Archives › 2006 › March
Weekly Political Roundup
This week’s big story was that the Massachusetts’ Supreme Judicial Court upheld the 1913 law forbidding non-residents to marry in Massachusetts if their home states do not permit them to marry. The law was originally intended to prohibit interracial marriages. Governor Mitt Romney applauded the ruling, saying “We don’t want Massachusetts to become the Las [...]
Herstory Resources
It’s almost the end of Women’s History Month, so I thought I’d post a couple of links to sites of lesbian history resources. (Herstory, history . . . I used the former in the title for this post, since that seems to be the commonly accepted way of refering to the lesbian past, though I [...]
Breast Feeding: Two Opinions
Discussing breast feeding can be as risky an activity as wearing a Red Sox cap in Manhattan or using a Powerbook in Redmond. Pediatrician Sydney Spiesel puts on his flak jacket and gives it a try in this week’s Slate. He has, in fact, one of the more sensible opinions I’ve read. While I don’t [...]
Homemade Play Dough
Technology site MAKE remembers the kiddies with links to a couple of homemade play dough recipes today. I haven’t tested these particular versions myself, but they sound similar to a recipe my mom used to make for me when I was younger. (Hasbro, makers of the “real” Play-Doh, even admit their secret formula contains mostly [...]
Toddler Diet Linked to Breast Cancer Risk
Does frequent consumption of french fries as a toddler increase the risk of breast cancer, and whole milk reduce it? Those are the preliminary findings of a group of researchers led by a doctor at Harvard Medical School. While they warn that their results should be confirmed by other studies before being hailed as fact, [...]
Education in America: Subjects Left Behind
The New York Times today discusses how “thousands” of schools across the country are reducing class time in subjects other than reading and math, as a reaction to the reading and math testing requirements of the “No Child Left Behind” law. (Registration required for NY Times site.) In some cases, schools have completely eliminated other [...]
Teen Brains Still Under Construction
Recent brain research has found that teenagers’ brains undergo an “extensive renovation” from a burst of growth in brain synapses, a process that may last until the mid-20s. Scientists involved in the research say this may help explain emotional swings and why teens are more likely than those of other ages to crash a car, [...]
LGBT Credit Cards Everywhere
Bank of America announced this week that it is partnering with Olivia Travel to launch a credit card aimed at the lesbian community. The card, a WorldPoints Platinum Plus Visa, lets cardholders earn points towards travel and merchandise, including Olivia travel. While Olivia claims that this is the first card marketed specifically to lesbians, I’d [...]
Weekly Political Roundup
In New Hampshire, the House voted 207-125 against amending the state constitution to prohibit same-sex marriage. In Ohio, the Cincinnati City Council voted to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity and expression in employment, housing and public accommodations. The governor of Utah, Jon Huntsman Jr., has vetoed an anti-gay bill that would [...]
Mauresmo Is Number One
Amélie Mauresmo took over the number one spot on the WTA tour Monday, the second time she’s held that position. This time, she says she feels more confident she’ll hold the ranking at least till the end of the year. (Note to U. S. media: The HTML code for an “e” with an acute accent [...]
Breast Cancer Genetic Testing in U. S. May Be Inadequate
A new study claims genetic tests available in the U. S. for detecting high risk of breast cancer may miss some mutations that indicate the disease. An additional test, available in Europe, but not the U. S., can detect gene changes the U. S. test can’t. The researchers say there are a lack of clinical [...]
Most Important Tools
Forbes recently published a list of “The 20 Most Important Tools Ever.” I always find these sorts of lists interesting, even though I often (as in this case) disagree with many of the choices. (I view knifes and swords as variants of the same thing, not deserving two separate entries, for example.) Not making the [...]
Children Can Learn Words as Early as 10 Months
Scientists at Temple University have shown experimentally for the first time that children as young as ten months can associate a word with an object, even though it has to be an object in which they have previously shown an interest. Older children can associate words with both objects that interest them and those that [...]
Oh Oxo!
The LA Times had a nice story about Oxo tools a couple of weeks ago. (Thanks to FOOD Blog for the sighting.) I’ve been a big Oxo fan for years, and was glad to see the coverage. (I’d own all of their products if we weren’t a lesbian family with one stay-at-home-mom, paying federal taxes [...]
The Lesbian- and Gay-Family Threat
Mamazine points out a great column by San Francisco Chronicle columnist Jon Carroll, on the American Family Association’s [sic] boycott of Ford for “[supporting] a social agenda aimed at the destruction of the family.” Carroll says, in part: The gay and lesbian parents I know are too busy to have an agenda, unless the agenda [...]
Kids and Gardening
It’s the first day of spring, and despite the lingering cold here in the northeast, I find my thoughts turning to branches and blooms. I’m looking forward to starting a garden with our son soon, bringing to life some of the ideas he’s read about in Planting a Rainbow and Growing Vegetable Soup. For those [...]
Weekly Political Roundup
The big news this week was the decision by Catholic Charities of Boston to shut down its adoption services instead of adhering to state laws requiring them to consider same-sex couples as prospective parents. The Massachusetts Department of Social Services gave Catholic Charities approximately $1 million in reimbursements for its adoption-related work in fiscal year [...]
Village Heroes
Is it just me, or do the Fisher Price “Rescue Heroes” remind anyone else of the Village People? Every time I see them in a toy store, I keep wanting to line them up in “YMCA” poses. According to Fisher-Price, sometime before age four my son is supposed to graduate from toys like the Little [...]
Books About Music
My son loves music, and he loves books. I’m always excited, therefore, when I can find books about music for the pre-school age group. A modern (1995) classic, Caldecott winner Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin, by Lloyd Moss is a gem. One by one, the book introduces various instruments, as each lends its sound to [...]
Financing Adoption
Karen at Blogging Baby has pointed out an article on financing adoption, courtesy of Adoptive Families magazine. It’s a long list of ideas, from people who’ve actually used them: pinching pennies, refinancing one’s home, taking a loan from one’s 401k, and even selling items on eBay. If you’re looking to adopt (or need to pay [...]
“Wild” Nature Activities Help Kids Care More About the Environment as Adults
Researchers at Cornell University have concluded a study that examined the experiences children have with nature and their attitudes toward environmentalism as adults. They found that kids who participate in “wild” nature activities such as “camping, playing in the woods, hiking, walking, fishing and hunting” before age eleven are more likely to care about the [...]
Raising Boys without Men
A few weeks ago, a publicist for Peggy Drexler’s new book, Raising Boys Without Men: How Maverick Moms Are Creating the Next Generation of Exceptional Men, contacted me and asked if I’d review it on Mombian. The book, a study of lesbian moms and single moms raising sons, seemed relevant, so I agreed. (Long post [...]
Track Children’s Medicine Doses
Here’s a trick my partner and I use when our son has a cold: We put a pad and pen in the bathroom, near the medicine drawer, and every time one of us gives him any medicine, we write down the dosage and time. This minimizes the risk of double doses. It’s especially useful when [...]
Weekly Political Roundup
The big LGBT political story this week was the Supreme Court decision that said a college cannot refuse access to military recruiters by claiming the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy conflicts with the school’s antidiscrimination rules. Enough’s been said about the inherent unfairness of DADT that I won’t belabor the point here, except to [...]
Loving Families Boost Children’s Intelligence
A five-year study on children in a Romanian orphanage, and the changes they experience when transferred to foster care, concludes that lack of a loving family can lead to stunted growth, substantially lower IQs and more behavioural and psychological problems than children who experienced better care. (Thanks to Blogging Baby for the sighting.) Studies from [...]
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