Ask Mr. Cosmology

Time again to reach into the “Ask Mr. Cosmology” mailbag and see what readers want to know about . . . The Wonders of the Universe! First up, some questions from the comments portion of the previous installment of “Ask Mr. Cosmology.” Q: Is protest against God morally acceptable? Mr. Cosmology: Unlike Richard, Mr. Cosmology knows better than to venture into […]

Oh, Spring

Outside the window, the neighborhood kids are running again.  They’re about 12 years old, a boy and a girl and the girl’s little sister, about 8, and they’re racing around the court, up the street, along the alley, through a yard, and back onto the court, altogether maybe a full block, around and around.  They’re […]

TGIPF: Abstruse Goose on Not Envying the Penis

AG is citing a riposte to intelligent design’s argument that a watch implies an intelligent watchmaker. And yes, I know it’s not a Penis Friday.  As Cassie says, you can’t have penises every Friday; and a codicil would be, some penises come on Thursdays.  AG is also offering his own, more tasteful, riposte to Cassie’s […]

TGIPF: Let’s Talk about Sex, Baby!

Warning: This post isn’t so much about penises as it is about sex. Apologies to all you Thank God It’s Penis Friday purists out there.  Sex. It’s a difficult topic for grownups, but the conversation can be downright excruciating when a child is involved. (Don’t believe me? Watch this.) Perhaps because my parents were uncomfortable, […]

Improve Your Memory With Reverse Peristalsis

I’m not in the habit of feeling sorry for members of the British royal family. But last month, when the press reported that a pregnant Kate Middleton had been hospitalized with hyperemesis gravidarum, my stomach lurched in sympathy. Pregnancy-related hyperemesis is usually described as “severe morning sickness,” but that doesn’t capture the suffering it involves. […]

How creeps get away with it

  At a recent holiday party, I was talking to an older acquaintance when out of the blue, I felt him rub his junk on my hand. I was already on my way out. My husband was a few feet ahead of me, and I’d just grabbed the sauté pan that had contained my potluck dish. […]

Where the Boys Are (The men need to be, too)

The outline of the story is as familiar as it is tawdry: a group of high school boys turn sexual insecurity into a contest, and a contest into emotional brutality. Adults in their orbit express shock and outrage, and observers pretend that the migration of teen sleaze onto the Internet represents something new. But why […]