Britain/Great Britain/United Kingdom &c: Some Common Confusions. For anyone confused about the difference between England, the United Kingdom, Great Britain, Ireland, Northern Ireland, and so on.

Pluto is officially no longer a planet. This makes me happy, because it creates a nice, neat definition of a planet and corrects an astronomical error – even though Pluto must be sad.

On the other hand, isn’t it wrong to allow an unelected body to redefine the word “planet” for all of us? Shouldn’t we let the people decide?

Oh, wait, I was thinking of “marriage.” Sorry. Wrong debate.

Well, this has been a learning experience, perhaps an overdue one: people are dicks. It’s actually not a new lesson, but one I keep having to re-learn, because I tend to be pollyana-ish about these things.

My piece in the Blade was far from the best thing I’ve written. It had flaws. If people want to criticize the piece, go for it. Criticize the reasoning I use, criticize the metaphors, criticize the tone, criticize the word choice. A couple of people have done that and I fully embrace it.

But don’t fucking attack me personally. Don’t lay me out on a couch and try to analyze me, someone you don’t even know. Because, trust me – you don’t know me at all. What a pompous thing to do. It also exhibits a total lack of respect for my personhood and for personal boundaries.

Because I want everyone to like me, I tend to dwell unnecessarily on those who don’t. But there’s a saying: “What you think of me is none of my business.” I need to remember that more often.

I also need to develop a thicker skin.