Photo courtesy of Hine Mizushima

Since I last updated this blog, I have bought my first house, left a great job, came back to an even better job, learned to roller skate, got involved with roller derby, broke my ankle, and started the process of (and still am) recovering from an ankle break. As you can see, I have found plenty to keep me busy. I would love to resurrect this blog again someday, but for now, I will be satisfied with being the one who introduced many of you to women peeing standing up, reusable menstrual products, the difference between octopus and squid, and more. Maybe I’ll impart you with useless knowledge again soon. Until then, enjoy the archives!

While I’m no longer a big SNL fan because it’s just never as good as the cast you watched when YOU were in high school (for everyone, I know – but I had greats that are hard to compete with like Will Ferrell, Cheri Oteri and Molly Shannon), I thought this opening sketch from last night was pretty funny. Mostly because I agree with fake Quincy Jones’ (aka Keenan!) need to raise awareness about the “We Are the World 2 Disaster”.

I especially loved Kristen Wiig’s pretty dead-on impression of Gwen Stefani!

Photo Courtesy of MomLogic.com

It’s probably not surprising at all that people still take issue with Thomas Beatie, a transgender man with female reproductive organs, getting pregnant again.

Some online publications announcing Beatie’s third pregnancy call him a “man” in quotes. Others are adamant about calling him “her”.

My favorite is one of the comments on Right Pundit’s pretty derogatory anouncement of Beatie’s pregnancy:

“Who cares? If Sarah Palin is allowed to reproduce then anyone can.”

Some people might think it’s a little much for a man to have one baby, let alone three. No doubt, Beatie is reproducing at record speeds (daughter Susan, born in June 2008, will be two this year, and his son, born in June 2009, will be one), but does it make sense? Of course.

Beatie has shown with the birth of this first child than he can successfully produce a beautiful, healthy baby through an uneventful pregancy. If he and his wife Nancy desire three (or more) children, why not have them as quickly as possible while Beatie is still off his normal hormone regimen? When Beatie and his wife are finished creating their happy family, he can resume his life as a socially acceptable (i.e. not pregnant) man and they will look and function just like any other normal family in Oregon.

Photo Courtesy of MomLogic.com

I wish Beatie and others who have followed in his example, like California’s Scott Moore (due any day now!), the best of luck with their pregnancies. Do I think their children and future children-to-be are lucky to have them as parents? Hell yes I do.

Valentine Courtesy of LaughingSquid.com

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Photo Courtesy of LaughingSquid.com

Be ready to bow down to the tentacles before you when giant squid take over.

Just a little clarification – what the media have been referring to as “giant squid” the last several months are not actually squid of the genus architeuthis, but Humboldt squid, an unusually large species of squid that can grow up to 7 feet long and weigh up to 100 pounds. A squid of formidable size, and certainly large, but maybe not giant.

Anyway, Humboldt squid are once again storming the shores of the pacific coast, and have been doing so for almost half a year now. A quick search of one of my favorite (revived?) blogs, Squid.us, confirms that this is not the first time this has happened!

The much feared squid, known as “red devils” among other nick names, are known for their carnivorous, predatory nature, which can be so vicious at times that they become cannibalistic.

The results are in: Cephaloblog readers like reusable menstrual products because they are comfortable and convenient.

First, thank you to everyone who entered – I love hearing why women are interested in reusable menstrual methods and the response always impresses me. I have randomly selected five winners and emailed them asking for their mailing addresses. If you entered but did not win, I hope you consider purchasing Greenblooded yourself (for a mere $2, why not?!) – and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Because you ladies ended up being so creative with your one-word answers (which I loved, really), I wasn’t able to offer a list of top 10 reasons, as planned. Instead, I broke down your answers into six basic categories: Comfort, Convenience, Cost, Empowerment, Environment, Health and then an additional Other category to cover answers that couldn’t quite be labeled.

Other answers included, “Adventurousness”, “Bullshit”, “Shalom” and “Understanding”.

As far as age range goes, 35 women from 14 to 33 entered this contest and gave one-word reasons for their interest in reusable methods. See results by age after the jump!

Women aged 14-19 were equally concerned about Comfort, the Environment and their Health.

Women aged 20-24 were most focused on Comfort, Convenience and Empowerment, with many answers landing in Other territory.

Women aged 25-29 were most interested in Convenience, with an equal focus on Health, Comfort and the Environment. Surprisingly, only one out of 35 women listed Cost as a reason for ditching the disposables.

Women aged 30-33 were most concerned with Comfort.

Thanks again to everyone who entered, including those whose answers I didn’t use in my very unscientific study (out of fairness to those who did follow the rules, I did not count answers that did not include their age or an age range, or those that were more than one word). As I said, I really enjoy reading women’s answers for why they want to or have switched, because I was once a woman on the fence between disposables and reusables myself, and it’s interesting to see how many of you share the same reasons I did when making that decision! So thanks a whole bloody lot for sharing!

I will be traveling next week, so there will be no post on Sunday the 31st. See you in February!

Image Courtesy of Cathy Leamy

Don’t forget! You only have until Saturday, January 23rd to enter to win a copy of Cathy Leamy’s awesome comic Greenblooded: An Introduction to Eco-Friendly Feminine Hygiene. All it takes is one word and your age to enter!

See official contest rules here. Contest is over! Winners will be selected 01/24/10.

Photo Courtesy of SingleEdition.com

So, Single Edition (tagline: “Where I Am One”) is this cute site that offers articles, advice, product suggestions, shopping tips and more for those who are romantically unattached. They “recognize that  life presents a unique set of challenges and opportunities for singles,” and they “offer a fresh perspective, some genuine advice and even some hands-on assistance that can help make the difference in your life.” I discovered them back in 2007 when I was interning for my heros, Em & Lo, at the Daily Bedpost as a senior in college, and signed up for their newsletter.

The articles in their newsletter are generally fluffy and meaningless, and rarely offer any truly helpful advice, however they are entertaining and quick reads, so I usually open up at least one or two of them when I get it in my inbox. This past week I was unpleasantly surprised to find the gem, “6 Things You Should Never Say to a Woman“, with the description:

“Women, they are everywhere. From our Mother’s [sic], and sisters and daughters to gal pals and love interests, there’s no escaping them. You may love them, can’t live without them, but ever feel like you are walking on eggshells around the leading ladies in your life?”

First, please note the high level of particular editing on Single Edition’s pieces. In fact, in writing this post, I happened to notice that their article about six things you should never say to a woman actually only includes five. High quality stuff, huh?

And then – okay, seriously? Are we really playing the card that men and woman are so different that you can’t speak to them in the same way? You can’t say the same things to them? Why not say they don’t deserve to be paid the same amount of money, while you’re at it?

Yikes.

I mean, to be honest, I don’t put a lot of stock in most of Single Edition’s articles – they once put out a piece about how to handle the “Thanksgiving Third Degree” and their suggested response to the potential question of, “Is there a special someone we should know about that you’re hiding back at home?” was, “Sorry, I am not gay.”

However, I just couldn’t resist commenting on how loaded this piece really was. First, only one of the “six things you shouldn’t say” is biologically specific to women (“You must be getting your period”). The rest, with the exception of one (“You look fine” – ???), are things that I think you shouldn’t say to anyone if you’re truly worried about offending them. From the mouth of a man or a woman, I don’t think any PERSON would appreciate the following things being said to them:

• You’re crazy
• Why do you have to be so dramatic?
• You analyze everything to death

And I discount completely “You look fine”, because that sounds like a compliment to me, or at least a reassurance, so I don’t know who that’s upsetting besides the author of this piece (who, by the way, seems to be a woman). Everyone, regardless of sex or gender, loves to receive a compliment, but “You look fine” is not a criticism, no matter who it’s spoken to.

Single Edition insists that “You’re crazy” sets women off because it suggests that they are “less intelligent, less rational and less well-grounded” than men. Really? Because I think that telling someone, “You’re crazy” means you are suggesting that they are less intelligent, less rational and less well-grounded than you. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a man saying it to a woman or a woman saying it to a man, no one likes hearing that someone thinks they’re insane, and it definitely inspires feelings of inferiority.

“Why do you have to be so dramatic?” and “You analyze everything to death” – guess what, everyone is guilty of both of these, depending on their personality, what’s going on in their lives at a certain point in time and how their trip in to work was that morning. Point being: don’t relegate only women to being over-analytical and dramatic. I will give kudos to Single Edition’s piece for pointing this out for the dramatic comment, but they still lose for implying that this is something that is okay to say to men but not to women because only we might take offense to it (instilling a further implication that we are, in fact, more dramatic?).

I am not defending the period comment, but I will say that I do hate when ANYONE thinks that just because I am expressing an opinion (sometimes loudly) that they can ask if or assume that I am menstruating.

In honor of this piece, I have come up with five equally sexist things you should never say to a man:

• Is that it?
• I’ve seen bigger
• Why don’t you cry about it?
• You’re so insensitive
• Are you drunk?

Hertz, donut?

Image Courtesy of WearBlueforOceans.org

It’s January 13th – are you wearing blue for oceans?

Image Courtesy of Cathy Leamy

Don’t feel like shelling out a mere $2 to score a totally cute, funny and informative comic on eco-friendly solutions for that time of the month? Then win one for free!!!

All you have to do is:

• Comment on this blog post with a one-word reason for why you’re interested in, considering switching to, or are already a user of reusable menstrual products
• Include your age* in your comment
• Include your email**

You have until Saturday, January 23rd to leave your comment on this post. I will then randomly select five valid entries (“valid” in that they include all three of the things mentioned above), contact the winners by email for their shipping addresses, and have a copy of the comic Greenblooded: An Introduction to Eco-Friendly Feminine Hygiene by Cathy Leamy sent to you! (If you win!)

On Sunday, January 24th I’ll post the top ten reasons given by age range, so we can see why women of all ages support reusable options during their periods.

To learn more about Greenblooded, see my review on the comic in last week’s post!

See an example of a valid entry after the jump.

* If you are uncomfortable providing your age, feel free to remain anonymous and not post your name. Your name is not required to enter this contest, although the field is to submit a comment, so simply enter “Anonymous” or “N/A” if you choose not to provide your name.

** Your email address will not be visible to anyone but me, will never be shared, and will only be used to contact you for your shipping address in the event that you win.

Contest ends 01/23/10 at 11:59 PM. is over! Winners will be selected 01/24/10.