I’ve had many complaints about the social network giant Facebook lately, I know. I don’t know if I’m just sick of it—or if what it has slowly become has made me sick. (I did get sick from the heat over the weekend, but I’m pretty sure that has nothing to do with Facebook.) There are a lot of hate groups, a lot of whiny people, and a lot of negative comments on the site that I would much rather stay away from, thank you very much.

Read more >

Dr. Laura Schlessenger is in a bit of hot water, because she used the nasty "N" word on her radio program. She used it more than once. She went into a what can only be called a "n" word rant.

An African-American woman married to a white dude called for advice. The caller thought her husband's white friends were wrong for using the N word.

A partial transcript of Dr Laura use of the "n" word:

CALLER: Is it OK to say that word? Is it ever OK to say that word?

DR. LAURA: It depends how it's said. Black guys talking to each other seem to think it's ok.

CALLER: But you're not black, they're not black, my husband is white.

DR. LAURA: Oh, I see, so a word is restricted to race. Got it. Can't do much about that.

5. Comedians

Comedians must come up with all new material during the appetizer round. Material must surround topics provided by the game. In Round II, comedians have to perform the material in front of a rowdy bar crowd and make the customers laugh at least 75% of the time. In round III, they must take turns dodging thrown vegetables, drinks, and chairs, with the most points going to the person who sustains the least amount of injuries.

4. CPAs

Each accountant must sign, stamp, and seal as many papers as possible in ten minutes. During round II, a complete audit of a major, unsavory corporation (Enron, Halliburton, ect.) must be conducted within 30 minutes. In round III, each accountant must explain the ins and outs of financial, estate, and tax planning and preparation to a client without making him or her fall asleep.

Read more >

If you are a Food Network fan (I’m a newbie myself) you might be into the addictive show called Chopped. In it, renowned chefs battle to beat one another—and the clock—by creating an appetizer, a main course, and a dessert out of specific ingredients they are all given in a short time frame. Some weird ingredients include peanut butter, cinnamon candies, sardines, and plenty of other curve balls. It’s a lot of fun to watch—and oddly addictive.

What would happen, I thought the other day during a commercial break, if other industries tried the Chopped formula? I think plenty of different areas could have some fun with the Chopped theme. Here are just ten of them.

10. Cops

Read more >

You may already have seen, and presumably been charmed by, Tanya Davis' video poem titled "How To Be Alone."  It is a step-by-step guide to re-entering the world as a single person after a break-up.  And, frankly, it's adorable.

But not to The Globe And Mail columnist Russell Smith, it's not.  

He calls it "pair-bonding-obsessed weepiness," which confused me.  Did we watch the same video? 

Read more >

I'd eagerly have to say for me, BOTH. I've always been one who chose fashion over function. I've even been known to walk around toting one bag INSIDE the other, simply because I didn't have time to change purses. In comes my new "purse methodology". I now change purses every Sunday evening. It allows me to make sure I'm constantly changing my purse look, and keeps my rotation of purses moving at the same time.How do you store your purses? I have an entire top rack of my wrap around walk in closet, especially used for my purse storage. They are arranged by size and color, I know, very OCD of me. I have my "special" purses stored in their original cloth purse bags, and my everyday purses are lined up like soldiers, all in a row. This system seems to be working out great for me and definitely keeps me organized!

Read more >

Most guides say that if you wait to talk about menstruation with your child until she has her first period, you are waiting too late. That is a bit of a stretch when menstruation begins at ages 7 or 8. One thing that I’ve done in my home is allow my daughter to see my menstruation products; after all, as I potty trained her and she modeled me, she saw them anyway. Simple explanations like, “Big girls bleed every month and these catch the blood,” and, “Mommy’s body bleeds to help it stay ready for a baby,” have worked for me in this light. My daughter ultimately starts asking if we can have another baby, of course; she’s much more interested in a potential sibling than her mother’s period.

Read more >

As a young girl, I always felt like a freak. Having to wear a B-cup by age 8 and having to bring pads to school for your period by age 9 should not be commonplace events. I remember the morning I woke up with my period. It was during our third grade standardized state test week, and I thought I was bleeding to death. My mother had to give me a quick talk and send me to school with a note about my “condition.”

Read more >

I'm an inclusive "Big Tent" third wave feminist, which is why I recognize that there's an entire segment of feminism that is, shall we say, not environmentally active.  But there are a lot of environmental issues that directly impact feminist ideals. 

Things that, in the immortal words of Sarah Palin, make me "stand up on my hind legs and growl."

Most recently there has been a lot of media attention to the issue of the increasingly early age of the onset of puberty in little girls.  On average, girls are now reaching puberty while their age is in the single digits, between 8 and 9 years old.


Read more >

Women have always been thought of as “the weaker sex." Now the world is finally becoming aware that women are no longer weak and are also taking charge of their lives.

In the book and the movie “Eat, Pray, Love,” one woman takes an enormous risk by getting a divorce and traveling the world alone in search of herself. Traveling worldwide may seem extreme to some, but to really find herself this woman felt that she had to gain distance from all that was comfortable for her.

Read more >