What the writeup doesn't mention is that Syal's next line is: "Many men don't really want to be the recipient of a cutting remark in public that will make them look small or stupid."

Well, bugger, who would? If that's what "funny" means, I don't want a funny man, either (and I'm married to a comedian!).

There's a difference between being the recipient of a joke and being the butt of one. I've been an inveterate joke-maker all my life, and a stand-up comic for part of it, and my personal life has never suffered. (Well, not from that, anyway.)

... for us it's a religious obligation to think for ourselves.

... is that the world does not owe us a loving and attractive partner. Some people are lucky and get one eventually, some people do not. We have all felt profoundly lonely and unloved at times--usually because we have been. It has nothing to do with "gender hatred," whatever that is, or politics. It is simply that life is hard.

I assure you, the women of America are not huddled together over mojitos this Christmas eve, cackling with glee that their scheme to keep you frustrated and solitary has succeeded for yet one more year.

Turning your loneliness into rage and bitterness and bizarre sociopolitical analysis, while easy and perhaps comforting,is a guaranteed way to ensure that it will continue.

Quality folk of either gender are rare. Continue to be one and maybe someday you'll find one. If not, it's no one's fault except perhaps G-d's. As I said, life is hard.

Oh, and do try to separate your emotional and sexual needs for a while. If you just want to get laid there are commercial options for that, or perhaps you could find a nice fuckbuddy. If you want love and intimacy be prepared to pay for it with patience, through many long nights of doubt (we all have), and don't delude yourself that going to another country will make it easier. It's a rare person who can make a cross-cultural relationship work, and being lonely when you're in a relationship is a damn sight worse than being lonely alone.

... it sounds like it was written by someone who has never been married. Do I feel superior to my husband? Only in areas where I objectively am. Do I commiserate with other wives about my husband? Try having any same-sex friends at all if you're not willing to do some of that. Do I think everything would be fine if my husband would just do what I tell him? I think everything would be fine if everyone in the entire world did what I told them. Doesn't everyone? Do I do things for my husband that he is capable of doing for himself? Uh, I gave him a handjob last week--does that count? I'm pretty sure he was capable of doing that for himself. Do I have recurrent anxiety, depression, or feel exhausted--wait a minute, if a woman has mental or physical illness that means she's a BAD WIFE? Do I fantasize about divorce or life with a man who would better match for me? Does anyone who is married for longer than 24 hours NOT do this? Do I get angry with my husband when he's made a bad decision? Yes, when you're married, that's what a bad decision IS--one that makes your spouse angry.

And what if my husband tells me to nag him, as he does all the time (as in, "I need to call my sister, nag me until I do that")? If I'm nagging because I'm obeying an order to nag, does that make me surrendered or what? Help, my brain is melting!

Who do you think you are, David Chase?

I wonder if Martin Blank realizes that some people are edumacated enough to realize that not all writing is meant to be interpreted literally, and found Baby Grumpus's letter pretty damned amusing?

Does Ahmadinejad remind anyone else of Borat?

What is with all these people saying that having babies is the point of a wedding/marriage? If it's the point of your marriage, fine. Don't assume that's the case for everyone. There are couples who can't have children, don't want them, are too old to conceive--they are all still "really" married.

Historically, yes, the point of marriage may have been procreation. It was also, back then, an economic exchange in which the woman was property. Today, marriage is about the wedding couple and their desire to build a life together, a life that may or may not include children.

The Eagle--I work at Harvard Business School, and it is not really that hard. I wouldn't have believed it before I came here, but now I can easily see how a person with a mediocre intellect could squeak on by. Also, the school hates to admit that they've made a mistake by letting someone in, so they will do whatever they can to pass people. Especially if "people" is a legacy admission from one of the most powerful families in America. The higher-ed system in America is not really the meritocracy we've been led to believe it is.

Well, not stabbing one of his six wives would have been a start.