My sister ran an impressive con this year: told me and my brother all month about "all the money" she was spending on us for Christmas. A Fitbit for him, a Garmin running watch thingy for me, lots and lots of expensive gifts, etc. We both panic and spend WAY TOO MUCH ON HER. He bought her a shit-ton of those expensive…

"I hate both of them!"

And then he pulls his pipe out?

Depends on what sort of relationship you have with the local squirrels.

Nope, don't have to choose at all. It's both. A reporter blast is pretty easy to do—just email everyone on your list. But did they have to email it today or choose to do it today, when they know newsrooms are mostly empty and most readers are busy with their families? Yes, this was very widely distributed. That way,…

Right or wrong, I am just impressed that Diana responded to so many commentators. Highly unusual in the world of electronic journalism...well done!

Three years without a test? What do they think those swabs are, FSU football players?

I am so upset about the Antonio Martin incident. No mother should fear for her child when he points a gun at police officer.

I think it's a mistake to look at a song like "Ohio" and say it wasn't that big a hit because it peaked at #14. Setting aside the fact that charting that high does count as a big hit, you have to remember that those charts count how it did strictly as a single. It was probably played a ton on FM radio, which was more…

because anyone with a big enough audience to matter jumped on the coca-cola/target/verizon corporate whore gravy train long ago and they're too comfortable to risk getting kicked off

I'd like more public figures to be bold and stand up for what they believe in, but I also don't think anyone has a responsibility to do so. I like it when they do, but I don't believe they're obligated. That's my only distinction that I think matters.

I thought Bey would prefer Zatarains.

did you just uncle ben beyonce? ok.

I figured artists wouldn't want to appear as though they were capitalizing on these tragedies.

The reason why artists are afraid of protest songs is because they are cowards. The ones listed in the article like D' Angelo and Tom Morello never were cowards so they will do the right thing without being scared of repercussions.

Does religion explain the Pelopponesian War? Japan?

I'd be curious to see a historical study that cross-studies multiple ideologically "pure" warring states to see how common this behavior is. Put another way, I know for a fact this was done by the Japanese during the WW2 era. I'm sure this was done by the Mongols. We know it occurred during the Peloponnesian War. And…

It really drives me nuts, because a lot of folks will call Japan insane while saying, "OH YOU CAN'T ESSENTIALIZE THIS OTHER GROUP." I've literally had people tell me that appropriation of Japanese stuff is A-OK simply because Japan is rich.

I'm perfectly happy with working to de-vulgarize the vagina, but the piece bugs me a bit as a kayaker. The shape interferes with your ability to efficiently paddle, as you'd have to waste movement on clearing the lips. It would also cause difficulty if you needed to roll (meaning flip back up after ending up…

Wow, nice job essentializing an entire country with a few examples!