::cries::

Oh, I know. And they're good kids, really. They just don't have the perspective to see why this makes them look like jingoistic know-nothings.

Mexican! Don't talk to me about Mexican. There's a chain of Mexican restaurants in the area, run by Mexican-Americans, the food of which tastes (to me) worse than Taco Bell. Seriously.

Okay, powderpuff game over. Almost homeward time.

Frank Pepe's in New Haven, CT.

suddenly yearning to go back to CT

Suddenly, your Best Friend Forever stops talking to you. Other girlfriends won't eat lunch with you. Nasty lies pop up in cyber chat rooms. Do you curl up in a ball in bed? Or do you start dishing dirt, too?

Neither. You take back the power, God-style. That's Nancy Rue's message to tweens in her latest book, Girl Politics: Friends, Cliques and Really Mean Chicks, from Christian publisher Zonderkidz.

Rue, who lives outside Nashville, is a former teacher, author of 105 books for girls aged 8 to 12, and a long-ago victim of girl bullying. Rue spoke with the Star about tween-age girl torturers and her own emotional scars.

Q: There are lots of mean dudes. Why girl politics?

A: Girls have their own brand of meanness. They do more shunning, gossiping, starting rumours. The incidence is happening at younger ages. It used to be during the middle-school years; now it's girls 8 years old. Girls are maturing faster and society is encouraging them to grow up faster.

Q: Using the Bible as a guide to deal with really mean chicks, isn't that a stretch?

A. Not at all. The Bible is a marvellous tool for dealing with relationships. Jesus was constantly bullied by the Pharisees, who were basically a clique.

[link]

You take back the power, God-style

See, I know she means that God, but I can't help thinking of Glory.

I'm not going to petition for best pizza, but I do love my neighborhood Italian restaurant. Homemade pasta, nom nom. Torte de la Nonna to DIE for!

I'm just glad you can finally get good coffee in So Cal. When I first moved back after college, I was so sad about the coffee.

All I can say about food is that the Chicken Pomodori Panini I just had from Corner Bakery Cafe was delish.

Slow night in the ER last night, and this month has been emotionally draining already. I feel a bit at sea. Some of the things I thought of as forever are a bit wobbly right now, and I have to work very hard (ironically) to not let it stress me out, because that'd make for headaches, and that would stress both of us out.

You can't fling a dead cat in this city without hitting excellent Italian...

Jessica's health department concerns would seem to be well-founded.

The Bible is a marvellous tool for dealing with relationships. Jesus was constantly bullied by the Pharisees, who were basically a clique.

Take a whip to them??? No, that was the moneychangers.

I do love my neighborhood Italian restaurant.

They wouldn't happen to deliver, would they?

but I always preferred Captain Nemo's in Kenmore Square for a Boston Grease Frisbee (as we called them).

CAPTAIN NEMO's! That was our joint when I lived up in Kenmore Sq.