There's something poignant about ascribing deep emotional conflicts to inanimate blocks.

Perhaps we like anthropomorphizing because it tells us we're not alone.

Comic by 2pstart: http://www.2pstart.com

It was a perfect, sparkling moment of uncertainty.

I leaned back in my stool and peered over my drink, hand blocking my mouth and giving me a moment's respite to think. 

This was the third mention of my friend's sibling.

"Ah, and are they going to be at the con?" I tried for a neutral tone.  I didn't want to sound eager, but I didn't want to sound worried.

"Oh, well, I don't know, actually.  They might.  They don't go that often anymore, but they're still really big into it."

"Huh.  Yeah, I might not have gone myself, but you know, I got a press pass, and that was too good to pass up."

"Yeah, actually [sibling] got one as well, last year."

Okay.  So that's why it kept coming up.  Phew.

It occurs to me that knowing your limits is also a relationship skill.

How do you pursue guys you're really interested in as friends, but not romantically, without hurting their feelings or cutting off your chances for connection? - CallMeQuell

You pretty much don't.

I know it seems like one of those things that should be doable, but . . . nope.

See, you can only control your end of things.  You can't control his end of things.  So no matter what you try, he has to be the one to decide not to take it romantically.

It's been some time since I did a webcomics review, but some of you will be amused by this.

The demon laughed.  It was a great big laugh, punctuated by his near-nudity and the gouts of flame that escaped his mouth and ears.  Sparks danced where his hooves scratched the pavement, and smeared fruit clung to his scaly tail, the province of some unlucky merchant.

Across from him, the girl gasped.  Blood trickled down her legs, and she struggled to rise, sword in hand.

Donning a fine hat from one overturned stand and a silver-chased stick from another, he posed mockingly, sweeping an arm out in a grand gesture.  "Come now, this is the way of the world.  Be welcome to it."

"You are an abomination written in flesh," she hissed, still struggling for balance.

He bowed.  "At your service."

I SAW THIS GIRL, HELP PLEASE?

i was at a market in Hobart and i saw this girl, she was really pretty, and she kept looking at me and i can't get her out of my mind, and i want to find out who she was, but it seems impossible, if anyone has any ideas please help me! - James K

1. Take a picture with your cell phone.
2. Purchase a dakimakura (body pillow) with a print of the girl.
3. Cry at the bitterness of fate, because this is as close as you are likely to get to her.

Seriously, it's not like you can always muster up the courage to talk to a girl.  You may be disheveled, hung over, or just not at the top of your game.  I understand.  However, by choosing not to pursue, you pretty much give up the right to whine about it later.  If you don't want to regret, you have to pursue even when you aren't ready for it.

That's what being an adult is.

Lithium98 defends shock posts:

I see where he's coming from - but I disagree.  Take Chip Tsao's "satirical" column which northernskylights blogged about.  Whether it was really intended as satire or not, officially it was.  (Chip Tsao does have a track record of attempting satire, but I didn't think this one was satirical until the 3rd paragraph or so, far later than the point where it makes people red with rage.)  Does that mean that everyone who got offended at the racist parts is automatically wrong?  It "generated heat," but do you think that actually helped improve the situation?  Relations deteriorated and the capacity for sober thought was lost in outrage (on one side) and disbelief (on the other.)  Put another way, if you deny that a line can ever be drawn, then do you think a maker of blacksploitation films can say, "What? I'm raising awareness?"  Would you argue that any harm to gender equality done by Girls Gone Wild is OK if they claim to be "raising awareness" of a sociological phenomenon?  At what point does awareness cross over into jadedness or outright cynicism?

I have to say I'm amused that Lithium98 equates getting people to listen with getting things done.  Awareness is necessary for action, but it is not an unlimited good.  If awareness already exists, more awareness is at best redundant and at worst detrimental (consider the mercilessly parodied "X is my anti-drug" campaign.)  Anyone with an education who isn't aware of rape in our present society is either mentally addled or willfully ignorant.  Anyone who thinks that listening equals action hasn't seen people go to Church, agree with a sermon, and then not put it into practice during the week.  The core problem is not religion, it's not disagreement with principles, and it's not awareness.  It's just sloth.  Thought does not get things done.  Only action gets things done. 

A writer cannot force people to act, but neither should he feel that reminding them of an issue is itself automatically progress.  At best, it is only the potential for progress.  Penny Arcade pointed out that of thousands of bloggers once united to condemn an artist for plagarism.  There was furious discussion and people felt they had accomplished something, but in the end nothing happened.

No doubt, TheoCafe can and should write however he wishes - but I don't think the sort of blind assertion that shock is automatically naive and everyone needs to get over anything that might be shocking is very well considered.

Subjugate your fears, or they will ruin you.

The obvious slant of this article (and its links) notwithstanding, there is one real issue here.  Does the Secretary of Transportation intend to actively fine or tax people for driving cars?

Encouraging behavior modification is all good and well, but there's a difference between encouraging people to use mass transit, and punishing them for driving cars.  If the US is really going to turn into downtown London, with its controversial "congestion charges," people have a right to know in advance.