April is Autism Awareness Month and everybody’s got something to say, so I guess I’ll chime in too. I’m not going to ask you to “light it up blue,” or read up on the latest conspiracy theories about autism’s rise, or watch Temple Grandin (although that is a/…

Read full post »

I didn’t want to write about this today. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love to delve into a good lady-parts story as much as the next gal. I just didn’t think I’d need to do it in response to this particular issue.

Really…birth control. How can birth control/… Read full post »

There was a so-called “war on Christmas” long before Bill O'Reilly and friends went mainstream with it a few years ago. I should know. I worked in the ACLU’s Philadelphia office in the mid-1990’s, and it was my job to open the hate mail. Most of it arrived during the mo… Read full post »

 

First of all, in my defense, I was 23. In geek-girl years, that’s like 12 or 13. I was more or less happily single, in my final year of grad school, sharing a wacky apartment with a good friend in a sleepy university town in New York.

This was in the… Read full post »

 

 

Why do I still have maternity clothes in my closet? My oldest is almost seven, I’m in my forties, and the baby factory is most decidedly closed. Plus, it’s not like there’s a lot of room for those old clothes around here. Do I really need a “formal”… Read full post »

Fort Stevens, Oregon

   

The perils of delving too enthusiastically into American history. Or, perhaps, the perils of family vacations. Read full post »

 

 

 

(Spoilers ahead. Proceed with caution)

 

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner is to the Twilight saga what Fire Walk With Me was for “Twin Peaks,” and it’s appealing for the same reasons. The novella is part prequel, part origin story, part “Me/… Read full post »

This Memorial Day weekend, I spent some time getting reacquainted with some old imaginary girlfriends from one of my favorite late-90’s TV shows. No, not these girlfriends…

 

 

 

…these girlfriends!

 

 

 

That’s right, the complete… Read full post »

Are you traveling with small children this summer? Don’t forget to toss a few good books in the backseat or in your carry-on bag. Here are a few of our family’s favorites to help stave off the are-we-there-yet’s and build anticipation for the summer fun that lies ahead. Enjoy!

 … Read full post »

 

 

I just finished Emily Gould’s And the Heart Says Whatever. Based on the reviews I was bracing myself for a cringe-fest, but it was a really enjoyable read. In fact, I’ve got to say I’m growing weary of seeing stories like hers dismissed as trivial, whining narci/… Read full post »

After a blogging stint for a mainstream parenting Web site, Alternadad author Neal Pollack wrote this hilarious post about some restrictions he encountered there. It was the usual “no drugs, no porn, no profanity” deal; nothing unreasonable. “No porn” certainly seems like a se… Read full post »

 I was reading a book review by Heather Havrilesky on Salon not long ago that drew me in with the following subheading:  

“Why do memoirs about troubled marriages turn us into such judgmental harpies?”

Why, indeed? I would have posted a comment, but I was having a hell of…

Read full post »

  

 

I’m afraid of head lice. There, I said it.

 

It’s an embarrassing thing for a would-be earth mother like me to admit. I wouldn’t call myself “germophobic,” or even “high maintenance.” I certainly wouldn’t call myself a &… Read full post »

Romantic . . . Not
It had all the trappings of a Hollywood romantic comedy: Quirky twentysomething with a disappointing job and a stoner boyfriend moves into her new apartment. The downstairs neighbor, a thirtysomething nerd, is instantly smitten. Initially repelled by his hilariously clumsy ov… Read full post »

  
In honor of Valentine's Day season, I'm posting some of my favorite tales of chocolate-covered-absurdity from the single days. (You can check out the first one here.) Enjoy!

With summer off to a disappointing start, my best friend and I (we’ll call him “Clyde&… Read full post »

 
In honor of Valentine's Day season, I'm posting some of my favorite tales of chocolate-covered-absurdity from the single days. Enjoy!

Sarah doesn't typically gush. So I was intrigued when she called and asked in a voice that fluttered with high-school dreaminess if I’d met Mil… Read full post »

One November Saturday, I took a rare day to myself and went to see the “Edward Hopper’s Women” exhibit at the Seattle Art Museum. It was a small collection of about ten paintings, most of which feature women alone in public places. In restaurants. On a train. Working in a movie/… Read full post »

 

There was a so-called “war on Christmas” long before Bill O'Reilly and friends went mainstream with it a few years ago. I should know. I worked in the ACLU’s Philadelphia office in the mid-1990’s, and it was my job to open the hate mail. Most of it arrived during… Read full post »

Warning: Lots of spoilers!

That’s right, I read Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight series. And you know what else? The darn thing was actually pretty entertaining. I can’t hold it up as “literature.” I can’t say I wouldn’t be concerned if my daughter gets swept… Read full post »

“Night on Bald Mountain” from Disney’s Fantasia

It’s not very often that I feel compelled to reach through the computer and give a fellow blogger a 12-Step-style hug, but I had a moment like that reading Daddy Geek Boy’s recent post about reconciling one’s l… Read full post »