December 2011
227 posts
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We Try It: Going Cruelty Free: Sara B →
Lately I have been making the effort to make our house a little greener. No huge changes, if I’ve learned anything about myself it’s that big dramatic changes don’t last, but a little bit of something every day to make the world a better place. With my new greener lifestyle in mind, I was taking a shower one day and out of the blue I thought “Oh my gosh, I don’t know...
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Persephone Magazine's 10 Most Visited Posts of... →
From the article:
2011 was our first full year as a ladyblog, and our team of superhero(ine) writers were on fire. Thumbing through our list of posts to find the most viewed posts (as well as other categories I’ll cover later this week), I was reminded of how incredible our writing team is, and how each new addition added something special and necessary to Persephone as a whole. We may...
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The Democracy Of Reading →
From the article:
The thing is this: I don’t much care how people get their books. I don’t care if they buy it from superstores like Borders or Amazon. I don’t care if they choose them carefully on the recommendations of their favorite independent bookseller, if they are lucky enough to have one. I don’t. With an exception or two, independent booksellers don’t...
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This Modern Christmas Card Trend Sucks →
From the article:
The sender took the time to buy cards or have picture cards made, took the time to address the envelope and stick a stamp on it, but couldn’t be bothered to include a brief note or to sign the card to identify the sender. If not for the return address, I wouldn’t have known whom half the damn things were from because I know the sender professionally and have never...
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Don't Upload Those Baby Photos: Protecting Your... →
From the article:
How does this relate to uploading baby photos? The important phrase in the paragraph above was “I chose.” Let’s imagine that it is my child, and not my sister’s. I upload a photograph of myself and my partner holding my new baby to Facebook, but I’ve been foolish and left all of my posts “Public.” My son goes on to apply to work in...
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Takedown: Vaccinautism →
From the article:
Think about this. If kids are showing signs of Autism around age 2-3, and vaccines are given by age 2, there will be some overlap. There will. Some kids will get vaccines and the next day start showing symptoms. Some kids will get vaccines and the next day start showing signs of potty training readiness. Some kids will get vaccines and the next day be able to stack six blocks...
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My Review of So Delicious's Holiday Flavors →
From the article:
I’ve always been impressed with the ethics and philosophy of So Delicious. Their coconut products are all Non-GMO certified, many of their products are free of the top eight food allergens, and most of the Turtle Mountain products have received one or more of other certifications such as Gluten Free, Kosher, Vegan, Organic and Pas Yisrael. The company puts a high...
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Lunchtime Poll: 12/27/11 →
Hillary wants to know how your holidays are going. Any good stories? Tell us in the lunchtime poll!
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Persephone Lounge is Open for the Holiday Weekend →
From the article:
In the meantime, whether you celebrate the Major Holiday coming up this weekend or not, please pop into this open thread and tell us what you’re up to. Extra credit for truly hilarious or awful family stories. Remember: your fellow Persephoneers don’t judge your lifestyle, they don’t criticize your outfit, they don’t ask about your dating, marital,...
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“Women are the only exploited group in history to have been idealized into...”
– Erica Jong
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State of the Fall TV 2011 Address →
From the article:
Earlier in the season, Coco Papy talked about this Fall’s women friendly new shows and how that all that was given to us was complete bupkis. In this void of quality entertainment, a few gems have emerged, though. Ladies, I give you the State of the Union Fall TV 2011 Address.
Read more at Persephone Magazine.
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Blast from the Past: Last Minute Gifts That Don’t... →
In today’s Blast from the Past, Selena gives us some handy last-minute gift ideas.
From the article:
I see you. You’re the one who hasn’t even started doing the holiday gift shopping. For some of you, it’s a challenge. Like the devotees of Black Friday, you like doing your shopping on Christmas Eve with all those other panicked souls, digging through the last of the George Foreman...
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Quick and Easy Toffee Bars →
From the article:
I’m sharing all of my family favorite holiday cookie recipes with you in these last few weeks of the year! But by far, my mom’s toffee bars are the quickest and easiest of my top three. If you have the most basic of baking ingredients in the house, you can whip them up in a flash for those surprise guests you weren’t expecting. And bonus, they taste just like...
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Three Posts from Yesterday You Should Read
Hello again, Persephoneers. We know you’re waiting for the 8 o’clock post with bated breath, but there are plenty of other articles in our archive that you can read while you wait! Check out these three articles from yesterday that are really wonderful reads:
Song Sung Blue: Tidings of Comfort & Joy
I’ve been struggling extra hard with a case of Seasonal Affective Disorder this year. I...
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Bourbon Eggnog Cheesecake →
From the article:
‘Tis the season, you mouthy broads! And if you’re anything like me (and god help me, please be enough like me that you enjoy being called a “mouthy broad” by a fellow mouthy broad), you are looking forward to the season of fat, calories, sugar, and deliciousness that is about to descend in all its gluttonous glory.
My biggest and best contribution to this tornado of butter,...
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The Girls Of Egypt Are Here: 10,000 Women Protest... →
From the article:
Earlier this week, thousands of Egyptian women took to Cairo’s streets in the largest women’s protests in Egyptian history, surpassing Huda Shaarawi’s demonstration in 1919. The anger in the air was palatable, with chants reported by the New York Times like, “Drag me, strip me, my brothers’ blood will cover me,” “The daughters of Egypt are a red line,” and “The...
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Unusual Ways to Keep the Holidays Healthy →
From the article:
This time of year, it’s not unusual for there to be a glut of posts related to maintaining weight during the holidays. Most share the same advice that’s been shared year after year after year. We’ve heard the advice multiple times to eat a healthy meal before going to a party, to bring a healthy dish to share, to alternate alcoholic drinks with a soda and...
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What Tomorrow Is Looking Like in P-Mag Land
Tomorrow is a short day in P-Mag land in honor of the holiday weekend. But, we’ll be featuring a bunch of our best pieces for your reading enjoyment, so be sure to check in while you’re avoiding your relatives!
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Unsolved Mysteries: Still Scary (And Awesome!)... →
From the article:
don’t like being scared; I won’t watch horror movies, and my friends know better than to invite me along to Knott’s Scary Farm. This is all rather strange, though, considering how much I love watching re-runs of Unsolved Mysteries. Just play the original theme music, and I get chills. Forget Saw - that is scary.
Now, not every case on Unsolved Mysteries is frightening....
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Awkwardette's Ill-Advised Guide to Getting it On:... →
From the article:
So, like the rest of you, I am running around like a crazy woman with not nearly enough time on her hands, taking care of stupid crap like buying presents and being filled with holiday cheer. I thought you might like some light reading to cheer you up, and so today I bring you a new list: some of my favorite in sexy blogging.
Read more at Persephone Magazine.
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Ask Malyshka: Life Advice →
Does life have you throwing your hands up in despair or family members have you going into fits of rage? Have a problem that you just can’t handle with a level head? Ask Malyshka, our bad ass and totally level-headed advice columnist. There is no life question she can’t help you with.
Drop Malyshka a line at our spiffy Ask Us! page, and she’ll be sure to answer your question with...
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We Try It: Pavlova →
From the article:
The pavlova is a famous dessert down here in the South Pacific. It’s a giant meringue with a crunchy outside and soft marshmallow inner and was named after the legendary ballerina Anna Pavlova. It is truly delicious, but its real claim to fame is the dispute over the origin of the dessert — was it created by the Australians, or the New Zealanders? I’ve always wanted to...
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“I am beautiful as I am. I am the shape that was gifted. My breasts are no longer...”
– Cindy Olsen, co-owner of The Body Objective
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5 Albums That Changed My Life →
From the article:
Don’t forget the songs that made you cry, and the songs that saved your life.
It’s the end of the year, which means every blogger, journalist, and other ne’er-do-wells are composing their end of year lists. You know. Because it’s the end of the year. I’ve now used that phrase three times in two sentences. Perhaps you can tell the season is wearing on me.
As I started to...
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Your Top 3 Favorite Posts from 12/21/2011
Hello, Persephoneers! Here is a round up of the three most popular posts according to hits from yesterday, in case you missed them:
I’m Not a Fan of the Word “Flattering” and Here’s Why
Why bother keeping up with what you’re supposed to look like when, in all likelihood, nothing you do will ever be good enough? We read about people dying in botched weight loss surgeries, but we also have size...
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LTP: Do You Believe in Santa? →
Hillary wants to know about your position on Santa Claus.
Lunchtime Poll: 12/21 →
I am flying tomorrow. Every year, after the holidays, I swear off holiday travel for the following year. But love for my family ends up winning out ,and I suck it up and get on that plane or bus again. And every year, I experience a travel-related snafu.
Read more at Persephone Magazine
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Fun Time Open Thread: What's Missing? →
SaraB. has us playing a game of “What’s Missing?” in tonight’s Open Thread. Join us!
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“Men will often admit other women are oppressed — but not you.”
– Sheila Rowbotham
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Movie Review: Sherlock Holmes 2: I Didn't Go Pee →
From the article:
Sherlock Holmes did not disappoint. The fabulous setting, luscious period costumes, and engaging music drew me right into the scenes. The action-packed opening grabbed my attention and held it tightly until the end. I sat glued to my seat for fear of missing something. The movie creates the impression that every second is crucial to the story line. It oozes great lines and...
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Blast from the Past – Guilty Pleasures: Blowing... →
A new feature here on the P-Mag tumblr, Blast from the Past features awesome articles from a year ago today (or thereabouts, considering we don’t publish on weekends). Today’s BftP is a gem from Hattie McDougall on the pleasures of quality time with Netflix and a bag of Lays at the expense of quality time with other humans.
From the article:
It’s an important distinction to make...
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News in Europe for December 20, 2011 →
From the article:
EUROPE – (CNN) There is a good chance France and other euro area governments will have their credit ratings downgraded in the near future. This downgrade would mark another low point in Europe’s long-running debt crisis, but it may not shock the markets. “The downgrades are likely to come sooner rather than later,” said Ewen Cameron Watt, chief investment strategist for the...
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Three Posts from Yesterday You Should Read
Hello again, Persephoneers. We know you’re waiting for the 8 o’clock post with bated breath, but there are plenty of other articles in our archive that you can read while you wait! Check out these three articles from yesterday that didn’t get many comments but are really wonderful reads:
Caregiving: The Relationship In The Middle
There are times where big things have caused problems in our...
6 tags
Grandma's Chocolate Butterball Cookies →
From the article:
I think everyone’s grandma has a version of these simple chocolate fudge cookies, but the holidays just aren’t the same without them. They’re like eating hot chocolate in cookie form, and much like my brownie recipe, they’re simple enough that you can do a lot with them.
Read more at Persephone Magazine.
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Happy Hanukkah to our Jewish P'neers.
Chag Sameach!
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What Would We Do if We Weren't Afraid? →
From the article:
Four years ago, almost to the day, I moved away from Boston broke, cold, and defeated. I quit my job by accident* and didn’t have anything to fall back on; temp-work is great, but it’s hard to pay the bills that way when there are student loans and high rent. I guess you could say I couldn’t hack it; I failed. I moved back across the country to my home state and have regretted...
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The End Of An Era →
From the article:
This summer, I was talking to a friend about the films and growing up with the books. About how I had read Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows, when it was first published in 2007, while I nursed my three-month-old son. About how that was the moment when I realised my childhood was over and I was a grown-up. My friend pointed out that the birth of Juniper Junior was a pretty...
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Sorry, Not That Kind of Doctor →
From the article:
While some colleges and universities do refer to faculty as “Dr.,” it seems fairly uncommon. In my undergrad program, I called faculty “Professor X,” or even more commonly just “Professor.” As a grad student, I usually start out with “Professor” to be polite and then switch to first names. In the case of especially august faculty, I’ll stick with Professor, unless I’m...
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Sometimes you Just Need to Cuss Out the... →
From the article:
I know there are rules about Parliamentary decorum, and I know it’s considered bad form to cuss people out in the House, but I’m actually pretty pleased about this. I’m glad that Trudeau is clearly so angry about this: we desperately need more passionate anger throughout Canadian politics. Harper’s government is characterized by stonefaced speeches with...
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Changes in P-Mag Land!
Hello, Persephoneers! Have you visited P-Mag lately? We’ve rolled out some new features this week to make the site more interactive for our commenters. For one, we now have sparkly profile pages, and not only do we have profile pages, we can friend each other! We also now have the ability to send messages to each other over P-Mag, and we can create groups. We also have a fancy activity...
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The Truth About What I Want in a Romantic Comedy →
From the article:
Romantic comedies these days are so shiny and pretty. Watching Cats and Dogs, I was struck by how I could imagine seeing the characters in the grocery store. Garofolo wears normal, even vaguely shlubby clothes. Thurman, who of course is gorgeous, is never slick. While I rarely see someone of her beauty everyday, I could imagine her out and about in the world. Newer romantic...
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Drive Up and Drive On →
From the article:
Until recently, I didn’t get the whole “drive up window” concept. Sure it was nice when it was raining, but that’s just because I was lazy. Now, however, I have a whole new appreciation for businesses who know the value of the drive up window: moms with small children will flock to you in droves.
More than likely invented by a mom with 2-3 children under the age of 5, I’ve...
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Granny’s Guide to Foodcrafting: The Easiest... →
From the article:
I’m pretty sure refrigerator pickles are nature’s most perfect food. And they’re hard to eff up. Use these instructions to try your hand at them. These instructions are straight from yours-truly, and they’re customized for what I like in a pickle. You may find you like different things. The thing with pickles is that you can just add or take away whatever you want. Vinegar is a...
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Ask the Frisky Feminist →
Every Wednesday, a young, sex-positive couple answers all your most personal questions about sexual health, gettin’ it on, and relationships with gentle wit and a can-do attitude.
Do you have a sexy sex question for the Frisky Feminist? Need some advice? Want clarification on terms or technique? Use Persephone Magazine’s handy-dandy Ask Us! page and tell the Frisky Feminist all about it.
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Grandma Had it Goin’ On: Your Guide to Vintage... →
From the article:
Pay attention now, ladies: all things Mod are back for 2012, because there is no new thing under the sun. This is a vintage style that can be done so easily and it rarely looks costumey.
The Mod look emphasized bold, contrasting colors with a mix of black and white. Pop-color tights were omnipresent as well, peeping out from under a hemline that ranged from short short to...
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“The test for whether or not you can hold a job should not be the arrangement of...”
– Bella Abzug, Leader of the Women’s Movement.
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Best Holiday TV Episodes of All Time Ever* →
From the article:
*In this one writer’s opinion and based on a completely biased system.
I’m not even going to try to hide it: I am a sucker for holiday episodes of my favorite TV shows. I’ll sit and enjoy a holiday episode of shows I don’t really even like on occasion. If you’re looking for a half hour or hour of holiday cheer, here’s my list of best bets...
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Your Top 3 Favorite Posts from 12/19/2011
Hello, Persephoneers! Here is a round up of the three most popular posts according to hits from yesterday, in case you missed them:
Takedown: ‘Tis the C-son.
When we look at all of the benefits and risks, it is clear that a C-section is like any medical procedure. Even the scheduled C-sections, even the ones where a woman wants a baby born before New Year’s or a doctor wants to go on...
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LTP: 12/20 →
Meghan is talking advent calendars in today’s lunchtime poll. Do you use an advent calendar to count down until Christmas? Or do you just buy them half off after Christmas is over and eat all the candy?
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Your Ladyguide to Holiday Travel With a Dog:... →
We’re traveling from San Francisco to Seattle and back this year for the holidays, and we have a 1-year-old rescue dog with us. We felt weird about sedating her and flying, so we’ve chosen to drive the whole way. Here are a few pointers for long car trips and travel with pets.
Read more at Persephone Magazine