And more important than just strong female characters are strong female relationships. One single strong female character as a token among a group of men isn't enough. Seriously, I spend 8 to 10 hours a day in a work environment where I have to problem solve and get shit done with several people, over half of whom…

I really don't like wearing jewelry at all. I can appreciate the beauty and craftsmanship that goes into it, but having anything on my fingers, wrists or around my neck just makes me nuts. Earrings, if they aren't too heavy or flappy (I don't like them hitting my neck) are OK, but I wear zero accessories on most…

To balance you out—I grew up near the ocean and my biggest fear was—tornadoes! I have no idea why. Until recently, they had been pretty much unheard of where I grew up. So yeah, you, me and a sharknado.

I have two cats with very different personalities. One who literally looks before she leaps (and rarely gets herself into pickles) and the other who just leaps (who often has to be rescued from a perch too high to get down from). The former likes to observe the cat game I have on my phone, a little mouse that flicks…

Helping the homeless human population is important, so is helping homeless domesticated animals (who have been bred to be incompatible with living on their own). Here's the difference: There are (or should be) government services, churches, etc. that help humans. Government's role with regard to homeless…

I was tested twice this year. I still don't believe in God.

Back in my ESL teaching days, I would occasionally visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art with my students, it was a great way to get them to engage with each other and discuss artifacts from their and other cultures. On one visit a Japanese student was appalled at the way Shinto artifacts were being displayed. He…

I used to have a bottle opener that I got at the Vatican back in the 1990s. It had a relief of John Paul II on it. I called it my popener. Somebody stole it from a party though :-/

Yay for giving up soda (I can't bear the stuff anymore—even diet tastes disgusting to me). Juice, especially packaged juice in the supermarket, isn't much better but it is a step in the right direction, assuming the direction you are going is to reduce the amount of sugar you drink. As your palate adjusts to less…

I'm assuming that list is in ascending order of priority.

Pugs do it,
Chows do it,
Even long-haired Afghan hounds dooo it,
Let's do it,
Let's take a walk!

He was all over the place this year—both Grimm and American Dad had Krampus in their holiday specials (one in a Santa suit, the other with two cloven hooves—not the traditional one hoof, one foot—you can't just go around changing the facts about Krampus because it makes you uncomfortable!), and I've seen him pop up…

I have an African American friend who has been living in Germany for the past 5 or 6 years. She is never not surprised when she sees Black Peter (or the Germans who dress up in blackface). None of her (white) German friends seem to see even the slightest problem with this.

I think she's generally funny, but yeah, the fat jokes in that show seem so predictable and forced. Seriously, who cares? Retta (Donna on Parks and Rec) is big, but I haven't once seen her size the butt of a joke and her character is hilarious.

Growing up, my family went to a dental practice run/owned by a husband and wife. Twice a year, every year growing up I went there for checkups, my brothers all got braces, there, etc. so I was pretty familiar with the couple. Once, in high school, I was going on a double date with my friend, her boyfriend and her…

I believe recent research has shown that there are several more types of breast cancer than previously thought and that as tumors grow, they mutate within themselves which make it particularly hard to find a cure-all for the array of diseases called breast cancer.

The knock-kneed pose drives me nuts. You're not five years old! Stand up like a grownup (unless you are five years old, then you get a pass).

The first time I went to Iceland, I was amazed and delighted to discover my size was at the front of the rack, not the very back! Of course I think they have the tallest average height at least among Western nations, so...

I was surprised to discover several years ago that almond milk has was a staple of medieval cooking because of the perishability (and cost) of cows milk.

The punchline is that she was a plastic surgeon, so was really unlikely to ever come across any patients who didn't know the word "breast." She just wanted to know all the dirty words. I found diplomat's wives to be the most fun because my class was probably one of the few places where they could cut loose and say…