Recent Comments:
Hair Thinning: Female Hair Loss Treatments {Stylelist (Main)}
Mar 6th 2011 7:32PM All people with thinning hair should have their thyroid checked.
The Gummi Bear Candelier, Now in Mini {Luxist}
Nov 1st 2010 4:26AM Can I have a job making those at $1800 a pop?
Slate Reporter Says Phoebe Prince's Death By Bullying Case More Complex Than It Seems {ParentDish}
Jul 22nd 2010 2:05AM This is one of the reasons why I disapprove of recent attempts to make it more difficult to home school. Kids need a way out if they are being mistreated. I am not sure what is an appropriate punishment for bullying. We don't have enough information to judge that here. I wouldn't want to be the one to make that call in any case, but its hard to have sympathy for bullies. There isn't any excuse for it. I don't know what is a fair and just punishment that would make other bullies think twice, but I'm glad the issue is being addressed.
Dear Abby, Here's Why You Should Have Never Set Sail ... {Lemondrop}
Jun 15th 2010 6:49PM The world rewards extraordinary achievers with attention, interviews, TV appearances, book and movie deals, etc., and then condemns those who fail, which inevitably most will do. Many will be hurt or destroyed in the process as well. Trying to work for and please God brings eternal rewards, not the fickle and perverse attention of the public. If you are going to risk yourself, why not try going to a poor country and try to help? People will then admire you whether you 'succeed' or not, and God will bless you in the way He sees fit. That is the conclusion I have come to after many long years of life and I pray for the strength to follow my own advice. God forgive me if I chicken out. I admire courage in any person, even if the goal seems not worth it, but when the goal is humanitarian, I admire it more.
Opinion: My Daughter's a High-School Dropout and I'm Totally Okay With It {ParentDish}
May 28th 2010 8:11PM I loved gradeschool but hated highschool, mostly because we moved every year from the sixth grade on. My mother was dying of cancer and I was depressed. Combined with my naturally reticent nature, this made for a very lonely and frightening social experience. I wish almost daily that I had thought of getting a tutor or doing some kind of correspondence work, though I am not sure my parents would have agreed to it. I could have finished the academic work in less than half the time it took, and gone on to college. I ended up graduating from Harvard Extension Cum Laude, but my health imploded around that time and I became a career invalid. I think the emotional toll of being a pariah at six different 'new schools' during junior high and highschool has very nearly destroyed my life. Sometimes pushing yourself or your children is not the right thing. The mother in this article decided not to destroy her child BECAUSE she is a parenting expert. There is nothing ironic about her brave, sensible, wise and loving choice. Bravo.
Not Into Chihuahuas? 10 Other 'Mini' Pets to Consider {Lemondrop}
Apr 27th 2010 5:14PM No mention of guinea pigs? They are more trouble and expense than you would probably anticipate, but they are also much more smart and interesting than you would think too. They are very social, so you should have two. Same sex pairs can fight, so its best to have a boy and girl and have one spayed or neutered before you put them together. They are scared of you at first but they want to get over that. They are happier once they trust you, and will look you in the eye and 'talk' to you about what they want. They enjoy being petted, but some never get over the fear of being picked up. Its so fun to watch them play together. They love lettuce and fresh food and they need that every day. They are so grateful and happy to have it. When they are happy they jump for joy! Get the biggest cage you can get. A home made 'Cube and Chloroplast' cage is worth every penny. You'll never really know how happy and fun your guinea pig can be until you have a really big cage. This is a great little pet, but small children might be too rough, and any child can be negligent about care. Parents must supervise and make sure the animal is treated right and cared for. With small children the parents should plan to do the care, and that is with any animal. Make sure you are prepared to clean cages, keep water bottles full, feed fresh food every day, and give daily vitamin C supplement. Also be prepared to have a wonderful new addition to your family!
Dog Grooming Contests Spark Controversy {Pawnation OLD}
Apr 26th 2010 3:50PM Most dogs love attention, and this is sure to get them what they want. I do think that non-toxic, vegetable based, temporary food dyes should be used exclusively.
Carlos Santana Tells Obama to Legalize Pot {Spinner}
Apr 4th 2009 6:00AM Legalize and tax marijuana, and it would raise multi-millions for worthwhile things. Pot is less harmful than alcohol. It has lots of medicinal uses. It works wonders for anxiety, nausea, insomnia, chronic pain and epilepsy. Marijuana has few side effects. Legalizing pot would open the door for research and development of cannabis based drugs that would work even better and be easier to ingest. It would also legalize the growing of hemp, which is a wonderful and valuable crop that grows on poor soil and is fantastically productive for many uses. It was once one of our main crops! Marijuana has lots to contribute to society. We associate pot with bad things because it is illegal. If it were legal it would not be sold by criminals, and would not support a criminal subculture. Alcohol is socially acceptable because it is legal, but it causes huge damage to society. I am not saying alcohol should be criminalized, but you do not see the psychological problems with chronic pot smokers that you have with alcohol, such as violence and chronic depression, nor does pot slowly kill you as drunkenness does. So why the stigma with pot? We also turn a blind eye to the much worse dangers of legal psycho-active drugs which are prescribed for many of the same things that could be treated much more safely with pot. Many pharmaceuticals, such as the entire class of benzodiazepines, are more harmful than any illicit drugs including heroin. A person can get off of heroin in two weeks, and be fine. It can take years to get off of Ativan, and you are sicker than a dog the whole time, and can have seizures! Benzos should be illegal to even manufacture. I never had seizures UNTIL I took benzodiazepines and withdrew from them. Now nothing stops my seizures without unacceptable side effects except marijuana. Benzodiazpines actually change the architecture of your brain, altering the number of neurotransmitter receptor sites! That is so dangerous, and they don't even tell you how dangerous it is when they prescribe it! Many doctors do not tell their patients how to wean off of benzodiazepines, nor do they always explain how you can die if you don't wean down carefully, and with supervision. Benzos are almost impossible to discontinue once you take them for awhile. Pot is so mild by comparison, and can relieve horrible symptoms when all else fails in some cases. We think of benzos as being handed out by professionals in clean white coats, and pot as being sold by scuzzy underworld characters. We have made it so. Society needs to take a look at these things for their intrinsic worth.
Depression cooking with Clara {WalletPop}
Mar 4th 2009 6:15AM This is a great recipe, and a sweet, pretty lady. I like her eyes which are very soulful, and her gentle voice. However, the cooked meat should not go back into the oil and lemon in which it was marinated when it was raw. This is bad food handling and can make you sick. The marinade should all be put in the pan and cooked thoroughly. The cooked meat and cooked marinade should be put on a fresh, clean plate, never the one it sat on when it was raw, which could have e-coli bacteria. I think this recipe could also be improved nutritionally and would also taste better with garlic, onions and carrots in with the lentils, and maybe some shredded kale, collards, or other dark greens just for the last ten or fifteen minutes of cooking.
Worst Fashion Fads of All Time {Shopping Articles Blog}
Mar 2nd 2009 3:48PM Worst fashion of all: pointy toed stiletto heel shoes. Or should I say, 'stiletto hell' shoes. Over three quarters of older women have never ending foot pain, and these horrible shoes are a main cause. This is 'one step' away from foot binding, (pardon the repeated puns). This actually is not a funny subject at all. Shoes with EITHER stiletto heels OR point toes should come with a warning, like cigarettes. I asked one of my old boyfriends whether he liked that kind of shoe on a woman, and he said that when he sees a girl wearing stiletto heels, he knows how much it must hurt, and thinks that she must not be too bright. He might have been lying, since men seem to love these torture contraptions, but it was what I wanted to hear.