I used to love Mr. Blue. People wrote in with advice, and he gave them advice, short and sweet, with humor and common sense. Then Cary came along and his style was much more....ah....lengthy. I hated it. Then I came to realize that his audience really preferred his style. Both the LW's and the readers are literate, verbose, and well-educated. Basically, they don't want answers - they simply want more talking points. The more the merrier. No amount of talking is too much with this crowd.Not my cup of tea, but it certainly seems to suit the intended audience. Anyway, this poor LW seemed to really need advice and, by God, Cary really delivered this time. Your answer was right on the money and to the point. Thanks!

Why would you object to judging women by there outward appearance? By what other standard should they be judged? What on Earth else do they bring to the table? Having said that, I looked at her picture and must say, I would still hit that. Hard.

Juliebird wrote "How many more teenagers just made themselves throw up, or took up smoking, or began yet another starvation diet, because Gawd, the average girl is quite a bit larger than the newly "fat" JLH?"

Obviously not nearly enough. Have you been to the mall lately? God, these young fatties are everywhere. I feel truly sad for the teenage boys nowadays, having to use these piglets for their first taste. Blech.

For all of you who feel that your hatred of country music and the obvious white trash who like it has been further vindicated by this vulgar display, let me assure you that these same people are ashamed and distraught. The Salon Seal Of Approval is what they (and all of us, frankly) strive for. Apologies will be forthcoming.

I've always loved the rationalization that people use to steal music. "I'm not stealing from the artist. He's got a shit deal from the record label anyway. I'm just ripping off The Man who deserves it". BUT - I've understood that U2 has a quite equitable contract -always have. So it's OK to rip them off, too - after all "They're effing rich already". Look, when are we going to admit that we're going to pilfer all of the music we want, regardless of whose pocket is getting picked? None of this has anything to do with "promoting a new distribution paradigm" or any other such nonsense. It has EVERYTHING to do with getting something for free. If people can rip it off, they will. Hell, I'm no different from the rest, but I'm not covering my actions with so many layers of bullshit that you couldn't cut through it with a chainsaw. I'm just not going to pay for something I can get for free. Let's not try to make like it's some sort of noble cause.

This article is about soccer. So who really cares, anyway??

But if Mother Nature didn't intend for us to eat meat then why did she make it so tasty?

Then I assume you don't want my "Bacon Of The Month" gift card?

Talk about your tempest in a teapot... How many of these "transmales" can there really be?? Five, six?? Man, slow week, or what?

It's really just a way to start a conversation. Honestly, people most likely don't care that much one way or the other. It's nothing personal, mind you, but very few people in the world honestly care much at all about your personal info. It's not just you - it's me, it's whomever. Quite often on these pages we hear of people wanting to know how to answer people who ask "Are you two going to get married?", or "Planning on having any children?". Rude questions? Perhaps, but at the end of the day the people who asked them don't really care one way or the other. It's just stuff to talk about until the next subject comes up. I think we're probably all like that to some extent. The only people who actally care are your mom and Aunt Edna. The rest is just chit-chat. Don't stress. In five minutes they won't even remember the answer.

I sure do. My recollection is that he was quite like most of the Salon crowd - preachy, nagging, hectoring and ultimately doing his best to convince the American people that we deserve less. He (and many of you) seemed profoundly embarassed to be American. Hey, maybe he and his supporters had every right, what do I know? What I do know is that no average citizen wants to be talked down to like that. Like it or not, Reagan inspired us to believe that we are fundamentally a good people and a good country. He LIKED this country, and he never apologized for it. This crowd probably doesn't realize it but most people in this country feel the same way. That's what always kills me about the Salon bunch - they profess that they are the true American patriots while despising 80% of the people who live here. Reminds me of an old "Peanuts" cartoon. Linus says "I love mankind - it's the people I can't stand". That attitude is a sure-fire loser in this country, at least. Just ask Jimmy.

Much good advice in these letters, not much to add but this - Don't take this personally, but really no one out there cares about your lifestyle. That applies to you, me, grandma, everyone. Everybody you know and those that you don't know are just living their own lives, dealing with their own issues and they aren't paying a bit of attention to you and your choices. I'm a forty-nine year old fart, and I'm so glad to be done with that phase of life that you're going through. Ten years from now you'll look back and realize that none of this mattered at all. Then you'll really be free. Don't sweat this.