Cary, this is bar none the best advice you've ever given! I wish you could read this column over the intercom of every faceless corporate cubicle farm in America this morning, touching off a wave of slacking and self-examination and plain old happiness in the face of workaday dread. The myth of the "new economy" is that we must work harder and longer and better than the rest of the planet and we'll reap our reward of consumer delights -- and guess what, that isn't how it works. We only go around once in this life, and spending 12 hours a day tormented in an uncomfortable chair should be our vision of hell, not a day at the office. In the words of Peter Gibbons, visionary anti-worker from the movie "Office Space," "Human beings were not meant to sit in little cubicles staring at computer screens all day, filling out useless forms and listening to eight different bosses drone on about about mission statements." We've got nothing to lose but the jobs that are sucking our lives away!

I appreciate the sauciness of the Broadsheet writing style (though by halfway down the page it can get a little tinny), but I have to take issue with Page Rockwell's examples of non-contraceptive uses of The Pill: "stabilizing the menstrual cycle," OK, sure; "perking up the complexion," grrrr, what?

Yes, it's true The Pill is sometimes pitched as a cure-all for "womanly complaints" like acne, migraines, PMS, etc. And as someone who's been on it for over 10 years -- most of that time NOT used for contraception -- I still dislike the medical establishment's overprescribing attitude towards it.

However, the reason I started taking it was a serious bout of anovulatory menorrhagia, aka continuous, heavy menstrual bleeding, to the point where I was anemic and pale. 24 hours after I popped that first little green Pill, it stopped, and I continue to take the Pill now for that reason, as well as, now, for contraception. On balance, the Pill is an inexpensive, safe, tolerable way to manage hormonal problems -- the side benefits to my complexion didn't enter into it. Just a reminder that women shouldn't take the Pill for granted as a "lifestyle" drug, as the fundamentalists seem to think of it.

No, seriously! I agree with earlier posters that the LW could benefit from therapy for her own issues, and her husband could benefit from a kick in the pants. But the day to day struggle with the MIL, the petty one-upmanships, unannounced visits, baby-hogging, and the like, will likely not stop on their own. There needs to be a line in the sand drawn by the LW, to indicate to the MIL what she won't stand for anymore -- and then let it go, no need to assault her physically after that.

To wit, one of my favorite scenes from 'Brokeback Mountain' [sort-of spoiler ahead!], where Jake Gyllenhaal finally stands up to his bossy, boorish father-in-law at Thanksgiving dinner (how appropriate!). You're expecting Jake to take the carving knife and finally snap after years of kowtowing to Big Daddy, but instead he firmly turns off the TV, marches back to the table, and barks something like, "This is my house, my child, you're a guest here, so sit down and eat your damn turkey!" Daddy silently obeys -- it's like he's been waiting to be put in his place. Plus the indifferent wife manages a sly smile and a nod of respect to this long-awaited outburst. The rest of the movie is chock-full of psychological repression, but this scene might provide some insight! ;-)

Oy, give it a rest, folks -- big gold stars all around for reading Dickens and Thackeray and Trollope (oh my!) instead of rotting on the sofa in front of the idiot box like the rest of us poor, unenlightened slobs.

Dickens himself would have a good chuckle, I think, at those who take the time to write in and complain about a TV adaptation of his work, when they of course *never* deign to watch TV themselves. If that's true, what do you care about the quality and authenticity (or lack thereof) anyway? Oh right, you'd miss an opportunity to name-drop. Sheesh.

I for one am enjoying "Bleak House" for what it's worth, and looking forward to reading the book also -- sort of like "Lord of the Rings," or is that too lowbrow a reference? Let me also note that the local bookstores (and I'm talking Cambridge, MA here) are all sold out of the book, because of the series -- so said the happy bookstore clerks. Heaven forfend, the TV zombies are at the barricades!