Sometimes I stay inside for days. I moved into my new apartment a little over a week ago, and I've already managed to stay inside for two days straight at least twice. One might say that I am enjoying the new-found freedom of just being, as in being in my own space, but being inside for long lengths of time does not make me happy. During those days, I only saw sunlight through the solitary set of windows in my living room, deciding instead to organize the moving mess, take care of Baby Equis, watch television and eat.What Will Happen to Juneteenth?On this Juneteenth, I am thinking of those who are not yet free. Most of them are girls. Born in America.
Every year in this country, between 100,000 and 300,000 children--most of whom are astonishingly between the ages of 11 to 14 years old-- are sold for sex by pimp-captors, according to government statistics. ...
Photo courtesy of ThinkStock.com
The Miseducation of Texas Schoolkids
"So how do you celebrate Juneteenth?" I asked my Twitter friends a few weeks ago. After a dead-tweet silence, I retweeted myself for emphasis. Even then, just a handful of my 300 or so Twitter friends responded with a few half-baked answers. "Go to some crappy festival," one Californian said. "I celebrate by doing nothing," said a childhood friend from Texas. ...
See, a bunch of guys needed something to do in 1865 and 1866, right after the Civil War. It wasn't like they could go back to their plantations; Northerners had seen to that. So these good ole boys amused themselves by dressing up in sheets and riding through the countryside pulling pranks. Just good, clean hijinks, until they discovered their antics terrorized former slaves. Then, things turned naughty and nasty. But in the beginning, the Klan was just a social club. ...
I don't get those single women who say they've had to be ''the mother and the father'' to their kids. Nobody can be two people. Not even Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde could pull it off, and they had mad science on their side. Thing is you're either someone's mother or father, the two roles are mutually exclusive for a reason. ...
Fresh from our "Wow file," a former fourth-grade teacher at Southland Christian School in St. Cloud, Florida, was fired for conceiving several weeks before getting married. Oh, the shame -- getting pregnant by your fiance a few weeks before the actual marriage. ...The Myth of Black-on-Black Violence
This year's Black History Month was a particularly bloody one in Shelby County, S.C. Sergio Leary, Ja'cole Wilson, Karon Barrow and Leon Thurman Jr., all young people in their 20s, were all shot dead, according to local news reports.
The Shelby Star's analysis of the burst of violence, hit on all the usual crime reporting clichés: ''black,'' ''at-risk youth,'' ''subcultures that don't value'' life. And then, there's the clincher. ''Despite overall crime numbers falling in recent years, black-on-black [emphasis added] violence remains a prevalent issue,'' the newspaper reported. ...
Every so often, you meet someone with a job title that makes you go, "Huh?" Either it's too technical to understand, too hard to describe or in some cases, people just may not have heard of it. But, why would someone not have heard about a job's existence? ...Sneaky coupon tricks: 6 hacks to help you fight back
A recent Safeway ad had a coupon for a dozen eggs for $1, a swell deal these days.... However, the coupon's fine print -- there's always fine print -- said shoppers needed to spend at least $10 to use the dollar-a-dozen coupon. The thing was, I didn't need $10 worth of stuff. Just eggs. But I wasn't about to let a teeny-tiny disclaimer keep me from getting cheap protein. I have a frugal hack for just such an occasion. ...9 Sneaky Tips for Saving More
In a perfect world, we wouldn't need tricks to save money. Life isn't perfect, though. The national savings rate in November was 4.7%, which actually is an improvement over recent years. That means Americans, on average, tucked away about a nickel of every dollar.
Did you?
MIAMI - Freakish cold weather continued to grip the South, with snow flurries spotted around Orlando and a record low set for Miami, and forecasters said Sunday that more of the same was expected.Deep Freeze Costing Americans Big Bucks
Jan. 11: Farmers in Florida are battling crop-destroying cold and heating bills in the Northeast are skyrocketing as a record-breaking cold snap. NBC’s Ron Mott reports from Atlanta.
There's nothing like young love, is there? Actually, long-term love can be pretty similar, with one key difference. Learn more about what keeps marriages together.Should You Give an Ultimatum?
Is it ever a good idea to throw down the ultimatum gauntlet in a relationship? Ultimatums are examined from a male and a female writer's perspectives.
Bacteria Found in Nearly Half of Fast-Food Soda Foundations
Unsold Clothes Destroyed at H&M Until Twitter Roared
Associated Press, updated 7:21 p.m. ET, Tues., Dec . 22, 2009
AT&T to NYC: No iPhones for you!
Does Your Name Spell Success?
Notable Deaths of 2009
Students See Hard Future if Free Fares Are EndedWhen Alejandro Velazquez, 15, was selecting a high school last year, he decided on Washington Irving in Manhattan because of its strong Spanish-English bilingual program. It was a 40-minute trip from his home in the Bronx, but his mother assented, in part because he could travel free.7 Soldiers Cited in Pregnancy Ban on Soldiers in Iraq
His family’s calculus, he said, would have been different had he needed to pay $40 a month or more to get to and from school, a reality that will begin next fall if budget cuts passed by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority board on Wednesday are carried out. ...
Four female and three male soldiers in northern Iraq have been reprimanded for disobeying a ban on pregnancies, but the general in charge of troops there has backed off an earlier threat of courts-martial and prison time for such cases. ...Hairstyle How-To: Sleek Evening Ponytail
DirecTV Thrives On 'Deception,' Lawsuit AllegesThis no-fuss, sophisticated style is easy to create at home and works well for both the office and all of your after-work events. Get more hair inspiration here.
A ponytail is a quick style that can be enhanced with jeweled combs or decorative pins. Since more attention will be drawn to your face, compliment this simple style by playing up your eyes. ...
A lawsuit filed this week by Washington state against DirecTV could have a secondary purpose: It could serve as a textbook for consumers on tricks companies play to take their money.Food History: How Your Favorite Foods (and One Appliance) Were Invented
The suit filed by Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna alleges so many forms of misbehavior that he thinks DirecTV, the nation's largest satellite TV provider, has "built deception into their business model." ...
Did you know one of your beloved candies was intended as an anti-smoking treat? Or that chocolate chip cookies were discovered by mistake? Check out the strange beginnings of some of your fave foods and one appliance you probably wouldn't want to live without. ...
Feel like traveling but can't get away from the house? Spend an hour or so clicking on Blogger's "Next Blog" link, and you'll find yourself wandering blogs from all over the world.
On my "Next Blog" journey, I reached the sites of all sorts of intriguing bloggers in unique life situations. I visited, for example, a blog that provides updates to a 7th grade Social Studies class (and their parents) in Southern California; it includes recent instructions for a History Day project and a hint for extra credit on an upcoming final.
I also indulged in the classroom experiences of a student-teacher; and I read about one woman's preparations for her move to Norway, where her husband will further his studies. I even found the blog of a Lutheran pastor from Anchorage, Alaska, who included a post on Evangelist Rick Warren's dubious denial of any relation to the "Kill the Gays" bill in Uganda. I especially enjoyed the artistic sensibilities of "Bloody Crafts," which showcases Bloody Bunny tote bags, iPhone holders and other products bearing the blogger's original designs.
My favorite discovery of the evening? The blog of a talented Etch-A-Sketch artist who cooly replicates an image of The Breakfast Club. Of course, I am now a follower of this blog and several others; and I am interested in seeing what sorts of worldly information I can glean from the authors' future postings. I encourage you to click on chance too, and check out the next blog! You just may like what you find.
Sparkling Holiday Displays Worldwide
By ANGELA MONTEFINISE, Posted: 4:01 AM, December 6, 2009
Beyonce Takes a Dive at London Concert
New Minute Maid juice packaging-- can it avoid the Tropicana disaster?
Green Car of the Year 2010
T-Mobile says they asked America... but T-Mobile didn't ask me!There's nothing scarier than standing in front of a white canvas and not knowing where you're going next.
--Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll
In this Pepsi Music exclusive interview with Shakira on Yahoo, Shakira speaks about her most recent album, She Wolf, which was released on October 9, 2009. She says, "I wanted She-Wolf to be an album different from everything I've done before...."
with dark hair and red highlights and tiny braids again, I appreciate her evolution as an artist. From Pies Descalzos (1995) to Laundry Service (2001) to She-Wolf (2009), Shakira consistently searches for new ways to express herself. And I am surely enthralled by the fierceness of her lyrics and the synthesis of diverse sounds in her songs.
We live in a culture where a woman's menstrual period, and thereby a woman, is often described as "disgusting" and "dirty." I've watched men look away and cover their ears when a pad commercial comes on the television or run away, in actual fright, from the sight of unused tampons.
men may use demeaning 'jokes' to quiet a woman who brings them up in conversation. But why should I be silenced and made to feel bad about myself or my integrity when I complain to a male friend about my menstrual upper leg muscle aches and lower backaches? Why the fear and disgust, Man? Why the timidity and shame, Woman?
story, found in Matthew 9, Mark 5 and Luke 8, of the woman who had an illness that caused her to bleed for 12 years until she touched the hem of Jesus' cloak. As a woman, especially an "unclean" one, she risked further social ostracization and even physical harm in touching a rabbi.
Hence, my response to such comments is a list of recommended products that have been helping to ease my menstruation pain and leakage fears this week:
wearing this pad, I was hooked. Although the pad's wings do not necessarily fit all of my panties right, the "revolutionary wing design for secure protection" works phenomenally and it doesn't feel as if I am wearing a folded up tee-shirt down there. My only issue with this pad is its cost! Note Rite Aid's $5.59 price tag on a box of only 16 pads. Get a FREE SAMPLE of Always Infinity and other Procter & Gamble products delivered to your home within 4-6 weeks by clicking on the link above. It really works!
applicator, which is so much more comfortable and easy to slide into the vagina than the uncontoured cardboard applicators my mother buys at the 99-cent store. This tampon also sports a "custom fit design" that "expands all around with every move you make" and a "unique second backup layer for defense against leaks." Again, my only issue with such a high quality product is its price. So try it out for FREE by clicking on the link above!
By ROBIN POGREBIN, The Museum at Eldridge Street has commissioned the artist Kiki Smith and the architect Deborah Gans to create a new east window for its 1887 synagogue, a National Historic Landmark on Manhattan’s Lower East Side.... The synagogue reopened in 2007 after a 20-year restoration, but there were no available records of the original window.... While the design has yet to be released, Ms. Smith said it would feature the Star of David at the center “in a field of blue five-pointed stars.” The Eldridge Street Synagogue — reputed to be the first house of worship built by Eastern European Jews in the United States — has a neo-Moorish interior with 50-foot ceilings faux-painted and stenciled ceilings, 68 stained-glass windows. ...
Text by Robin Dalmas, Bing Travel; photo editing by Connie Ricca
BUDAPEST, Hungary - Talk about a reversal of fortunes. Two brothers who are so poor they live in a cave on the outskirts of Budapest and get by selling scavenged junk are in line to receive a $6.6 billion inheritance from a long-lost grandmother, the U.K. Daily Telegraph reports. Zsolt and Geza Peladi have been informed that they are entitled to the fortune, along with a sister who lives in the United States, the newspaper reported Wednesday. “We knew our mother came from a wealthy family but she was a difficult person and severed ties with them, and then later abandoned us and we lost touch with her and our father until she eventually died,” Geza Peladi, 43, was quoted as saying by ATV television in Hungary. ...
By MSN Money staff and wire reports
October's unemployment rate
Saving the Last Wild Horses From Extinction
Dec. 2nd - The Przwalski horse came close to extinction in the 1970s, but thanks to research from the Smithsonian's Conservation and Research Center it's making a comeback. NBC's Wendy Jones reports. ...
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
