On the contrary, rather than being a strawman that statement was the only thing I ever took issue with at all. I've driven four cars with center-mounted gauge clusters, so Lynx's redonk statement that "all other cars" have left-mounted clusters was bogus on its face, especially given the additional context of my statement about three other Toyota models *also* having center-mounted gauge clusters.

I'm so happy about this review, I saw two previews for this on the IFC channel the other night and it just looked amazing. Even better that its the same dude who made "The Station Agent" which I stop and watch *every single time* I click past it on cable.

I haven't read the book, but I have read a lot of Shakespeare and some biographical material, and it always struck me that the "second best bed" remark in his will was some kind of in-joke between them, not him blowing her off of discarding her. It seems perfectly plausible to me that a husband and wife might build up a lifetime of silly stories and jokes between them, and one of them might even write one into a will to give a little smile 'from the beyond'.

But what do I know?

Not so much fun if you are working 16-hour shifts in a hospital, have no one to come home to, and no one to go on vacation with, no one to share the housework, or if you get old and/or sick.

Holla. Yay for you if you don't get lonely, but that's not a trick I've ever been able to master. I'm not miserable in my 30s because some intense societal or family pressure to get married and have babies (although my aunties would love to see both!) I'm sad in my 30s because I'm just plain lonely. I would love to have someone to give me hugs and kisses and soft words at the end of the day, to share stories with, to travel with, to have meals with, to go to concerts, the movies, all those fun things. I do them all anyway because what else am I going to do, sit home on the couch and watch my life go by? But the charm of being a 'solo traveler' has worn off.

Dowries convey a lot of information in both directions. "Shopping around" for the man who demands the least is in effect shopping around for the least worthy man. A man who is of high financial/social status status can command a high dowry, because the value conveyed to his bride and her family is worth the price paid. Their own value goes up by association, since they are of a standing that can provide the dowry sum.

I don't know why Virgin America isn't flying full fights every day.

They only fly five routes, only two East Coast cities (NYC and DC), and I just checked five consecutive days NY to LA for a wedding in OCTOBER and they're telling me there are no seats available on any day I checked.

I haven't flown coach on United in four years. I charge everything on my credit card, pay off my bills, and rack up frequent flyer miles which I cash in for upgrades. Heck yeah I'll splash out $400 for a ticket to Tucson if I can fly First the whole way.

They've only lost my luggage three times in the last 12 years, too, although all three times were within a year and a half.

I will recount two incidents on UA that threw my experience into perspective, both involving "meal service". In the first instance as we were happily gnawing away on our Mixed Grill with wild rice and asparagus and complimentary vino, the purser gets on the horn to apologize to the folks in steerage for the little containers of coleslaw that they got that didn't come with a fork. In the second, as I was chowing down on my ham and asparagus fritatta with fresh sausages and fruit plate (and mimosa in a crystal tumbler), the purser gets on the horn to apologize that they had *run out of snack boxes* for steerage. This was on a morning flight from Boston to Denver -- 5 hours. We were about halfway into our meal when she made this announcement, too, so the flight attendants can't have been more than halfway through the cabin when the food ran out. Nice planning on that one, guys.

This was also after the plane did a dance-of-departure for an hour while we waited for passengers to come in from another flight which was also delayed, and then *didn't let them board* because it was too late, and then did let them board, and then kicked off the standby passengers that they had already given the seats to in the meantime. The purser was a sensible woman who, reasonably in my opinion, referred to the situation as "a clusterfuck" and sizzled around with the her paperwork in her hand angrily informing all those in earshot that "some people were going to be explaining some things" to her once the flight was over and done. I'll be honest, it was nice to see the flight staff good and pissed about the situation; they're human, too.

I hope they stay solvent long enough for me to cash in my latest round of miles. I can either upgrade to FC twice out to the west coast, or business to Europe gratis.