Huh. I guess we really do have to do this every single time anyone so much as mentions the R-word.

You didn't say it was a dump, you said it was a 'violent mess', and since I haven't shanked my neighbor over petrol while dressed as Adam Ant lately, I'd beg to differ.

Gosh, all these years I thought I lived in a fairly safe part of the world, but clearly I was just too beguiled by all the tea and soothing British accents to notice that all this time I was living in Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome. Please, do tell me more about what the country I've spent my entire life in is really…

I'm starting to think I should have had an 'absolutely do not play' list as well as a playlist, but hindsight is 20:20.

I know I left the room for the duration. I'm not sure anyone noticed given that it was getting late or certainly felt that way to me and my brand-new Geordie relatives were busy making sure the barman earned his pay, but at least I didn't have to listen to it. (Added bonus: five minutes alone with one of my closest…

Mine played 'Blurred Lines' despite having a long list of songs to work with that absolutely, definitely, comprehensively did not include anything by Robin bloody Thicke anywhere near it... but I'm starting to think I got off lightly.

For what little its's worth I'm on Amitryptiline for atypical migraines and carpal tunnel, and I've never had any problems with it save perhaps for dry mouth (not sure if it's that that's causing it or one of the other things I'm on). It is a bit of a knock-out drop, especially at first - it's definitely a good idea…

I'm rather surprised that it was only gay male hands that were considered slutty, but lesbian hands are apparently totally fine.

One of my closest friends is pregnant with a very wanted child that she has just found out - as in literally yesterday - has a birth defect that is incompatible with life. One of my biggest fears for her right now is that she's going to have to go to Planned Parenthood to get a termination, and will have to deal with…

Shut up and take my stupid money. What do you mean, I have to wait till June?!

My husband and I have both come down with laryngitis, so any plans we might have had to pay attention to the whole thing have been put on hold until we can actually communicate and/or stay awake. This is our first valentine's day as a married couple so we clearly have this shit down to an art. But one valentine's day…

Also a practicing Christian, et cetera...

My husband and I went to Scotland on honeymoon. We left knowing absolutely nothing about whisky, but thanks to an informative evening at a relative's came back raging snobs who disdain pretty much anything that has a colorful label or looks like it might be, horrors, blended. There really is nothing like a really good…

The problem is that's exactly what this viewpoint allows for: the separation of victims of crime into the 'good' victims, who for whatever reason deserve justice and compassion and mercy, and the 'bad' victims who for whatever reason do not. Saying that this man deserves to have been mutilated for life because he's a…

If someone runs over my dog I do not get a free pass to back over them with my car. The fact that this man took advantage of a much younger girl means he's a predatory creep. It does not mean his ability to be victimized magically gets revoked forever and melting his penis off suddenly becomes absolutely excusable.…

Funnily enough, there's a comment about how parents who buy Veggie Tales DVDs for their children are 'brainwashing' them in the comment threads on the 'American Sniper' article. I'm not entirely sure what that had to do with the article under discussion either, but I'm sure that was a total coincidence too.

Knowingly…

I actually was non-religious for most of my life. I was raised non-religious and was a vocal atheist in my early twenties, and at least half my immediate family think I'm a bit weird for turning my back on it, as do a fair number of my in-laws. See, I'm not a Christian in America, I'm a Christian in Western Europe.…

My husband and I are religious and were married in church. At some point during the day his younger sister, who happens to be an atheist as well as very much a member of the I'm-not-an-asshole-I'm-just-keeping-it-real crowd, felt the need to point out that as far as she was concerned having religious faith was like…

On the other hand Veggie Tales gave us The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything, whereas American Sniper, um... well, uh... if you have a thing for soldiers it might be worth watching with the sound off?

Half-naked men and women, huh.