And “I’ve been trying to do this for 10 years?” What is that?

I did a huge double-take when I saw that. I honestly thought it had to be a different Lisa Bloom.

Ben Folds Five’s “Brick” came on one of dad’s playlists the other day while I was in the car with my parents. Mum said “I love this song, it’s so beautiful” and I said “Me too, especially the bridge where they end up telling her parents about the abortion, that bit is so simple and perfect but just devastating.” Dad…

I feel like I should add that boys (and people in general) liked me just fine with my broken nose, I don’t remember a negative comment about it, the confidence issue was 100% mine. Conversely, until recently I was dating a guy who was dragging his feet on introducing me to his friends, family, etc... he finally…

Not weird, actually pretty awesome. But just something to consider: I broke my nose when I was a kid and I never liked the way it looked afterwards. I was confident about the rest of me, I just really hated my nose, avoided being in photos, spent way too much time thinking about it... when I was 21 I had the money to…

Lapsed Catholic here, but boy did I get a different version... we didn’t worship Mary (as has been pointed out below) and I don’t remember a focus on her virginity, more just the fact (? eh) that she was the mother in the whole “immaculate conception” miracle.

When I moved to Los Angeles from Australia 10 years ago my then boyfriend (and reason for the move), now ex-husband and his friends thought it was so hilarious that I pronounced “Sepulveda” Seh-pull-vee-dah and “La Jolla,” well, La Joll-ah and more I can’t remember now... So hilarious that those assholes never…

Truth. I am (hopefully briefly) back living with my parents at age 32 (hey divorce!) and was complaining to an uber driver the other day that mum comes down to my apartment (yes, I have my own little apartment attached to their house and it’s a frankly lovely place to live) four or five times a day to say hi and see…

If there’s a scare, you (hoping you have insurance!) schedule whatever follow-up you need to get it checked out ASAP, and remember that most scares are just that - scares! - and not the big C, but either way... you are going to know if there’s something wrong or not, which is a very good thing. I have anxiety issues…

Wait, what? Most men are likely serial killers or rapists? That is insane. Signed, a female sometime freelance journalist who usually went alone to my assignments because that was my job. You don’t “bring a friend” with you to work, creepy submarine or not.

When my younger brother (now 27, so we’re talking about 1990) was six weeks old, my parents let my older brother (7) and me (5) “play with the baby” in one of our bedrooms. My big brother dropped my little brother straight onto a stone fireplace (not burning, thank god!) and broke his arm. My parents fondly remember…

Not to be mean, but William and Kate did actually date and cohabit for YEARS (hence “Waity Katy”) before they became officially engaged. The word is that the Queen realized the old way of doing things saw 3/4 of her kids divorced, brought scandal to the throne, and it might be better to let the grandkids actually get…

It is. So impressive, in fact, that we can write satirical articles about our safety, knowing that we’re really, really safe. http://www.betootaadvocate.com/uncategorized/australia-enjoys-another-peaceful-day-under-oppressive-gun-control-regime/

Dykes on Bikes are a very popular element of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. They probably get the 2nd biggest cheer after the awesome sweet old people proudly marching with PFLAG.

*some bits cross-posted from Jez*

In Australia it was exactly the right time to look at gun control. Howard was a conservative and I don’t like most of what he did in office, but his actions after the Port Arthur massacre were exactly what we need to see in the US, and I’ll always respect him for doing it. http://www.smh.com.au/national/seizing-the-mom…

This is why I left the US (I’m a naturalized citizen) and returned to Australia. Things are worse than when I first left 10 years ago, but my PhD is going to cost me $3k a year, max (if I don’t win any scholarships - and I expect to, and most people do.) Salaries for junior professors are still (relatively) low, but…

Preach. I can scrape out the poo (disgusting), then rinse out the poo (disgusting - I don’t have a laundry sink, so the bathroom washbasin is my only option there), then actually wash the underwear (but they’ll still have a poo stain inside, because my laundry isn’t magic like on TV) or I can just take that little…

That sounds like such a great memory. I’m sorry you lost your dad, especially suddenly and on Father’s Day :(

I hear you. My ex used to work in production on a TV crime show, and the amount of time and money spent lighting bodies on autopsy tables so you could see in brilliant gory detail that their kidneys had been hacked out and their eyes gouged and their legs broken but their nipples and privates were 100% washed out of…