I too have to remind myself constantly of where I am, even if I have driven there fifty times before. And don't ask me which way is east, or which is the northwest corner of the street. In law school, my best friend would remind me..."the Pacific Ocean is WEST. West." This only helps if I can actually see the ocean.

As a result, I constantly find myself lost in new and different places. I've met many lovely strangers and seen some very interesting farm land. Once I accidentally ended up in New Hampshire. :) My husband has gone from being annoyed at my inability to remember familiar routes to being really entertained by my amazing (anti-Xmen) ability to get lost. His mental map is uncannily accurate, even when blindfolded...but I find more unexpected art galleries, blueberry patches, and lost cats.

However, I have recently discovered a very good trick. I now navigate by restaurants. For some reason, my spatially confused mind remembers delicious food. So now I take a left by the Mexican place, a right by the bakery, look for the bagel place as a landmark and park by the coffee stand. Don't ask me for street names, or which corner is NW...but I know a great place for fresh bread. You'll have to ride with me, though. I just can't give directions. :)

Seriously--it seems like Broadsheet has knee-jerk opposition to anything that says modern fashion has gone too far when it applies to real girls (as opposed to Bratz dolls). Too many teen girls really do wear clothing that is too revealing, and they end up being disrespected as a result. Particularly for poorer girls, who don't have a protective cushion of money and family, it hurts their job and dating prospects terribly. Please, please stop pretending that we live in some ideal world of self-expression, where teen girls should feel free to go as "hoochie" as they can. It does not work out.

Joan Walsh's characterization of Caitlin Flanagan's column feels just like the media's coverage of Hilary's tears--Walsh's critique doesn't match what was actually written in the column. Flanagan's column (correctly) stated that girls suffer the consequences of teen sex far more than boys do. This doesn't mean she's stereotyping teen girls as victims. It just means that girls should be given more preparation to make good choices--like not bowing to social pressures to have sex too early, or to treat it too lightly. With most of teen society and the giant conglomeration of shopping malls (Bratz and preteen thongs, anyone?) and record companies pushing girls into sexual roles too soon, and promoting sex without any emotional commitment, isn't it nice to have someone recognizing reality?

Boo to Joan Walsh...now I have to actually start reading Caitlin Flanagan. I never bothered to read Caitlin Flanagan before, believing Joan's (and others') characterization of her work as anti-feminist. Now that I've actually read the two Flanagan columns Walsh referenced in her blog, I realize I agree with Caitlin Flanagan. I'm sure Joan Walsh's daughter is doing great, in a loving home with great parents--but there's millions of other girls who lack those advantages, and society isn't doing those girls a favor by pretending that the consequences for them are equal to the consequences for boys.

Look, I agreed with all of Kerry's positions too...but I just didn't like him. And guess what, he lost. Even though I voted for him. Like it or not, likeability matters, for Kerry then AND for Clinton now. Let's see the Democrats win the election this time, people. Vote Obama.

Hey Tracy, I get the feeling that in your knee-jerk reaction to "Dear Prudence", you've totally lost sight of what happens to so many of the kids of these single mothers (and unmarried/absent fathers). Single mothers either end up 1)working full time plus and barely see their kids; 2)end up trapped on AFDC, with the usual demoralizing effects; 3)end up moving to a poorer, higher risk neighborhood because of financial limitations, and/or (if they're lucky) 4)moving in with their own parents, who then raise their grandchildren. So while you're blathering on about the dignity of single mother independence, and how it proudly reflects our changing cultural norms, these less-than-lucky kids often end up dead-broke, short on food and diapers, and raised by minimum wage day care workers. Plus both girls and boys end up thinking of guys as occasional visitors, rather than fathers and husbands. With respect (I like Broadsheet), please pull your head out of your hindquarters on this issue--the epidemic of out of wedlock births IS devastating to our schools and families, particularly in the black community. And this creeping new "norm" that says that out of wedlock births are OK (and marriage is outdated) is perpetuating this cycle of poverty. It's not "creating shame" to say this is wrong--it's just common sense. Kudos to "Dear Prudence" for pointing this out, and to Slate for putting it on the front page.

We fly a lot, on just about every carrier you can name. Because American Airlines wants to charge $15 for a checked bag, we will 1)get stuck behind endless lines of people who don't know the carry-on rules at security, and have to unpack and throw out their toiletries; 2)get stuck behind endless lines of people trying to cram their refrigerator sized "carry-ons" into the overhead bins when boarding, and yanking them out when deplaning, and 3)wait in endless lines of people trying to check in, as they yell at the poor unfortunates who work check-in at American.

Oh wait, we don't have to worry about #2 or #3--because we'll never fly American again. So it's just the extra long slow security lines, filled with AA passengers who "decided" not to check a bag, we'll have to thank them for. Sayonara, AA.