Pretty sure hot dogs are scarier than a zombie.

Elementary school sure has changed since we were kids. Today, recess is getting shorter, cafeterias are getting healthier, and Halloween is getting much, much less fun.

Around the country, teachers and parents are crusading to make sure that kids celebrating Halloween aren’t dressing up in scary costumes in school. As Tom Hernandez of Plainfield, Illinois says in the article, “Some people thought Halloween was a Satanic ritual. Well, let’s not say Satanic — let’s say they were not comfortable with what it represents.”

As a result, students in Plainfield “are being encouraged to dress up as historical characters or delicious food items rather than vampires or zombies.” Because what little kid wouldn’t love dressing up as stalk of asparagus or Eli Whitney, inventor of the cotton gin, instead of as a zombie or a bloodsucking fiend?

It’s absolutely ridiculous that scary Halloween costumes have gone the way of snap bracelets and Pogs. The adults behind this silly campaign are probably all the type of buzzkills who hand out toothbrushes and shiny red apples when trick-or-treaters ring their doorbells. Read More »

If you’ve read any news blogs or even watched a televised newscast in the last week and a half, chances are that you’ve heard the tragic story of Annie Le, the Yale grad student who disappeared ten days ago. Her body was found hidden inside a wall at the building where she worked last Sunday—which was to have been her wedding day. Now a lab technician named Raymond Clark has been charged with Annie’s murder.

This whole saga has been unbelievably upsetting and awful, and our hearts go out to Annie’s family and her fiancé. It’s also spurred a lot of interesting discussion about safety on college campuses—and why the media is curiously fascinated by crimes that occur on Ivy League campuses.

Slate editor Jack Shafer observes that the New York Times has written five stories about Annie’s case so far, while the Boston Globe has run at least six. A quick search shows that CNN.com has a whopping 14 stories about the murder. The media frenzy has been so… well, frenzied that an NBC producer was trampled when journalists and camera-people rushed to speak to a New Haven police spokesman on Tuesday. Read More »

When I conjure up the image of a serious runner, I envision a muscular man in inappropriately short shorts, wearing a work belt of water bottles, a knee brace, and slurping energy gel packs. I’ve seen this person too many times and although I classify myself as a runner, I doubt I’ll ever sport water bottles at my hips. I do, however, very much identify with needing knee support.

Too many times, my running activity is hindered by pain. After numerous doctor’s visits and trips to the physical therapist, I’ve learned that chondromalacia patella or “Runner’s Knee” is the cause. This is when your knee cap rubs against one side of the knee joint … ugh, I just cringe at the thought of it. As you can imagine, I’ve gotten accustomed to believing that running would and always will be a battle when it comes to the condition of my knees.

But I don’t want to stop running!
And according to a recent article in the New York Times, I might not have to. Read More »

So you’re determined to get those rock-hard, washboard, Jessica Alba abs. And you even stepped up the intensity of your workout by increasing those crunches and sit-ups to ensure that your stomach is flat in no time.

Well, its time to stop that.
Right now.

Turns out, crunches are not good for you.

I know you’ve spent your whole life thinking those painful and annoying little exercises were getting you one step closer to a Britney body (circa 2001), but, sadly, the main thing that crunches do is crunch your spine. And yes that really is as bad as it sounds. According to and article in the New York Times, the way to visualize this concept is to “think of the spine as a fishing rod supported by muscular guy wires. If all of the wires are tensed equally, the rod stays straight.” However, focusing only on the deep abdominal muscles can cause the spine to buckle. To avoid this, it is important to strengthen the entire core. Read More »

So I was reading the news the other day–you know, the usual depressing stuff about the economy and my freakshow state government–when I came across an item that made me literally spit out my iced chai in bewildered shock.  According to this blog post on the New York Times, there is a set of parents in Sweden who are choosing to raise their child without a gender. For real.

The parents have not revealed their two-year-old child’s gender to anyone, save for a few close relatives who have changed its diaper. Their goal is to enable the child, called “Pop” in the media, to be raised in a liberal environment devoid of the limits of the social construct known as gender identity.  No “pretty girl” or “big boy” here – Pop is only referred to by its name, and has never learned gender pronouns like “his” or “hers.”

But it gets even more bizarre. You’d think the parents would be hell-bent on raising the kid to be androgynous, since wearing pretty dresses and big boy overalls are felonious acts in the crime family of gender stereotyping.  Instead, the parents choose to give Pop “girl” hair cuts and clothing on occasion, and other times Pop will wear “boy ” hair cuts and clothing.

To me, this action in particular corrupts their whole plan. I can support parents who want their child to be raised with the freedom to become whomever he or she wants to be, but if you’re going to dress the child in boy and girl clothing, you’re only going to confuse the kid. Strangers will remark to the parents on the street, “What a beautiful daughter! How old is she?” or “What a handsome young man!” causing Pop to stress about the concept of gender that his/her parents are working so hard to minimize.

Also, what happens when the kid goes to school?  What bathroom does Pop use? Pop will eventually have to get a driver’s license or some form of government ID, or, I don’t know, look down and see his/her genitalia. Will the parents stage a protest? Put that kid on pant-removal lockdown?

Somehow I think Pop may not turn out quite as well as his/her parents are hoping. What do you think? At what point does an experiment like this go too far?

Although we gals have pushed, yelled and fought for our rights for decades, it’s an unfortunate fact that men dominate a number of professions in the U.S. (and often make more money than women doing the same things). Can we imagine a world where estrogen ruled, women weren’t subjected to workplace prejudices, and men were delegated to diaper duty (okay, we don’t have to go this far, but still…)??

Let’s take a look at some professions dominated by men and see how women could handle them…

Job: Floor Trader
Description: Member of a stock or commodities exchange who trades for their company amongst a sea of hysterical competitors.
Why women should dominate this profession: Many women I know admit to making a habit of picking fights with their boyfriends. There’s something about our argument style (sometimes fierce, sometimes whiny, sometimes teary, always clever, and oftentimes a mix of the four) that, when combined with batted eyelashes, ensures that we’re going to walk out of the room knowing that the score is Girl: 1, Boy: 0. Read More »

Whenever I sit down to write my bi-monthly girl crush post, I’m usually looking for someone with a hot career that’s matched by her hot body, gorgeous face, gorgeous boyfriend, and impressive array of gold Emmy’s, Oscars or Grammy’s to perch atop the mantelpiece in her (assumingly) impeccable apartment. These are the celebrities of today, right?

Well, this week, in light of the horrendous violence and political strife that has unfolded in Iran throughout the past 10 days, we’ve decided to honor the women that are risking their lives on the streets to fight for justice.

Demonstrations and riots broke out in the city of Tehran last week when voting results confirmed that the conservative candidate Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had defeated former prime minister Mir Hussein Moussavi. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the country’s supreme leader, immediately threatened protesters and the Revolutionary Guard asserted that their actions would invite confrontation from the city police force. Government security officers with weapons and tear gas have been occupying the streets since then, where deaths and injuries continue to increase in number.

The protesters, many of whom are women, believe that Ahmadinejad was re-elected unfairly and through a corrupt voting process. One woman in particular, Neda Agha-Soltan, has become a heroic figure since her death on Tuesday, when she was shot in the chest while stepping out of her car. The 26 year old, who has been described as “not political” by a relative, was on her way to a rally with her singing teacher when a shot was fired from a rooftop across the street, supposedly from a sniper. A doctor had attempted to save the young woman but failed as the bullet had made its way to her heart in only a few minutes. Read More »

Always looking for new ways to curb your appetite and shed those stubborn pounds? Now that bikini season’s among us (or at least among those of us that don’t live on the East Coast, where it’s been raining for about 10 days now), finding a way to cut calories and look good on the beach is on everyone’s mind. Enter Sensa: tiny edible granules that, when sprinkled on food, are supposed to enhance the smell and taste of your meal and send olfactory messages your brain that make you fuller faster. What’s more, they release hormones that are supposed to suppress your appetite so that you’re not a member of the “clean plate club” at every meal.

A recent article in the New York Times quotes Dr. Alan Hirsch, the maker of Sensa, who says that you become full when your brain senses that you’ve smelled and tasted something. Basically, you’re tricking your body into thinking it’s satisfied before you get the chance to overeat. So I can sniff that glazed donut, maybe take a few bites, and feel no need to eat the rest? No more burrito binges?  No more digging into my pasta face first?

Where do I buy these magical crystals?! Read More »

If your internship is anything like mine, not every hour in your 9-5 day is filled with important tasks and urgent errands. Although I certainly have things to keep me occupied, a less than full schedule can make the time spent in your little cubicle feel awfully long and completely brutal. After almost three weeks on the job, I’ve come up with a list of things to get yourself through a day’s work – that is, when you’re not totally consumed with real work (and if you are, you probably have no reason or time to read this).

Get Moving
Not a smoker? That doesn’t mean you need to stay inside all day! I’ve never been a fan of the cancer sticks myself, but I allow myself a few minutes of outside time each day to prevent cabin fever and stiff bones. To avoid looking silly as you stand next to the puff-puff crew, walk to a street stand and buy some chewing gum or do some quick window-shopping.

Get Smart
Are you one of those people who can’t help but having a totally confused look on your face when someone brings up Obama’s new healthcare plan? Have you been hiding under a current-events rock? If you have free time, you should spend it getting up-to-date on the news that’s affecting your life on a daily basis. This can be done easily by visiting nytimes.com or hitting up your favorite cultural blogs, like the Huffington Post. I’ve gotten addicted to the Times’s food writer Mark Bitten (I know, not too educational, but hey – at least it’s not Facebook), who constantly updates his site with recipes and food news. If we can’t eat all day, we can at least think about eating all day! Read More »

Everybody’s doing it.  There’s different types, names, and ways to do it.   Two girls, one guy.  One girl, one guy.  Two guys.  You name it, it happens.   And according to New York City’s most trusted paper, this oh-so unusual and odd act causes “peer pressure,” and is leaving parents “baffled.”   That’s right everybody,  we’re talking about hugging.

I didn’t think The Times could get more desperate for a relevant “News” story after discussing the dangers of texting, but it looks like I was wrong. It seems that texting-thumb isn’t the biggest issue plaguing our generation right now. The real question?  To hug or not to hug.

Underage drinking is dangerous.  Drugs, sex, whatever.  But hugs?  I’m pretty sure those things are safe.  They are not things to fear or be worried about, as the Times is portrating them; they’re hugs! They’re innocent yet meaningful exchanges among people, not some gateway drug that will eventually lead to middle school prostitution.

It’s funny, but also infuriating that the Times would make such a big deal about a simple hug. The way they’re talking, you’d think kids were giving blow jobs in the halls. And if that were the case, I’d understand. I mean, that changes the whole story…literally: Read More »