It probably comes from my innate suspicion of anything cooked in a microwave. See, I’m not a fan. I use the microwave to melt butter or chocolate, and that’s usually it. I’d rather wait longer to heat something on the stovetop or let it crisp up in the oven. The uneven cooking of a microwave just makes me all kinds of sad.

But mug cakes are different! They’re magical, really. Just a few minutes stand between you and a warm chocolate cake just oozing with salted caramel. It’s so easy!

Last week I was raging about the state of our country, and this week, I’ll rage about the Stanford rape case. I have little to say except this: let’s clarify the cause of rape. Ready? Here we go.

Rapists.

That’s it. Nothing else. It’s not what someone was wearing, or if she was drunk, or if there was flirting. None of that matters. None of that gives anybody the right to engage in an act of violence against another human being.

We need to instill this set of values in our own children. For years, women have been told that they need to avoid certain behavior to ensure that they won’t be victims of sexual assault. If that’s not victim-shaming, I don’t know what is.

I resent the fact that throughout my life, I’ve had to rely on a buddy system at parties. I can never leave my drink unattended. I’ve never walked alone at night because it’s not safe. But all that makes sense, because I’m a cautious and fearful person. And if I weren’t, and something happened to me?

It would not be my fault. Not even a little bit. That’s like saying that someone being randomly stabbed on the street was asking for it by being there. And that’s just stupid.

See, I get mad about the world my kids are inheriting sometimes, and this blog is the perfect place to express that anger. And it’s also a perfect place to rant about microwaves. But not today, kids!

This cake is as simple as it comes. You mix up all the ingredients, pour them into the mug, and plop some salted caramels into the batter. The whole thing takes about two minutes to microwave, and then life is grand.

It can’t always be as simple as a mug cake out there in this funny world. Our existences are both delightful and disturbing. Let’s all do our part to keep trying to make the world a better place!