Ohiopirate02

I would rather fundies not use my library than for them to expect my collection conform to their narrow world view. No one has the time to field their constant objections to queer media, erotic literature, actual science, etc.

Most libraries do not advertise that they extend borrowing privileges with or without a fee to non-residents. It doesn't play well to their established base. They want their library to devote the library's budget to the materials that matter to them and do not want long waits for ebooks. Advertising that you extend borrowing to people from all over the state or even country is a surefire way to get your budgets slashed next year. Libraries are funded in America by tax dollars and taxpayers get funny about how "their" tax dollars are spent. It doesn't matter how well-reasoned your argument for extending borrowing to non-residents is, all they hear is they may have to wait an extra week to read the latest James Patterson. So libraries do not advertise all of their services, but we do list them all on our websites. It's not hidden.

There's been a lot of rumors about Shailene's fiancé not being straight. From celebrity gossip sites to the comment sections of sports websites/social media, Aaron Rodgers has been rumored to be in the closet and using beards for years now.

It really depends on what county you are near in NC. My county grants a full library card to every NC resident. The nearby county charges a fee for ebook access to non-residents. We are all funded differently and the local governments we are beholden to all have different rules.

John did a good job explaining these scams with quite a few zingers. "Did you donate Debra????" I wish he would have delved a bit deeper into people like the Duggars who actually do get things covered. I am blanking on the name of the male preacher who needed emergency heart surgery and was blessed to get it covered. Because that's the thing with an effective scam, you do have to occasionally payout to keep it running. And pay out before the news media gets involved. If no one ever had their claim covered, then the scam would fold much sooner. The 16% that actually goes to paying out claims needs to go to the ones with the biggest reach in order to reel in more suckers.

Yes, LUG (lesbian until graduation) moniker and "it was just a phase" instead of a woman being bisexual. Those have never really gone away. And then 2 women hanging out together with their hands all over one another is labeled "gal pals." Look how long people ignored Kristen Stewart being a lesbian. There could be pictures of Megan Fox before her marriage with a girlfriend that were completely misinterpreted especially if the woman in question presents as femme as Megan.

That would explain how she is able to churn out 6 books a year without using a ghostwriter.

I made it to book #15 a couple of years ago. I enjoyed the audiobooks, but like you said the books got repetitive. It was also jarring when Stephanie and Co. now had smartphones and yet have not aged at all. I outgrew VC during the Melody series. The ghostwriter got too formulaic, and I moved on. I am not ashamed at reading them as a young adult. I do love gothic fiction even if VC is a lesser example of the genre. I knew the books were portraying toxic relationships when I read them. Then again, I realized in high school that Wuthering Heights is not a love story. Thirteen year old me knew Chris and Cathy were not relationship goals even if the sexual assaults did not fully register. And My Sweet Audrina holds a place in my reading logs. It imprinted on me in a way that I cannot fully explain and I have realized that many other authors have attempted the same basic twist. I always find those books to be less than Audrina even if they were actually better written.

Tim has been sporting the blond locks for a few years now. Jill swears it's natural, but his eyebrows and facial hair tell a different story. I know that beards can grow a different color, but I have never seen someone have dark brown facial hair and dark brown eyebrows naturally have blond hair on his/her head. Also, the blond is not a color found naturally around blonds, and it's too even. I say this as a natural dark blonde who's hair lightens with the sun and heat. My hair does not look like Tim's hair. I have multiple colors on my head (even when I dye it). I have not colored my hair in almost a year, and my hair right now is the base dark blonde with multiple shades of lighter blonde from the sun mixed in with the whites. Tim's hair looks like it was freshly dyed in a single process. Jill is not bleaching it before she applies the dye, hence the orangey-yellow color.

Kevin petitioned the court to increase his child support in 2018. He was receiving $10,000 per month per child plus Britney paying all other expenses (education, health insurance, school fees, etc). He asked for it to be increased to $30,000 per month per child because he has no savings and only made $3000 a month as a washed up dancer. They eventually reached an agreement that was not disclosed.

I think you are misinterpreting my comment. K-Fed has been horrible with money while also having 6 kids. His other children have benefitted from him being married to Britney. Kevin also has not really done much to rectify his income situation. His chosen profession was one with an expiration date on it. If he did not save for the future, then he is an idiot. He is also an idiot for not pivoting to another career which could support him, his wife and his other 4 kids. I'm not saying that there is something wrong with Kevin using the child support money to pay for his other kids and make their home life more equitable. But, he needs to be able to support himself and his other kids after Britney's sons come of age. That money also has an expiration date on it.

They will be. I highly doubt much has changed with K-Fed's finances since 2018 when he petitioned the court for more money. Britney was already paying all of the boy's expenses plus $10.000 a month per child. He wanted a substantial increase because he had zero savings. There is no way that all of the $20,000 per month was only going to Britney's sons. She's been financing his whole family for years while Kevin keeps on spending.

At my library, we use the Jailbird page as a reference resource when someone misbehaves. Almost all of our problem patrons have been arrested for something.

My birthday falls on one of the lottery days. I fully expect my name to be called on that day. If one of my loved ones wins on that day, I expect a present.

Southern engagement and wedding announcements are their own separate level of cringe. Some really do make me laugh as someone pays hundreds to list every detail about the couple, the bridal party, and everyone who threw a shower for the couple. All in an effort to one-up the other southern families or save face with your church frenemies.

Yep. The former secretary at my former Catholic church was Baptist, and she loved going to the the Catholic receptions. Her description of a Protestant wedding reception was "a cup of punch, a piece of cake and a couple cheese straws." The whole reception lasts 30-45 minutes, long enough for the couple to cut the cake and mingle. No one expects a full meal. Out of town guests are usually invited to the rehearsal dinner. Local guests expect to show up at 2 and be done by 4. Now, the Duggar tradition of a second, invite only, dinner at the family compound is incredibly rude.

I'm in the heart of ENC barbecue. I'm out right now at dinner at an Italian place with a view of one BBQ joint. The next block over has another one. Then there's 2 other places in the county.

If they are in Asheville, then they can only try the lesser BBQ. They are too far west for the good shit. Great, now I want barbecue.

I would pay good money to watch Jeremy wear his Dodgers cap to a Phillies game. My brother-in-law is a country boy from NC. He is (somehow) a Red Sox fan. One time he was in Philadelphia for work and went to a Phillies game. He wore his Red Sox cap to the game (he is also a Cowboys fan and knew to leave that hat at home), and he almost got into a fight with some other fans for his hat. Philly fans don't play.

I know from experience, that many teachers have the best of intentions when it comes to covering recent history, but life gets in the way. They plan out the whole course and expect to talk about everything, but between snow days and the teacher getting sick for 4 days and some really intense discussions about the 1930s and the Holocaust, etc. things get rushed. Teachers then have to cram 2 decades worth of material into one week of classes. My undergraduate degree was in history and one semester I took a class on the French Revolution. The professor got so into discussing all the stuff we needed before 1789 that we never got to the French Revolution.

It's not in Josh's best interest to go with the lawyer who is not available for trial for the next 2+ years. He is stuck in a holding pattern right now. He is fortunate enough to be out on bail, but he must stick to the terms or wind up back in jail. The longer he waits for his trial to begin, the longer he is bound to those terms. And if the Rebers decide they can no longer house Josh for six more months, and JB cannot find another stooge willing to take him on, then Josh ends up in jail waiting for his trial. Pushing the timeline back does not benefit him, the feds ain't going to decide not to prosecute at this point. He's either going to take a plea deal or go to trial.

I do believe that Gwyneth went down the Goop path because of her father dying from cancer, and I can overlook some of what she has peddled to a point. But, when she bragged about not using correct SPF because "chemicals" that is when she lost me. What's the point of preventing colon cancer by eschewing "chemicals" when you end up dying from melanoma?????

I disagree about Adam West. When Eartha Kitt is Catwoman, there is only one correct answer.

That looks like it's the Chardon Polka Band. I have heard them play and met them briefly. Jill definitely did not hear any of the English lyrics of the songs they play. They play the kind of polka that celebrates drinking, dancing and baby-making.

From what I have read about the original play (I have not seen it), Nina cannot afro-latino. There was a subplot cut out of the movie where Kevin has issues with Nina being with Benny, a black man. That got cut when they decided to make Kevin a widower. So, Vanessa is the only character that possibly could have been darker. The discourse I have seen on Twitter about the colorism in the movie boils down to the two female leads being light-skin not Usnavi. It could be that I am only seeing one part of the discourse, and there is more out there. While I do get the disappointment, some of the stuff I have seen about the movie feels unfair to Lin. Yes he can do better, he is human after all. But forcing a creator of color to be all is not the answer. I have seen this happen on Twitter almost every time a marginalized creator produces a new media. It is never enough for some and those tend to be the loudest voices. And sometimes no matter what the creator does, he/she/they cannot win. The character can been seen as a token added so the creator can score some points. This type of discourse also does nothing to change the racist system in Hollywood. None of the people complaining on Twitter were in the room where it happened. They do not know what conditions the people holding the money placed on John Chu or Lin when it comes to casting. And if John Chu wants to continue to work in Hollywood, he cannot name names.