Alan Herrera

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Raising a child is hard and can take a toll on even the best parents. Children can bring a lot of joy but they can also be very frustrating, and it's okay to give parents room to vent. Sometimes, try as they might, nothing they do can calm a child down.

And that seems to hit the hardest during the toddler stage, when children really, really don't know how to handle their own emotions. They'll yell and kick and scream, sometimes for no reason at all.

What's up with that, right?

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As a kid, I used to think that clothes were the worst gift I could ever receive. What was I going to do with clothes?

Now, as an adult with some lick of fashion sense, I love putting on new clothes and welcome receiving them for my birthday (and assorted holidays).

But you could be the person who hates receiving clothes because you were always given things that didn't fit or things that were clearly picked because you didn't like them in the first place. I've met a few people who've experienced this.

But there are worse gifts out there, believe it or not.

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Years ago, some friends of mine wanted to go investigate a graveyard at night and came across an abandoned shack at the edge of the woods at the rear of the cemetery. They wanted to go inside and check it out and I shut down the idea very fast.

But a couple of them ignored me anyway, went inside, and reported that there was a whole bunch of drug paraphernalia strewn about and signs that someone was sleeping there. It was sad to hear and a little unsettling — but there's a reason why I don't mess around with creepy places, or abandoned ones for that matter.

Others are much braver than I.

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I have such love for Sam Neill. You know him as Dr. Alan Grant in Jurassic Park, more than likely. But he's been in some brilliant stuff for decades. His work in films like Sleeping Dogs, My Brilliant Career, Possession, Dead Calm, and The Piano is brilliant.

Oh, and I haven't even gotten to In the Mouth of Madness and Event Horizon yet (especially that last one). Now there's an actor who hasn't gotten his due, at least stateside. Throw him an Honorary Academy Award, at least!

I'll just keep singing his praises for now, but there are so many other actors out there who also deserve recognition.

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Ambrosia salad
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Try as I might, I will never understand how some people enjoy Sloppy Joes.

They're nasty and goopy and taste horrible. It is a minced meat mess—which is a shame because minced meat can be wonderful—and that red sauce takes it to a different infernal level.

I grew up eating these in the school cafeteria. I quickly tired of them and would not touch them. Just the sight of them is discomforting.

Oh, and you haven't even gotten me started on the topic of Ambrosia salad!

I'm American and I have strong opinions, so you can imagine what some non-Americans might think about American cuisine.

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