Not sure if you got the answers you were looking for, and I have no background on his health issues so I'm not sure how much of a shock this might be (I'm sorry if this is shocking news for you), but the AKI would normally mean he's in respiratory failure due to an acute kidney injury. :/

So the offensiveness of appropriation then isn't in the action of doing something the originated in another culture (even if for profit), but in doing so without paying homage to the background behind it? I can understand that, to see something that has been a part of your culture for a long time being presented without credit, especially in cases where it gets cheapened in to a trend, chewed up, and spit out. I think that may be part of the mindset of being in the privileged majority; you simply assume things are there for your use and consumption and that everything is available to be used as you see fit. If we see a white woman walking down the street and like her dress, and go buy something similar for ourselves, we don't tell everyone who compliments us, "Oh thank you! I actually saw this on a woman over on Elm St so it's really thanks to her that I wore this." It just doesn't occur to us; we're used to getting ideas from others and tweaking them to suit ourselves. And so of course it feels odd to have people saying, "Hey, that style of dress/music/hair/speaking was actually mine first and you need to give credit where it's due." It makes complete sense to acknowledge that history, but I think it's just not in our frame of reference to do so. I guess put that way it rather sounds like cultural colonialism.

I'll be honest in that I don't really understand the concept of appropriation. Are people not allowed to like or be good at certain things simply because those things originated in a different culture? Where is that line? Can I, as a white person, enjoy sushi? Can I serve sushi to guests? Can I start up a sushi restaurant? Can a Chinese woman wear dreads? Can a Chinese woman appear on TV or a magazien wearing dreads? Can a Chinese woman do a youtube video explaining to other Chinese woman how to give themselves dreads? I honestly don't understand where the line is. What's the difference between enjoyment and appropriation? Is it not ok to profit from something you're good at if your culture didn't start it? Is then the general idea of a melting pot of culture offensive? I don't mean for these questions to be offensive, I just genuinely don't get it.

22, 23, 26, 32, 34... so far. ;) I started young, but my husband is 7 years older than I am, so he started at a more typical age.

Nope, private school for elementary, public school for high school. I had a few friends in high school that were homeschooled and I swore that "I would never do that to my children." I knew so much back then. ;)

Agreed with the others. Clean underwear, sensible shoes. What it sensible underwear, anyway? Is he expecting someone to stare at a woman's underwear and say "well that woman hasn't got ANY sense?!" Is that a thing? (You know what, pretend I didn't ask. I think I'd rather not know the answer. :lol: )

I just watched it again and it looks like she says "His name is Aegon." But I'm not exactly a lip reader, lol.

Ah, thanks! I couldn't remember if Rhaegar died first, then his wife, or if Ellia was murdered at the same time as the Mad King and then Rhaegar defeated later. If he died first, there's no way it could be legitimate, right? Would he have been a Snow or a Sand, since he was born in Dorne? Does it go by birth location, or where they're raised? All this bastard talk is making me want Gendry back again, rofl. I'm still betting his pops up again at some point!

Oh my gosh, pregnancy forums. The are the WORST, particularly the babycenter ones. (Are we allowed to name sites directly? Because I'm doing it anyway. :P ) Waaaaay back with my first, I was on a board there that imploded thanks to drama. I'm talking virtual stalking leading to real life harassment, CPS calls over... gosh I forget what, I think someone saying they were planning to have a glass of wine in labour (on the advice of their health care provider)? Something like that. And later more calls to CPS or EVERYTHING. A few people who turned out to not even be Moms who were posting just to cause trouble, a few people who made up financial or health issues to get aide from the group... I mean, it was seriously, seriously messed up. Our group (obviously) fractured over it. A small group of us that stayed out of trouble (for the most part) started up our own website/chat board, we has now morphed into a facebook group. Actually, a bunch of us ended up homeschooling and a few of us are here on this board, too! ( :seeya: *hey guys!* :seeya: ) There are literally people who go from board to board jsut to trash people and cause whatever problems they can for whomever they can, because it's fun for them, and the there are plenty of others who go along with the bandwagon because who doesn't love to feel superior? Stick with the forums & people you know are decent and leave the rest behind without a second thought. Ain't nobody got time for that!

Yes, but she didn't say "His name is Jon", it was something else. It looked like it started with an "A" sound before it cut away, which would mean his original/birth name was probably quite Targaryen-esque, like Aemon or something. Maybe Aegon or Aejon and that's why Ned shortened it to Jon? It's absolutely Jon, I'm just curious what she would have wanted her son named. Maybe some day we'll learn that from Bran. How could be he be legitimate, though? Wasn't Rhaegar married to Elia Martell when Jon was born? Or had Ser Gregor already murdered her by that point, leaving him able to marry Lyanna? (Sort of horrific; Hey, my wife's been raped and murdered and my children smashed to pieces, now we're free to get married honey!)

Seriously fantastic. Visually stunning, and the MUSIC at the beginning was so simple and yet so... ominous. I really wish we'd heard what the baby was named, though!

"Question: My six-year-old has a problem with talking to me about matters that bother her. When upset, instead of coming to me, she'll go sit by herself, often to pout or cry. When I approach her, she will sit with me, but won't tell me what's wrong. I can ask her, "Did you hurt yourself? Did Mommy do something that upset you? Did your sister do something to you?" But she'll only shake her head and sadly say, �No.� When I ask her what did happen, she'll either say she doesn't want to talk about it, or she will just remain silent. Eventually, she gets over it. When this type of behavior occurs, what should I do? Should I persist in trying to find out what is wrong? Should I keep trying to convince her to discuss it with me, or should I just let it go? Elizabeth: I strongly suspect that you are feeling sorry for her and perhaps feeling a little guilty yourself, thinking you might be the cause of her misery. Don�t be deceived. This sounds like self-pity and manipulation to me, which are simply derivatives of pride. I would ask her what she was pouting about and I would expect an answer. I would not accept her refusal to respond. If I really thought she wanted to tell me, but was being held back by shyness, then I might do some gentle probing, but even then, I would ultimately expect an honest answer. What I sometimes do in similar situations, when a child refuses to answer me, is to have him sit quietly at the table for a while. Then I ask him again. If he is still resistant, I let him know that he won't be leaving the table until he is ready to have an honest discussion with me. I don't get angry with him, but I don't back down either. Yes, I outlast him. He must learn to set aside his pride and communicate. This is one of the most important things you can ever teach your child. It is unacceptable for a person to clam up and punish everyone with his silence. He may appear to be heartbroken over some injustice, but it�s really just a slight injury to his pride that he has turned into manipulation and vindictiveness. The longer a child holds out and gives you The Silent Treatment, the more it indicates that he arrogantly believes he has the right to act this way. I wouldn't want to deal with such a person as an adult, and I can't even imagine being married to someone like this. As always, your job is to teach godliness. Learning not to manipulate, but to humbly communicate, is an important part of godliness." Oh my word. A child may not be sad publicly. They may not have privacy. They must be forced to share their innermost thoughts and feelings are be in trouble, because they need to learn that Mom & Dad will be cruel to them until they tell them their secrets. And then once they tell their secrets they must be prepared to be punished for them if they're out of line. Because after all the CHILD is arrogant for wanting to feel sad and have space. Holy moly, I don't even... that breaks my heart. TELL ME WHAT'S WRONG AND TRUST ME WITH YOUR INNERMOST THOUGHTS OR I WILL HURT YOU sure seems like *fantastic* parenting, and a great precedent to set for future relationships! [/sarc]

kwg, I can't bring myself to like your post but I just wanted to say that I am so, so sorry. You've done an excellent job of describing what abuse does to a person... I can't even imagine. I'm glad you have a good therapist in your corner to help you slowly peel back all the layers of abuse and start reclaiming yourself.

I think this project is awesome, what a great concept! Market your country internationally based on the strength and personality of it's citizenry. Turn anyone willing from the general population in to a goodwill ambassador of sorts. ... on the opposite end of that equation, I had to LOL at the American who called to lecture them about taking in refugees and telling them it would cause their country to collapse. :lol:

Yes, we let our kids have sips. They almost universally hate it. I suspect my answer would be different if there was a history of addiction in our family, however.

Darn, I was hopeful for her. :(

I can't seem to find out. Certainly he's very religious from what I can see, but not sure if he's drunk the Gothard KoolAid.

I suppose that depends on if you consider camping a vacation. Usually we'll spend a night at Great Wolf Lodge or some other waterpark or amusement-style park at some point during the year. Then we'll go camping on long weekends during the same (this summer we get two long weekends camping). The first week of September when all the other kids go back to school, we stay at the campground and have the beach to ourselves, but my husband usually goes home during the week; he drops us off one weekend, goes home, picks us up the next weekend. So it's me taking care of all 5 kidso n my own for a week, living without electricity and trying to stop them from accidentally killing themselves... so basically it's a vacation for the kids but definitely not for me, lol. Come to think of it, everything I just listed is actually MORE work for me than just staying at home, so... if vacation = relaxing, I never get a vacation. ;)

And he has a university education. And he works as a professional athlete. (ETA: not that professional atheletes are inherently good people, lol, but my point was that he's supporting himself independently with needing to rely on the Duggar machine.) And he lives in major cities. With WalMarts. I hate to click on anything that gives the Duggars more publicity, but I have a soft spot for Jinger. Link (fair warning that this directs to TLC for those who would prefer not to give them any traffic.)

I was introduced to this forum by someone IRL, but I don't think I've seen her actually posting here. It would be quite interesting if someone IRL recognized me here. My opinions, which I do not often express IRL, are very often quite different from the people in my church & homeschool group. It could lead to some interesting discussions.... and possibly some problems, given that many people do not exactly seem open to other schools of thought.

Edited: posted the same thing at the same time as Daria.

Just found the source of the post, apparently the second A is supposed to be a dementor.

Oh goodness, so many options! A wand with "my" patronus coming from it (an owl) The Deathly Hallows My house creature or crest A sock A lightning bolt I solemnly swear that I am up to no good, and/or Mischief Managed (they'd make a nice set, depending on the locations) A sorting hat A snitch Three quidditch goal posts and/or a broom And of course, the most obvious... A map of the London underground on my left knee ;) This looks cool, it kind of combines a bunch of them. I'm not quite sure what the second A is supposed to be, though.

What in the world? My word, some people are heartless. I'm so sorry.

For the most part, I eat very whole30/paleo/low-carb-ish... that "type" of diet. It helps me feel a LOT better physically and even helps mentally with the "fog" that comes with homeschooling 5 kids, lol. That being said.... I can't do it when I'm nursing, nor can a lot of women I know who generally eat low-carb. Nursing seems to make a body physically demand carbs in a way that it normally doesn't, at least for some people. There is an element of "carb flu" that can often hit in the first few days of a diet like this, but it's usually disappearing by day 5 or so. If it's not getting better yet, I (as a generally staunch low-carber) would honestly shelve this particular kind of diet until she's not nursing anymore.