On Ask Polly: Should I Make The First Move On My Dream Girl?
i like the LW1 advice here, but i want to be a little hair-splitty about the introvert/extrovert thing. dude doesn't need to get over himself and become an extrovert. he needs to get over himself a little and not use the fact that he's an introvert as an excuse to never take risks and never allow himself to be a little on-edge for a while in a challenging social situation.
basically, some people are never going to become really at ease with large groups. but being one of those people doesn't mean you completely avoid large groups either. you can practice and get better at making small talk, and you can also practice being okay with the fact that you're sitting around in a large group feeling kind of dorky.
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On Austin Has Changed A Lot Since My Last High-Profile Appearance Here In 2012
@ericdeamer maybe i've just read too many things about my town that sounded parodic but were completely serious.
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On Austin Has Changed A Lot Since My Last High-Profile Appearance Here In 2012
if austin's a cowtown in the middle of nowhere that only recently got decent food, then by all means fuck off and do not ever come here.
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On 'IT': Seriously, Guys, Get Out Of Maine Before You Die Terribly
in addition to the kid sex, there's the part (if i'm even remembering right and not making it up) where bill is trying to get his wife to wake up from her coma/stupor/catatonia/whatever so he takes her on his special magic kid bike, and then all at once he gets a boner and she wakes up.
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On A Short Email Chat With The Amazing Performer Christeene
i like this, but i think it's still kind of impossible to convey the magic of christeene. you kind of have to actually go to a show before you can understand.
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On Man Believes Momentary Neurological Event Somehow Reflects The Way We Think Now
sounds like a migraine to me. kind a gnarly example of aura/prodrome, but well within the range of things that happen all the time.
and if you didn't get a proper headache later that doesn't mean it's not migraine. anyone can get them and they don't work the way everybody thinks they do.
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On Was Aaron Swartz Stealing?
i work at a nonprofit scholarly press in the journals division. i hope you'll allow me a couple of minor quibbles. one, saying "none of the money goes to the author, it goes to the publisher" makes it sound rather like publishers are raking it in, when in reality there are way more small nonprofit presses than there are elseviers. two, the per-article fee doesn't go directly to publishers. part of it does. what we get basically helps offset the loss of print sales our publications have been experiencing for years now.
anyway, as you might imagine i'm a little less eager than some other commenters here to say that the whole scholarly publishing system is broken. that's not because i think it works especially well, but mostly because nobody seems to have a good alternative and academics seem to forget how badly they need editing and other aspects of journal production that publishers provide.
all that having been said, this is the best thing i've read about this whole kerfuffle and that includes plenty of industry discussion.
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On On Copyright, Fair Use and Photography
one of the reasons people should talk about these experiences more is that the public needs to know that fair use won't stop you from being sued, it will only help you - possibly - defend yourself if you are. you may wind up owing somebody a lot of money even if your interpretation of the law is completely valid. sure, people can sue you for all kinds of things and it will suck, but it's a lot more likely to happen in a case like this.
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On How To Not Spend Any Money In New York City
i recommend not living in new york as a frugality tip.
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On Ask Polly: I Desperately Need Everyone To Like Me!
thanks so much for this: "just because you're a youngish woman doesn't mean that every fucking jackass in the world has a right to know exactly where you stand on everything."