The Kindness of Random Acts
Filed Under All Posts, Group Posts, Prudence Baird, Rants | 5 Comments
Someone once warned me, “Don’t be grateful for what you don’t have. Be grateful for what you do have.”
Here’s my response based on 50+ years of living: “Nonsense.”
I’m very grateful for what I don’t have and I don’t think for a second that this attitude devalues my overwhelming appreciation for what I do have.
Clearly, I’m thankful for the good stuff in my life—health, family, friends, Obama’s election, yada, yada, yada.
But not to acknowledge and be grateful for the near-misses would shortchange what I know to be true: that life is more like the board game Chutes and Ladders than it is like Monopoly. You have far less control than you think. All the strategizing, all the investing—whether in Park Place and Boardwalk, or in vitamins and mutual funds—don’t amount to a hill of beans if you roll snake’s eyes. Read more
Breast Cancer: My Big Pink Protest
Filed Under All Posts, Cathy Fischer, Health, Rants | 15 Comments
Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock for the past couple of weeks, you probably are well aware that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Every three minutes a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer. With one out of every eight women in America diagnosed with the disease, either you or at least one friend or relative you know has had it. I became “aware” of my breast cancer on May 23, this year. It was the day my life changed.
Most of my friends and family know, but I haven’t wanted to blog about it. I really don’t want to be the poster child. When my friend Ilana sent an email with the subject line that said, “Free Yoga Classes for Cancer Survivors,” I thought, why is she sending that to me? Oh yeah, right. Read more
Re-ignited and it Feels so Good
Filed Under All Posts, Connie Stetson, Politics, Rants | 6 Comments
“A man has to be Joe McCarthy to be called ruthless.
All a woman has to do is put you on hold.” —Marlo Thomas
Hilarious. I’m laughing so hard I think I’m gonna puke.
A friend recently commented to me that my renewed, reborn feminism was making me seem hard and angry and edgy, that in my speaking passionately—without compromise—I just wasn’t coming across as soft. This friend is a woman. She thinks I need to get laid. Of course I need to get laid. Who doesn’t? Read more
Letter From a Pit Bull
Filed Under All Posts, Carine Fabius, Politics, Rants | 7 Comments
Dear Sarah Palin,
You said the only difference between a hockey mom (you) and a pit bull (me) is lipstick. I take issue with this characterization.
Pit bulls are fiercely loyal to the hand that feeds them. The government of the United States feeds you plenty, but in a couple of speeches you cheered on the Alaska Independence Party, whose goal is to secede from the U.S., and whose leader professed his “hatred for the American government” and said, “I won’t be buried under their damn flag.” You even invited the party to this year’s convention. And, your husband was a registered member of the party. You are no loyal American. And you are no pit bull. Read more
Too Much (Trivial) Information
Filed Under All Posts, Media, Pop Culture, Prudence Baird, Rants | 8 Comments
“Valerie has lost 43 lbs!” screams the 36-point magenta headline.
Raise your hand if you’re sick of knowing anything about some has-been rock star’s equally has-been ex-wife, who is baring her teeth at you from a magazine that assaults the senses of all who stand in line to buy their groceries at the local supermarket.
Raise your hand if you’re sick of Rachel Ray’s gummy smile. Raise your hand if you’re made nauseous by Dr. Phil’s pallid, paunchy face and bald pate. Raise your hand if you abhor Britney Spear’s pierced belly button, Mary-Kate and Ashley’s ghoulish eye make-up and any news of anyone’s rehab treatment, weight-loss or failed relationship, no matter how famous or infamous that person might be. Read more
Why Pet Boutiques Get My Goat
Filed Under All Posts, Cathy Fischer, Humor, Rants, Style | 9 Comments
Coach cashmere sweater, $148
I love my 14-year old cat Cleo. She’s the sweetest, softest, most sensitive little creature on the planet. She demands little except for the basics: food, affection and having her bottom smacked firmly and often. I can understand how people become pet-obsessed—especially when they don’t have kids. But really, Coach collars and Gucci leashes? Quilted handmade booties? I just don’t get it!
From L.A. to New York, Chicago to Austin, beautifully appointed pet boutiques are popping up in the most fashionable parts of town. We’re talking a $30 billion dollar annual industry here, with a projected growth rate of 5 percent—all this while food shortages are occurring around the globe. Not to mention people going hungry right here in the U.S.! Hullo? Is anyone home? Read more
