February 2012
111 posts
6 tags
Caregiving: Unexpected →
TW: Suicide and Self-harm
From the article:
I get it, I really do. At least to the extent that a person who has not experienced suicide can. But it isn’t usually considered helpful to say to someone in the midst or in the aftermath, “Well, I wouldn’t have done it!” Lovely, now excuse me while I slap your high horse on the rump. Enjoy the gallop. I hope you fall off. To those who say they...
2 tags
My Pins, My Self: Getting Pinned and Liking It →
From the article:
The success of Pinterest suggests that it’s not just me who is drawn to this aspirational expression. But I’ve noticed something interesting about the Pinterest community: There’s a self-awareness to this aspiration, too. A common type of pin that floats around from time to time reads something like this: “Pinterest: to plan the weddings we can’t afford, to raise the children...
6 tags
Fake Fried Rice →
From the article:
OK, I’m not saying this dish is particularly healthy, or even remotely authentic, but it tastes delicious and always works in a pinch. The trick is using a frozen packet of vegetables with sauce included. I make this all the time, and Mr. McDoogal and I love it every time.
Read more at Persephone Magazine.
6 tags
Positivity Challenge Week 7: Staying Positive at... →
From the article:
Now, we’re not talking about terrible job situations where you’re being harassed and dreading going to work every day and making yourself psychosomatically ill. That’s a whole different can of worms. Some of these tips might help, but if your job situation is really abusive, the only thing that can help is putting your all into getting yourself out of there as...
6 tags
Women in Academia: Where Are the Lines? →
From the article:
What I mean is that thoughts and insights about issues and movements like feminism and anti-racism that from the general culture should be brought into and applied to academia, but insights from academic culture cannot be applied to the general culture in the same way. Academia is not somehow magically immune from the issues of sexism, for example, no matter how “enlightened”...
4 tags
Recap: Parenthood, Episode 3.17, "Remember Me, I'm... →
Warning: Spoilers!
From the article:
This week’s episode of Parenthood was packed with plot progression and sweet scenes. There were laughs, there were tears, it was an episode that reminded me why I watch the show. Jaber brings his parents camping, Amber quits her job after the Bob Little Affair, Adam and Crosby are wooed with an offer to sell the Lucheneonette, and Zoe has the baby. Oh...
6 tags
Our Second Favorite Thing To Do In Bed →
From the article:
Future Mr. paperispatient got me The New Topping Book and The New Bottoming Book for Hanukkah, which was unfortunately right around the time that my job got extra busy and hectic, and they’ve been sitting on my nightstand just waiting for me to pick them up and curl up with them and a glass of wine and a pencil to mark my favorite parts. So if anybody is interested in...
7 tags
The Trials of a Woman Lawyer →
From the article:
On an almost daily basis, another younger lawyer and I have been spoken down to, disrespected or had our legal advice disregarded, all because of our gender. This is not to say that all of our clients have acted in such a way, indeed, the vast majority are incredibly grateful for our assistance. But when a client makes baseless comments about my abilities because of my gender,...
4 tags
Recap, The Walking Dead, Episode 2.09,... →
Warning: Spoilers!
From the article:
I’ve noted before that the women on the show are given the rough end of the character development stick. Lori is shrill to the point of unlikability. Carol is almost entirely defined by her role as a mother. Andrea’s righteous grief over her sister’s death was twisted into making her almost entirely unsympathetic for much of the season. (Not that T-Dog’s...
9 tags
Science News Roundup: 2/22/12 →
From the article:
(BBC News) A new class of planet whose mass is largely composed of water has been discovered. Exoplanet GJ 1214b has a diameter 2.7 times that of the Earth and weighs approximately seven times as much. It orbits a red dwarf star at a distance of about 200 million km, about the same distance as Mars’ closest approach to our sun. Estimated surface temperatures are about...
8 tags
How Birth Control Makes You an Object of Sexual... →
From the article:
This is all background to how I found myself spewing “Casuistry! Casuistry!” at my computer screen the other night. I, like I’m sure many of you, have been kind of befuddled about this whole birth control thing, and I don’t just mean the obvious point that I cannot for the life of me figure out why people who resolutely oppose abortion would oppose what...
9 tags
White Whining: Student Takes Affirmative Action to... →
From the article:
The case boils down to a White girl who decided to sue The University of Texas at Austin because they didn’t let her in, but minority students with test scores and grades lower than hers were admitted. Apparently this pissed off the student, Abigail Fisher, and another woman who dropped out of the suit, so much that they’ve brought it all the way to the Supreme...
7 tags
Unpro's Guide to Comfort Reading →
From the article:
However, when I’m sick or stressed I prefer what Smart Bitches Trashy Books refers to as “dead tree books.” There’s something nostalgic about holding a book, feeling its weight and turning the pages. My mom read to me every night until I was seven or eight, even though by that point I’d been reading on my own for several years. My first job was at...
2 tags
LTP: 2/22/12 →
Selena wants to know the most embarrassing song you have in your music library in today’s lunchtime poll.
4 tags
Fun Time Open Thread: Fun Movie Quotes →
Sara B. is all about movie quotes in tonight’s open thread.
4 tags
New Show Recap: Downton Abbey, Episode 2.06, Part... →
Warning: Spoilers!
From the article:
And now, the fantastic conclusion to the final episode! Get your popcorn or your teacakes or really whatever you heart desires, and be prepared to yell things at your television. Also, since this brings everyone up to date with what’s aired, I’ve included a bit of a quiz at the bottom, regarding how we all feel about, oh, everything. Please weigh in!
Read...
3 tags
A Hearty Helping of that EuroNews! →
From the article:
FRANCE – (BBC) Dominique Strauss-Kahn is to be questioned next week by police investigating an alleged prostitution ring in northern France, officials say. Mr. Strauss-Kahn has been summoned for questioning on Tuesday and can be held for up to 48 hours without charge. He resigned from the International Monetary Fund last May when charged with raping a New York City hotel maid....
5 tags
To Whitney, Thank You and Godspeed →
From the article:
Life happened to Whitney and so many of us had been rooting for her to come out on the other side stronger and the better for it. We will never know whether she did. Her death does not indicate that she had lost her battle. Her death does not mean that she had not overcome her struggles. Her death does indicate that whatever she came to this planet to do, achieve and/or teach...
4 tags
Dip It Low (To Get It All Out Of The Dish) →
From the article:
I used to date a guy who didn’t like dip. Like, as a rule, he did not enjoy dipping delicious food into other types of taste-enhancing delicious food. No salsa, no spinach dip, nothing! Granted, he didn’t like soup, any soup, either. That should have tipped me off that he did not understand eating. Maybe he didn’t like soup because people dip bread in it and maybe he was...
4 tags
Recap: Justified, Episode 3.05, "Thick as Mud" →
Warning: Spoilers!
From the article:
The title of this week’s episode of Justified may be “Thick as Mud” but it might just as well have been “Deception” because that is definitely the theme o’ the week.
Read more at Persephone Magazine.
2 tags
Picture This: Depth of Field →
From the article:
Getting that little sweet spot to appear is pretty simple. Essentially, you to have something in at least two layers of the photo (foreground and background) to make it work. The easy part is focusing your camera on one of those two objects and letting the rest fade out. Now, this won’t work if you’re standing five feet away from your foreground object! You need to...
8 tags
100-Day Burpee Challenge: Week Seven →
From the article:
Greetings, Challengers! How has this week gone? Depending on when you started this challenge, this week marks the halfway point!
Read more at Persephone Magazine.
3 tags
How College Radio Saved My Life →
From the article:
The first morning I spent in the studio for the hands-on part of training was exhilarating and utterly terrifying. I had the good fortune to be under the tutelage of an older student who’d spent years in commercial radio before going back to school for his degree, and his philosophy was less easing me into radio world and more trial by fire. There was a microphone in my...
8 tags
#TellVicEverything: A Peculiarly Canadian Sort of... →
From the article:
A more crowd-sourced response was #TellVicEverything and #DontToewsMeBro. The two hashtags have been filled with opinions about lunch options, quips about procrastinating at work, and all sort of banalities that are sure to be typical of the majority of the data gathered under this bill. The majority of the things we do on the internet are not exciting and certainly...
4 tags
Recap: The Biggest Loser, Season 13 Week 7 →
Warning: Spoilers!
From the article:
Every season I watch The Biggest Loser. Every season contains highs and lows, heroes and villains. Some years all the players play nice and other years you have nit picking, back stabbing and cat fights. This season feels more like Celebrity Apprentice than Biggest Loser.
Read more at Persephone Magazine.
9 tags
Takedown: What You Think I Do →
From the article:
What it boils down to is an inside joke between members of a group. Inside jokes serve groups well, as they increase feelings of belonging, strengthen bonds, and increase group self-esteem. But the problem with this meme, and with the setup of the social media world, is that it is an inside joke that is being shared, and reshared, and reshared with all of the people who are...
8 tags
Warning: Bathroom Language Ahead →
From the article:
This whole obsession with anatomy/bathroom words is developmentally normal. And parents and teacher response does matter. In doing some reading on the topic, responses by experts range from celebrating bathroom words with pianos and drums to enforcing the proper terms in the proper environment with negative consequences. Somewhere in the middle, I think, is where I fall. I am...
6 tags
We Try It! Leaving The Cuticles Alone →
From the article:
While some people might not mind their finger-chewing habit, I decided that I really wanted to stop. First of all, it’s a painful habit. I was sick of wincing every time I reached into my purse for something and one of my raw cuticles would rub something. Second of all, the actual act of biting and chewing on one’s fingers is unsanitary and, to a certain degree, immature. I...
5 tags
Defining Exploitation: New Trends in Sex Tourism →
From the article:
The disparity in age and attractiveness is the most common vein in these Western women/beach boy relationships. Taking full advantage of this is often excused away by those caught up in the trade. However, assuming beach boys are sex-starved Don Juans lucky to bed middle-aged white women would be a mistake. While some do engage in long term courtships, they always risk being...
1 tag
LTP: 2/21 →
Meghan wants to know how you go about making friends as an adult in today’s Lunchtime Poll.
1 tag
Monday Night Flashback: Broken Stuff →
Sally J. wants to know what stuff you’ve managed to break in tonight’s Open Thread.
4 tags
New Show Recap: Downton Abbey, Episode Seven, Part... →
Warning: Spoilers!
From the article:
DOWNTON CHRISTMAS SPECIAL! As I said approximately a half-dozen times over last week’s recaps, this episode is a treat. A present under the tree, if you will. I believe they didn’t cut out a single second from the version as it first aired on the 25th of December, and my mother, who somehow got her hands on the program only a few hours after it debuted in...
4 tags
Flatulence and Other Office Quandaries →
From the article:
Gas. It happens to all of us, and most of the time within the confines of a home presumably shared by fart-friendly people and/or pets. Unfortunately, though, if you’re working in an office 40 hours a week, you spend more of your time in a public space. As someone who likely has IBS or some other such issue, I do my best to be courteous in the office. But in spite of my...
7 tags
Delightful and Quirky: Bill Cunningham New York →
Warning: Spoilers!
From the article:
Overall: This documentary is fun, quirky and inspiring. Bill Cunningham New York is a documentary following the fascinating fashion photographer Bill Cunningham. It was released 16 March 2011 — so it’s a little under a year old — and is, in my humble opinion, a must see.
The basics: Bill Cunningham New York follows the daily life of 80-year-old Bill...
4 tags
Cookbook Cover Art: Co-op Food Fun →
From the article:
Actually, the Co-op Food Fun cookbook was my mom’s very first cookbook, too. She was given this book when she was just a young little snippet of a prairie girl living in a very, very small town called Moosehorn, Manitoba (population composed almost entirely of my maternal extended family). When I was little, I thought that Laura Ingalls Wilder was a contemporary of my...
11 tags
Don't Make Windows into My Uterus: On Religious... →
From the article:
We have people trying to make windows into women’s uteruses, many times motivated by religious institutions and what these institutions teach. Yet when the Obama administration announced that all businesses in the United States would be required to have health insurance that covered and paid for contraception for women patients, religious institutions got upset about this...
8 tags
The Struggles of Being in an Inter-faith... →
From the article:
Having people I loved tell me I was going to hell and that obviously my faith was not real was incredibly hard to hear. It broke my heart that people whom I had shared my most vulnerable moments with and trusted infinitely could then so brutally wound me. People would say things like, “I thought you knew better,” and, “Where are your morals?” The worst were emails that...
12 tags
Insults with Feminists: "Douchebag" →
From the article:
I like to curse… a lot. And I like to be as creative with spellings as I am with uses (fuck can be used in a surprisingly diverse number of ways). As a feminist, though, I’m constantly considering linguistic histories of the words that I use. With regard to cursing, I think things like, “What’s the male equivalent of ‘bitch’? Is there one? Of ‘pussy’? Is...
8 tags
Advice to the Girl I Was →
From the article:
What is occurring to me in my moments of reflection are that we raise our children to think for themselves, to develop self-reliance and independence while we are often, simultaneously trying to mould them into people that will be acceptable to their peers and the members of our communities. Isn’t that what ultimately drives the rebellious teenage years; how badly can teenagers...
3 tags
Middlemarch Madness II: Last Chance to Nominate! →
From the article:
This year’s Middlemarch Madness is already stacking up to be twice as intense as last year’s. Special thanks to all our brand newbies for jumping right in! The more nominations we collect, the more fun we’ll have on Friday when we narrow each category down to 16 contenders.
Read more at Persephone Magazine.
6 tags
Ladyghosts of TV Past: Battlestar Galactica,... →
From the article:
This is one of those episodes, isn’t it? Ugh. Anyway. Previously, on Battlestar Galactica, Sharon’s wiring herself into Galactica to save the ship, Lee’s in command of Pegasus, but not leaving Dee, and Starbuck’s coming back to Sam Anders. Oh, and Baltar is running for president.
Oh, dear. Chief Tyrol is in his undies, empty bottle tucked under his arm, sleeping on the...
8 tags
Tiny Chameleons and Conversation about... →
From the article:
But, even as someone who loves new species, loves nature, and thinks that the study of the evolutionary and ecological processes that have created the world we live in today is absolutely the tops (hey, NSF, fund me?), I am uncomfortable with the calls for forest conservation that inevitably come from such discoveries. Don’t get me wrong — forest conservation is a noble and...
9 tags
No Legislation Without Fat And Female... →
From the article:
And the decades-long, sad history of the war on fat is that it has been waged on women’s bodies especially. The message we get, again and again, is that we should take up as little space as possible. That our voices shouldn’t be heard too much, and that voice is only valid if reverberating from a slim, youthful-looking, fair-skinned body. The war on fat is part...
14 tags
News Appetizers! In Short, Digestible Bursts! →
A new column at P-Mag, Susan serves up lots of news in bite-sized pieces.
From the article:
Gallup says that Santorum is up by 8 points over Romney nationwide. He is running ads in Michigan, focusing on “values.” I would like to take this opportunity to make a joke about surging Santorum, but I can’t. I can’t. WTF, America.
Related: Santorum is against prenatal...
5 tags
Recap: The Vampiaries, Ep. 3.15, All My Children →
Warning: Spoilers!
From the article:
The events of “All My Children” pick up the morning after the ball chez Les Originaux. After Elena and Stefan’s will-they-or-won’t-they moment Elena calls to check up on him, but alas, Stefan, bruised soul that he is, is busy self-flagellating as he journals.
Read more at Persephone Magazine.
3 tags
LTP: 2/20 →
Michelle would like to know about your inner animal in today’s Lunchtime Poll.
fucknojezebel:
Reader Submission:
Eew. Jezebel is kinda terrible and I feel bad for reading it. The comments are horrible but the writing is bad too a lot of the time. Can you recommend any sites that are similar to Jezebel that are less cringeworthy?
Hmm, Thegloss is bad. Neither is The Hairpin. I think I linked to Persephone before, they have a lot of good articles that cover a lot of...
6 tags
Ladyghosts of TV Past: Battlestar Galactica, 2.18:... →
From the article:
We’re nearing the end of the second season, folks! Just two more episodes — or rather, one two-part episode — and that’s it! So, clearly, things are starting to get even more complicated, if that were possible. This week, my opinion of President Roslin takes yet another heavy hit (and after last week’s episode, that’s saying something!) and we’re...
5 tags
Science Shorts: Weather, and a Little Bit of the... →
From the article:
Lots of interesting science news has been making the rounds this week and I just couldn’t choose only one new study to focus on. So, I did what any normal over-achiever does (you all know what I’m talking about) and chose two of them (hm, just two? Maybe I’m not an overachiever). Now, let’s go from weather trends to the workings of the human mind.
Read more at Persephone...
4 tags
The Body Image Benefits Of Pleasure (Valentine's... →
From the article:
But today, I want to address erotic/sensual/sexual pleasure. The reason I want to address it is that I encounter a lot of clients who have given up on it or feel unduly stressed out just thinking about it. And really, that makes sense. If you’re struggling with body image issues, it’s hard to enjoy your body. It’s hard to be naked. You’re often waiting...