“Despite being a denizen of the digital world, or maybe because he knew too well its isolating potential, Jobs was a strong believer in face-to-face meetings.” That’s from Walter Isaacson’s biography of Steve Jobs. It’s a strange way to begin a post about notebooks, but Jobs’ views on the power of a potentially anachronistic practice applies to other seemingly anachronistic practices. I’m a believer in notebooks, though I’m hardly a luddite and use a computer too much.

The notebook has an immediate tactile advantage over phones: they aren’t connected to the Internet. It’s intimate in a way computers aren’t. A notebook has never interrupted me with a screen that says, “Wuz up?” Notebooks are easy to use without thinking. I know where I have everything I’ve written on-the-go over the last eight years: in the same stack. It’s easy to draw on paper. I don’t have to manage files…

In my life, I have been through a huge list of unfortunate things that have happened to me where people would be bully me emotionally and mentally, putting me to the curb when not needed anymore, people who have used me for material gain, people who only come to me if they need something from me,  the feeling of being isolated, and being an option to people and not a priority in their lives. I remember all those times and still comes back to haunt me to this day, but things have changed so much for me and for the better. Because of all the anguish and pain I had to endure personally, emotionally and mentally, now I have become a stronger person, I have a whole new pizazz on life, a whole new approach to trusting very few people, choosing my friends wisely, opening up my eyes more and…

Speed-dating events for skinny people exist — and journalist Rachel Rabbit White attended one undercover.

In April, White went to one of On Speed Dating’s “Skinny Minny” events, a function that the organization has sponsored at least twice. Those invited to participate include women size 8 or under — and men of every size. Even worse, women who take part in the event have to display their dress size on their name label. Very classy.

In the description of a Skinny Minny event held last May, On Speed Dating assured readers that women’s sizes would be policed: “Guys, no need to worry about meeting a biggie-size chick ‘down-sizing’ to an 8 like when you’re dating on-line. We’ll be checking labels at the door!”

Furthermore, in case would-be attendees were feeling any hint of guilt for specifying which sizes their dates should be, On Speed Dating claimed that everyone has dating…

Kate Fridkis

Blogger, Eat The Damn Cake

Everything has been good. I am six months pregnant and the crippling morning sickness I dealt with has faded to a faint, nightmarish memory. Things seem to be moving ahead in my career. I like my new, round body. But suddenly, in the midst of all this niceness, I began to feel dim, suppressed. The kind of feeling that sneaks up on you and you can’t trace it and it hangs around your neck for a while, staring up at you with glazed, bleary eyes until you have to excuse yourself to sit down and mope.

“What is going on?” said my husband, Bear, a little baffled, as I moped from one room to the next, turtling, tucking myself into my shell in the evenings and poking my head out only to watch some bad TV.

I started trying to explain. It might…

In life I am sure a lot of us have encountered people who always have a problem or an issue with how one individual gets things done, or how they think and feel, and there will always be people who will try to please everyone by always listening to everybody else, and not thinking about what that person really likes. For example, when someone or some people start planning a party, wedding, engagement party, special occasion gathering or just some simple gathering, and you start planning the venue, the colours, theme, music, food, decorations, and all that other stuff, and when it is time for people who are invited that come to the party and after doing your best to make sure people have a great time, there will be people who will always criticize you, and you hear it from other people who you should have done the decorations…

How do Generation Y women see the world? Slightly more optimistically than women of older generations, says a new report.

The study, commissioned by PR firm FleishmanHillard, explores men and women’s attitudes about brands, decision-making and work-life balance. Researchers conducted a three-part investigation, which included exploratory interviews with men and women, over 4,500 online surveys with participants in the U.S., France, Germany, China and Britain, and in-depth one-on-one interviews with women in the U.S. and globally.

The report offers some insights about Generation Y women, defined as those aged 21-34. Seventy percent of Gen Y women described themselves as “smart,” compared to just 54 percent of Gen Y men and 60 percent of older women. This suggests that women of the Millennial generation are feeling more empowered — or at least more willing to acknowledge their own intelligence — than generations past.

The Millennial women surveyed were also more likely…

Christine Quinn has some empowering and thoughtful advice for women.

The Speaker of the New York City Council, who is running for Mayor of New York City, sat down with Refinery 29‘s Leila Brillson to talk politics, New York and “leaning in.”

Quinn sounded off on the expectations society holds for working women, admitting that her work-life balance is “not that good,” and pushing back against the idea that women should strive to “have it all:”

I think “having it all” is a phrase I don’t particularly like. You need to have what you want. “All” seems to me to be an imposed list, an imposed definition by society of what “all” is supposed to be. As women, we should be able to decide what we want, how we want it, and [how we] get there. That means it won’t be perfect, there will be mistakes, but that’s fine…

Today  Ariana Huffington’s Huffingnton Post had a story about Kelly Ripa’s abs titled, “Kelly Ripa’s Abs Put Pretty Much Everyone Else’s To Shame“…

Umm, do we really care about Ripa’s “ripped” abs or should we care more that the woman looks fucking anorexic?

Shouldn’t we be more concerned for…

A) Kelly Ripa’s health and status as a role model

B) The mental health and marriages of all women

C) Marriage and divorce statistics based on cheating

D) The physical and mental  health of girl children

When will media — alternative or otherwise, stop the assault on women?

Not only does media coverage like this — along with myriad other examples, make many women feel their bodies are less-than desirable, the constant bombardment of unhealthy and or fake imagery we are faced with affects our lives in more ways than just a woman’s own self-image.

Men are convinced all women…