I've Got (Gum)Balls

I've figured out (some of) what makes Heroes so captivating: Although it is a television drama, the themes running through the show are so relatable to "normal" life. I think that's ultimately what makes great fiction. You have to stretch the truth and the powers of believability, but still have ideas and issues that the audience connects to. Mind reading, radioactivity, the ability to fly...these push our ability to suspend disbelief, but the desire to do good for the world, the quest for truth and knowledge, love and loss are all themes to which we can all relate.

Part of my obsession with Heroes also stems from the fact that, I'm sorry to say, I've been disappointed in Lost lately.

On a whole other note, people have been telling me for 15 years now that I should write an advice column, and I've finally heeded their urgings. Here's a little tidbit to the guy who asked me why women love shopping and makeup so much:

Part of it is the gatherer instinct that came to us from cave person days (which you men were off slaying beasts for dinner, we gathered the prettiest berries and plumpest nuts that we could find). Part of it is a desire to reinvent ourselves from day to day, and different clothing styles and changing our hair or makeup helps us to do so. One day, I can rock the biker look with black leather pants and a clingy black t-shirt, smoky black makeup and a Greek Fisherman's cap, and then next day I can look demure in white knee socks, a gray pleated skirt and a white button down shirt. I get to play up different facets of my personality, depending on how I feel. Guys tend to be so much more boring. "Ooh...Time to get dressed for work. I'll put on pants, a shirt and a tie: striped today though, so I'm REALLY changing it up!"

Here's the secret that you can use to turn her shopping habit to your advantage: Let her run with it. Encourage it even. Not only will she think she's got the most undertanding man ever, but she'll bring out the different facets of her personality, and you'll get to experience the thrill of dating 12 different women while still staying true.