archenemy

We all look the same to them.

hee hee. The other thing I've noticed is that people in general and children in specific have an amazing ability to adjust and thrive under a wide variety of circumstances.

Interesting that you make no mention of Chris's discovery that his father had not been divorced from his first wife when he married Chris's mom, and also fathered a child with the first wife after Chris was born. I think you'd be hard pressed to find an 18-year-old capable of forgiving their father after learning that, but maybe the ones who aren't naive and self-righteous would just take that right in stride. I would venture to say that learning to forgive others is the second most important thing a person can learn to do.

True, and our parents aren't the only male and female role models in our lives. And not only that, just b/c a person is in a heterosexual relationship doesn't automatically make them a better parent or a better role model.

Get some of those red white and blue bomb pops while you're at it. They are fun as well!

My neighbors are a lesbian couple who are raising their daughter. She is such a great girl that I hire her to watch my dog when I am out of town--IOW I trust her and she is dependable. Her parents are great-I get to go over there for BBQs and they bring me soup when I am sick. They seem like a normal family to me. And I don't see three parents as bad. In our society of ever-changing family structures, people are going to continue to seek out what works best for them. More power to them. As long as we keep insisting that people define their relationships in a strict format, people are going to keep being unhappy. When we support people along their own paths of discovery, we do them much greater service.

its just the point that examining that kids life and calling him a failure/narcissist/etc is a bit silly. He died tragically. He failed at life. Its all good to sit around and judge him, if that makes you feel better. I think the real thing to take away from the book (haven't seen the movie) is introspection of your own dealio. How are you retarded? Is it better to burn out then fade away? Lets ride bikes. Judging him does make me feel better. But not better than I feel when I am eating one of those orange creamsicles. Remember those from your childhood? I got a hankering for them a little while back and bought some. Whoolllyyyyyeee shite I forgot how good they are! And they have a weird, squeky plastiquy texture to them that make them irresistable. Oh I love those things.

What on earth makes you think I expect a perfect response? What I expect is improvement over time--just as every company is expected to provide. And I don't see this as a Bush incident. This is an issue we need to face as a country. We need to improve this system. After the flood at Index, I was actually asked for my resume to work for FEMA (the dude I worked with from FEMA was great). Their response time and processing time was so slow, I'd already rec'd a job offer from the company I am with now. Everything with the agency was so slow it was painful. This has to change.

He's hot. He should work at the Wild Horse ranch or whatever that Heidi Fleiss place is called.

Bingo.

to our own what? Oh, I fall under the retardations catagory, huh?

Pinocchio. The only man who can please two women at once.

"Everyone, make a fist" "Fido, put your paw forward" "cheese"

My moral standing is lying down. *NIN

damned if you do, damned if you don't. blame is always dished out; credit is never given Not how I see it. This is my view: Damned: insisting on comparing this disaster to Katrina Not Damned: recognizing that this is it's own case. You want to compare the two? Then compare the system. People still have to wait in line to fill out a piece of paper and then wait on a 1-800 line forever to be told they may or may not get help. Nothing has changed since Katrina--except that people are more aware of bad publicity. Thank God we live in a weathy and generous society (go ahead and make barbs here; but I honestly believe this). People will donate money, time, clothing, etc to the victims of this disaster who just lost everything.

I read the book, haven't seen the movie. But I agree with iluka on the overall take of the story. I think it is probably more appealing the younger one is. I remember thinking that everyone who lived in the suburbs and worked in a cubicle had "false" values and were so blind. Ah, the arrogance of youth. It is hard to picture that having a home, a job, and a dog are really satisfying aspects of life when what you have instead is youth, ignorance, and energy.

Just need to quote this so it isn't lost.

Blurpy *is* a fancy-sounding title.

How izzit that you're aware of Malibu court operations? archenemy is omniscient I think her company does online perv-ware.....perhaps expert witness cancellation? You are close. We support the legal industry.

It looks like the group that sings "YMCA" but more homogenous.

If so, you'd probably hear the same thing, "Get your hands off me"

I am sick of the comparisons between the fire and Katrina. The magnitude of Katrina was so much bigger that it is on a whole different scale. How can FEMA, the President, et al be so proud of themselves for their quick response to this fire when so many places still sit fallow and people are still without homes in the wake of Katrina? Shamefull.

At least it keeps the "where to go for Xmas" questions to a minimum.

Actually, pole/pier foundations are often less expensive than conventional continuous-footing/stem-wall foundations. My home is built on pier foundations even though I am above the 100 year flood plain. Good thing though, the place would probably rot or spall away with all the friggen rain up there.

On first read, I totally agreed with the full text of your post. Re-reading it, I'm not sure about the sentence quoted above. In male-dominated cultures, perhaps the men are satisfied, and 50% is not bad. This has probably changed as women play a greater role, but I bet in parts of Asia a while back the men WERE happy, because women accepted that their role was what it was. I was in Japan a couple years ago. The best meal I have ever had was served by a 55-year old woman at her home (we visited her and her husband for an evening). I said, "You are a wonderful hostess. Do you enjoy cooking and entertaining?" Her response: "No. It's my duty." But she never complained about it. I guess my point is that is possible that there are cultures where 50% of the people are happy (even if it's one gender) at the expense of the other 50%. I'm not sure that 50% of the people in the US are happy. That said, I am happy in my monogamous relationship. But, I think I was happy in college when partners were more varied. I would not want to be single now (in my mid-30s). Anyways, it's a complex subject. The other problem with the quoted statement is that this is drawn from mostly one-man multi-women relationship histories. We have very few examples and very little experience where women get to have the multiple partners (with impunity).