Devastating News...

He had been harassed and shot, threatened with death, and his clinic burned down, but Dr. George Tiller continued to work as one of the only late-term abortion providers in the country. He was a brave man committed to women’s reproductive rights. And this morning, he was shot dead as he walked...

She’s Queen of the World! (of spel...

A trophy? All I ever got for winning was a noogie from a bully. Via litlnemo @ Flickr. I’d like to offer up my heartiest, harpiest high-five to Kavya Shivashankar, who yesterday won the 2009 Scripps National Spelling Bee. I have always loved words and spelling (my typos on here rankle me terribly),...

Nine Simple Ways to Scare Your Date...

There are several advantages to being a content singleton, one of which is not having to deal with first dates and the thorny path known as flirtation. But I finally decided to just learn to flirt, and decided to take some cues from Marie-Claire’s nine steps to flirting like a pro, provided by...

Would you like a side of mascara with yo...

If Lady Justice is blind, why do I need to wear lipstick? via armykat1014 @ Flickr. We got an email yesterday from reader Marie, who calls herself an “apprentice feminist” (welcome to the guild, sister!) and who brought a story from the San Diego area to our attention.*  Shenoa Vild had...

What’s in a Unisex Name?...

via mercys mama @ flickr May has become one of my favorite months of the year, not only because it marks warmer weather and the end of a semester but also because it’s when the Social Security Administration releases the data on the most popular baby names for the previous year. Is that an odd...

More Proof that Nuns Can Kick Your–...

She's not that kind of Madonna. Via Matt Woolner @ Flickr. Three words: Sister Madonna Buder. Now nearly 79, Sister Madonna of the Sisters for Christian Community (a post-Vatican II Franciscan order) in Spokane, Washington, has competed in more than 300 triathalons–30 of which were “Ironman”...

California love?...

Boo-urns. Via stephalicious @ Flickr.I’ve been waiting for it all day, and the judgment is finally in: In a 6-1 vote, California’s Proposition 8, which defined marriage as “between a man and a woman” has NOT been overturned. Fuck. The tiny sliver of good news is that the 18,000...

What’s a Search Term like you doin...

Once again, it’s time for a search terms round-up.  As always, there are a number of terms that make some sense,  like: sexism by phone –Oh, sister, by phone, by book, by movie, by television, by fashion, by science… successful woman get abortions — Correction: all kinds...

The Best Part of Wakin’ Up...

… is Supreme Court nominee Hilda Sonia Sotomayor in my cup. (I obviously have not yet had “my cup” yet. Oy. Thanks for the correction, christina.) BOO.  YAH.  Heckuva way to start the week, I’ve got to say.  Granted, this is just the promise of the nomination, and we still...

Postcard From London...

Seen in the window of Emma Bridgewater on Marylebone High Street.  A dishtowel reading: I HAD A REALLY NICE DREAM LAST NIGHT ABOUT DANIEL CRAIG I bought two.  (Not visiting London anytime soon? Get your own here.)

On Younger Men: An Overshare...

Ladies, I have come to a startling realization. It has been creeping up on me for some time but in the past couple weeks it’s been smacking me between the eyes on a fairly regular basis and now I can no longer ignore it: there are some hot men out there who are too young for me. I turned 34 earlier...

This Is What I Call Progress...

I know this has been covered by several other sites today, but I still wanted to dedicate a short post to the internal State Department memo written by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announcing the extension of benefits to the same-sex partners of Foreign Service officers. There is no word on when...