I remember vaguely from reading “Into Thin Air” that sometimes when people are dying of hypothermia they can experience “hot flashes” which can lead to them stripping off their clothing, even on Mt. Everest. That was the first thing I thought of when I saw that about the sweater.

Except that the author didn't say it. That's a direct quote from the woman who initially accused Avery of rape.

I suspect I’m quite a bit older than you, but I also spent hours doing interpretive dance to “Nothing” in my attic, which was plastered on every wall with Esprit ads ripped from Seventeen Magazine. When I was about 10 (circa 1985) my parents took me to NYC for the first time, and A Chorus Line was still playing on…

Depends — the assessment value used for real estate taxation is a starting point, but there are ways to lower that value, e.g. by having one’s own assessment done if one thinks that the tax assessment is too high. I have no idea how many purchases involve a taxable gift but since the 14K is per person, a couple…

Used to be true, now no longer is. The annuity is part of your estate when you die, it no longer reverts to the state.

Sorry, but that's incorrect. If you sell someone a house for $1.00, the difference between the $1.00 they paid and the house’s FMV will be considered a gift and subject to taxation as such.

Bono Ono Eno was the way I saw it. :)

I chose BB-8 and it said I was woke AF! (But really I'm just on coffee #4)

Thank you for this incredibly detailed and informative reply!

Ooh! We don't get season 2 here in the US until April (fixed), so jealous!

I don’t really understand the difference between the UK channels but I thought I read that the BBC actually rejected this show and it was produced by “Channel 4?” I don’t know what Channel 4 is though, maybe it is a division of BBC.

My 8-year old loves Clone Wars Anakin so much that I don't want to let him watch the prequels because it will break his little heart.

Yes! When it first came out that Lupita was going to play a motion-capture character, I was a little disappointed, but I did a complete turnaround once I saw the performance. She did an amazing job. See also: Andy Serkis's Gollum.

According to a pro-police group, 36 police officers were killed by gunfire in the line of duty in 2015 and 47 in 2014. Given that there are nearly a million active-duty law enforcement officers in this country, it seems highly improbable that “most” of them have seen a fellow officer killed in the past two years.

Yes, this is exactly right — and also the one thing they can’t change with prosthetics/ makeup (can you even imagine?)

I love Star War(s) too, and I'm totally excited for the movie (and, apropos of nothing, I also hate GoT) — but I thought this was pretty funny. De gustibus non est disputandum, I guess?

Yes, but he also loves the D’Aulaires Book of Greek Myths - one of my faves as a kid.

Ha! We told my 8-year old the Christmas story the other day, and he asked me “what is God the god OF?” He’s way more familiar with the Greek pantheon. He looked really skeptical when I said, “well, you know, everything.”

Ditto. I spent every dime of my babysitting money at the Esprit section of the junior's department at Bloomingdale's. I particularly remember a pair of white jeans printed with dinosaurs, worn with a coordinating rayon collared button-down that was as wide as it was long.

I probably saw you there. I was the one desperately trying to get home with my screaming toddler.