Definitely no more than a page, smonster. I could read it if you want. (Edit: In the next 15 minutes or so, or later tonight....)

I bought my brother's wedding gift. My new SIL has redecorated the house in Pottery Barn-style items, so I hope this is suitable. I know that I really liked it, at least!!

That's lovely, Kathy.

Kathy, that's handsome. And distinctive.

It's a bit smaller than I was hoping for (only 7"x3"), but it's just so cool-looking! It'll be a really pretty piece for a coffee table or even on a shelf.

Neither my mom nor my sister had heard of Etsy before I linked them to a few wood bowls I was looking at earlier this week. I think my mom is going to curse my name for introducing her to that site--she and I both loved going to the South Carolina Artisans Center, which is basically a brick-and-mortar Etsy store.

I don't object to a movie having only male characters per se if there's a reason for it, e.g., a movie about cowboys out on the range in the Old West. I wouldn't object to a movie with only women in it, either. (Talking about main characters. Background characters, I don't expect to have much personality or dimension, no matter which sex they are.) I object much more to one-dimensional/disposable/replaceable female main characters than I do to a movie without any female characters. I object to movies with mostly male main characters that throw in a woman just to provide a sexual reward for the man to win. If the writers can't write a good solid female character, let them not write one at all.

For example, The Losers. I can't believe I watched that whole movie. It was pretty bad, but the worst part was the woman. She was there solely to give the male main character someone to fight/fuck with and win in the end. Everything about her was ridiculous, either overdone or simply unbelievable. Her part could have been written as a man. There still could have been a fight in a hotel, though the subsequent fire would have had less potent symbolism. (eyeroll) If she had been a he, the movie would have been all men, all the characters would have had to have been written slightly differently, and the movie would, IMHO, have been better. Oh, one of them would probably have had sex with a random pickup, but whatever. That's not unrealistic.

I'm longing for the day when one of the male main characters has a throwaway sex scene with a random pickup who turns out to be a guy, and no one mentions it.

I've avoided Etsy ... and it probably gives you even more pretty things to spend money on, since they don't have to travel someplace to sell you stuff.

She was there solely to give the male main character someone to fight/fuck with and win in the end

No, she was there because she was there in the comic, where she's a more well-rounded character. I think she was also there so people who like kick ass women had someone to enjoy.

Because they don't realize I'm this close to cutting a bitch.

That's what makes the party so fun - that little edge of potential disaster.

Neither EM nor Emmett were cranky, just totally wiped out. Getting up at 4am for flying time fun is no good for humans.

ION, Emmett now has size 12 feet - same as mine. This mitigates any near future issues with him lacking dress shoes.

They're going back to NYC for the memorial weekend of Sept. 18 and I'm already dreading it because she'll pull Emmett from school for two days, and every time she does that his math grades start to tank. He just never seems to catch up.

(It's actually a long-running point of contention with us that wound up being a huge fight in middle school. She'd keep him home from school for things like: "He was up last night coughing and didn't get a lot of sleep." Which lead to the beginning of one school year where he didn't have a five-day school week until October. Anyway, she doesn't do that anymore, but my rule of thumb remains that he goes to school unless he has: a fever, is throwing up, has diarrhea, or has a compound fracture.)

Ugh. Not looking forward to him repeating geometry this year.

OTOH, he's happy to BART back to the City now, so my commuting will be limited to driving him to school in the morning on most days. Crossing the Bay Bridge twice in a day instead of four times will be a treat. Gotta start using the carpool pickup, though.

Aw, thanks, Jesse. I was hoping to get this in by COB today, but it's not looking good at this point so I may take you up on that.

I can't believe I watched that whole movie.

Huh. I love The Losers. I saw it twice in the theater and will probably end up owning it, AND I bought the comic books it was based on. The character could have been a guy, sure, but I don't see why it *should* have been a guy. And I don't see that Aisha's any more ridiculous or unbelievable than any other character... actually, the bad guy is just cartoonish. He's much more two-dimensional than she. So is Cougar, much as I love him. Can you tell me anything about Cougar other than he's a taciturn sniper who wears a hat?

She had murky motives, a back story, agency, and badassery.

ita, back me up in love for The Losers!

eta and ita got there ahead of me.