Wow, I really wish he wasn't in politics because that sure is a damned handsome couple. They look like one of those Fixadent adverts.

Yes, that did confuse me. What did the author want it to mean, though? Just, like, a generic female friend? Maybe she's thinking of Ros Russell in His Girl Friday, who was sassy and awesome and definitely not a servant.

Ronan Farrow - he's here all week! Try the clams!

Yes, but now he'll only be taught to think of himself as a victim and not to consider whether his prior behaviour was cruel and upsetting to his classmates. Kids have pretty binary logic, and the nuances of why he was also an asshole are likely to escape him. Another of the many reasons this teacher's punishment…

Thanks (I have to say I prefer The Philadelphia Story, even though there aren't any songs). It was either that or the "I am shocked! Shocked!" bit from Casablanca... Classic movies really provide quotes for every occasion :D

This seems an appropriate expression of my reaction.

That surprises me, given that his co-stars undisguised dislike of him in the Usual Suspects making-of featurette was what elevated the DVD extras from "standard" to "goldmine of awkward". Maybe he's matured since then.

My excuse with TV Tropes is that I am a pop culture junkie and aspiring writer, and that's all useful somehow. Wow, that sounds lamer now I read it to myself...

So true. The 'Does This Remind You of Anything' page on TV Tropes pretty much covers it, IMO.

Weirdly enough, I was with my best friend the other day when she saw a girl in black glossy tights and yelped that exact sentence about Ross and the leather trousers. Friends references are here to stay, I assure you.

Wait... seriously? I thought floor punchups had gone the way of duels. Yeesh. This is really something more worthwhile for Michigan to be looking at, yeah.

Yep, agreed. I didn't even know they could ban an official from speaking from the floor - seems a very Kafkaesque situation she's now in.

Ah yes. Poor... Charles Sumner, wasn't it? The one who got bashed with Preston Brooks' stick? Or was that Thaddeus Stevens? You'll have to excuse the sketchiness - I'm British, and my American History 1861-1981 A-level history module was a long time ago :)

If you look at my reply to verveychichi, I definitely think the ban was disproportionately harsh and unfair. It wasn't so much the reference to vaginas per se that bothered me, so much as to her own in particular. It's much like someone saying they supporting reduced funds for a rape centre and an opponent saying "I'm…

Yep, it must be infuriating, I do not envy pro-repro rights officials in states like this. I certainly think a reprimand would have been sufficient - a ban is far too draconian and just a smidge convenient for the opposition.

I never thought I would be saying this, but I agree with the floor leader when he says ""My concern was the decorum of the House, not of anything she said."

Thank you, this will be most useful for my research...

Oh... god. That is horrendous. I admit I laughed out loud at the name, but I'm guessing so did everyone else and that was sort of the problem.

Homemade housedresses in all likelihood, if they weren't fortunate enough to afford tailoring. Although that said, what about Mr Pinky's Hefty Hideaway in Hairspray? Maybe there were some off-the-peg options.

Political beliefs are not anvils with which to clout anyone within earshot. Talking about them with friends and family in relevant conversations or, if you're really passionate, joining a movement, is all well and good. Using your public platform (gained through something completely irrelevant, like movie acting) as a…