I think the rape AND incest thing grows out of the idea that men/boys cannot be raped (because there is no penetration, because boys always want sex, because a physical reaction is the same thing as consent, because bullshitbullshitbullshit). Incest isn’t defined by consent quite the same way, so it gets separate…

People don’t realize that animals are not tame and safe just because they don’t run. Some don’t run because they are perfectly capable of flattening a puny human.

It’s a little weird to me that superhero stories are more open to including disabilities than nearly any other genre aimed at kids. I think some of the problem is lack of representation in stories (at least without the after-school special vibe) rather than lack of representation in toys.

You think the doll with the hearing disability is going to have more of a problem riding a dragon into battle against the evil dinosaurs of doom?

As someone who has spent some time making artisan bears, it was disturbing to discover that fine art bears in leather and mohair are priced the same or lower than the plastic build-a-bear alternative. Like finding out the actual Picasso is priced below the poster version.

First off, why would you do that AL ALL, regardless of who you were meeting with?

I think he also ignored the self-confidence issue. Accepting any overture from a guy (or gal, I imagine) requires some level of self-confidence. Getting rejection is a blow to self-confidence. After rejection she’s going to be unsure of her decision making ability (or social status, if you prefer Mr. Researcher) so…

I get the feeling that he thought the existence of the baby was a get-out-of-jail-free card. “Sure I committed tons of crimes, both immoral and illegal, but look! I made a baby! Baby is so cute . . . you don’t remember anything other than cute baby, right?”

Also, it’s such a ridiculously small amount compared to the overall budget. It’s like saying “I want to reduce my debt this year so I’ll stop buying my weekly $1 candy bar” but you keep buying $5 Starbucks lattes every day.

Maybe it’s the city you’re in? In fifteen years of taking cabs fairly regularly (because I don’t drive) I’ve never had anything close to a sexual harassment in the cab issue. Even when I was working late nights and getting a sleepy, 3am ride home from the office.

Also dedicated fans of purebred animals or hybrid plants. I used to know my greyhound’s pedigree through four generations but apparently that information was overwritten with pop song lyrics.

All the stars for you: thank you for actual information.

Wait, you cannot get an abortion until you listen to the fetal heartbeat before the fetus is old enough for a heartbeat to be detected. That is some legislative bullshit fu right there.

And my axe!

People determine their behavior with service staff over all sorts of stupid things. I learned pretty fast at the bakery to just say ‘yes’ to whatever religion people asked if I was. I had a co-worker who was convinced customers treated people wearing hats worse than those without (it shades your face). There’s…

I guess every invisible signal is actually electricity? I wonder if she plugs in her cell phone or just holds it up to the microwave.

“Trickle down evil” isn’t mine, I stole that from ‘Good Omens’ by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. I think it’s a good philosophy overall — I may not be able to do much about the big evils in the world but I can try to make sure I don’t annoy other people out of proportion to the amount of convenience I gain.

My mother does this all the time — not just food purchases. Giant line behind us and she’s counting out 38 cents in nickles and pennies so she can get an even dollar back. She inevitably counts wrong, and then the poor cashier has to work out some combination to ask for or give back to her to make the damn scheme…

Especially given that she had physical access to the (land) cucumbers in order to slice them. What did she think the seeds were? How drunk do you need to be while watching the discovery channel to make that kind of mistake?

I would have guessed you’d get a beer on ice with an umbrella, for $15.