On that episode of The Office where characters Kelly and Angela are discussing how hot Charles is, the name of the character is Kelly Kapoor. Mindy Kaling is the actress.

I have trichtillomania too, LW, and am in a similar situation (mid twenties, graduate student, etc.) I have dealt with it since the beginning of college (the beginning of stress in my life, I think). It seems like you are dealing with it really well, for which I congratulate you. It seems like you are really using make-up to your advantage, and everyone DOESN'T know, even if it feels like they do. It was very important and brave of you to have written this letter to Cary, because there are many, many of us out there and you are not alone by any means. I don't think I'll ever stop, either, but what has worked for me has been to think hard about how much does this really, negatively affect my life. Yes, I feel deeply self-conscious about how weird it is, but I have realized that it doesn't REALLY affect my day-to-day life in terms of my relationships and how I'm living with my life. When I realized it was never going to get better, I had to find ways of just living with the condition. Accepting that it wasn't a commentary on how weird I was or my lack of self-control or a my lack of self-discipline made it easier. Good luck with trying to find this acceptance for yourself, you're not alone.

Rebecca, I'm happy you made it to my home town! I was born in Williamsport, lived there my whole life until college and have lived at home off and on since then. my parents still live there. two points I'd like to make on your article: first, I suspect that many people that attended the Palin rally at Bowman field don't plan to vote for the McCain/Palin ticket, they just wanted to see this person they've heard so much about in person. I just discussed this with my mom who was upset that the Palin rally had drawn 10,000 when the Biden rally had drawn 400. I've been committed to voting for Obama since day 1, but I would have attended the Palin rally over the Biden rally, just to see the crazy lady in person and hear what sort of insanity she might spout. so all 10,000 of those people were probably not dyed-in-the-wool Palin supporters--it seems like the quotations you used may have suffered from selection bias.

second, Williamsport is NOT a cultural wasteland 100% full of insane evangelicals. it is slowly turning purple, just like many traditionally conservative parts of the country. in 2006, our district, PA-10, elected our first Democratic congressman in 45 years. Chris Carney seems poised for reelection. yes, he is a conservative Democrat, and yes, the incumbent had a sex scandal that helped drive him out of office, but 45 years is a long time to go without a Democrat in office, and I see Carney's election at least in some part as a repudiation of the Bush administration, the war in Iraq and the Republican-held Congress. This is an R+8 district. the number of registered Democrats in the city and country is growing also, as a combined result of the growing number of African-Americans and highly educated people in the area, and from many Republicans who changed their registration so they could vote for Obama in the primary. my parents were among this last group. so, the area is purpling, slowly. my parents are both lifelong Republican voters who have seen the devastation of 8 years of the Bush administration, know that John McCain would be 4 more years of the same and are voting for Obama. surely at least some other people in the area are thinking the same thoughts. change is happening here, albeit slowly, but it is happening, as it is all through the country.

Oh Rebecca, lighten up! It's just a Thursday Styles article, it's not supposed to have great universal significance!

I noticed that one of the young women quoted in the NYTimes article, Sloane Crosley, is the same woman who wrote an article that appeared on Salon yesterday. That makes me think that when writers are writing these fluffier style articles, perhaps they don't conduct much official research. Instead, it seems like the fun writer of the steak article just called up her fun writer friends, including Ms. Crosley, to ask them what they thought about eating red meat on dates. So it's not like it's a worldwide phenomenon that women everywhere feel like if they order meat on a date, they'll show men that they can eat like that AND stay so thin. Sounds to me more like it's just a small group of the writers' friends in New York who feel that way.

Hi War Room,

I'm not sure what the point of printing this quotation is. Is your point that there's no way Giuliani can be a good Catholic if he's been divorced and is pro-choice? That it's laughable hor him to suggest he could possibly be considered in good standing with the Church? If so, why do you care? Wouldn't you guys be the first ones to say that someone's religious affiliation shouldn't be a factor in an election as long as that affiliation doesn't unduly affect the candidate's policies? Giuliani's right, whether or not he's a "good Catholic" is indeed between him and his priest. Whether he's a good or a bad Catholic, or how many times he's been married and divorced is meaningless to me, and to many other smart voters out there. We care that he has manipulated 9/11 to his advantage and pandered to the Bush administration every since then; we don't care how and when he chooses to follow Catholicism.