Confession time. I have a huge phobia of becoming pregnant and a slight phobia of pregnant women. The sight of a bump sends mild chills down my spine. So I'm not judging pregnancy, I'm just scared of it. I'm a freak. Also, and I'd never ever admit this outloud: I'm slightly jealous of all the attention and praise that…

I think I know how it came to be. There have always been rounded women in media, but I think there have also been even more badly written female characters. The bad old stereotype was the Damsel in Distress, a woman who was one dimensional, didn't do anything to move the plot, wasn't physically capable, and was there…

Yup. Even after she "loses" the prince she's not down about it, moping around because she won't get to marry him. She's just happy she got her one magical night to have a good time and not be a servant for her family to step all over. I liked that about it.

Interesting enough, in the movie she very clearly states that she just wants to go to the ball and has no interest in bagging a husband. In fact, it is the Prince who is obligated to select a wife, as per the dictates of his father and other government advisers.

Pardon me, just a little vent here because I think the movie trailer triggered me a bit (I just watched it).

The Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police at our base refused to eat the halal MREs, preferring to hire their own cook instead. So I used to sneak the halal MREs guilt-free. They were so much better than our MREs. Loved the bagel chips.

"Have courage and be kind...for where there is kindness there is goodness, and where there is goodness there is magic."

Yeah, that's not the part of the story I think is objectionable. If anything, I'd say that in the age of Strong Female Characters, there's probably some room for female characters who aren't necessarily action-oriented but who have other positive traits. If the story's done well, there's something there that a lot of…

That's a halal/kosher MRE. We used to give them out in Afghanistan. The Afghans, to a man, loved everything except the bagel chips, which I always thought was hilarious.

This is difficult to talk about but re: this part:

I absolutely believe this. After a divorce, my son was an only child in both my ex's home and mine as well as the only grandchild . He was also pretty brilliant and was the only kindergartner who could read. Even the teachers were constantly telling him how awesome he was. His head steadily got bigger and bigger until…

I travel in Asia often, and I won't go there alone and would be hesitant in general. Sri Lanka is less of a hassle with visas and really easy to travel through.

somebody mentioned this on another thread but it deserves repeating. what they will do is set this up as an example of REAL rape. see? this woman was a holy non-slut who got attacked by strangers while defending jesus. anyone whose situation is less wholesome than this can't REALLY have been raped, because they…

theoretically, I don't believe in torture or the death penalty but reading this I just don't know what to think. Gang raping a 70 year old nun. What the fuck? Can we just tear these guys limb from limb?

A very good friend of mine grew up in a cult, her father was the leader. She had it rough to say the least

Ren Stevens wouldn't be caught dead in those shoes.

I have been enjoying this show so much.

As acceptance of trans people grows, the reaction to non passing binary trans people, non binary trans people, and queer trans people is starkly different than from the reaction to passing binary trans people. Sadly my hope is not high that this will change any time soon or even ever. Still, I'm really excited that…

I did it! Er, kinda.