Thursday, February 22, 2007

Bounty from the Internet

. Today, the New York Times's Style section is running an article about mothers organizing for legislative stuff that would help families. I am (as my sister Erin would say) SO picking up what they're putting down, and I'm excited that there are people taking actual steps to TCB. (For a while, I was afraid we were going to get trapped in this endless circle of Sharing Our Stories, which can be entertaining and emotionally satisfying but doesn't, say, get health coverage for our kids. You can also check out this feature by my pal Stephanie to learn more about the state of the mothers' movement.) Collective action, baby!

(Also, in the NYTimes piece, look closely at the picture of Kiki Peppard, who's been trying to get a law passed in the Pennsylvania legislature banning maternal discrimination. You may recognize the magazine she's holding--I got such a kick out of that!)

. Am I the only one who does experiments with my personal life? Oh, no, I am not. I just dicovered Emily Yoffe's Human Guinea Pig column on Slate. It is some excellent reading. The Mrs. America Pageant column is especially awesome.

The writer Gretchen Rubin is doing something she calls The Happiness Project. To be honest, I was a little freaked out when I first heard about it because it's pretty much the exact same project I undertook: Taking self-help advice to become a better, happier person. But I have to say, I'm a little bit addicted to Rubin's blog now, and I'm especially struck by how different our takes are on the exact same project. Holy parallel universe!

. Jessica Hall, from the article a few posts down, was given five years probation and a felony on her record. After serving seven months in jail. If she were a rich white woman, you can bet your bippy she wouldn't have even been charged. Sorry--nothing funny here.

. Confidential to Ms. Peace and Forgiveness: The producers of Ten Years Younger agree that Daisy does, in fact, look ten years younger. However, filming her would pose a challenge because the camera crews might take off their shoes in the foyer, and we all know what happens then.