I started watching True Blood just to find out what the hell you were talking about. I know of no higher compliment.

I can see what they’re doing here.

It seems to me that “how much rape is there in this piece of fiction?” is only a slightly useful metric until we can answer the question of “WHY is there so much rape in this piece of fiction?”

I have a lot of sympathy for that viewpoint, but I was still disturbed by the change to Sansa’s story. This piece helped me crystalize it, if you’re curious — and I don’t agree with every word of it, but in general, this is a solid explanation of why the rape was a disruption of her story arc, and why maybe we’re not…

There does seem to finally be a consensus emerging about us (I was born in ‘77). I never knew what generation I was a member of, but recently I’ve read several sources label us late gen X. I think it works. I’ve acquired a black leather jacket unironically, and explored some of that post-punk I ignored as a teenager,…

This. It was *awesome* for calling friends out sick and spending the day in the rock quarry testing homemade rockets.

This was well-written. Especially the Dusty Springfield bit.

Good point. I suppose that, more specifically, I’m saying that college administrators arent public servants. They’re hired by boards of regents and paid to protect and improve the public image of the college. So they’re rewarded for making it hard to prove a rape has ever happened on their campus, and they’re not…

If you’re asking a factual question, then as I understand it, the legal basis comes from Title IX of the Civil Rights Act, which governs a lot of gender discrimination issues in schools that receive any federal funding. The Obama justice department has interpreted it to mean that schools have a legal responsibility to…

Thank you for writing this. There is so much misinformation, and there are so many people spinning every aspect of this situation, that it’s refreshing and powerful to read something from someone involved.

As I understand it, and only from media reports, she initially filed a complaint with the school, which did its internal investigation and found him “not responsible.” There are disputes about whether that investigation was adequate. She later filed a police report. He claims that the district attorney told him they…

If that’s where this actually goes, and I’m hoping it isn’t. Showing Theon’s reaction rather than the rape itself might simply have been a way to avoid having to act out an actual rape.

for those interested in the question of PTSD among drone operators, GQ magazine did an in-depth piece on the subject, talking to an actual drone pilot who had come out of the shadows to talk it over. There is recent research indicating that a form of PTSD is triggered by “moral hazard” — ie, even if you’re not in…

The game plan is fundraising. Nothing more.

fuel. Hence those 3o-second flight times.

Oh, man. Nothing changes quite so hard and fast as this.

I was not sold until you said this.

I think she has some particularly dark stories beyond your ordinary everyday assassin’s tales.

I want a Captain America 1.1 movie, covering Cap’s initial experience integrating into the world of today.

Because racism exists.