As the world learned of the death of Carrie Fisher two days after Christmas, 2016, social and legacy media were (of course) swamped with saccharine platitudes and cringeworthy clichés.  The most nauseating were the endless kudos to Carrie for being a "strong" woman and for playing a "strong" female character. Allow me, as I mourn her passing over multiple pints, to make a counter argument.  There was strength in Carrie, to be sure, a strength that she brought to her portrayal of Leia Organa of Alderaan. But more importantly, Carrie Fisher was a deeply vulnerable person, brimming with weaknesses and anxieties.  These, too, she brought to her portrayal of Leia.  Allow me to suggest that it was this vulnerability that made Carrie Fisher a relentlessly endearing person, and Leia such an enduring and beloved character. As it happens, I received for Christmas, and finished the night before she died, Carrie's latest memoir, The...(Read Full Article)