Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Dear Prudence: Boyfriend Is Thick as a Brick



Now playing: *Slate V, a video-only site from the world's leading online magazine. Visit Slate V* at www.slatev.com.
dear prudence Boyfriend Is Thick as a Brick Dear Prudence advises a woman who is reluctant to wed her dim-bulb suitor--during a live chat at Washingtonpost.com. By Emily Yoffe Posted Tuesday, July 5, 2011, at 3:25 PM ET Emily Yoffe: Hope everyone had a great Fourth! I look forward to your questions. Q. Slow Boyfriend: I want to marry my boyfriend, but there is one issue that always holds me back. To put it bluntly, he is, well, slow. I don't mean to sound condescending (I'm not exactly a rocket scientist either), but that is what he is. He has zero general knowledge. He thinks hamsters lay eggs, and Greece is a continent, and Beijing is a country in Greece. If I encourage him to read a book, he boasts that he's never read a whole book in his life. He doesn't know a lot of words that most high school graduates know. For instance, I was watching the news and remarked, "That politician always contradicts himself." He asked me what "contradict" means. This happens several times a week, even with my average vocabulary. Although he was born here, his mom is from Chile, so at first I thought it was because Spanish is his dominant language. It turns out he doesn't even speak Spanish, even though all of his siblings speak at a basic conversational level. He managed to graduate college without any special help, so I don't think he has any kind of cognitive disabilities. Would this impact our marriage negatively? To continue reading, click here. Emily Yoffe is the author of What the Dog Did: Tales From a Formerly Reluctant Dog Owner. You can send your Dear Prudence questions for publication to prudence@slate.com. (Questions may be edited.) Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE \| READ MESSAGES Also In Slate The Army's Scheme To Protect Itself From Leon Panetta's Huge Budget Cuts It's Completely Pointless for Congress To "Stay in Town" To Settle the Deficit Fight Badges! How Foursquare Brought Design Ideas From the Boy Scouts to the Web.	Advertisement
Manage your newsletters subscription: Unsubscribe \| Forward to a Friend \| Advertising Information
Ideas on how to make something better? Send an e-mail to slatenewsletter@nl.slate.com. Copyright 2011 The Slate Group \| Privacy Policy The Slate Group \| c/o E-mail Customer Care \| 1350 Connecticut Ave NW Suite 410 \| Washington, D.C. 20036

Today in Slate: The World's Greatest Lightbulb; Plus, How To Fix Horror

Today: July 6, 2011

Get a Job, Kid!

Only 25 percent of American teens have summer jobs, the lowest percentage on record. Why? Are they lazy?

By Annie Lowrey

READ FULL STORY | More Business and Tech

The World's Greatest Light Bulb

Dump your fluorescents and incandescents for this amazing new LED bulb.

By Farhad Manjoo

READ FULL STORY | More Business and Tech

How To Fix Horror

Part II: Kill the back story.

By Jason Zinoman

READ FULL STORY | More Arts

The Army's Scheme To Protect Itself From Panetta's Huge Budget Cuts

It's Completely Pointless for Congress To "Stay in Town" To Settle the Deficit Fight

Badges! How Foursquare Brought Design Ideas From the Boy Scouts to the Web.

Why Are Dominique Strauss-Kahn's Eyebrows Dark When His Hair Is All Gray?

The Journalist You've Got To Read on the U.K. Tabloid Phone-Hacking Scandal

Do Women Need To Get a Pap Smear Every Year? A New Study Says No.

Briefing

News & Politics

Arts

Life

Business & Tech

Science

Manage your newsletters on Slate Unsubscribe | Forward to a Friend | Advertising Information

Please do not reply to this message since this is an unmonitored e-mail address.

Ideas on how to make something better? Send an e-mail to slatenewsletter@nl.slate.com.

Copyright 2011 The Slate Group | Privacy Policy
The Slate Group | c/o E-mail Customer Care | 1350 Connecticut Avenue NW Suite 410 | Washington, D.C. 20036

Today's Cartoon: Hold Music



Now playing: *Slate V, a video-only site from the world's leading online magazine. Visit Slate V* at www.slatev.com.
cartoon index Cartoons Updated Monday, April 13, 2009, at 2:48 PM ET Cartoon by Jim Morin. More cartoons on unemployment here. To continue reading, click here. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE \| READ MESSAGES Also In Slate The Army's Scheme To Protect Itself From Leon Panetta's Huge Budget Cuts It's Completely Pointless for Congress To "Stay in Town" To Settle the Deficit Fight Badges! How Foursquare Brought Design Ideas From the Boy Scouts to the Web.	Advertisement
Manage your newsletters subscription: Unsubscribe \| Forward to a Friend \| Advertising Information
Ideas on how to make something better? Send an e-mail to slatenewsletter@nl.slate.com. Copyright 2011 The Slate Group \| Privacy Policy The Slate Group \| c/o E-mail Customer Care \| 1350 Connecticut Ave NW Suite 410 \| Washington, D.C. 20036

Politics: Wish You Weren't Here



Now playing: *Slate V, a video-only site from the world's leading online magazine. Visit Slate V* at www.slatev.com.
politics Wish You Weren't Here Even members of Congress, still in session, are feeling pretty useless this week. By David Weigel Posted Wednesday, July 6, 2011, at 8:03 AM ET The Senate floor is mostly empty. When the session begins on Tuesday, the Democratic and Republican leaders shuffle the notes for their first remarks. The well of the House is emptier; the doors are closed for a pro forma session in which literally nothing is happening. The hundreds of tourists walking in and out of the gallery look more bored than people wearing T-shirts and sandals really ought to look. You'd never know there was a debt crisis. Congress is in session this week because Republicans didn't want a weeklong holiday recess, and Democrats obliged them. "Our country is going bankrupt," said Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., last week, making the ask. "We should not be going on holiday." To continue reading, click here. David Weigel is a Slate political reporter and MSNBC contributor. Follow him on Twitter. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE \| READ MESSAGES Also In Slate The Army's Scheme To Protect Itself From Leon Panetta's Huge Budget Cuts It's Completely Pointless for Congress To "Stay in Town" To Settle the Deficit Fight Badges! How Foursquare Brought Design Ideas From the Boy Scouts to the Web.	Advertisement
Manage your newsletters subscription: Unsubscribe \| Forward to a Friend \| Advertising Information
Ideas on how to make something better? Send an e-mail to slatenewsletter@nl.slate.com. Copyright 2011 The Slate Group \| Privacy Policy The Slate Group \| c/o E-mail Customer Care \| 1350 Connecticut Ave NW Suite 410 \| Washington, D.C. 20036

Culturebox: The Love Movement



Now playing: *Slate V, a video-only site from the world's leading online magazine. Visit Slate V* at www.slatev.com.
movies The Love Movement At the heart of the A Tribe Called Quest documentary is a touching story of a fraught friendship. By Jonah Weiner Posted Wednesday, July 6, 2011, at 11:25 AM ET The most transfixing moment in Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest, Michael Rapaport's documentary about the epochal early-'90s hip-hop group, comes in a single shot toward the end. On the left side of the frame is Q-Tip: tall, broad-shouldered, wolfishly handsome. On the right is Phife Dawg: bug-eyed, built like Humpty Dumpty, "height of Mugsy Bogues, complexion of a hockey puck," as he once succinctly rapped. Up to this point, the two rappers have spent much of the film complaining about each other behind each other's backs--turning to the camera in separate interviews to air gripes and grievances born long ago. But here they are in a cautious detente at a Manhattan studio, practicing for a one-off reunion show. As their music plays, the pair break into a hypnotically odd synchronized dance, bopping and kicking, arms undulating in time as though borne aloft by the same current. "Like this," Q-Tip says, and Phife, glancing over at him, follows. The camera remains still and at a distance, loath to break the spell. The sight of these physically mismatched men dancing is inherently comical, but there's also something deeply touching about it: These are two lifelong friends, putting their festering resentments on hold and swaying, goofily, as one. Like Anvil!, Sacha Gervasi's 2008 documentary about two lovable, bickering metalheads, Beats, Rhymes & Life is a music documentary with a buddy-movie heart. A Tribe Called Quest, which formed in Queens in 1988, is rounded out by the DJ and producer Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Jarobi White (whose role, beyond spiritual mascot, has always been unclear and remains so here), but in this film Muhammad and White are innocent bystanders to the main event, which is the love-hate relationship between the guys on the mics. To continue reading, click here. Jonah Weiner is a pop critic for Slate. Follow him on Twitter. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE \| READ MESSAGES Also In Slate The Army's Scheme To Protect Itself From Leon Panetta's Huge Budget Cuts It's Completely Pointless for Congress To "Stay in Town" To Settle the Deficit Fight Badges! How Foursquare Brought Design Ideas From the Boy Scouts to the Web.	Advertisement
Manage your newsletters subscription: Unsubscribe \| Forward to a Friend \| Advertising Information
Ideas on how to make something better? Send an e-mail to slatenewsletter@nl.slate.com. Copyright 2011 The Slate Group \| Privacy Policy The Slate Group \| c/o E-mail Customer Care \| 1350 Connecticut Ave NW Suite 410 \| Washington, D.C. 20036



Now playing: *Slate V, a video-only site from the world's leading online magazine. Visit Slate V* at www.slatev.com.
dear prudence Boyfriend Is Thick as a Brick Dear Prudence advises a woman who is reluctant to wed her dim-bulb suitor--during a live chat at Washingtonpost.com. By Emily Yoffe Posted Tuesday, July 5, 2011, at 3:25 PM ET Emily Yoffe: Hope everyone had a great Fourth! I look forward to your questions. Q. Slow Boyfriend: I want to marry my boyfriend, but there is one issue that always holds me back. To put it bluntly, he is, well, slow. I don't mean to sound condescending (I'm not exactly a rocket scientist either), but that is what he is. He has zero general knowledge. He thinks hamsters lay eggs, and Greece is a continent, and Beijing is a country in Greece. If I encourage him to read a book, he boasts that he's never read a whole book in his life. He doesn't know a lot of words that most high school graduates know. For instance, I was watching the news and remarked, "That politician always contradicts himself." He asked me what "contradict" means. This happens several times a week, even with my average vocabulary. Although he was born here, his mom is from Chile, so at first I thought it was because Spanish is his dominant language. It turns out he doesn't even speak Spanish, even though all of his siblings speak at a basic conversational level. He managed to graduate college without any special help, so I don't think he has any kind of cognitive disabilities. Would this impact our marriage negatively? To continue reading, click here. Emily Yoffe is the author of What the Dog Did: Tales From a Formerly Reluctant Dog Owner. You can send your Dear Prudence questions for publication to prudence@slate.com. (Questions may be edited.) Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE \| READ MESSAGES Also In Slate The Army's Scheme To Protect Itself From Leon Panetta's Huge Budget Cuts It's Completely Pointless for Congress To "Stay in Town" To Settle the Deficit Fight Badges! How Foursquare Brought Design Ideas From the Boy Scouts to the Web.	Advertisement
Manage your newsletters subscription: Unsubscribe \| Forward to a Friend \| Advertising Information
Ideas on how to make something better? Send an e-mail to slatenewsletter@nl.slate.com. Copyright 2011 The Slate Group \| Privacy Policy The Slate Group \| c/o E-mail Customer Care \| 1350 Connecticut Ave NW Suite 410 \| Washington, D.C. 20036



Now playing: *Slate V, a video-only site from the world's leading online magazine. Visit Slate V* at www.slatev.com.
cartoon index Cartoons Updated Monday, April 13, 2009, at 2:48 PM ET Cartoon by Jim Morin. More cartoons on unemployment here. To continue reading, click here. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE \| READ MESSAGES Also In Slate The Army's Scheme To Protect Itself From Leon Panetta's Huge Budget Cuts It's Completely Pointless for Congress To "Stay in Town" To Settle the Deficit Fight Badges! How Foursquare Brought Design Ideas From the Boy Scouts to the Web.	Advertisement
Manage your newsletters subscription: Unsubscribe \| Forward to a Friend \| Advertising Information
Ideas on how to make something better? Send an e-mail to slatenewsletter@nl.slate.com. Copyright 2011 The Slate Group \| Privacy Policy The Slate Group \| c/o E-mail Customer Care \| 1350 Connecticut Ave NW Suite 410 \| Washington, D.C. 20036



Now playing: *Slate V, a video-only site from the world's leading online magazine. Visit Slate V* at www.slatev.com.
politics Wish You Weren't Here Even members of Congress, still in session, are feeling pretty useless this week. By David Weigel Posted Wednesday, July 6, 2011, at 8:03 AM ET The Senate floor is mostly empty. When the session begins on Tuesday, the Democratic and Republican leaders shuffle the notes for their first remarks. The well of the House is emptier; the doors are closed for a pro forma session in which literally nothing is happening. The hundreds of tourists walking in and out of the gallery look more bored than people wearing T-shirts and sandals really ought to look. You'd never know there was a debt crisis. Congress is in session this week because Republicans didn't want a weeklong holiday recess, and Democrats obliged them. "Our country is going bankrupt," said Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., last week, making the ask. "We should not be going on holiday." To continue reading, click here. David Weigel is a Slate political reporter and MSNBC contributor. Follow him on Twitter. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE \| READ MESSAGES Also In Slate The Army's Scheme To Protect Itself From Leon Panetta's Huge Budget Cuts It's Completely Pointless for Congress To "Stay in Town" To Settle the Deficit Fight Badges! How Foursquare Brought Design Ideas From the Boy Scouts to the Web.	Advertisement
Manage your newsletters subscription: Unsubscribe \| Forward to a Friend \| Advertising Information
Ideas on how to make something better? Send an e-mail to slatenewsletter@nl.slate.com. Copyright 2011 The Slate Group \| Privacy Policy The Slate Group \| c/o E-mail Customer Care \| 1350 Connecticut Ave NW Suite 410 \| Washington, D.C. 20036



Now playing: *Slate V, a video-only site from the world's leading online magazine. Visit Slate V* at www.slatev.com.
movies The Love Movement At the heart of the A Tribe Called Quest documentary is a touching story of a fraught friendship. By Jonah Weiner Posted Wednesday, July 6, 2011, at 11:25 AM ET The most transfixing moment in Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest, Michael Rapaport's documentary about the epochal early-'90s hip-hop group, comes in a single shot toward the end. On the left side of the frame is Q-Tip: tall, broad-shouldered, wolfishly handsome. On the right is Phife Dawg: bug-eyed, built like Humpty Dumpty, "height of Mugsy Bogues, complexion of a hockey puck," as he once succinctly rapped. Up to this point, the two rappers have spent much of the film complaining about each other behind each other's backs--turning to the camera in separate interviews to air gripes and grievances born long ago. But here they are in a cautious detente at a Manhattan studio, practicing for a one-off reunion show. As their music plays, the pair break into a hypnotically odd synchronized dance, bopping and kicking, arms undulating in time as though borne aloft by the same current. "Like this," Q-Tip says, and Phife, glancing over at him, follows. The camera remains still and at a distance, loath to break the spell. The sight of these physically mismatched men dancing is inherently comical, but there's also something deeply touching about it: These are two lifelong friends, putting their festering resentments on hold and swaying, goofily, as one. Like Anvil!, Sacha Gervasi's 2008 documentary about two lovable, bickering metalheads, Beats, Rhymes & Life is a music documentary with a buddy-movie heart. A Tribe Called Quest, which formed in Queens in 1988, is rounded out by the DJ and producer Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Jarobi White (whose role, beyond spiritual mascot, has always been unclear and remains so here), but in this film Muhammad and White are innocent bystanders to the main event, which is the love-hate relationship between the guys on the mics. To continue reading, click here. Jonah Weiner is a pop critic for Slate. Follow him on Twitter. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE \| READ MESSAGES Also In Slate The Army's Scheme To Protect Itself From Leon Panetta's Huge Budget Cuts It's Completely Pointless for Congress To "Stay in Town" To Settle the Deficit Fight Badges! How Foursquare Brought Design Ideas From the Boy Scouts to the Web.	Advertisement
Manage your newsletters subscription: Unsubscribe \| Forward to a Friend \| Advertising Information
Ideas on how to make something better? Send an e-mail to slatenewsletter@nl.slate.com. Copyright 2011 The Slate Group \| Privacy Policy The Slate Group \| c/o E-mail Customer Care \| 1350 Connecticut Ave NW Suite 410 \| Washington, D.C. 20036

The Other Side of Life 24/7

RefBan