The Blog of Failed Relationships

Rare Allergy

2009-08-26T22:36:00.000-04:00

Here's an unusual allergy for you: Korean researchers documented a case of a woman who was allergic to her husband's semen. Yikes.

If I ran the world...

2009-08-25T20:25:00.000-04:00

If I ran the world, oatmeal raisin cookies would NEVER contain coconut. Ever. Ugh.

Today's headlines

2009-08-23T14:17:00.000-04:00

I was reading something in the Minneapolis Star Tribune and came across the following headlines: “Nun Study moves back to Minnesota” and “Manhattan Transfer in Town.” Don’t these sound kind of weird and awesome together?

Easter Eggs

2009-04-22T11:49:00.002-04:00

My local co-op has just started carrying these beautiful eggs laid by heritage chicken breeds. Aren't the colors gorgeous? The yolks are even more amazing-- the yolk might be bright yellow or gold or deep orange, depending on the kind of chicken that made it. I let my kid pick out which color eggs he wants to eat, then we crack each egg into a different ramekin and compare the colors of the yolks

What's next after Twitter?

2009-04-03T17:44:00.002-04:00

A few weeks ago, I wrote a piece for the Huffington Post about why I'm not on Facebook. At the moment, I'm also not on Twitter. The video below covers what's next after Twitter... so I've decided that Flutter is my next move. I'll definitely join Flutter.

The Wiki Breakup

2009-02-28T21:17:00.002-05:00

We all selectively edit the story of our breakups... and courtesy of Slate V, here's a genius video on what it would look like if both sides could edit the story of a breakup. Simultaneously.

Food Allergy Deaths: Less Common Than You Think

2008-12-17T13:18:00.003-05:00

I have a new piece on food allergies up on the Huffington Post today. Check it out:The number of deaths from food allergies, as collected from 2.5 million death certificates across the country, is miniscule. Only eleven people died from food allergies in 2005, the last year for which we have data available. More people died from lawnmower accidents.

Today in the NYT: The Interview Suit

2008-11-14T07:22:00.003-05:00

Today's Times has a fun article about the return of the Interview Suit. I enjoyed it because I was doing a writing exercise with my students the other day about emotions, and I was writing about being nervous. My nervous moment came at a job interview when I was 16, sitting in a corporate waiting room wearing my first suit. It was a horrible suit. My shoes were worse. The guy sitting across from

Election rewards

2008-11-04T23:42:00.000-05:00

My polling location is quite near the Reading Terminal Market, so I stopped in and visited the Flying Monkey Patisserie to buy an "I Voted Today" treat.Their other "election conversation cupcakes" read "McCain? Seriously?" and "Sarah Scares Me."Victory is sweet. Yum.

Palin Spending Spree

2008-10-23T15:12:00.003-04:00

Here's a photo of Sarah Palin in a supermarket in Alaska sometime in June 2008. I'm not surprised that the RNC spent $150,000 on new clothes for her... she needed it!Pink is not a power color, Governor. Sorry.

VP Debate

2008-10-02T22:37:00.002-04:00

We just watched the VP debate. The TV went on after our kid went to bed.Now that the debate is over, I'm watching Sarah Palin holding her baby onstage. Here's what I want to know: what is her baby doing up this late? What kind of parent takes a baby to a late-night crazy hectic activity with thousands of people?I seriously question Governor Palin's judgment about many issues, and I particularly

Blind athletes in Overbrook, PA

2008-09-23T20:04:00.003-04:00

Yowza!Blind athletes at Overbrook, Pa. (LOC)Originally uploaded by The Library of Congress

Stroke After Orgasm?

2008-09-16T12:16:00.006-04:00

Recently, a healthy 35-year-old woman in Illinois had an orgasm and then a stroke. Usually, the stroking comes first, but I hear they do things differently in the Midwest.From WebMD/CBS News: "Sex- and orgasm-triggered strokes in relatively young women and men are rare, but not unheard of. They require a combination of factors and events not unusual in themselves, but which are highly unlikely to

Innerspring Thing

2008-08-30T23:08:00.003-04:00

I went shopping for a mattress today. Why is this so difficult? And why must there be SO goddam many different kinds of mattresses and SO many different names for the same exact thing?I left the store without a new mattress. And now I have spent approximately 8,000 hours on the Internet trying to figure out how to figure out what I want.I'm pretty sure that my current relationship with my

Save the planet by having fewer kids, scientists suggest

2008-08-27T20:35:00.005-04:00

Rising populations are a huge strain on our warming planet. A British journal suggests that we can make a difference by having smaller families. Whaddya think?From the Chicago Tribune: "There are plenty of ways to cut your carbon footprint, whether it's driving less or buying an energy-efficient refrigerator. But the British Medical Journal, in an editorial last month, urged a more controversial

Tom Seaton, Philadelphia NL baseball, 1912

2008-08-24T12:48:00.001-04:00

[Tom Seaton, Philadelphia NL (baseball)] (LOC)Originally uploaded by The Library of CongressI have some dear friends named Seaton. I like to pretend that this guy is an ancestor of theirs.

World of Mirth

2008-08-21T20:41:00.001-04:00

Side show at the Vermont state fair, Rutland (LOC)Originally uploaded by The Library of CongressI'd love to live in a world of mirth. Or even a boxcar of mirth, as this seems to be.

Must Read: The Night of the Gun

2008-07-21T05:12:00.004-04:00

Today's NY Times has a stunning article about addiction, recovery, and parenting by David Carr, the paper's media columnist and culture reporter. It's lovely as a straight-up morality tale, but what I like most is the way he writes the piece while reflecting on the conventions of the junkie narrative.Me and My GirlsBy DAVID CARRPublished: July 20, 2008What if I told you I was a fat thug who beat

Waldorf School Cosmetics

2008-06-29T10:10:00.002-04:00

Rudolf Steiner, the founder of the Waldorf School educational philosophy, also authored a a deeply eccentric school of early 20th-century European philosophy known as anthroposophy. Anthroposophy, a "spiritual science," posits the existence of a spiritual world that can be accessed by the human intellect.Anthosophy also posits that growing plants in accordance with its philosophy will result in

Why stop crying?

2008-04-09T23:14:00.001-04:00

I came across this excellent example of first-person narrative on the Onion today, and I thought I'd share. I Can't Imagine Why Anybody Would Want To Stop CryingLife has so many wonderful experiences to offer. Like sleep. Or ingestion and evacuation. But I find life offers few opportunities more rewarding....onion_embed {background: rgb(256, 256, 256) !important;border: 4px solid rgb(65, 160, 65

More on the Food Allergies

2008-02-16T12:26:00.002-05:00

Hi, food allergy folk!You were kind enough to send lots of letters to me and to Harper's in response to my recent article about food allergies.Some of your letters are published in the new March issue of the magazine, as is a letter from me. Enjoy.

African American National Biography Project

2008-01-22T00:35:00.000-05:00

I'm thrilled that the African American National Biography, a new 8-volume set, is now in libraries and bookstores.I wrote a couple of biographical entries for the project, and I'm excited to check them out. The AANB presents history through a mosaic of the lives of thousands of individuals, illuminating the abiding influence of persons of African descent on the life of this nation from the

The Science of Morality

2008-01-12T12:18:00.000-05:00

This weekend's NY Times Magazine has a fascinating article about the science of morality by Harvard psychology prof Steven Pinker. Some excerpts:"The science of the moral sense also alerts us to ways in which our psychological makeup can get in the way of our arriving at the most defensible moral conclusions. The moral sense, we are learning, is as vulnerable to illusions as the other senses. It

Food Allergies in the Times

2008-01-10T20:09:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, the NY Times ran a story about AllergiKids called "Food Allergies Stir a Mother to Action." It's been on the Times' most-emailed list for the past two days. An excerpt:"Working largely from a laptop on her dining room table, [Robyn O'Brien] has looked deep into the perplexing world of childhood food allergies and seen a conspiracy that threatens the health of America’s children. And,

Even Bigger Food Allergy News

2008-01-08T15:30:00.001-05:00

The American Academy of Pediatrics has issued a new set of recommendations on food allergies. The full report will be published in the January issue of Pediatrics, the journal of the AAP.In short, pregnant women don't need to avoid peanuts. The report reads: "Although previous AAP publications have suggested that pregnant women avoid peanuts, a more recent study has reported that there is no