The only way to spend New Year’s Eve is either quietly with friends or in a brothel. Otherwise when the evening ends and people pair off, someone is bound to be left in tears.
-W.H. Auden
December 2008
60 posts
Listen
Andrew Bird’s Bowl of Fire - Eugene
I heart this song for two reasons. First, there’s some seriously awesome punnery. Second, it makes me think of eating lamb. And lamb, my friends, is both cute and delicious. WIN.
Do trains usually run in a snowstorm?
I recognize that this is not the smartest question I’ve ever asked. But my friend is supposed to come from Boston tonight, and they’re getting 6-8 inches of snow…so I really want to know. And I don’t take them very often, so I really have no idea. Help me out, kids.
Roland The Headless Gunner
See where our high-minded Gov-for-the-Moment felt compelled to name Sen. Obama’s replacement, the Fmr. Fmr. Fmr Something-or-Other, Roland Burris. Which, I suppose, trashes the theory that putting Blago in Pajama Anklets would prevent him from sticking his hair where it was bound to get mussed.
…
A Warren Zevon reference? I love you even more than I already did.
I just learned that Lincoln Logs were invented by Frank Lloyd Wright’s son. Who knew?
Dr. 90210 Powers SUV with Liposuctioned Fat →
blogs.discovermagazine.com
1. “Lipodiesel” is my new favorite word.
2. Ewww.
Birth Control With No Side Effects? Try Aspirin.
Amazing! Of course, I read this as a challenge, like all that awful Cosmo-style “spice up the bedroom” advice. Come to think of it, those suggestions probably have prevented a few pregnancies. Nothing will get you un-laid faster than 101 Ways To Surprise Him With Nipple Clamps.This talk of male birth control pills reminds me of an incident from my youth.
We were sitting around downstairs, some kids from the building. Maybe I was 9. Then this one girl, the super’s daughter said, “We learned in health that you could use aspirin to keep from getting pregnant.” She was a few years older, in middle school.
“No way,” someone said.
“Uh-huh. Just put it between your knees and don’t let it hit the floor.”
I remember being both bewildered and just a little bit thrilled that I was finally getting the inside scoop.
<mintygreen:sistermarymartha:henryeatspeople:sterlingpowers:>
Male Birth Control Pill Soon a Reality →
msnbc.msn.com
sistermarymartha:henryeatspeople:sterlingpowers:>
Ok, so, yes this is awesome (if it actually happens). But I have to vent for a moment about the attitude of the dudes quoted in this and other articles on the subject. It goes without saying that I want to punch the guy who thinks that women are constantly plotting to trick unsuspecting semen carriers into baby-daddydom. But also, the general consensus seems to be that men should only be expected to take these meds if they are basically free of side effects. Excuse me? Seriously? I would love, love, LOVE the chance to say “Hey, you know what? These side effects are lame, I’m gonna make birth control your problem, not mine. Kthxbai!” I would greatly appreciate the freedom to leave the responsibility with someone else until they develop a pill that doesn’t make me sick to my stomach ten days out of every month. And let’s not even talk about the expense.Of course, you may argue that this is lowest-common-denominator thinking; that denying men the freedom to be picky doesn’t help women— it just hurts men. And this would be true. But what kills me is the way that everyone seems to take it for granted that men get to make these choices, without considering the fact that the only reason they have that luxury, in many cases, is because women are bearing the contraceptive burden for them. And pharmaceutical companies, doctors, researchers, people who should know better— they perpetuate the idea that pregnancy prevention is women’s work, but they don’t do jack shit to make that work any easier.
It ain’t fair. That’s all I’m saying.
“she said baby, that’s like water being thirsty, that’s like a planet feeling small / where you lie, beauty lies, and where you fall, beauty falls”
Tea, the morning paper, a truly perfect donut, and public radio in the background. If I were a cat I’d be purring in turbo.
