So, question: is a small diamond band the only type of engagement ring that is "tasteful" now? Kerry's ring is gorgeous, but I hate how we have to qualify this as "tasteful" and then call out other celebs' huge rings as tacky. When it comes to engagement rings: YOU DO YOU.

If you subscribe to the Spike Lee school of thought, as I do, then we're all racist at different points. We all make bad judgments based on race. Well-raised urban liberals might still clutch their purse when passing a black man on the streets. What's important is how you act when confronted with your own racism. Do…

I really hate the word slut. Hatehatehate it.

All men in pink, all the time!

I hope that someday, "hard" scientists (a horrible term, implying that other sciences are "soft") will learn that it is possible to praise sciences like chemistry and physics without putting down the social sciences and humanities. The superiority complex is unwarranted.

Maybe someday people will realize that the only reason humanities majors are seen as inferior is because WE present them as such. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy. If we (and not just hard-sciency majors but humanities majors themselves) stop joking, "oh, lol, I'll never get a job...I majored in English!", then maybe…

What I think is going on with poetry and poetry awards is something Joseph Epstein wrote about recently; he discussed “the resounding boredom” facing poetics in America “even though reams and reams of the stuff gets published, prizes awarded, poets laureate appointed”. Those who successfully publish poetry or teach…