I disagree. I don't doubt there are cases like you describe but it's not a hard and fast rule. I grew up in a relatively small Midwestern city with a very small gay community. Although it sounds like a punchline, it was very much the case that nearly anyone I ever dated had dated at least one of my other friends. …

I really identify with your comment because I find it pretty easy to make it explicit when I'm needing support (like you said— you pick up the phone and call) and tend to expect the same out of my friends. I think it's just a matter of differing expectations in friendships; I expect friends to support me when I need…

Yes, Yelp is (at least partially) a scam. I've seen the exact same thing you're describe happen to local businesses.

I really love the limited-edition flavors that food companies are constantly offering. It tends to make the blogs when Western companies release special flavors only in Japan (Pepsi Baobab, Sakura Kit-Kat...) but Japanese companies do it a bunch too. Nissin's Cup-Noodle always has some ill-considered noodle combo…

I could skip the erotic part, but I'd be 100% down to follow Barack and Michelle's post-White-House career as international super-sleuths!

Uhhh... 3 separate flavors, right?

Speaking personally, I find I feel "lonely" more often when I'm not actually alone. I could never do companionship animals for this reason. While I adore dogs and cats and anything else, and I'm perfectly willing to coo and ooh at them around others, when I do it alone I get this incredibly horrid zoomed-out…

From a non-Canuck, THANK YOU for helping me learn what an awesome person Terry Fox was. This has legitimately made my day brighter.

My guess is it means "brands that don't advertise in the New York Times Styles section" in this instance.

So I don't go all woozy over celebs (read as: "people I've never met") but ooh lord. Mr. Bhaskar Sunkara. Intellectual prowess, moral rectitude, unfailing work ethic? I don't even need the NYT to tell me what you're wearing; call me, boo.

Definitely a bigger hurdle. If religious folks are getting into relationships with wicked heathens, they've obviously come to some sort of peace about the personal nature of religion and one's relationship with g/God/ess/es. And ultimately, even if they believe that your immortal soul is imperiled or whatever, no…

SO accurate. It's about identity. People only go to great lengths to apologize for and otherwise dismiss this type of thing because they feel that some external thing (their nationality, their hometown, their religion) is a significant chunk of who THEY are as a person. I think that for a parent to make the…

Perfectly said. Reply to promote.

That's really interesting, especially considering the way that the article above states that "the show is not about race." That's true, the show itself is not. But as your comment points out, Ms. Rhimes's success in and of itself, and its broader implications, is a story. While it'd take a decent writer to actually…

As bangabong points out, there's a documentary film called Shut Up Little Man about those recordings; I didn't think I'd like it and put it on for background noise, and then ended up totally rapt by it. It was on Netflix streaming for a long time...

I think this cannot be stated enough. It's projection and classic diversion. If I say there's some elitist out there making decisions that are deleterious to the social good, then that takes the heat off me. Nevermind that I'm a mouthpiece for incredibly well-bankrolled corporations that make a (pun intended)…

If a person you find unattractive asks you out you could reply...

Just want to back up hername and say that, yes, that's the way it was taught to me as an 8th grader... 14 years ago. I specifically remember the language about how the various parts of the proto-penis reconfigure into girl parts. US public school.

I don't usually indulge in this type of speculation, but... seriously. The Republicans haven't enunciated ANY policy-specific requirements; they shuffle their feet and mumble about "no tax increases" and "cutting entitlements," but present absolutely no specifics. Even their presidential candidate had no specifics. …