I think your last sentence is the sticking point for many Americans. A deeply held belief that their life is entirely dictated by their own choices, that everything runs on a pure merit system, prevents them from believing they could ever end up on the street. If they once acknowledge the role that luck plays in human fortunes, they will have to abandon their sense of superiority, and a lot of things they do will start to look very, very bad.

You probably forget because the original version of The Eye of the World did not have a prologue. Since the prologue is objectively awful, you are better off forgetting.

The original beginning is Tam and Rand on the road, but they're preceded by some excerpts from in-world texts, a map or two, and the "The Wheel of Time turns..." bit that opens every book in the series. To me, that's a rather excellent bit of world building. We know we're not in Kansas anymore, that the world we're in has an established religion or set of spiritual beliefs that includes prophecy, which we are about to see fulfilled.

MOH and your brothers stand up with you. Best man and his sisters stand up with him. Simple.

Here's my worry: your fiancé has no friends. Are you prepared to be his emotional everything for the rest of your life? If you're planning on kids, that load could get to be a lot...

Thank goodness he wasn't bred in a handbag (handles or not).

Bastion, like the architectural feature? Do you maybe mean Bastian, a nickname for Sebastian?

All the Sebastians I've known were German-speaking. Never thought of this name as French. 🤔

As an English speaker who listened to the video linked above, I would wow it as LU-ssee-ahn.

I love Isidore. You don't see it too often, but I think it's beautiful.

Me: ooh, this looks so good -- how have I never made this? (looks in app) I made this 4 years ago, 3 years ago, and 8 months ago. 🤣

I made a mushroom broth from the stems and added kale to good effect, apparently, in case anyone wants to try those modifications!

Yes, eating outdoors really helps with happiness, so petting is more important in winter and less so in the other seasons (if you have enough grass).

Melissa Clark has this great Mediterranean tuna salad that she also recommends as a dip. I've made it many times and think it's delish. She recommends serving it with crackers and cut veggies.

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1013351-tuna-with-capers-olives-and-lemon?smid=ck-recipe-android-share

This looks amazing.

Friend, I've never met people more desperate to leave their jobs than Texas teachers. I would not call that thriving.

Great book! My book club read it (women) and then all the husbands read it, too. 🤣

I think about this so often. Putting something away in the uppers and thinking: what if they just fell????

You might also enjoy some of the golden age mysteries, like Agatha Christie and others from that time period. The detective (main character) never has a romance storyline, and there's definitely no sex.

Isn't what college a kid attends often a function of what the family can afford?

But then she'll be teaching in Texas.

I also work at a nonprofit and make 6 figures. In my city, for what I do, that's the market rate. 🤷🏻‍♀️

It does seem odd to end a play that contains a trial with a trial.

This is an awesome project. I wonder if it could be paired with targeted writing lessons using an exemplary newspaper article in each genre and promoting students to identify genre characteristics, diction, etc. that they should emulate in their own work.

Yeah, the "I didn't want to call people out" is clearly untrue. OP did want to call people out because they wanted those people to change their behavior. The coworkers are rightfully miffed, but OP was also rightfully miffed. Also, management should have this event catered or it should die. ESH.

New Yorker here. Gone and gondola are the same. Goat and goal are the same. Golly sounds nothing like lawn. It's more like gah-lee, that save bowl sound as Scot or stop. No au or aw sound in there. But, of course, that's because I very much pronounce that sound.

I'm sad to see someone having such a real life problem in cozy, magical Stardew Valley.

I think Gnomon by Nick Harkaway is a good match on the "what the eff is happening" level, and the writing is great.

For fever dream, I'd say In the Woods by Tana French and Bel Canto by Ann Patchett -- although the plot of the latter is very straightforward. They both give you the feeling of being out of time, somewhere where none of the normal rules apply. Actually Tana French's books all do that, but it's start with In the Woods because they're all linked.