly enough to sustain a person: potatoes, oats, and milk.

It's one reason I love living in a multi-cultural city. As a child growing up in the south I could predict what we'd have for dinner on any given week night. Everyone except my older brother and me seemed fine with that. He and I used to experiment in the kitchen, very hit or miss, just to have something a little…

That is interesting. Can you eat other root vegetables as well?

I agree, it's one of those world-building epics that also has characters you love. And, incidentally, a story.

Check with your local comic book store. Sometimes they have contacts for board game groups, or know where those groups meet up (there are a couple of bars here that host game nights, for example).

See if your local library has any DVDs you can check out. I find that's a great way to wade through TV shows, with a (self imposed) deadline that helps me keep on track (or makes me decide to skip most or all of it after all).

David Tennant responding to the genial question, "So, how do you like it here?" on Broadchurch makes me laugh every time. I think it's the Scottish accent combined with his dour persona.

Fair enough, and honestly I'd be a little peeved about not getting a heads-up ahead of time if that were the case.

Omar comin'… Omar comin'.

Cool story time: one of my best friends and I met at work. He's black and out. I'm a white woman. We geek out together.

It sounded to me like the cousin has some issues of his own. Who gets angry about being blindsided in laser tag? It ain't High Noon, pal.

"Protective", also spelled "possessive".

Wait, what? Gay is a white thing? (So to speak, so to speak.)