Letters to the Editor
Buckethead Wendy
Published Letters: 45 Editor's Choice: 14
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"There's not enough time!"
[Read the article: Finale wrap-up: "Gilmore Girls"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I thought this last season was eleventy billion times better than the weird random phoned in drama of last season - Christopher, stealing yachts, etc. In fact, I think this crop of writers really had their hands full and spent the entire first 10-15 episodes digging these characters out of these impossible holes the Palladinos had dug for them.
The last handful of episodes have been more satisfying than anything I saw last year. These writers ended up reminding us who these characters really were. I think they had a nearly impossible task to perform and really did much better than I expected. I think they were just starting to get in to a nice groove and could have produced a really nice season eight. But it was a nice time to go out, and I think they did an amazing job of wrapping things up in one tiny little hour.
The finale was sort of rushed, because it's hard to write a season finale when you don't know if it will be a series finale. But there were some really nice meta-moments - "Mom, you've given me everything I need," "There's not enough time," etc. - and I thought it was a lovely sendoff.
And for the record, I adored that karaoke scene. It's a lovely song - a Dolly Parton song, I must point out - about letting go of someone you love because you want them to be happy. It started off as a sweet joke for Rory and ended up being an inadvertent epiphany about Luke. It was a really nice moment and Lauren Graham sold the hell out of it.
This entire cast deserves a trunkful of Emmys. Bravo.
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What's the point...
[Read the article: It has been 10 months and he still won't say "I love you"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]...in hearing someone say "I love you" if you have to coerce or beg them to do it? Unless they mean it sincerely and spontaneously, they're just going to parrot what they know you want them to say. You can train your dog to make a noise that sounds like "I love you," but the dog really just wants a treat.
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Oh Crap!
[Read the article: Healthy, my ass]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Earlier in this section I was informed that "a BMI over 30 is simply not okay."
Crap! I only have a few pounds left before I'm carted away to mandatory fat camp!
Honestly, when will skinny people understand that people's bodies work differently, and that people with BMIs over 20 do not necessarily spend their entire days eating fried chicken by the bucket?
In college, when I was eating hot dogs and ramen noodles every single day, I was very thin. I didn't weigh enough to give blood. I've gradually gained weight throughout my 20s, despite improving my diet significantly. My blood tests are always fine. I'm healthy as a damn horse. I've also been told I'm kind of hot, but I guess that's just some perverse fetish.
My point is twofold: firstly, please, please stop assuming that every person over a size 6 is a gluttonous sloth who's just too lazy to quit eating. Just doing a PubMed search for "obesity" will show you that the picture is infinitely more complicated than that. And secondly, I don't lecture strangers on whether or not they drink alcohol or smoke or ride motorcycles or any number of other things that put them at risk for disease or death. And whether you like it or not, those are things people choose to do. Very, very few people choose to be obese. I'm sure there are people out there who are just lazy slobs, but I will tell you a little secret: most of the lazy, McDonald's eating, videogame playing slobs I know? Are thinner than I am.
We all wish it was as simple as "being fat is unhealthy, so I'll just stop being fat!" But it's not. There are real issues of physiology, genetics, and psychology that we're just barely beginning to understand. Isn't it reasonable that the same factors that make us different in terms of eye color, hair thickness, height, etc. would also maybe have a hand in how easily we gain weight? It's fine to encourage good eating and physical fitness, and of course I think it's important that people know how to take care of themselves. But informing anyone that their size is "simply not okay" is just unbelievably tacky, and, if I might borrow a popular word of the times, un-American.
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I have two moms and I like them both!
[Read the article: Grown women: I want mommy!]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I didn't realize how totally controversial I was! How exciting!
I'm 31, I've lived on my own since I left for college 14 years ago, I have a mortgage and a job and a car and a retirement account. But I just called my mom a few minutes ago. You know, cause she's my freaking MOM and all. Between the whole thing where I like, came out of her body, and the fact that we spent a lot of time together, back when she was feeding and clothing me and essentially turning me in to the person I am today, I guess I kind of developed a fondness for her. Go figure.
I have friends whose relationships with their parents effectively ended once they were financially independent. Which is also fine. I just kind of happen to like my mom. And my stepmom. I even occasionally hang out with them. On purpose. So those are my totally controversial and shocking Family Values. I'm pretty sure we can go ahead and file this under "Teenagers Hook Up!" and "Straight Men Wax Their Chests!" in terms of relevant social commentary.