Briefly...

I find the commercials for "Toddlers and Tiaras" so completely disturbing... I'm not sure I have words. I just cannot get my mind around the mentality that says "I have a toddler... you know what a brilliant idea is? To hyper-sexualize my child, dress her up in leather and chains, and have her act seductive for an audience!"

I'm reading Lolita for the first time right now. How "Lolita" has come to be understood as a seductive young girl, I do not understand, either. It's pretty clear to me, at over halfway through the novel, that Humbert Humbert is a horrible monster and that Lolita is very clearly the victim of a sick, sick man who lies, manipulates, abuses, and molests her at every turn. It seems to me that it'd be like reading, say, "Johnny Got His Gun" and coming away thinking "Yeah! War is awesome! Everyone should join the military and blow stuff up!" Missing the point for $1,000, Alex?