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Category Archives: Uncategorized

Of particular concern to me.

The Ancient Roman poet Terence declared that “In every endeavor, the seemly course for wise men is to try persuasion first.” The same truth binds wise women as well… George Marshall noted that our gravest enemies are often not nations or doctrines but hunger, poverty, desperation, and chaos. So to create more friends and fewer […]

THAT’S NOT FUNNY

As one of the world’s leading self-appointed experts on Whether That Is Sexist (spoiler: it is) I am, of course, obligated to spend up to five minutes per day reading headlines and then becoming outraged over them. Then I write things with the phrase “taco farts” in them and post some YouTube clips, and so […]

Tiger Beatdown: Apologia, or: Why I Spend All My Time on the Damn Internet

[So. Not so long ago, I had a discussion with someone in which he asked me to answer some tough questions, most of which had to do with this blog. They were questions like: why have you chosen to write what you write? What change do you think you can affect by writing those things? […]

I recognize this impulse, the vague belief of some middle-class or upper-middle-class girls and young women (primarily white, I think; don’t know if brown and black women have this too) that the world owes them a living so that their creative, artistic, interesting inner selves can be supported and thrive.  I am going to go […]

Terrible Things to Do With Your Time

Well, well! It appears that I will have this particular weekend all to myself! There are so many ill-advised actions I could take within this two-day period. Which will I choose? 1) Comparing My Vagina to a Leathery Old Bag This is the path taken by Paris Hilton, who quoth: “I’ve only ever done it […]

WHYYYYYYYYYY

Writing a book titled Snark: It’s Mean, It’s Personal, and It’s Ruining Our Conversation is like writing a book titled Keying My Car: It’s the Wrong Thing to Do, or Why Flaming Bags of Dog Poop on My Doorstep Just Aren’t Funny. Does anyone else get the sense that the people who are all, “jokes! […]

SCIENCE FACT: People Who Say "I’m Not Racist or Anything" Totally Racist!

Yes, it’s true: some people who claim not to be racist also tend to not do anything or get upset at all when they witness obvious acts of racism! Finally, a SCIENCE FACT that explains why people read Vice magazine (endorsed by Colt 45: “It’s Ironic that You Drink It, Because in Your Mind You […]

Don’t Let This Happen to You!

Ah, the true promise of metroblogging: coverage of the all-important “ladies determined to be skanks” beat, neatly divided by city for ease of reference. Gothamist has never devoted substantive attention to this issue; Gawker (not really about NYC any more! But, whatever) and Young Manhattanite touch on it only rarely. The exciting new web publication […]

Potential Harm to a Dog? Never Have I Seen a Tear-Jerking Plot Device Less Hackneyed!

Just when I was considering not slamming my face into the kitchen table over and over until I lost all memory of Wendy and Lucy, I read this:  The year’s most haunting soundtrack may be the six-bar theme (composed by Will Oldham) that Michelle Williams hums throughout this quiet marvel of a film from director […]

Moral Boundaries

Everybody has that one story: about September, and the planes, and where you were, and how scared you felt, and how you kept calling people to see who was and was not okay. My story is, like most of those, pretty standard. I remember being on the phone with an out-of-town friend and saying, “I’m […]