Today's New York Times Style section featured an article that posed the following question: should boys be allowed to wear skirts to school?  Should girls be allowed to attend prom or pose for senior pictures in a tuxedo?

When it comes to arguing, there isn't any more overused rationale than… Read full post »

I just got an e-mail from Amnesty International about maternal health care (or lack thereof) in Sierra Leone.  They described a woman who had just given birth presumably without medical attention, and died on the way to the hospital in a taxi her family and friends had scraped $40 together to… Read full post »

I've lived in Madison during my very early childhood and the end of my young adulthood, if that makes sense; my parents met and married here, and they've lived here until I was 5, and then again since I was 16.  This is the city in which I've spent the most… Read full post »

I don't remember how it got from June to now.  Every day is clear in my memory, but it passes faster than I ever remember it passing.  Life is accelerating, and I don't like this new speed.  There is no time to set an anchor down; every second whooshes me along… Read full post »

The New York Times reported today that violent attacks on homeless people have increased over the last decade; most of these attacks are thrill crimes, or in other words, "just for the hell of it."  For a total douchebag who feels the need to let out his fury by beating, raping,… Read full post »

1. Who was your FIRST prom date? 

Okay, um, this is awkward and I SWEAR I'm not a redneck, but...my brother.  Explanation: for my senior prom, I didn't have a boyfriend and I'd spent that year outside of Madison (which is where I went to high school and my family has… Read full post »

Just a humorous example that illustrates the necessity of commenting responsibly.  So many other people have alluded to this, so I'm adding my voice to the chorus: when commenting, please, please, be civil, be kind, give the writer the benefit of the doubt, comment on others' blogs as… Read full post »

This is gonna be short and sweet.

I've been keeping up with all of the posts and articles and editorials and movie reviews of Bruno, so I know the debate.  It seems to boil down to "His portrayal of gay people is offensive and unrealistic!" versus "His portrayal of gay people… Read full post »

I borrowed this from Sally Swift and Gus Sanchez--apparently the polarity meme (as it is apparently called) is making its way around OS.  The lists I've read so far are delightful to read, this was fun to write, and do send a PM if you decide to do one--I look forward… Read full post »

The relationship I just left is like smoking cigarettes.  On a day-to-day basis I loved it, and now that I no longer do it, I miss it terribly.  I got sad today when for the first time in two years I checked "single" on the health benefits survey for school; nostalgic… Read full post »

I'm single. 

This Tuesday would have been our second anniversary as a couple.  We moved in together almost a year ago.  And I've been miserable for the past eight months.  

You didn't seem surprised.  Your stoicism was both unnerving and soothing.  You said you sa… Read full post »

Before you read this, you should go check out libertarius' awesome post about systematic abuse in childrens' schools run by the Catholic Church in Ireland.  One of the organizations involved successfully sued the country to keep the names of the abusers private, and this same organization is pay… Read full post »

I read an article a while ago in the New York Times about how, given the lack of jobs, many educated and ambitious folks are saying "fuck it," and starting their own businesses.  It drew me in--how could you not root for the plucky underdogs?  But I remember thinking, "I'm way… Read full post »

So apparently some people have been posting makeup-less pictures of themselves on here.  I'm not nearly daring enough to do the nudity part of it, though.  If OS blogs could only be seen by people on OS, fine, but since it's searchable and open to the public I don't want an… Read full post »

This looked like a good way to decompress, I don't want to edit my final paper for the umpteenth time anymore, and some other people are doing it, so I thought I'd join in the fun.  Thanks Trig Palin and Patricia K. for the inspiration!

1) When I spend a good… Read full post »

I have two mothers.  No, I wasn't raised by a lesbian couple.  I have two mothers, but I only have--and will only ever have--one mom.  She's not the one who gave birth to me, and I'm not "adopted" exactly, so suffice it to say that it's complicated. 

My biological mother… Read full post »

Just a quick post today, because this made me physically ill and I think other people should know about it.  A few hours ago, a great injustice was done.  An Iranian woman who confessed to a murder at 17 years old was executed--even though the judiciary had granted her a stay… Read full post »

1) I have run the Boston Marathon.

2) My family has both hosted a dinner for and been spied on by Gnassingbé Eyadéma, the late president/military dictator of Togo.

3) I've failed three math classes throughout my college career.

*Shameless promotional update:  If you want to… Read full post »

The furor and controversy over the date-rape scene in Observe and Report (which I have not seen, only read about), a recent incident at my university, and the New York Times article (discussed in Broadsheet) on how we might discuss sex differently with boys and girls have prompted an internal discuss… Read full post »

This Saturday was awesome because the farmer's market in my town--the largest producers-only one in the country, I might add--had the very first crop of my favorite spring veggie, the one that makes me salivate and hate February and March for lasting so long--HAIL ASPARAGUS!!! 

The bad news is… Read full post »

If your definition of cake involves a saccharine, gooey confection saturated with frosting, you're outta luck. They have their place and I'm a fan, but it seems like folks have forgotten about the many other things a cake can be--a semisweet, moist, fluffy accompaniment to coffee, tea, fruit, sausag… Read full post »

This article features two of my favorite things in the whole world: 1) Pointing out the hypocrisy of social conservatives and 2) independent research.

Benjamin Edelman, who works at Harvard Business School and part-time as a consultant preventing credit card fraud for AOL along with an… Read full post »

I'm making it right now, and it's a staple at my house.  This is the whole package--it's tasty and rich (but not that bad for you), the ingredients are cheap pantry staples, and it's easy--no fussing with separating egg yolks, no finnicky low simmering, no multitude of dishes to clean, and… Read full post »

...but luckily the Westboro Baptist Church has seen fit to provide me with an easy target.

If you think this country is doomed because our social policies are more gentle and magnanimous than those of, say, Saudi Arabia, you are free to fuck off.

 Just sayin'.… Read full post »

Here is the list of thirty-odd billion dollars (copied from CNN) of things that were cut from the original bailout bill to make the leaner, meaner, Republican-approved stimulus bill:

$55 million for historic preservation

$122 million for new Coast Guard polar icebreaker/cutters

• $100 million fo… Read full post »