See, it never would have occurred to me that she might be singing as a guy. That’s an interesting thought, thanks.

Yes, and if the song hits you that way it’s totally valid. I understand that being left for someone else really hurts; it’s not an experience I’ve had, so maybe that makes it easier for me to be cavalier about it.

On the one hand, I hate that people felt the need to write serious responses to what’s obviously intended as crude gross-out humor. It’s like putting together a thinkpiece about the man from Nantucket in the limerick.

At this point I just want Taylor Swift and everyone who has ever been in the same room with Taylor Swift and is inclined to discuss the experience to go into a box with no internet or cell phones for, like, a month. And I like Taylor Swift! I just never need to hear about who she’s dating/fucking/writing songs…

Now I’m curious how Aimee thinks the song is fucked up. I checked the lyrics, and it’s basically saying “Look, we’re awesome together, but I’m not going to be your side chick. Time for you to split up with your girlfriend, and please don’t be a jerk about it.” I guess you could argue the guy shouldn’t have let things…

I don’t dislike it, but it feels really heavy, especially next to a middle name like Solace. The whole combination is approaching Ebony Raven Dark’ness Dementia Way territory.

According to the 1995 Star Treknovel The Captain’s Daughter, Sulu’s daughter Demora was conceived in “a one-night stand with a glamazon.” So making reboot Sulu a happily married gay man would mean that in the original timeline, Sulu was in the closet

My problem with that piece is that he says “You people who think you’re better than everybody else? You aren’t better than everybody else” without going that extra mile to interrogate his own role in it. (Except for the bit where he seems to say he’s truly cosmopolitan because of what sounds like a not unusual…

The 1984 presidential election, because my mom thought it was important I knew a woman might be president. (Vice president, and only if Reagan somehow lost AND Mondale dropped dead, but those subtleties were slightly lost on me.) I was in first grade that fall.

Oh thank you. I was like “okay, I don’t wanna be shallow but he is so not hot.” But it turns out he is! Just ... maybe not when he smiles like that.

She’s got at least one song like what you describe, and probably a hardcore Swiftie could come up with more. “Back to December” is a ‘we had a good thing and I wrecked it’ song about Taylor Whatsit from the Twilight movies.

I’m inclined to agree with #1 and #2: I think the public appearances are obviously staged to some extent, but there is genuine affection there.

That’s my theory at this point too — or if not the employee herself, a friend of hers. If the letter really were from the manager, I’d expect more attempts to justify herself/himself by citing company policy, exceptions made for the good employee in the past, etc.

Theory: It’s basically true, but it was written by the employee (or, like, the employee’s best friend) to make a point. That would explain the way the employee is nothing but sympathetic and the boss is nothing but evil. And “she let so-and-so off for a concert but wouldn’t let me off for my graduation” is the kind of…

On of my genius plans iu to start a Twitter called Woman Wears Clothes to RT all this insufferable nonsense.

She was freelance. She could have quit asking them for assignments at any point, and most likely only saw the inside of their offices for meetings.

I write about health care regulation. Fewer circuit boards, more compliance than you could ever imagine. Trade reporters unite.

She wasn't on staff. Layoffs have nothing to do with freelancers, though she confuses the issue for as much of the letter as she can.

Even for fraternal, it has to run on the woman’s side, no? Ashton’s super twinny sperm can’t make her release more than one egg.

If they’re doing that, the only person they’re ultimately hurting is themselves. Even if they slide in at the bottom of the 7% in a less competitive school, their child will likely be less prepared for college than they would be had they graduated at the 15th percentile from a good school.