For me, the book’s main problem is a lack of any larger context. Nobody ever asks what the point of memorizing all of this 80s pop culture is. You’d think that Wade would at some point confront the possibility that he won’t win the contest, and that he just watched/read/played/listened to all this stuff for nothing. I…

I also find it very baffling how someone like Cline can spend years of his life, writing two novels, on 1980s culture, a subject which he presumably is very interested in, yet has nothing to say about the ways in which popular culture interacts, influences, and is influenced by politics, economics, and society. He…

Let’s get Sherwood Morrill to do a handwriting analysis. The same Sherwood who drinks like Paul Avery now.

I agree she’s too focused on the friend and not the husband — or her own shortcomings in the marriage, perhaps? Displacement and whatnot.

The fact that you are writing a letter asking if it’s okay, pretty much tells you it isn’t. If your husband hadn’t been willing and able, this would be a non issue. He is the key piece of the puzzle, not the person he acted out with.

My friend was in a similar situation but instead of using misogynistic language, she used racist language to disparage her exes new girlfriend. Using misogynistic language perpetuates misogyny in a broader societal context, the horribleness of the person you are aiming your insults at is not relevant.

My understanding is gendered insults are bad because they weaponize existing inequalities, not because you cannot criticize another woman. I can hate and curse out Ivanka all I want without needing to say ‘she’s bad AND she’s a woman’. Just leave the second part out, it doesn’t add anything.

Anyone else uncomfortable watching Orlando continuously cut Katy off?

I finished the series, I don’t know any more clarification the audience would need to see how detrimental her substance abuse was to her future and even at the end of the series will be a demon she’ll continue to battle. My rock bottom was severe enough but I know lots in recovery that caught themselves before they…

“Her substance abuse issues are established early on, but her moments of binge-drinking and pill-popping excess are too archly depicted to ever approach rock bottom.”

LostInSpaceCamp won, because this was definitely an unnecessary story to report on.

I swear, they (the Root) make Bernie jump through burning hoops.

This reminds me of that Ta-Nehisi Coates article where he took Bernie to task for not openly making reparations a part of his campaign for some reason. Meanwhile, we had a sitting black president who ran two succesful campaigns and never oncethought about fixing his mouth to mention reparations and everything was…

When I was in one of my first years in Congress, I went to a meeting downtown in Washington, D.C. And I went there with another congressman, an African-American congressman. And then we kind of separated during the meeting. And then I saw him out later on.

When has Sanders not called systematic racism a bad thing?  

What is taking Bernie Sanders so long to solve racism? I know he is putting out policies that would help many poor POC but he just isn’t explaining them in anti-racism terms so it just isn’t good enough. He could at least offer a solution to get racist to understand and address the black struggle in this country. 

Mandy Moore is engaged to another musician. I’ll give you a hint: he’s in A.V. Club’s favorite band, the hitmakers behind that sweet Laurel Canyon sound.

“I do not get those, but a mechanic does??”

I don’t think you’re ever going to see “defenestrate” out of a writer who serves up Violent Paley.

I’m going to nerd out a bit here, but please bear with me. Alan Moore, the guy who wrote the seminal Watchmen graphic novel in the late 80’s, first made his name in America (he’s British) by completely revamping the 70’s monster series Swamp Thing. The title’s 2nd story arc was called American Gothic in which Swampy…