The "West" is not made up of only Caucasian people and never has been.

I wonder how realistic this study is; given that lots of the world's population can't drink milk past childhood, are they all limping around on osteoarthritic knees when they get old? Or is this just another example of (mostly) Caucasian-centric science?

While Mr. Chortcake and I spend far too much time in front of our laptops (like right now—hi!), and Mr. Chortcake has an internet-accessing phone (not an iPhone though), we are consciously brainwashing nine-month-old Baby Chortcake to believe that books are the best by reading actual books to him or in front of him,…

Exactly! I'm not sure what to do, because Baby Chortcake is 9.5 months and 23 pounds and change. He's 99.9th percentile for height and 98th for weight, so he's just big. He's also kind of long and slender, so maybe it's his head or something. People always think he's much older than he is. He's now too big for his car…

I'm so glad there's a name for this! I do this too, and while it comes in handy for fitting in while abroad, or while doing fieldwork, I have to police myself so it doesn't come off as mocking. My father (who is a jerk) DOES do it mockingly, to people's faces.

Aww...but they should not judge, because if it's NYC and they're locals, they've probably got a "youse's database" lurking beneath their collective exterior too.

As someone who used to work at the National Museum of the American Indian, I second that! The cafeteria is AMAZING. A little pricey, but you do get what you pay for.

Exactly! Also, I don't know if it's like this at other universities, but I learned (as an alum/staff member a couple of years ago) that if someone assaults you on campus and you fight back, you will both be charged, including if it's a sexual assault. Stay classy, GU! Ugh.

I have no problem with my pooch either! I actually lost a huge amount of weight after giving birth (my baby is 9 months old), probably due to thyroid meds and going gluten-free because of gluten issues, and maybe because I stopped breastfeeding. I didn't even gain any weight while pregnant except for the baby and…

I carried huge and all in front, and the rest of me actually LOST weight thanks to finally going on needed hypothyroidism meds in second trimester, but I kept hearing over and over again, "is it TWINS? Do you have gestational diabetes? [No.] You're so big, it's not normal if it isn't TWINS. [He was 8 lbs 6 oz, and…

Oh holy crap—I'm a GU alum (went there for my M.A.), and I actually lived for a semester in the area where he was (or they were) most active, in a basement room, though I never encountered him/them, thank G-d. The coverage of it, both officially and unofficially, was really depressing.

Heh—when I worked at Barnes & Noble, people would frequently try to bring things they bought at Borders with a receipt to get their money back. I would explain to them that it's not the same store, and either a) they would look around all surprised and say, "oh! I thought this was Borders! OK!" Or b) they would argue…

I have what is most likely non-celiac gluten sensitivity, in which I technically COULD eat gluten, but it just kind of f@cks me up and gives me bloating and discomfort and migraines if I eat more than a miniscule amount. When I tried to order the gluten-free pizza at my local pizza place (they do have a gluten-free…

I worked at Barnes & Noble for a summer and frequently closed, and there were always these determinedly oblivious crowds of French and Spanish and other Western European folks sitting and talking in the cafe at closing time, ignoring the people trying to clean up around them and put chairs on tables. We weren't…

I think so too, especially Rory! I thought Lorelei matured somewhat, but Rory regressed. I got tired of watching her "rebel" when she really didn't have anything to rebel against. She could have been so much more interesting if she'd evolved in a different direction, rather than…

I

I take five-minute showers when not washing my hair, and something like ten-to-fifteen-minute showers twice a week when I do wash my hair (I have long hair, and it is happiest when I don't wash it more often than that). Other than that, I use the bathroom very speedily. Mr. Chortcake goes to the bathroom, like, all…

That's perfect! It made me LOL into my biryani and wake up my baby.

Oh, thank the Lud. I've refrained from updating my LinkedIn profile, which has me in a different country, for the past seven years or so because I have not *one,* not *two,* but THREE creepy ex-boyfriends, all of whom are the stalkerific kind, and one of whom had clearly checked my LinkedIn profile. I know because the…

I second the thyroid-checking thing. Four years ago, two years before I became pregnant, I suddenly packed on about 30 lbs in a month. I was also tired and lethargic, mildly depressed, had trouble remembering things (this was kind of terrifying because I've always had a freakishly good memory that I depended on for my…