Live Q&As

Don't make me send Chris Christie over there.

Seriously, he has responsibilities.

And you're doing this on Halloween, I hope? Or is this just sort of your Tuesday routine?

(This is with reference to this.)

True words. And next time the dog goes first. Cats don't suddenly need to visit shrubs and do nothing in the middle of sideways rain.

They're not homes... they're farms.

Yeah, concur.

And keep that ax-wielder out of here!

But... but surely it must!

Just once I want someone on talk radio to declare that a storm came because we weren't having ENOUGH gay marriage.

Yeah! they specifically stated they knew all about birthing babies, so there's no plausible deniability.

Further scrutiny suggests that a scene of actual childbirth (even in silhouette), not references thereto, was what was discouraged. So they squeak through, I think.

Yes, let's blame this one on Sandy.

I'm doing this one remotely and my internet, never speedy at the best of times, has been doing the thing where it allows you to type a lot and then slowlllly one-by-one displays the letters you've typed in. Just as I started describing this phenomenon, it stopped doing it, so possibly things will be better from here out.

Nope, there it went again.

Well, first off, thank you for normally reading and liking them.

In its original context as a blog post, the column was just one slap out of several against discourse devolution. Another of my slaps against discourse devolution (this time against the more demeaning and dangerous remarks about rape) did make the paper earlier in the week, so I was hoping that even for primarily print readers, the balance wouldn't seem too off. If the only thing I'd thought worth objecting to last week was that comment, that would have been a serious problem, for all the reasons you state. And I can see how it might have looked that way, which certainly wasn't how it felt to me writing all week.

That being said, and with the note that there is obviously a certain amount of levity involved in reproaching someone for a word that might not even make the Carlin list, I try to subscribe to a broken-windows theory of civil discourse, where you can comment on the little things. And there's a certain multiplier involved too. The mildly troubling offhand remarks of more important people and the seriously troubling remarks of less important people don't weigh exactly the same, but just because someone else said something louder and more slap-worthy doesnt mean everyone gets off the slap hook. With the caveat that there is only so much slapping you can do in a week before your metaphorical wrist tires.

But that scale question is something I'll think about from now on, realizing not everyone sees the blog.

I mean, "that." That is my new excuse for why this has been so slow.

I hear leather masks breathe well and don't damage your pores!

I never thought about this.

A cursory google suggests that alkaline solutions (would tears count? They're basically salt water, yes?) can damage tin.

Also, that scarecrow seems like a straw man.

God made Hydrogen Peroxide, not -- wait, no, hang on, that joke doesn't work on any level.

No, but before didn't she imply she knew all about --

Dang, it's been a while since I've seen that movie.

Heh!

It's like that joke about the guy who was very particular about his alcohol. When he got to the castle in the middle of the night in the pouring rain, someone handed him some very cheap port wine. He sighed. "Ah well," he said. "Any--"

Well you know where this is going.

As someone on Twitter wisely observed, you have to be pretty polarized to be stunned when a governor praises the president for handling a storm well.

The dis might be harder to explain, but I also have difficulty imagining Chris Christie saying, "Yes, I look forward to touring the disaster sites with Mitt." That seems even more out of character.

Oh, yes! Good link!

Stop being a pane.

I just got the best email from someone saying that given my mental handicaps (I'm paraphrasing slightly) he was surprised I could hold down steady work.

Those are the ones I always most want to respond to, because it seems as though the person would be genuinely surprised if an actual human being tapped on the other side of the glass, and that's sort of fun.

But thanks!

That does make sense. And most of what people describe as the most romantic films of all time on AFI-esque lists have included fairly giant chunks that were left to the imagination. I think people appreciate having to put in the effort.

Probably not, no.

Unless you're one of the folks who draw cartoons for the New Yorker. Then it's great!

Bacon Relief Concert!

I'm going to have an event where I talk about the need to give you succor, then have people collect difficult-to-ship canned goods that aren't bacon. Because I'm, you know, helping. 

If Donald had constructed that hair, everyone would be tearing him apart! But he is the best builder in the world.

Ha! +5

Ha!

And on that note...

Sorry about the slow chat! Have a great week, stay safe, stay dry, and keep reading the Compost!

And feel free but unobligated to follow me on Twitter!