I sob like a baby when I watch Practical Magic (Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman.) Same with Disney’s Moana. Neither movie is really advertised as bring particularly deep or philosophical, but both of them have more profundity than appears on the surface. PM is about love, death, and family. Moana is about determination, joy, and redemption. Big emotions.

I didn’t know there was an Islamic dilemma. Also, I don’t care about it any more than I would care about a dilemma in any other religion. Religion is such a cancer in the world, I prefer to keep my mind clear of it.

There is lots of great content on YouTube, but you need to do some work to shake it loose. On the thumbnail page, click on the dots next to the image and choose “not interested” to get rid of the same ones showing repeatedly.

Try searching for terms you are interested in. Once you watch a couple of videos on the same subject, they’ll keep trying to show you more, which one be a good thing or not, depending.

Creators come and go, so finding new ones is an ongoing process.

Don’t confuse the country with the people or the land. While many humans do seem to be an utter waste of space, the species is still worth preserving (imo.)

Alas, I understand all too well about leaving the theater before the rush. I’m liable to do that, too.

I feel like a certain amount of numb might be the best thing for you right now. The relationship is over. He is not going to give you what you want, but you keep trying to draw him back in. You’re keeping your own wounds open. The fact that he’s not emotionally healthy enough to cut you off doesn’t make your behavior any healthier.

You said you want someone to “fight for you.” What does that mean? Fight who? You’re not a princess locked in a storybook castle, are you? Real life isn’t a fairytale. It’s not a movie. Real love isn’t about drama. It’s about just normal caring. Until you can rescue your own mind from the bullshit Hollywood has fed you, you will have a very hard time being part of a genuinely loving relationship.

Cut this dude loose. Look after yourself. Let your princess out of her tower, so she can live in the real world.

To quote Kenan Thompson, “ain’t nothing gonna happen.” It doesn’t make the slightest difference what any of these monsters admit, or how solid the evidence. None of their crimes are news. They’ve been blatant all along, and we all know it. There is no Big Fix for us. We have already fallen for Lucy’s football too many times. Look at history. When it’s fascism time, the fascists will fascist, and the rest of us will just have to get down there in the trenches and fight. Together.

Oh, that’s very interesting. I never knew what the mechanism was. I never really learned if it had a specific name. It was just something I finally figured out for myself after a lot of grief with no answers from the doctors.

You’re correct, and things like celery powder do contain nitrites. These workarounds have never caused me any problems, but I’m sure people vary. I can eat regular bacon every once in a while and be fine, it’s only after a few days buildup that I start the Big Itch (followed by the big hives.) Everyone has to work out their own tolerances.

And if all else fails, Bill Burr has a short lotion seminar for white people. https://youtu.be/RiH-_ZUILk0

Another possibility that I had to discover for myself is a sensitivity to nitrites such as you find in bacon and deli meats. Or sulfates in wine. These are not allergies, and benedryl won’t help, although prednisone will make it temporarily go away. I had to just stop eating those foods, although now they’re offering more “uncured” meats, which don’t bother me.

I’ve been buying glasses online for decades, and have never had a problem with quality. Or really any problem at all. I’ve used EyeBuyDirect, Zenni, and others, and have always been happy. In fact, I would much rather buy glasses online than in person.

Most of them have clever websites that let you virtually try on the frames and get an accurate view of how they will look. The frames are just fine, and the lenses are cut correctly and polished. My grandmother and my aunt were both opticians, and I have been wearing glasses since I was a kid, so I know a little about quality.

I have an illness that can sometimes cause a big spike of adrenaline when I overdo things. I can hear it then, and it’s a sign that I need to lie down and do some kind of meditation to get my stress level down. Conversely, when I’m meditating, and get really relaxed, I can also hear it, but it’s a very different sensation.

It’s not a social faux pas, it’s a severe mental health condition, but I have some fear of becoming a hoarder. My partner and I have several of the risk factors, so I keep trying to get rid of stuff.

I never travel with black clothes, because I never travel, and don’t own any black clothes, because I never wear black, or attend funerals.

I think it’s cruel to put up with this kind of behavior and use her disability as a reason to excuse it. Basically, you’re enabling her when you could be a true friend by giving her the feedback she needs to possibly one day change her shitty attitude. There’s nothing wrong with telling her that you choose to avoid people who say things like that. Maybe she will eventually change. And maybe she won’t.

Most of the popular ones. Especially Game of Thrones. As soon as the incestuous couple threw the little boy off the tower, I was outta there. I’m so tired of shows about horrible people doing horrible things.

I’ve had my Galaxy Tab for a couple of years, and it’s just fine. I mainly use it as a tablet, rather than folding it all the time, but it seems like it is holding up.

My great grandmother used to put out saucers of Coke to kill mice. She believed it worked because rodents can’t burp. I have no idea whether any of this is true.

Like most parents, my mom was uncomfortable talking to me about sex, but unlike most other parents, she recognized her discomfort as her problem and she did her best to work around it. She didn’t want me to have the same hangups. Fortunately, this was the 1970s, and she had a lot of resources available. There were lots of books about sex, and she gave me some, and left others around the house for me to read when I wanted.

At the time, I don’t think there was any specific law against allowing your kid to look at, say Playboy magazine, much less more explicit material. You’d probably get prosecuted for it now, which is reasonable. At that time, Playboy was still fairly softcore, just air-brushed breasts and gauzy drapes. And there were “nudist” or “natural” publications, with people having sex out in nature without the photo tricks used today, so you really couldn’t see much. I was allowed to look at those for a while, although I think the adults felt ishy about it, and soon put those away.

Most older gospel is wonderful. Here’s a song by an artist you’ve probably never heard of, because she only released this one single. She had a gorgeous, rich gospel voice, and the record company was all set to promote her as the next Janice Joplin. But she feared the music business would corrupt her soul, so pop music lost a brilliant voice. She’s dead now. I like to imagine her cranking out great albums in heaven.

https://youtu.be/Q2G1F8urLtE