Blogger Diana Goodman runs a site called NotWithoutMyHandbag, and she keeps a running collection of absurd baby names that makes for very entertaining reading. Goodman invites readers to send in their tips, and then tries to corroborate the info to make sure she's not trying to serve up Oranjello/Lemonjello style urban myth as the real deal. Kynda Boring? Unconfirmed. Chanda Lear? Yep, she's really out there. Luv Joy Seamon? Walking around a college campus (probably introducing herself as "Madison") as we speak.
Get thee to Infomania and watch this new video, where the hilarious Sarah Haskins rolls her eyes at the latest batch of chick flicks. How many times must we be presented with the same tired fairy tale? How many times must our ultimate reward turn out to be Colin Firth? Poor Colin Firth. He's not hot enough to be unattainable. It's an insult to always be presented as the man who holds out for the bachelor lifestyle into his 40s but can't quite go the distance with it. "Why can't I play an occasional womanizer?" I imagine Firth whine to his agent. "Why do I have to be the husband all the time? Cheerio, Jeeves, thanks for the tea. Oh my, it's jolly hot, isn't it?"
If you have a daughter, you know how important it is that she never ever look up at a guy wailing on a guitar and think "He is soooo cooool." She could end up being the romantic prey of a rock band dude-- ick! But what if your girl went to New York City's Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls? MTV News takes a look inside the week-long day camp to show the cute-n-awkward foals learning to play instruments, write songs, and work together as a band. If you send your little heartbreaker-in-training, she'll harness the secret mojo of the rocker, be she drummer, bassist, or axewoman. Then she'll be the charismatic equal of Johnny Band Douche, and can date him--or scorn him--with the confidence of a peer.
Cellies are a fact of life for teens and maybe tweens, but are they putting kids at risk of brain tumors? The director of the University of Pittsburgh's Cancer Research Institute sent out an email alarm to his faculty and staff this week, urging them not to expose their children's growing brains to possible electromagnetic radiation from cellphone use. Parents, have you tried to educate yourselves about this issue? Is it even on your radar?
No, not the way you think--the depressed women are taking the Viagra themselves. You see, since sexual dysfunction is a side-effect of many anti-depressants, some women were giving up on their happy pills once their conditions had stabilized. But taking Viagra a few hours before sex helped 72% of the test subjects enjoy screwing again. Sometime in the near future, women will be able to have their mental health and orgasms, too. Anyone out there ever popped a Viagra for a little off-label recreation?
Parents, don't let your kid wear Crocs on escalators. After reading a story about a little girl in Atlanta getting her foot mangled, I did a little poking around online and found out that there have been more than 70 instances of Croc-and-Croc knockoff toe-manglings in the last few years. A helpful commenter on the AJC website explained why you should make your Croc-wearing kiddo stand in the middle of the step.
There's a great thread over on Jezebel where commenters share the memorable lies their parents told them. Some lies are for the good--like Santa, the Tooth Fairy, and that mysterious "farm" beloved family pets suddenly pack up and migrate to. Some lies are so sweet and clever I plan on using them on my own child--one woman's father sent her back to bed after a nightmare with the advice "just flip your pillow over, it changes your dreams." Aother good one: there's a special chemical in pool water that will make it turn purple if you pee, so everyone will know. So what are your best childhood fables?
Like 100% of little kids, mine loves codes and treasure maps and the idea of hunting down and unearthing something surprising and secret. This weekend, the local paper ran a piece by a mom who discovered letterboxing, and it sounds like a sure way to thrill a would-be explorer. Instead of following clues to buried jewels, you end up with a new print in your letterboxing book, and you have to rebury the rubber stamp that made it back in the ground for the next round of trekkers. It's a very clever idea, and I'm intrigued to know if anyone else out in GoMom land is familiar with it?
Foxy and underused actress Amanda Peet told Cookie magazine "I feel that parents who don't vaccinate their children are parasites." Hmm, not just "misguided," or "operating on groundless assumptions," but "parasites." Jenny McCarthy has been very public about her belief that vaccines are linked to autism, and even got her boyfriend Jim Carrey to march alongside her to draw attention to the issue. It looks like there's an internal debate raging between America's B-list actresses! But what about the real box-office draws? What does Angelina Jolie think? How 'bout Julia Roberts? We need some real guidance here. In the meantime, does anyone know why Peet said "I don't like to.... put sunscreen on her"? I thought we were supposed to slather kids with SPF every four hours or something? What gives?
Much thanks to Slate for taking a hard look at claims in two recent books that "studies have proven that women are naturally more empathetic than men." This hasn't been proven, actually. Hey, maybe someday--Borat's brother has done some interesting research-- but it hasn't happened yet. I will happily read any number of studies on gender differences in behavior and attitudes and brain function and muffin consumption, whatever--it's a fascinating and worthy area of inquiry! But please don't take a big leap over the scientific method in order to make grand statements (I'm looking at you, Louann Brizendine. I bought your book and you owe me $$). So what's your favorite fake gender differences "fact"?
