When people who haven't seen the Sopranos ask me whether I think they should watch it, I say no. Why? Because the show is well-written, well-acted, and highly entertaining; before long you will be addicted; and then you will feel compelled to watch episode after episode of cruelty, despair, and increasingly cartoonish violence. I wish I'd never started watching it.

It's interesting to me how many of the letters in this comment thread amount to "I love this or that show because it makes me feel so bad." Not that I want sweetness and light, but I don't understand why evil and hopelessness seem to be the only things that count as drama, or even entertainment. Shakespeare wrote comedies as well as ferocious tragedies, and some of the comedies are among his best plays.

Well, I was going to write a longish comment, but I see that TCinLA said exactly, and I mean exactly, what I intended to say. I refer you to that post, one or two before this one. Ditto, ditto.

"Tooth-whitening" is silly, but brushing and flossing really do make a difference in preventing infection, tooth decay, and tooth loss. Dental problems used to be among the most feared medical problems because they were painful and little could be done about them except pulling the tooth. Before antibiotics, gum infections were no joke. Most dental problems can now be prevented, so dentists now concern themselves more with merely cosmetic issues, but that's really a sign of how good dental preventive care has become. We're used to the idea that dental health is a minor adunct to general health, but that's not true, as anybody who has had major dental problems will tell you.

Ah yes, can't help the poor because their lifestyles are so....declasse.

As far as what people eat goes, yes organic veggies are more expensive per calorie than junk food. But eating healthy isn't black and white -- you don't have to eat like a foodie aesthete, living on local organic produce and pasture-raised eggs, to eat healthier. There are lots of cheap, nutritious foods in the grocery store, if you know where to find them and prepare them. I think ThoughtsofSusan has a good point about learning how to shop. This is a basic life skill that ought to be at least addressed in school (along with basic financial management and comprehensive sex education).

One thing that seems to me left out of this discussion is the issue of subjectivity in disorders that involve chronic pain. Pain can only be measured subjectively, and if you feel that your pain is less severe, then by definition it is less severe. It may not be possible to change the physical causes of pain, but it is possible (sometimes) to find ways to keep it from dominating your life and your thoughts, to find ways to make it bother you less. In this case, feeling that you have control over the problem can result in a subjective improvement, even if the physical situation hasn't changed.

Another important issue is motivation to keep up with medical treatments, especially when you're talking about chronic diseases. If you are optimistic and have the support of your family and community, then you're more likely to check your blood sugar regularly, or take your inhaled corticosteroids daily, or stick to your eating plan, or whatever other measures you have to take to control the disease. I'm skeptical of direct mental control of disease, but emotional/social control of behavior can have an indirect effect by making the person adhere better to treatment.

In the spirit of some of the letters that have been posted here, I'd like to say a few words about my friend Jenn, who died almost three years ago of breast cancer, at the age of 35. She was a hopeful, enthusiastic, optimistic person, and though I don't know if that added any time to her life, I do know that it made the last years of her life much better -- happier, fuller -- for herself and her friends. She packed more living into 35 years than many people do into 70 or 80. As someone said at her memorial, she won her battle with cancer, because she never let it define her, never let it take over more of her life than it had to. I miss her, but I'm glad to know that she made the most of her time on earth.

Best to all.

...as Jonah Goldberg is to "fascism."

Trust conservatives to go for the "stick"-- rolling back women's rights -- rather than the "carrot" -- policies that make it easier for women to combine work and family.

According to Jewish law, a man is supposed to offer to have sex with his wife with a certain frequency, depending on his profession. If his profession is physically or mentally taxing, he's not expected to do the deed as often. Married couples are also encouraged to have sex on the Sabbath.

Probably about 85% of the articles on Broadsheet are about sex or are sex related

I just did a quick count of the last few days, and you're not even close -- even if you designate discussions of rape, fertility, and childbearing as "sex related." Sorry.

I'm finding that there's an advantage, as one approaches middle age, to never having been stylish or conventionally attractive: it makes aging a lot easier.

If it was a private event, they were legally entitled not to admit him. He says in the comments to the thread that the "policeman" may have been a private security guard -- he didn't check the guy's uniform closely.

That doesn't make it right, of course. Aside from anything else, it's a boneheadedly stupid thing to do. Myers has a blog, after all -- did they think he wouldn't write about this?