http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com Shout It | Daily Debate | PowderRoomGraffiti.com en-us PowderRoomGraffiti.com Wed, 08 Sep 2010 06:31:45 +0000 60 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/focus-on-jobs.html OK summer is over for the U.S. (and for most of the Northern
Hemisphere) and I am no longer distracted by the laziness of weekends in the
sun, at the beach or otherwise enjoying the great outdoors. No, I am back to
reality and I have to say - I am tired of this damn recession.
]]> Wed, 08 Sep 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/sunday-night-blues.html Well yesterday was the unofficial end of
summer in the U.S. For those of you not from lsquo;round these parts,' the period
between Memorial Day (last Monday in May) and Labor Day (first Monday in
September) is that time when most everyone takes things a little bit slower.
Vacations abound, 3-day weekends are the preference and there is something
about warmth and sunshine that just makes people seem a little happier and more
patient with each other.
]]> Tue, 07 Sep 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/who-killed-kevin-morrissey.html Late last month, Kevin Morrissey, aged 52, fatally shot
himself near his offices at the Virginia Quarterly Review (lsquo;VQR'),
an esteemed literary journal published by the University of Virginia (lsquo;UVa').
Authorities have since begun an investigation into Morrissey's suicide
following claims that workplace bullying contributed to his death.
Read More]]> Mon, 06 Sep 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/the-guy-spot-locating-the-cheese.html
Dear Regular Guy,


Is it true that men are genetically incapable of
finding the cheese (for example) in a small, brightly lit space - aka
the fridge Or, is it more correct to think that they open the door, see a
lot of items and think, 'I can't be arsed to look through all of this. Darling,
where is the cheese'


P.S. - I've noticed this doesn't apply when men need to find
beer.


Thanks,


Mel

]]> Fri, 03 Sep 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/come-on-cough-up.html I've seen lots of lawyer ads on TV recently to
help people lsquo;alleviate' debt, either through personal bankruptcy or
negotiations with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). WTF I get that people
fall on hard times, and may need to take measures to get their finances under
control, but these ads are making their clients look like they've won
the Lottery, and I don't find it funny.
Read More]]> Thu, 02 Sep 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/smokers-need-not-apply.html Health care costs are on the rise, and there are certain employers
around the country who've decided that if you're a smoker, don't even bother
filling out a job application.
]]> Wed, 01 Sep 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/what-is-responsible-parenting.html Thirteen year old Peter Lenz died this weekend. He was doing
what his dad described as lsquo;what he loved.' Peter was racing motorcycles
around
the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the venue for the very famous auto race
The Indianapolis
500. Peter, you see, was a world champion motorcycle racer in his age
class.
But this weekend, things lined up badly for Peter. The track was slicker
than
normal due to the hot weather. When he initially crashed during a warm
up lap,
he appeared to be ok but as he waved his hands and started to stand to
make
himself more visible to other riders, another boy accidentally struck
him and
caused the injuries that resulted in his death.
Read More]]> Tue, 31 Aug 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/thanks-for-the-eating-disorder.html Being thin is more important than being healthy. But you
knew that already. Elizabeth Hurley, who reportedly went into seclusion eating nothing but oatcakes until she lost her baby weight, is the latest in a series of celebrities to dish out sure-to-fail dieting advice to all us civilians.
Read More]]> Mon, 30 Aug 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/the-guy-spot-pruning-the-lady-garden.html
Dear Regular Guy,


My lady
garden maintenance hasn't changed much over the years. But all of this
talk of
Brazilians, landing strips and the Hitler Moustache has me wondering -
is this
something men really care about


Mary

]]> Fri, 27 Aug 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/is-topless-sunbathing-a-cultural-or-moral-issue.html I was thinking about taking a break to
Mexico later this year, so I've been doing some research on Trip Advisor and
other sites to make sure that the accommodation we are selecting is up to our
very discerning standards - i.e. cheap, clean and the booze and food is included
in the price. Some of the comments I came across about several of the hotels
surprised me. Some people, mostly Americans like me, were complaining about the
bare-breasted lsquo;European' women who sit poolside, as if warning parents not to
bring their kids to this soft-core porno set.
]]> Thu, 26 Aug 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/mama-and-paparazzi.html I opened my online paper the other morning to see photos of
Romeo, Brooklyn and Cruz Beckham annoying Posh Spice. The photos showed the
boys monkeying about without seatbelts in their car and Posh's face contorted in
that lsquo;would you all bloody behave or so help me...' face that all parents wear on
a weekly basis. What was the purpose to me seeing these photos Was it to show
Posh is just another harassed mum like us
]]> Wed, 25 Aug 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/the-n-word.html Here we go again America. Another crazy
cracker spewing the lsquo;N-word' and setting off a debate as to whether or not the
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) should ban it from the public airwaves.
]]> Tue, 24 Aug 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/having-unprotected-sex-with-hiv.html
A member of
German girl band No Angels is facing imprisonment in Germany because she knowingly infected a man
with HIV.


It's mortifying
to think a human being is capable of ruining and possibly prematurely ending a
life in such an intimate way, so it looks like the punishment is justified. One
man is known to have been infected with HIV, while two of her other partners
have not, but the charges are grievous bodily harm and attempted bodily harm.

Read More]]> Mon, 23 Aug 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/vodka-with-a-twist-of-knickers.html While skimming Google news this week, I came across a
headline that almost sounded like a joke upon first read: lsquo;Van Gogh Vodka Gets
Women's Knickers in a Twist.' Apparently, Van Gogh Vodka, which I had not previously heard of, has launched a
new ad campaign directed at the lsquo;post-Sex amp; the City' women who go out for
Ladies' Night with their girlfriends and drink Cosmos and other vodka-based
cocktails.
Read More]]> Fri, 20 Aug 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/southwest-baby-snatch.html I don't know what is up with Southwest
Airlines, but they always seem to be in the middle of some passenger-related
controversy. The most recent is a little more bizarre than the Hooters' girl
who was too hot,
Kevin Smith being too fat,
and some woman being too
thin. This one involves snatching a baby out of a mother's arms and the
police meeting the plane when it landed in Albuquerque, NM.
Read More]]> Thu, 19 Aug 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/bringing-home-the-bacon-2.html Well ladies, here is the good news - over
the last several decades we have put many a crack in the glass ceiling. We are
more independent than ever, tackling the working world, mutli-tasking as executive,
wife, mother and daughter. Reminds me of that old lsquo;Enjoli' commercial from
the 80's. lsquo;I can bring home the bacon and fry it up in a pan. And never, ever
let you forget you're a man...'
Read More]]> Wed, 18 Aug 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/festival-fever.html While I'm
not usually one to eavesdrop it would be pretty difficult not to overhear the
current conversation which is top of the pops for Edinburgh residents. For once
the weather's ears needn't be burning: August's moan is that tourists have
taken over the city to soak up not (only) the rain, but the Edinburgh Festival.
]]> Tue, 17 Aug 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/vattoos.html First came vajazzling or decorative ornaments for your
coochy. Then we got the vagacial with one spa in San Francisco (it had
to be
California, right) charging $60 to clean up your naughty bits, exfoliate
it,
apply some anti-acne and freckle cream and then a lightening lotion.
Lightening
lotion for your vagina Um, ok. And if that wasn't enough, now we have
vattoos
for the princely sum of $115. OK, to be clear there aren't any buzzing
needles
endlessly poking your privates, but rather they are hand painted on,
temporary
and are applied above your actual chacha.
]]> Mon, 16 Aug 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/its-not-an-affliction-you-know.html Angelina
Jolie, Julia Roberts, Nicole Kidman, Goldie Hawn, Mya Greene...we girls have a
lot in common. All women, all mothers, all successful Hollywood actresses...
]]> Fri, 13 Aug 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/ground-zero-mosque-in-nyc.html
This one's going to be short as there isn't too much
information necessary before I pose the question: What do you think


On September 11, 2001 a bunch of asshole terrorists crashed 2 planes
into the World Trade Center in Manhattan. Thousands of people were
killed, the
City was changed forever and the US has been engaged in a 'war on
terror' ever
since.

]]> Thu, 12 Aug 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/hiv-50-not-me.html In the August 2010 edition of the journal lsquo;HIV Medicine,' a study was
published citing that 12.9 of newly reported cases of HIV in Western Europe
are being diagnosed in people 50 years of age and older. According to the
Journal of Sexually Transmitted Infections, a study was performed on aging
swingers with an average age of 43, and found that this population was at a
high risk for receiving and then potentially transmitting STI's into the
mainstream population. Their risk factors were right up there with the
heterosexual youth and the gay male population.
]]> Wed, 11 Aug 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/cosmos-rules-of-non-verbal-communication.html In September's Cosmopolitan there is an article on
non-verbal communication. It is titled, aptly enough, lsquo;Touches That Tell
Him
Everything,' and it lists a total 7 moves that will communicate your
feelings
to your man (remember, these are Cosmo's rules not mine and apparently
lesbians
are shit out of luck on this one) more than your words ever could. Well,
I read
it and I would like to revisit them with you, for your edification of
course,
and propose a few alternatives:
]]> Tue, 10 Aug 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/you-go-mama.html lsquo;You go mama. I always thought that lsquo;we moms' could do a
great if not better job of picking mates for our kids.'
]]> Mon, 09 Aug 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/why-are-children-on-the-pill.html I read recently
that children as young as 11 are taking the contraceptive pill in the UK. The
statistics in last week's Sunday Times stated that more than 1000 girls aged
11-12 are on the pill, a fivefold increase in the past decade. A further
200 girls aged between 11-13 have long-term injectable contraceptive devices.
]]> Fri, 06 Aug 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/motherdaughter.html Like most teens I had a terrible time getting along with my
parents - my mother in particular. We saw the world differently. I saw it as
something fun; something to be explored; something that created adventure. I
saw it as a place where, if I was smart, hard-working and diligent, I could be
successful.
]]> Thu, 05 Aug 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/despicable-me.html
'I think there
should be a worldwide law, in my opinion, that mothers should breastfeed their
babies for six months.'


I know the breast versus bottle debate gets heated once in a while, and some
mothers probably secretly agree, but to actually say this in the media



Read More]]> Wed, 04 Aug 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/an-unusual-wedding-present.html
Did you see this open letter by Andrew Cohen, legal analyst at the online newspaper lsquo;Politics Daily'


Cohen wrote the column in honor of his ex-girlfriend,
on the day she was marrying another man. He describes the letter as the lsquo;the
present I send her' on her wedding day. In his introduction, he tells Internet
readers the world over that he lsquo;showered her with as much love as I could
muster' and then he goes on to tell her, and all of us, what was just so
special about this woman.

Read More]]> Tue, 03 Aug 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/ole-to-banning-bullfighting.html The recent ban on bullfighting in
Catalonia was based on animal welfare grounds. However, those against
the ban state that the reasons are actually political. They believe that the
ban on bullfighting is simply a means for Catalonia to show Spain how different
it is, and how one day they may actually acquire full independence from Spain.
]]> Mon, 02 Aug 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/little-pink-pill.html There has been a fair bit of talk in the
last few weeks about peri-menopausal and menopausal women, their libido
and the
drug Flibanserin, aka the little lsquo;pink pill.' It seems the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) in the US has some concerns about whether or not
the pill
works to increase the female libido and whether the side effects, which
include fainting, depression, fatigue and sedation (who doesn't have
several
of those things happen to them now anyway) outweigh the benefits it
provides.
Read More]]> Fri, 30 Jul 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/obamas-race-to-the-top-education-initiative.html
On the face
of it, Obama's lsquo;Race
to
the Top' education initiative looks great. As the government web
site
states,


lsquo;Awards...will
go to States that are leading the way with ambitious yet achievable
plans for
implementing coherent, compelling, and comprehensive education reform.
.....winners
will help trail-blaze effective reforms and provide examples for States
and
local school districts throughout the country to follow as they too are
hard at
work on reforms that can transform our schools for decades to come.'

Read More]]> Thu, 29 Jul 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/fat-versus-skinny-in-the-skies.html The Sacramento
Bee ran a story earlier this month about a
woman who was removed from a Southwest Airlines flight going from Las
Vegas to
Sacramento. The woman, who is a frequent business flyer, had agreed to
pay full
fare in order to be able to go standby on the flight and she was given
the last
seat. As soon as she stowed her bag and settled in a flight attendant
told her
that she would actually have to give the seat back and wait for the next
flight.
When she asked why, the flight attendant explained that a passenger who
had
just arrived and was not flying standby was obese and required 2 seats.
When
the woman complained that she had paid a higher fare just to get on the
flight,
the Southwest employee got rude... Read More]]> Wed, 28 Jul 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/family-dysfunction.html
There are two kinds of families in the world. And the types
are not functional and dysfunctional - as all families suffer from some
level of
dysfunction.


Rather, the two types of families are, 1) the loud, screamy,
confrontational kind, and 2) the quiet, stiff upper lip, stoic kind.
They both
have their pluses and minuses. Like, if you are out in public with the
first
kind it can be a bit embarrassing but they usually make great house
party
people. And the second sort are wonderful company to a museum or a play
but
theyrsquo;re not exactly the crew that you want to go see the Rolling Stones
with
(if you did that sort of thing).

]]> Tue, 27 Jul 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/gossip-girls.html People are funny. I think most of us who participate
in online communities, write blogs, keep up with technology, stay
generally
informed, have opinions, etc., think of ourselves as well rounded women
(or
maybe that is just me).
]]> Mon, 26 Jul 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/television-the-new-enabler.html
So Lindsay Lohan's spending a few weeks in
the slammer. Judging by the ongoing media frenzy, this could be the
boost her
career desperately needs.


Who can forget the paparazzi event that
Paris
Hilton's incarceration became in July 2007 After attending the MTV
Movie Awards Hilton was whisked off to the Century Regional Detention
Center in
LA, presumably changing into the required orange jumpsuit on the way.

Read More]]> Fri, 23 Jul 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/peer-pressure-calorie-fest.html What is with the skinny peer pressure OK, let me clarify.
What is with skinny people putting peer pressure on other people to eat
things
that are totally unhealthy or fattening Let me set the scene. I was
having
dinner with a friend the other night. A friend who couldn't gain a pound
if she
tied dumbbells to her waist. When discussing where to eat, I suggested
this
place that, albeit a bit boring, serves a really nice wild salmon that I
just
love. I could hear my friend's eyes roll as she texted me back - quot;How
about
Mexicanquot; Ugh - fat city. I, of course, agreed.
]]> Thu, 22 Jul 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/chipmunk-appreciation-society.html
Have I finally reached that age The age
when the music of younger people, is incredibly annoying


In my youth I heard my parents and their
peers complain about the music young folk listen to. Now I find myself
doing
the very same thing. This age-related complaint has been activated by
the
teenagers that listen to Dance music, overlaid with singing chipmunks.

]]> Wed, 21 Jul 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/the-digital-drug.html More strange news from Oklahoma. A news report on lsquo;iDosing,' the
supposed rise of digital drugs,
has been kicking around the internet this week with headlines that read,
somewhat ridiculously, 'iDosing
and digital drugs - can your kids really get high without
narcotics' Apparently, kids in OK are becoming regular digital drug users, or
lsquo;iDosers.'
Many have been caught by their parents in dark rooms, listening to their
iPods,
getting 'high' or so it would seem.
Read More]]> Tue, 20 Jul 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/safe-tanning-my-foot.html
Last
week in the UK, a young girl returned from holidaying in Portugal
sporting
horrific
blisters on her chest and arms, described in the media as an
lsquo;allergic
reaction.'


Phoebe Richards admitted to sun-bathing for about five
hours
per day in temperatures of 100f/38c.

Read More]]> Mon, 19 Jul 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/the-upside-of-the-mel-gibson-abuse-tapes.html Have you listened to the Mel Gibson tapes that have come out
over the course of the past week I warn you now, that if you do, it may
make
you sick. It literally turned my stomach over as I listened to them. I
am the
product of a tumultuous youth and one failed marriage and before I heard
these
tapes, I would have even said a slightly abusive marriage. Verbally
abusive.
Psychologically abusive. And, sometimes, I can admit in retrospect, that
it
went both ways and that I was not always a prize.
]]> Fri, 16 Jul 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/which-is-the-weaker-sex.html
Is there a weaker sex


I know men like to think that we are because we can't
perform the same feats of strength that a typical man can. Lift weights,
move
furniture, etc. Sure we can help, and plenty of us are plenty strong
when it
comes to muscles, but as a gender, they sort of have us beat that way.
But
then, we have that child-bearing thing that gives our gender a distinct
advantage with our ability to withstand pretty severe hardship and
trauma to
our bodies over an extended period of time and then deliver a large,
watermelon-sized human through our otherwise dainty vajayjay and be back
on our
feet (a small episiotomy in tow) within a couple of days. If you ask me,
that
is not weak.

]]> Thu, 15 Jul 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/this-postman-shouldnt-even-ring-once.html OK, this was freaky. So, we're walking through our very
quiet, suburban neighborhood this past Saturday and we ran into our old
mailman. I say our old mailman because he delivered our mail for 10
years and
then the post office changed up his assignment so that our street was no
longer
on his route. Whenever we saw Mike the Mailman, we would stop and chat.
We had
things in common. Even though he's about 20 years older than us, he
started a
second family and has the cutest twins. He's an avid skier and an
amazingly funny
storyteller. I have no idea how he actually delivers the mail each day
because
he spends so much time chatting with everyone he sees.
]]> Wed, 14 Jul 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/look-ma-no-help.html lsquo;Vanity
Fair' is leading with a long piece about Angelina Jolie this month. There's a lot of chat about the ever-expanding brood and a curious line
from
the writer - lsquo;Jolie and Pitt, who are
helped, of course, but no one knows just how much - in this world, the
struts
and supports, the nannies and maids, remain hidden....'
]]> Tue, 13 Jul 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/ugh-naked-old-people.html
Is there
a need I mean really, was it soooo bad


I'm referring of course
to back in the
day when we were teenagers in the playground, naively exchanging the
pearls of
wisdom and snippets of knowledge that we gleaned from our peers, parents
and
books - and our own experiences of course. We had no internet search
engines at
our fingertips, and as a generation we certainly hadn't been forced to
embrace
the open attitudes to sex which have been taken to an entirely new
dimension by
the U.K's Channel 4 show 'Sex
Education: Am I
normal'


Read More]]> Mon, 12 Jul 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/iran-the-fashion-mecca.html Iran did something this week to advance culture and civility
in the 21st century and they should be recognized. I mean
hell, we
are so quick to pounce on them when they ignore international laws and
treaties
or call for the obliteration of entire nations that I feel we should be
equally
eager to give them their due when they do something that is good for
everyone.
]]> Fri, 09 Jul 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/its-dog-eat-dog-for-animal-abusers.html We have something in the US called the lsquo;Sex Offenders
Registry' or some derivative of that, depending on which state you live
in. The
point of the registry is to create a database of all convicted and
released sex
offenders, including where they live, so that the community is aware
that there
is a sex offender among them and can take the appropriate precautions.
I, of
course, would be willing to sign a referendum changing the name of it to
lsquo;The
Names and Addresses of the Lowlife Scumbag Cretins who are a Threat to
You and
Your Children Registry,' but I totally understand that this name is a
bit
wordy.
]]> Thu, 08 Jul 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/financial-independence-day.html I was at a party this weekend to celebrate
Independence Day in the US. There was an eclectic crowd of couples,
older folk
and some children. The food was good, there was plenty to drink and the
conversations were far ranging. At one point a group of us found
ourselves
sitting around a table. Some of us were moms, some of us childless and a
couple
were grandmothers.
]]> Wed, 07 Jul 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/madonna-and-child.html Like many
celebrities who have TV to thank for their rise to fame, riches and
glory,
Madonna is known to have banned TV in her house since eldest child
Lourdes was
sprung from her loins. Not for her brood the pedestrian comforts of the
lowly
masses; Madonna's children presumably while away their time in more
cerebral or
artistic pursuits - like business management and fashion
blogging at the tender
age of 13.
Read More]]> Tue, 06 Jul 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/evolution-of-the-tupperware-party.html It doesn't seem so long ago that my mom
would venture out on a Saturday night to a relative's house and come back armed
with containers and lids of varying sizes in matching retro 70s colors. That was
my first experience with a lsquo;home party' and boy has that concept taken off in
recent years.
]]> Mon, 05 Jul 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/fresh-cajones.html Have
you ever had that lsquo;not so fresh' feeling down there Have you ever
noticed it
coincides with episodes of extreme gutlessness Did you even consider
that the
two might somehow be related Neither did I, until the other day when I
came across
an ad for Summer's Eve Feminine Cleansing Cloths in a parenting
magazine.
]]> Fri, 02 Jul 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/half-years-resolutions.html In honor of July 1st, that
half-way marker through the year, I would like to share with you my Top
10
Resolutions for the 2nd half of 2010.
Read More]]> Thu, 01 Jul 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/its-never-too-late-to-start.html Do you know someone who thinks that they
are too far gone to get healthy A friend or family member who has spent
too
many years not taking care of themselves - eating, drinking and maybe
smoking
their way into bad health
]]> Wed, 30 Jun 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/at-least-im-carrying-my-baggage.html There are a couple of absolutes in life.
The sun'll come out tomorrow. Death and taxes are for certain. Boobs,
ass and
arms sag as you get older. Another one is that people who come out of
broken
relationships have a lot of baggage. I am one of those people and I
certainly
carry some divorce baggage. But, I dare say that men who have never been
married carry a lot of baggage too - of the crazy variety.
]]> Tue, 29 Jun 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/parenting-the-easy-way-out.html
The basic concepts upon which you raise
children are and should be very straightforward, shouldn't they

You try and raise your kids with a good
value system. Teach them to be generous of heart and smart with money.
Teach
them to be independent yet compassionate and empathetic. Love them and
instill
in them the tools they will need to be reliable and contributing adults.
I mean
if you do those things and throw in a little potty training, plus a bit
about
how to keep yourself healthy and active, you are somewhere between a
good and a
great parent.
]]> Mon, 28 Jun 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/an-apple-for-the-teacher.html Well,
it's the last week of school here in my small New York town, and before I
can
even think about a budget for my summer vacation, I first have to budget
my
contribution to the teachers retirement association.
]]> Fri, 25 Jun 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/restaurant-rampage.html OK, it was almost 10pm on a Monday night. We
had both worked very late. We were starving. We walked to a popular,
neighborhood
sushi place expecting to find it empty. This is the type of place where
the
tables are so tight, that only very skinny wait staff need apply - and
they
spend their entire evening walking sideways. The only remaining table
for 2 was
in a corner surrounded by another table for 2 and a table where a
Japanese
family of 5 was having a late dinner.
]]> Thu, 24 Jun 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/sex-the-sharia.html
A few
weeks ago I went to a Sex and The City (SATC) themed girls' weekend, and
although the Cosmo's tasted great, I couldn't shake the bitter taste left in my
mouth from watching the new film.


In
this sequel to the hugely successful first movie, the fab four decide to
jettison NYC for a glamorous trip to Abu Dhabi - a major Middle East city that
is part of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and ruled by Sharia law.

]]> Wed, 23 Jun 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/manolo-blahniks-101.html Which area of study do you think would benefit a young
female business student the most: Management, computer skills, or walking in
stilettos If you answered lsquo;Stilettos'
then you might be a member of the South Thames College Governance.
Read More]]> Tue, 22 Jun 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/give-me-the-money.html A woman I hardly know has just asked me to contribute to the cost of her
holiday. She wants to go cycling in China. lsquo;Some nerve!' I hear you say
and I
couldn't agree more. Perhaps I should add that she is generously giving
pound;1000
to charity and so can't afford a holiday. A little more sympathetic now
Or
perhaps I should clarify further that she is asking me to sponsor her to
do a
Charity Ride. Now I'd be pretty mean not to fork out wouldn't I
]]> Mon, 21 Jun 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/till-death-do-us-part.html Over the years, I have seen study after study
claiming to have the secrets to a long term marriage. Things like: Don't
be
afraid to fight. Compliment more than you criticize. Divorce is never an
option
(if that were true, by the way, the murder rate would skyrocket).
Marriage is a
4 letter word: g-i-v-e. Ugh.
]]> Fri, 18 Jun 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/whooping-it-up.html There is an advert on US television at the
moment (which I cannot find anywhere online). It starts with a mother
holding a
baby in her arms. She says something like lsquo;as a mother, you think this
is the
safest place for your baby to be.' Or something like that. It
immediately rubs
you the wrong way because you think it is going down some sappy path of
promoting breast feeding until your child reaches puberty or something.
]]> Thu, 17 Jun 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/those-were-real-bullets.html About 10 years ago I read a book called lsquo;Those
Are Real Bullets' by British reporters Peter Pringle and Philip
Jacobson, from lsquo;The
Sunday Times.' They picked the title, to the best of my recollection,
because
they were being ironic.
]]> Wed, 16 Jun 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/q-when-is-a-feminist-not-a-feminist.html I have seen a lot of talk about feminism recently on the
Internet and in blogs. A lot of angry talk. I have never identified
myself as a
feminist but I feel very supportive of and united with many women on the
issues
we face daily - from the right to vote to the right to control what goes
on
with our own bodies. And, I disagree with the beliefs of some of the
women who
are achieving notoriety these days for their political aspirations.
]]> Tue, 15 Jun 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/sick-of-soccer.html OK, I am one angry wife these days. And do
you know who I blame for my anger Some of you. To be more specific, I
blame
those of you who are English. And before you accuse me of being racist
towards
the English, let me state my case.
]]> Mon, 14 Jun 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/short-people.html
'Short people got no
reason. Short people got no reason. They got little bitty eyes and
little...'


Oh, never mind. Most
everyone reading this has heard that song at some point in a past life.
And if
you are vertically challenged, like me, not only did you hear that song
in the
past, but you grew to detest it, Randy Newman and any radio station that
played
it.

]]> Fri, 11 Jun 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/gored-to-death.html Divorce has become commonplace in our society, so I'm not
supposed to be shocked or upset about it anymore. But damn it, I'm
really
bummed out about Al and Tipper Gore. Sure, the thought of that awkward
tongue kiss at the 2000 Democratic Convention still makes me wince. And I
could definitely picture them going home and sleeping in separate twin
beds, shy;agrave;
la Lucy and Ricky Ricardo. But that's not my point.
Read More]]> Thu, 10 Jun 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/why-nothing-gets-done.html How in
God's name did we ever save the whale Clearly we're never going to save
the koala. Here is the official response to an e-mail I sent objecting
to
the logging of a koala habitat.
]]> Wed, 09 Jun 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/step-away-from-the-chow.html Hands up everyone who thinks they could do with
losing a few pounds. No seriously. I don't mean get as skinny as you
possibly
can, but honestly, truly, who could probably be a tad healthier in the
weight
department Statistics vary on the matter, but given that about one
third of
Americans are now classed as obese, (and Brits are catching up) it
probably
means that a least another third could stand to lose 5-20 pounds.
Read More]]> Tue, 08 Jun 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/a-british-export-we-dont-need-in-the-us.html I got out of the UK before Cheryl Cole fever hit. A lucky escape I
thought! Unfortunately it seems plans are afoot to launch Cheryl on an
unsuspecting
American public.
]]> Mon, 07 Jun 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/confidence-tricks.html Is there ever going to be a point in my life where I am supremely
confident about something Anything I am so sick and tired of being
'sort of' confident.
]]> Fri, 04 Jun 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/curse-of-the-fickle-tummy.html You know what really gets me More than anything My completely
unreliable digestive tract. I have read all of this stuff about pelvic
floors
and leaking pee when laughing, sneezing, snorting or exercising. I have
even
read the article on this very website about fanny farts. Yes, those
things
sound awkward. Maybe even a tad embarrassing. But they pale
in comparison with a midsection that cannot make its mind up between
retaining all
that goes into it as if it were some sort of bank vault and
spontaneously
turning into a water balloon that has just intersected with the sharp
end of a
tack.
]]> Thu, 03 Jun 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/fergie-dishes-dirt-on-oprah.html
Well, Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, went on Oprah yesterday
to explain her recent behavior in which she met with a News of the World
journalist who was posing as a Saudi Prince. Several weeks ago, the fake prince
offered her the equivalent of $750,000 in order to facilitate access to Fergie's
ex-husband, Prince Andrew - a real prince. Fergie took about $40,000 as a down
payment. What she didn't realize was that through this entire episode the fake
prince was videotaping the encounter in a bid to point out just how rancid an
individual Fergie is.

]]> Wed, 02 Jun 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/elusive-conception.html John Travolta's wife, Kelly Preston, age 47, has recently announced that
she's pregnant. Now the question being asked on CNN and various talk
shows is: Did she conceive naturally, or did she receive a donor egg
]]> Tue, 01 Jun 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/sex-addiction.html Can somebody please tell me why we are still being barraged with the
pitiful, self-indulgent apologies of bad
guy, West Coast biker Jesse James (a.k.a. the man who cheated on
America's
sweetheart Sandra Bullock.)
]]> Mon, 31 May 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/does-the-gulf-coast-oil-spill-need-fixing.html You know the saying that lsquo;if women ruled the
world, there would be no war' Well, I am not exactly sure that is a
completely true statement. War might be different but it would not cease
to exist.
]]> Fri, 28 May 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/counting-calories.html
New York City took away a civil liberty
when they required all chain restaurants (defined as those that have
more than
15 outlets nationwide) to post the calories contained in each item they
serve.




]]> Thu, 27 May 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/wanted-oprah-smackdown.html I'm
embarrassed to admit this, but... I really like Lady Gaga. The first
time I saw her, quite frankly I thought, lsquo;What's with the transvestite
in the
home-made costume who can't dance or sing' I'd never heard of her
before,
and when she started cropping up all over the place, I figured she was
yet
another disturbed young woman who was willing to do anything to become
famous
(which still may be true). But after seeing some interviews, listening
to
her music, and watching her perform, she's actually grown on me. And
against my better judgment, I see her as a rather avant-garde artist.
]]> Wed, 26 May 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/hey-miley-thanks-for-nothing.html
So American pop-teen music lsquo;star' Miley Cyrus is
dancing
sensuously in a bird cage in her new video and was recently filmed
giving her
producer a lap dance. (He's gay, but still...)


In
other words, this teen singer is no different than those who have come
before her. It's all about sex, sex, and more sex.

]]> Tue, 25 May 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/leave-her-alone.html With the frenzy surrounding
the new Sex and the City movie, Sarah Jessica Parker and her gal pals
are
all over the papers. SJP in particular is being door-stepped by every
tabloid on the planet it would seem. We are inundated with photos of her
popping out for a pint of milk, taking her son to school as well as the de
rigueur glam shots of her
on various red carpets.
]]> Mon, 24 May 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/cougars-searching-for-cubs.html How long is discrimination against so-called 'cougars' going to continue
before we all join hands around the internet and demand equality I'm
not
joking.
]]> Fri, 21 May 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/work-it-out.html So there are mothers who work; and mothers who stay at home. And then
there are mothers who stay at home wondering if they'd be happier at
work; and
mothers who stay at work wondering if they'd be happier at home. And
then there
are mothers like me, who have arrived in a new country (okay, only
England to
Scotland, but still) who aren't sure whether they would rather be
happier at
home or at work; so stay at home contemplating what to do.
]]> Thu, 20 May 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/the-naked-truth.html Apparently May 14th was lsquo;Bloggers without Make-up
Day.' Lots of bloggers in the US blogged
about it and rose to the challenge, posting photos of
their nude faces all over the blogosphere.
Read More]]> Wed, 19 May 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/passing-the-duck.html There's
been a lot of angry talk surrounding the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico
lately. But what got me really riled the other day was a sidebar in our
local
newspaper, directing people to several websites where they could donate
money
to help with the clean-up efforts.
]]> Tue, 18 May 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/valuing-virginity.html A new reality show in which girls can auction off their
virginity is soon to be a...reality. Justin Sisley, the Australian
creator behind 'Proof Pure,' is providing a televised forum for girls to pop their
cherry and
make $18,000 while doing so. Incidentally, Sisely had to move production
to Las Vegas, Sin City
capital of the world, in order to avoid prostitution charges from the
government of Victoria.
]]> Mon, 17 May 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/younger-men-arebad-for-you.html
Is there no end to the male domination of studies that are
meant only to depress, discourage and devalue the lives of women

Eat chocolate for lower blood pressure. Eat chocolate and
you'll get fat. Drink red wine and your platelets get nice and slippery.
Drink
red wine and you're a drunk.
]]> Fri, 14 May 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/mr-president-is-that-a-blackberry-in-your-pocket.html Obama is credited as the first lsquo;wired'
president of the United States. From the
early days of his campaign for the White House, his staff used social
media to
get his message out and drum up support, particularly amongst the
tech-savvy,
young voters of America. It worked,
too. I remember Facebooking and Tweeting
a lot on November 4th, 2008.
]]> Thu, 13 May 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/befuddled-by-bp-and-big-oil.html I am completely confused by the oil conundrum. I like
driving my car and heating my home when it is cold outside. I don't have
a
hybrid as a new car is not in my budget - nor am I switching out my
heating
system to anything green anytime soon (yet another thing not in my
budget). I
was one of the people who thought that it was practical, if not ideal,
when
President Obama announced a few weeks ago that he wanted more drilling
for oil
on American lands and in American waters.
]]> Wed, 12 May 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/piling-on-the-agony.html Last
month in an upscale area of Chicago, two young women were beaten
unconscious as
they walked home from a bar at 3am. The suspects are behind bars
and both
girls are critically injured, one of them showing limited brain
activity.
Read More]]> Tue, 11 May 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/when-is-it-too-early-or-too-late-to-call-someone.html This morning at 7.18 a.m. - yes, 7.18 in
the morning, the phone rang. Who the blazes could be calling at this
time God knows, I need all the
beauty sleep I can get.

I let hubby answer the bloody phone. He was already up. Then I burrowed
my head
underneath the pillow.
]]> Mon, 10 May 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/how-do-you-like-them-apples.html
Someone needs to tell Steve Jobs to lighten
up.

This week, Ellen DeGeneres ran a mock iPhone commercial on
her talk show. It showed Ellen not being able to text her wife from her
iPhone
because of her 'thick' fingers.
Read More]]> Fri, 07 May 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/do-it-barefoot.html lsquo;Gadgets,' lsquo;toys,' lsquo;bigger,' lsquo;better' and lsquo;faster' are not
usually words that enter my vocabulary (minds out of the gutter,
please). I
think for most women, this is the case. We don't covet the red sports
car, or lust after the stereo with thousands of watts and pretty lights. We leave that
to the
men in our lives - husbands, partners, sons, brothers. We want things
that are
functional and make our lives simpler, more convenient and more
gratifying -
right
]]> Thu, 06 May 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/repressing-oppression.html There are certain times when it is acceptable, in my
opinion, for the government to ban certain expressions of ideology.
Nazi paraphernalia, for example, should
be outlawed for the hateful beliefs and policies that it represents. The
U.S. Confederate flag should
be banned from being flown (I'm not sure if it is illegal, but it should
be). The
women's burqa, however, which has both religious and social
significance, falls
into a grey area for me.
]]> Wed, 05 May 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/oklahoma-this-is-not-ok.html It's a bad time to be a non-Caucasian immigrant and/or a
woman in America these days. Arizona's new
strict (and possibly unlawful) immigration laws have
made headlines recently.
Meanwhile, Oklahoma
has passed some of the most repressive abortion laws
in history. Unfortunately, these laws have not
received as much media attention or critical debate.
Read More]]> Tue, 04 May 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/why-dont-they-just-come-out-and-say-it.html I'm an immigrant. I moved from
England to the States in 1990 and became a citizen in 2002. (I know, I
know -
it took me a while but I was having kids, doing Masters degrees and that
kind
of thing.)
]]> Mon, 03 May 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/reporting-for-dinner-sir.html
America
has encountered yet another threat to its national security. It's not
related
to Iran. It has nothing to do with North Korea. No. This time we can
blame
the French. . . fries.

A recent
study of 17 to 24-year-olds has shown that 1 out of 4 young people
weighs too
much to be eligible for military service. The report, lsquo;Too Fat to Fight'
(honest to God, their title, not mine), says the obesity rate has risen
so
dramatically that it's threatening the future strength of our military.
Read More]]> Fri, 30 Apr 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/uk-election-2010.html
The UK is
currently in the throes of Election fever. For the first time ever, the
leaders
of the 3 major political parties (Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat) have
been involved
in a series of US-style live TV debates ahead of the May 6th
Polling
Day. The final live debate will be televised tonight. But it's not just
the TV debates
that have contributed to the more lsquo;American Style' electoral campaigns
unleashed upon the UK public. Interest in the lsquo;Leaders' Wives' has
reached the frenzied
(some might say, patronising) levels that the spouses of US
Presidential
candidates have come to expect as part of any election campaign.


Judith
O'Reilly has been following the UK election closely on... Read More]]> Thu, 29 Apr 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/being-misquoted-on-personal-body-issues.html If you heard a woman, who is known for her impeccably fit
body, say that she wants children but plans to adopt because she 'can't
handle
doing that' to her body, what would
you assume she meant Would
you think that she does not want to get pregnant because it would
destroy her
fit body
]]> Wed, 28 Apr 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/burned-by-the-red-sun.html
When your corporate motto is lsquo;don't be evil,lsquo; and you're in the
business
to make money, you should probably rethink your corporate motto, because
we all
know lsquo;money is the root of all evil.'


Maybe Larry Page and Sergey Brin, the founders of Google misplaced
this
quote when they came up with their poor dictum. Their mission statement
provides a much clearer and more thoughtful
approach: 'to organize the world's information and make it universally
accessible and useful.' Very altruistic, except when you decide to do
business
in China.

]]> Tue, 27 Apr 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/dropping-the-c-bomb.html Last weekend, 'Kick Ass' a movie based on a comic book of the same name,
debuted
in U.S. box offices to some controversy amongst film critics. The main
focus surrounded
the character of Hit Girl, an 11-year-old vigilante assassin who
brutally
murders people and drops the C-bomb. You know, the word that starts with
lsquo;C'
and rhymes with lsquo;blunt.'
]]> Mon, 26 Apr 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/to-spank-or-not-to-spank.html A
study published in The Journal of Pediatrics stated 3-year-olds who were
spanked were more likely to become bullies by the age of 5. Researchers
from
Tulane University studied 2500 children and their mothers and determined
that those
children spanked frequently, were more likely to show aggressive
behavior. In lieu of spankings, researchers have
determined we should be giving our children positive reinforcement and
praise.
]]> Fri, 23 Apr 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/its-not-my-fault.html Kim Kardashian is famous in the States for
unknown reasons. She is not a talented singer, actress, dancer,
scientist or
murderess. Best I can tell, her family somehow leveraged their late
father's
business and personal relationships with Hollywood, and more
specifically O.J.
Simpson (you know, the guy who didn't cut his wife's head off), into a
reality
television show called lsquo;Keeping up with the Kardashians.'
]]> Thu, 22 Apr 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/the-twitterverse-of-congress.html So, United States Library of Congress (LOC) has decided to
archive every tweet that has been posted to Twitter. Seriously - every
trivial
musing and self-important 140-character update since the site's
inception four
years ago.
Read More]]> Wed, 21 Apr 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/more-toyota-trouble.html The people who run Toyota have clearly
suffered a breakdown of epic proportions. At this point we all know
about
sticking
gas pedals, cars speeding down highways, out of control, at over
100
miles per hour. We know about denials
from management about there being a
problem with gas pedals. We have heard about record fines in the US of
over $16
million and we have read the stories of certain models, like the Prius,
not
being affected by the problems, only to find out later that they were.
Read More]]> Tue, 20 Apr 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/cleavage-for-kiddies.html When my husband and I moved to our current
neighborhood a few years ago, we quickly became aware of the fact that
we were
the most lsquo;liberal' family on the cul-de-sac. There were a number of dead
giveaways. We didn't own any large recreational vehicles, were the lone
recyclers, and were the only ones hanging around the neighborhood on
Sunday
mornings. Clearly the heathens.
]]> Mon, 19 Apr 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/the-truth-hurts.html I have a friend who is a mom to older
children - teen and college age. She has a very good job at a local
advertising
agency. She has a very nice husband. She has 2 dogs. Her hair is always
done
perfectly. Her nails are always professionally manicured with bright red
nail
polish on them at all times. All 10 of them! Makeup and skin Flawless!
She has
a shoe obsession and shops for them with an almost religious zeal.
]]> Fri, 16 Apr 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/cause-breakin-up-is-hard-to-do.html Would you ever pay someone to dump your significant
other What would you do if you
received a phone call from some schlep in Iowa, informing you that
you're being
dumped
]]> Thu, 15 Apr 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/facebook-is-not-a-babysitter.html Over the last decade the Internet has
become as commonplace in our homes as television, and along with this
rise in
user numbers has come a growing chorus of complaints from a certain type
of
parent.
]]> Wed, 14 Apr 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/debit-disaster.html It appears
that while I was on vacation in Mexico, having a grand old time, but
watching
every penny that I spent, some scumbag, low-life thief was having even
more fun
with my money than I was.
]]> Tue, 13 Apr 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/suicide-or-accident.html On
December 2, 2009 a 6-year-old Oregonian first grader, Samantha Kuberski,
committed suicide just days before her seventh birthday. The young girl
had
apparently been scolded by her mother and sent to her room. As she left
for her punishment, she
exclaimed to her mother that she was lsquo;going to kill herself.'
Read More]]> Mon, 12 Apr 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/exodus.html As a not-so-practicing Catholic, I have struggled with the idea of
raising
my children in the church. My decision is based on the idea that
children
should have something more profound than themselves to believe in, but I
often
wonder, lsquo;Am I making the right decision' In light of the latest
ignominy to
hit the church, I'm not so sure.
]]> Fri, 09 Apr 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/climb-every-mountain.html Whatever happened to reasonableness You know, that subjective
feeling in your stomach that something is OK. Sometimes it seems that
parents
are the people with the most underdeveloped sense of what is and what is
not
reasonable.
]]> Thu, 08 Apr 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/i-never-signed-up-for-domestic-violence.html
Last night,
PowderRoomGraffiti.com co-sponsored an event in New York City with The Three Tomatoes
in support of the United Nations/UNIFEM campaign to
end violence against women.


This searingly
honest article by Vivacious V illustrates how violence can infiltrate a
seemingly lsquo;normal' relationship.

Domestic violence. Domestic abuse.
Spousal assault. Pick your badge. It is not going to be a pretty one,
and certainly not a title anyone would sign up for.
Read More]]> Wed, 07 Apr 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/smart-women-booze-hard.html From the mixed blessings file, here is one to ponder. Highly
educated women, in addition to being more successful professionally, are
also
2.1 times more likely to abuse alcohol according to a study by the
London
School of Economics (LSE). OK, it may seem counter-intuitive but when you
think about
it, did we really need the LSE to conduct a study to tell us that
]]> Tue, 06 Apr 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/placenta-on-your-pizza.html Have you seen the movie lsquo;Baby Mama' If so, then
you might
remember the yuppie couple in geek girl superhero Tina Fey's Lamaze
class; the
ones who are mocked for their New Age affectations and later reveal that
they
ate the placenta following the birth of their child. There's a little
truth to
every joke, though. Placentophagy
- or, the age-old tradition of placenta eating - is on the rise again.
]]> Mon, 05 Apr 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/gender-inequality-in-the-cinema.html I used to think that I was the kind of girl who disliked
chick flicks. (Well, unless they featured John
Cusack holding a stereo above
his head.)
But, after watching lsquo;The
Proposal,' I realized something: I actually do like chick flicks.
What I dislike, however,
is chick flicks with main characters whose entire source of conflict is
balancing a career with a personal life - and that is exactly what lsquo;The
Proposal' is about.
Read More]]> Fri, 02 Apr 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/sticking-it-to-the-kids.html There's a well-known biblical saying that talks about lsquo;visiting
the sins of the fathers upon the children.' Unfortunately, despite the
USA
being a fairly religious country, that seems to be exactly what's
happening
here at the moment.
]]> Thu, 01 Apr 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/parents-must-take-responsibility.html
I confronted
bullies when I was younger. Didn't we all at some point


Except back
then, I don't think we called our nemesis a lsquo;bully.' When we were
younger, she
was the lsquo;mean girl,' or lsquo;that girl.' You know, your mother would say not
to
worry about lsquo;her' because you shouldn't want to be friends with anyone
who
acted like lsquo;that girl.' And, ultimately, your mother was right. Time
would
pass, the lsquo;in' girls would become the lsquo;out' girls and things would
change.
Sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse. But the bullying,
even at
its most fierce, had boundaries back then. If it was at school you could
find
refuge with the neighborhood kids, or at least in...]]> Wed, 31 Mar 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/understanding-murder-and-terror.html I woke up yesterday morning to hear that 2 women in Moscow
blew themselves up during rush hour on underground trains. They took
with them
3 dozen or so innocent victims. I am sure they're rationalization for
doing
this was that there is no such thing as an innocent victim.
]]> Tue, 30 Mar 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/ad-men-are-mad-men.html Can someone
please tell me what is going on with advertising in the age of political
correctness We have come so far in teaching people that what may be
funny to a
bunch of dumbass corporate suits may be less so to the general public,
or may
even be downright offensive. There is a reason that Howard Stern moved
to
satellite radio and that is because the FCC doesn't want his particular
brand
of racist, homophobic and misogynistic humor on the public airwaves. I
have no
interest in curtailing his right to free speech, I just want it out of
my own
earshot.
]]> Mon, 29 Mar 2010 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/the-unsolicited-gift.html 'An Unsolicited Gift' is a book by 85-year-old Dr. Dennis Friedman,
a British psychologist. Now I am usually of the philosophy that if
someone puts
in 85 years on this earth and then has the energy to be writing books,
they
must have some wisdom and intelligence that is worth passing along.
]]> Fri, 26 Mar 2010 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/celebrity-bikini-body-by-lunch.html
Spring rang in for those of us in the Northern hemisphere this past
weekend. God, did that sneak up on us or what


Right around the
time the vernal
equinox arrived, I was thumbing through the stack of
glossies that I, embarrassed to say, cannot get away from. One of the
articles was on how to have a bikini bod
in your 20's, 30's and 40's+.

]]> Thu, 25 Mar 2010 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/test-result-anxiety.html
All this recent talk of health care reform got me thinking that what
we really need in the worlds of science and medicine is technology
reform.


For
instance, sites like WebMD.com, MedHelp.com and, my new personal least
favorite, labtestsonline.com, should require 1 of 2 things in order for
someone
to view them. Either you should have a medical license or a prescription
from
someone with a medical license.

]]> Wed, 24 Mar 2010 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/health-care-reform.html For the last year our Federal politicians in the States have
been working on passing health care reform. This Sunday they did it.
This is really good news to the uninsured in the Country. Like most laws
that
pass through our system, compromises were made and the way to a win-win
was for
both sides to give up a little for the greater good.
]]> Tue, 23 Mar 2010 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/facebook-vs-the-breastfeeders.html While scanning the news on Gothamist last week, I came
across an article
about a controversy that has been going on for the past two
years between Facebook and breastfeeding mothers. That's right:
breastfeeding mothers.
Read More]]> Mon, 22 Mar 2010 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/duplicitous-behavior.html We're all guilty of duplicitous behavior at some point in our
lives. But there's a crisis going on
between the United States and Mexico, that I think really brings this
double-dealing to the forefront, and it's happening not just at the
border
between these two countries, but in the heartland of both as well.
]]> Fri, 19 Mar 2010 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/permission-and-forgiveness.html There's a news story in the USA
that's getting bigger every day. Constance McMillen, a high school
senior in
Mississippi, wanted to take her girlfriend to the prom and wear a
tuxedo. The
school's response was to cancel
the prom entirely (thus presumably hoping to
avoid the 'issue') stating that the event would cause a distraction,
and taking into account the safety and well-being of the students. Hmmm.
Read More]]> Thu, 18 Mar 2010 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/50-things-to-do-naked.html
I was
reading Cosmo recently and I saw an interesting article. Well, at least
it was
interesting on the cover. It was called lsquo;50 Things to Do Butt Naked.' I
was
intrigued. I like being naked. I do. It feels good.


So I decided to see
if they
could tell me a few things that might expand my naked repertoire. I
flipped the
pages to the article and started at number 1 - lsquo;Challenge him to a game
of
Scrabble. You get bonus points for synonyms for each other's naughty
bits.'
Hmmm, naked Scrabble. Not bad. I could do that. Could be fun. Maybe
Cosmo was
on to something.

]]> Wed, 17 Mar 2010 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/jihad-janes.html Isn't the Internet great I mean think about it. Here we are, women
from all over the world, communicating as easily as if we lived right next door
to each other. And there is really no subject off limits. Children. Husbands.
Boyfriends. Girlfriends. Sex. Failure. Success. You name it, and we can talk
about it.
]]> Tue, 16 Mar 2010 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/the-elephant-in-the-diabetics-room.html
This Easter, for the first time, I will not be eating
chocolate eggs and Simnel cake, just as last Christmas I didn't eat Christmas
cake and roast spuds. In between, I have eaten so few carbs you could fit them
in a nutshell.


The reason I was diagnosed as a Type 2 diabetic. What angered
me was that the nurse told me to stoke up on starchy carbs every day. Excuse
me Science is supposed to be scientific.

]]> Mon, 15 Mar 2010 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/counting-the-cost-of-calories.html
Whether you
are in North America, Europe, Down Under or elsewhere, chances are your country
is debt laden.


There are two
solutions: Spend less or earn more. Except that politicians have a problem.
They can't spend less because they have an inability to say no and let's face
it, every politician has a community behind them, who they are desperately
trying to please. So governments need to earn more. And that means new or higher taxes.

]]> Fri, 12 Mar 2010 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/paying-to-be-noticed.html
Admit it. You can sometimes be a little vain. Just a wee bit.


You don't mind taking longer to do your hair for a big night out.
Maybe give the girls a good lift and squish to get the cleavage just right.
Perhaps slip into the life-threatening girdle to deal with the muffin top. Then
you might steal an extra glance in the mirror - if you find a nanosecond in the
day for such luxuries.

]]> Thu, 11 Mar 2010 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/wine-weight-loss.html
I have a friend who has a saying about New York City: lsquo;Everyone in New York is an alcoholic.'


By current standards (which say that women should have no more than one drink per day) she's more right than you might think.

]]> Wed, 10 Mar 2010 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/backbones-needed.html Here's what I don't understand. A-list
stars have stylists, make-up artists, hair dressers, and god knows what else,
whose sole purpose is to make said stars look as attractive as possible. Why then,
do these advisors wimp out when it comes to telling them the truth about their
plastic surgery
]]> Tue, 09 Mar 2010 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/rude-is-a-four-letter-word.html
I have three children and I'm painfully aware of their behavior at all
times: the good, the bad, and the ugly. I have a face for every moment: a look, a sigh, an exasperation and a
few exclamations.


Lately I feel like a
soldier alone on the battlefield. While
I'm running for cover, intercepting my children's barrage of ills, I see other
moms and dads detached and disinterested; no beads of sweat, just a cool look
of apathy.

]]> Mon, 08 Mar 2010 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/superbrain-yoga.html Everybody wants things quicker
these days. As if faster means better. We send instant messages expecting instant
answers. We text and then stare at the
phone anxiously wondering where the response is.
]]> Fri, 05 Mar 2010 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/chatroulettecom.html Have you lsquo;played' Chatroulette - the new Internet chat
service that connects users at random face-to-face via webcam It's a new web lsquo;sensation' this week.
]]> Thu, 04 Mar 2010 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/credit-where-its-due.html With exam time fast approaching, or as it seems, constantly looming, it's
worth knowing that extra credit can be given for traumatic or stressful events.
This is definitely so in England, and worth investigating in whichever country
you reside.
]]> Wed, 03 Mar 2010 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/do-as-i-say-not-as-i-do.html Jane Fonda is all over the news at the
moment having had a little lsquo;work' done on her chin, neck and eyes. Unlike most
people in La-la land, she's owning up to it, thus everyone is raving about her
honesty.
]]> Tue, 02 Mar 2010 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/cosmo-hypocrisy.html If any of you have satellite radio you might need to check out Cosmo Radio. Particularly if you have not had your daily dose of hypocrisy.
]]> Mon, 01 Mar 2010 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/toyota-recall.html I thought I was lucky a year ago when I purchased a new 2009 Toyota Camry.
But, now with so much publicity about the pedal, the carpet, the recalls, I've
been going slightly more out of my mind than normal.
Read More]]> Fri, 26 Feb 2010 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/an-app-too-far.html
A Swedish mobile software firm, The Astonishing Tribe
(yes, that's its name) has developed a new phone app aimed at 'augmented identity.'


Called the Recognizr (yes, that's the
spelling), it allows you to point your camera at someone's face and pull up information
on him/her plus any social networking sites s/he belongs to.

Read More]]> Thu, 25 Feb 2010 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/youtube-u.html
For
the first time in college history, Tufts University, located in Boston, is now
accepting minute-long YouTube videos as part of their undergraduate
applications, and I think it is absolutely wonderful.

Read More]]> Wed, 24 Feb 2010 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/everyones-an-expert.html
Am I being
hyper-sensitive Well, based on what I am about to write, if I am, I am sure
many of you will let me know.


Here is what I discovered recently: I discovered
that people (read women) enjoy being an expert in certain things
so that they can then laud it over those of us who are less expert. And,
quite frankly, I am goddammed tired of it.

]]> Tue, 23 Feb 2010 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/post-mortem-etiquitte.html Did
you ever notice that one of the many stupid things people say when you lose a
loved one includes the line, 'Oh, I'm so sorry, how old were they' Well, since I've lost someone close to
me, where age was never a factor in determining my level of grief, I have come
to both dread and outright hate this question. But now that it has crawled its way into my consciousness, I
have no choice but to confront it head on.
]]> Mon, 22 Feb 2010 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/social-media-marketing-for-seven-year-olds.html
Last Sunday, the
'Times Online' reported that marketing companies are now hiring children to
stealth promote sodas, mp3 players, and other youth-oriented products to their
peers via online social networks.

The article virtually painted the issue as a new form of
child slave labor.
Read More]]> Fri, 19 Feb 2010 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/we-are-the-world.html It's 25 years since the first recording of 'We Are the World' by some of the biggest names in 1980's American
music. To celebrate that momentous occasion, a new version has just been
released featuring everyone from Barbra Streisand to Usher, and footage of
Michael Jackson to boot. It's not getting great reviews but the proceeds will
go to Haiti so I truly hope it sells.
]]> Thu, 18 Feb 2010 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/going-it-alone.html
At 38, the playwright Zoe Lewis is pregnant by artificial
insemination. Nothing remarkable there,
except she is a single woman who, when she realised she wasn't going to meet Mr
Right in time, decided to go it alone. Her reason for doing this


lsquo;I decided that there was no way I wanted to
miss out on being a mother.'

Read More]]> Wed, 17 Feb 2010 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/female-viagra.html The term SSE (Satisfying Sexual Experience) is often used by
scientists in the same sentence with that other popular acronym HSDD which is,
of course, short for Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder. And before you get your hopes up; hypo is
bad. You were wishing for hyper, which is an overabundance of sexual desire but
no. Alas, hypo means you have less desire than you'd like. Although, you probably
already knew that.
]]> Tue, 16 Feb 2010 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/pumped-up-pride.html
When will men figure it out When will men learn that when lsquo;they'
are on to you, especially in this day and age, you're done for.

OK, so you sort
of expect the proverbial lsquo;dumb jocks' to be, well, dumb. Sure, even in this
very column, we suggested to Tiger Woods that once the cat started slithering its way
out of the bag, he should come clean. But did he Of course
not. His foolish pride had him convinced that lsquo;Team Tiger' could keep his dirty
little secrets under the rug and no one would be any the wiser.
Read More]]> Mon, 15 Feb 2010 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/no-time-for-love-dr-jones.html Valentine's Day - the day that many call a 'made-up' holiday
(though really, what holiday isn't 'made-up') - has a reputation for making people feel absolutely awful. But this year, it seems as though
the long arm of Love Day has reached far beyond February 14th.
Read More]]> Fri, 12 Feb 2010 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/pmt-trainers.html I have just scraped myself up off the floor after reading
about the new Asics Gel-Kayano 16 trainer which, according to the Asics marketing
people, is designed to capitalise on research showing that changes in
levels of oestrogen affect the flexibility of a woman's feet, and the height of
her foot arch.
Read More]]> Thu, 11 Feb 2010 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/vanity-fair-er.html It would seem that Vanity Fair is living up to its title for the March
issue by casting what it considers to be the lsquo;New Decade, the New
Hollywood.' But when I look at the cover
I see nothing new about it. Nine young
white girls with skin more transparent than a 'Twilight' vampire, wearing haute
couture, and dripping with the self satisfaction of having lsquo;made it.'
]]> Wed, 10 Feb 2010 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/brass-in-pocket.html I read recently about Michael Carroll, who won pound;9.7
million on the Lotto in 2002. Apparently he has spent the entire amount and is
now claiming unemployment benefits. He admits to spending a large amount on
drugs, gambling and prostitutes (after his fed-up wife departed), although he
also gave millions to friends and family.
Read More]]> Tue, 09 Feb 2010 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/dont-farce-it.html
Comic relief - the
act of injecting humor into serious situations and social issues - dates back
to Greek theater and it exists for a reason. If we could not laugh at the human
condition, we would most likely go mad. Society could possibly crumble without
it.


But are all
serious social issues the same Should some never be joked about I am talking
about rape, here.

]]> Mon, 08 Feb 2010 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/pilfering-from-the-poor.html Corporate greed is something I think we are all familiar with these
days. Toyota risking its customers' safety for profit. Banks. Hedge funds. Insurance
companies. It seems that everyone is trying to line their pockets
with threads turned to gold through the victimization of the public at large.
Sad thing is that we mostly go about our lives without thinking too much about
it.
]]> Fri, 05 Feb 2010 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/women-against-polygamy.html
OK,
enough with the book club bashing. Let's face it, the whole idea of a book club
is an excuse for overworked housewives to meet at a fellow book clubber's home
to drink free alcohol and discuss a book they may or may not have
even read.


Sounds fantastic to me. Unlimited wine, interesting
conversation, and a man free zone - where do I register Seriously though,
I am part of a 10-year, maybe longer, book club that is all women but
not all overworked housewives. Some are underworked and some haven't even ever
been married. We are a diverse bunch and I've read books I never would
have even known about. For instance, we had a huge debate last week
over lsquo;The 19th Wife' by David Ebershoff...]]> Thu, 04 Feb 2010 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/whos-doing-who.html I have been
in New York a week and this is my first date. I'm dressed low key as it's my
first date in a few years but I'm equally nervous and nonchalant. So maybe
that's why I don't initially notice but about half way through the welcoming
glass of something cold, white and dry, I realise what's happening in the bar.
]]> Wed, 03 Feb 2010 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/doppelganger-week.html
The latest viral trend on
Facebook - Doppelgauml;nger week - has left
me thinking my friends have all suddenly become more attractive than I remember.


It all started a few days
ago. I logged on to Facebook to lsquo;keep in touch with my friends,' (i.e., pass
the time by looking at pictures of people I haven't actually spoken to in
years) and noticed that a friend of mine had changed her profile photo to a
gorgeous picture of Jennifer Garner. Was she revealing a kinship, or a hetero-crush
perhaps, or had she just slipped into full-on delusion

Read More]]> Tue, 02 Feb 2010 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/are-there-closets-on-the-battlefield.html I feel like the question of gays in the military is this never
ending thing in the US. It dates back to 1993 when President Clinton, someone
who was supposed to be progressive, decided he either didn't want to stand up
for what he believed or he really had a discriminatory view on gay people and
went with the lsquo;don't ask, don't tell policy.' In other words, just don't admit
that you're a lsquo;homo or faggot' and we'll let you put your life on the line for
us, as well as give you the cushy job of killing other human beings.
]]> Mon, 01 Feb 2010 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/celebrity-death-hoaxes.html So, Twitter has become a major source of my daily news intake. I have
recently followed the devastation in Haiti, the bombings in Afghanistan and,
ahem, the purported breakup of Brangelina.
]]> Fri, 29 Jan 2010 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/superbowl-super-controversy.html Tim Tebow is a hunky college football player who, I am told, may be a
professional football player next year. Mr. Tebow, along with his mom, is
starring in one of the very, very expensive commercial spots during this year's
Superbowl. For those of you outside the U.S., the Superbowl is the American
football championship game and the most viewed sporting event of the year.
Thirty second commercial spots cost millions of dollars each.
]]> Thu, 28 Jan 2010 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/rejection-my-forte.html
Seems like I got this rejection thing down!


How about you others Do
you submit things that you feel are coming from your experience and really feel
that others may like and enjoy Are you wanting to share your life experiences
with anyone that may benefit, only to find it never gets on the page

]]> Wed, 27 Jan 2010 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/working-mother-syndrome.html
Working mothers are stressed.


For what and why The extra TV and car, the foreign
holidays, the nice house

]]> Tue, 26 Jan 2010 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/double-standard-you-betcha.html Last week Republican, Scott Brown (50) took
the late Ted Kennedy's Senate seat in Massachusetts.
Some Republicans are already touting Brown as a possible future Presidential
candidate, presumably because of his dashing good looks, since he was virtually
unknown outside of his state. And boy is he good looking!
]]> Mon, 25 Jan 2010 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/big-momma.html
Can we please get a woman running the airports


Actually can we make
it a Southern woman or an English lady that is well versed in manners,
regardless of how phony she is underneath all of her fake smiles and propriety
And one final request. Can we get stewardesses, I mean flight attendants, added
to this woman's purview Oh yeah, and I would like her job title to be 'Big
Momma.'

Read More]]> Fri, 22 Jan 2010 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/prostidude.html
OK, in order to react to this post you have to be willing to step
out of the stilettos/slippers/covered-in-child-vomit trainers that you normally don
on a day-to-day basis and step into the shoes of a dashing, daring,
devil-may-care playgirl who lives for the moment and will do anything once.
Maybe twice.


So, if you have opened your mind, read on.

]]> Thu, 21 Jan 2010 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/doing-the-math.html
I feel we are sufficiently into the New Year to say something
bold. Maybe even obnoxious.


Now that the
holiday season is behind us (or on our behinds, as the case may be), one of the
things I am focusing on is living a healthier life. Not in the, lsquo;I am not
drinking or eating' New Year's resolution type of way. More in the lsquo;all I
have to do is apply some common sense' sort of way.

]]> Wed, 20 Jan 2010 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/cant-we-all-just-get-along.html
I am just sick and tired of polarized viewpoints and people disagreeing
based upon ideological definitions, as opposed to being practical about making
the world a better place.


Quite frankly I don't care if my elected official is
a republican, democrat, independent or anarchist. I just care that they do
their best to keep us safe from harm, focus on the economy and that they don't get all up in my business talking to me about
things that they have no right to talk to me about - like, who I choose to
sleep with, whether or not I want to marry a woman or a man, what to do with my
body and whether or not it is morally ok to cure disease with stem cells. If
you're a politician just stick to the simple stuff like our safety and well
being,...]]> Tue, 19 Jan 2010 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/how-old-is-too-old.html The London Women's Clinic, a private clinic
in London, is to allow 59-year-old Susan Tollefsen to undergo IVF
treatment. Mrs. Tollefsen already has a 2-year-old daughter and describes
herself as 'full of life.' Naturally, this has caused much debate
about the ethics and even the legality of providing IVF treatment to
such an 'old' patient. (The legal doubt because Section 13
(5) of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act, prohibits IVF treatment
unless account has been taken of the welfare of any child who may be born as a
result of the treatment.)
Read More]]> Mon, 18 Jan 2010 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/tattoo-turn-off.html
I'm just wondering whether celebrities actually think of
the example they are setting, when they cover whole areas of their bodies with
tattoos.


I don't mean just the odd one here and there, I mean a whole arm,
their neck, whole lower leg or large areas of their torso. In the UK when
I was younger, a tattoo was viewed as a very 'lower class' thing to have done.
But these days with all the major celebrities going for it, the kids think it
is just so cool to have a tattoo. I have even had 10-year-olds tell me they'd
like a tattoo for Christmas!

]]> Fri, 15 Jan 2010 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/grief-in-the-time-of-technology.html Public grieving is something that has become a hot topic of late.
I have seen blog posts and articles about Twitter and Facebook serving
as the new condolence cards. People now publicly post what used to be a private
exchange of emotion between two people. When you want to comfort someone who
has experienced a loss, you no longer attend a wake, funeral, Shiva, memorial
service, or go and visit them. You just send out a Tweet so everyone can see what a
good person you are.
]]> Thu, 14 Jan 2010 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/getting-it-off-your-chest.html Did you hear about the controversy last week when female Facebook
users started listing their bra color in their status The idea (which went hugely
viral) was to get Facebook users wondering why every woman was putting a bra
color in her status, which would lead to a discussion of breasts, which would
lead to breast cancer awareness - I guess.
]]> Wed, 13 Jan 2010 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/game-change-changes-the-game.html Over this past weekend it was revealed in the book lsquo;Game Change' by
political journalists John Heilemann and Mark Halperin, that racism is alive
and well in the United States. OK, so that is no big shocker. If you live here,
you know that we struggle with this issue and that while we do make progress
(like electing the country's first black President last year), there is always
some idiot ready to set back the discourse by revealing their true character
and then, later, apologizing for their statement, yet not their overall view.
Read More]]> Tue, 12 Jan 2010 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/throwing-in-the-towel.html I read on Friday, about a 4-year-old boy in
Croydon, England, who was expelled from his primary school as teachers could
not cope with his 'challenging behavior.' I literally couldn't believe my eyes.
Surely they must be talking about a 14-year-old Apparently not.
]]> Mon, 11 Jan 2010 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/lauri-price-lawbreaker.html OK, so I know these stories are all too common these days and we are
all probably sick of reading them, but the international flair of this one made
it stand out for me.
]]> Fri, 08 Jan 2010 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/another-sexual-myth-exploded.html
When I read that a team of British researchers have concluded that
the existence of the female G-spot is a sexual myth, or a subjective idea at
best, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

Laugh, because it always seemed to me that trying to find a woman's
G-spot was a sort of pointless trophy-gathering, notch-marking
exercise. A bit like trying
to hunt the yeti.
Read More]]> Thu, 07 Jan 2010 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/nothing-is-natural-about-dying-at-30.html
In the last few weeks two 30-something celebrities have been found dead. The preliminary cause of death Natural causes.


Excuse me You don't just suddenly die of 'natural causes' at the age
of 30. Natural causes are heart failure, kidney failure, a body giving
up after years and years of living. Natural causes lead to the death of
90-year-olds, not 30-year-olds. Today, 'natural causes' is code for
'drug overdose' or 'complications from anorexia,' or 'suicide.' It's a
way to cover up what really happened and make the death seem more
innocent and sweet.

]]> Wed, 06 Jan 2010 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/2010-time-for-a-backbone.html
OK folks, here's a New Year's Mandatory Resolution - we ARE allowed
opinions.


I am fed up to the back teeth of reading comments from people
(usually not on PRG) taking others to task for being lsquo;unhelpful' or lsquo;judgmental'
when in fact, they were merely voicing an opinion. Opinions are fine and they
don't always have to be the same as mine. Really, as long as we don't start
slinging insults, there is great value in sharing diverse opinions.

]]> Tue, 05 Jan 2010 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/nothing-for-christmas.html
An iPhone. Base layers for my winter bicycle riding. A bicycle.
lsquo;Mastering the Art of French Cooking' by Julia Child. A day off.


These are all things that I wanted for Christmas.


And do you know what I got


Nothing. Nada. Niente. Rien.

]]> Mon, 04 Jan 2010 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/most-graffitid-women-of-2009.html
PowderRoomGraffiti's most Graffiti'd about women of 2009.


Who were the female movers, shakers and shit-stirrers of 2009 See if you agree with our Top 5.

]]> Fri, 01 Jan 2010 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/parking-lots.html At first glance, the decision by the city of Shijiazhuang in China
to build a women-only car park at a shopping centre seems like a great idea.
The new car park has brighter lighting and wider spaces - perfect for those of
us who are fed up manouevring into impossibly tight spaces, only to find that
we need the swivel-hipped dexterity of a seasoned limbo dancer if we want to
actually get out of the car.
Read More]]> Thu, 31 Dec 2009 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/and-now-for-something-completely-different.html Here in the US, we've had Obama
as our President for almost a year. Still relatively new, but long enough for
us to see that this is not George Bush. Judging by the whining over Obama's
reaction to the Christmas Day attempted plane bombing however, it appears some
people have yet to realize that this guy doesn't operate like Bush, i.e. he
doesn't feel the need to jump in front of a TV camera the minute there's a
crisis.
]]> Wed, 30 Dec 2009 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/makin-bacon.html This is a strange week. It feels like there are a few days of calm
that fall in between two storms of people, and food, and fun, and exhaustion.
We hosted Christmas at our house this past Friday and several family members
came in for the weekend. The theme, as you might guess, was quality time with
the family (which was immensely successful), good food and good wine. We
overindulged in talking, sweets, red wine and, for some reason, bacon.
]]> Tue, 29 Dec 2009 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/indian-surrogacy-trade.html I read with interest that the surrogacy trade in India is booming.
Fertility-challenged couples from around the world are paying to rent
the wombs
of financially-challenged Indian women. This news has been brought to
our
attention presumably because it is subject to controversy - is it
politically
correct in this day and age to hire someone else's body Should a
couple who can't have their own child be able to have that child, by
baking their li'l
bun in someone else's oven
]]> Mon, 28 Dec 2009 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/merry-christmas-and-happy-holidays.html Whether you celebrate a traditional lsquo;Christmas' or not, we
hope you have a wonderful weekend, either spending time with those you love, or eating and
drinking all the things that really ought to be consumed in moderation - but
aren't.
]]> Fri, 25 Dec 2009 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/dont-go-brazilian.html There is one person in this world who I hope gets what he wants this
holiday season. David Goldman is a New Jersey Man who was married to a
Brazilian national. In 2004 his wife, Bruna Bianchi, took their
4-year-old son on a 2 week holiday back to her home in Rio de Janeiro.
The only problem was that it was a ruse and really what she was doing
was abducting the boy with no plan of returning to the States. Of
course there are laws that prevent such things, but a mammoth
international custody battle ensued between Mr. Goldman and the
kidnapper.
]]> Thu, 24 Dec 2009 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/some-mothers-son.html I read an interesting article this week. It was by writer
Phaedra Starling and it explained a lot to me about the anxieties I have regarding men I don't know.
Her somewhat extreme but well-written theory is that when we, as women, are dating our way
toward Mr. Right, we subliminally consider every new man to be a potential
rapist, murderer, torturer or kidnapper. As such, if a woman is a complete bitch to a man who approaches her, he
should not consider her a complete bitch but merely a cautious one that just thinks
he might be trying to harm her.
Read More]]> Wed, 23 Dec 2009 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/demi-goes-christmas-photoshopping.html In the December issue of 'W' Magazine, Demi Moore - the 47-year-old Demi
Moore - graces the cover. And damn, does she look good. You would think that she
is doing a service for women in that, ahem, age range, by telling the world
that you can still be sexy in your forties and beyond. Problem is that in order
to get her to look as good as she does on the cover, it looks as though 'W' did a little
Photoshopping to her image so that she looks thinner than she actually is.
Read More]]> Tue, 22 Dec 2009 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/swine-flu-vaccine-recalled.html Drug companies are notorious for expediting their products to market,
despite lacking adequate safety and efficacy data that protects the general
public from harm. If a drug company
feels they have a product that will benefit sales and raise stock prices then
they will apply to the Federal Drug Administration (F.D.A.) for a rapid review.
]]> Mon, 21 Dec 2009 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/how-low-can-you-go.html
Last week in the US, we had a guy pause at
the altar and Tweet that he was just about to get married. Judging by the
smiles that went viral, the bride-to-be and the priest both seemed to condone
this alarming lack of decorum. Presumably the happy couple is the next in line
for a reality show and the priest will hopefully get a few more pews filled for
a while.

More recently we had the lovely Peaches
Geldof hurtling towards California's Disney and Tweeting that she was speeding 'like
I have never, ever witnessed before on the freeway - feel like I am in a scary
car chase video game.' She then apparently kept her 'fans' informed of events,
even Tweeting seconds after the car was involved in a 'full-on' car crash.
Read More]]> Fri, 18 Dec 2009 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/helicopter-parents.html My daughter is a Junior in High School
(equivalent to Lower 6th). She's starting to think about colleges
and in about eighteen months will have flown the coop. Do I think she's ready
No, of course not. I will always worry about her, always be there like a tigress
ready to strike at anyone who hurts her, and I'll always think of her as my
little girl (despite her being a good inch taller than me).
]]> Thu, 17 Dec 2009 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/soda-in-drag.html
Parents have it tough at this time of year - particularly mothers.
Not only do we have to contend with normal day-to-day activities, but on top of
those are added menu planning, present buying, school vacations, in-laws,
parties, and booze.


You know what we don't need at this time of the year Nutritionists
and do-gooders trying to screw up our lives by going on some twisted crusade to
ban chocolate milk from school lunch programs. If there isn't enough to worry
about, we have people on National Public Radio and the Internet making this
giant case against chocolate milk as being, and I quote, lsquo;soda-in-drag.'

]]> Wed, 16 Dec 2009 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/just-doing-a-job.html
The mistresses in Tiger Woods' life have been given a hard
time by the American media and the American people. They have been called
whores, prostitutes and gold diggers among other things. Some of them even are
whores, prostitutes and gold diggers (and I am well aware of the redundancy in
meanings but I think each is a slightly nuanced version).


The vitriol that the general public has had for these women
who have emerged from Mr. Woods' golf bag has reached epic proportions at times
and I would like to know why.

]]> Tue, 15 Dec 2009 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/graveyard-dead.html lsquo;Graveyard dead'
is exactly how Donna Jackson, a 57-year-old woman from Cushing, Oklahoma
described to a 911 operator how her intruder would end up if he managed to
break into her home.
]]> Mon, 14 Dec 2009 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/when-is-enough-really-enough.html
I know this has been debated before on PRG, but if you live in the States you'll know of
the Duggar family from Arkansas.

Parents Michelle and Jim Bob currently have 18 children and 1grandchild,
with their 19th child due this spring. They are often asked why they
continue to have babies, especially given that Michelle is now 42, and her last
delivery was a C-section.
Read More]]> Fri, 11 Dec 2009 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/get-off-your-ass-and-live.html
Live life to the fullest.


There is no time like the present.


Today is the first day of the rest of your life.


Carpe diem.


Live like there is no tomorrow.

]]> Thu, 10 Dec 2009 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/taking-responsibility.html Abortion is finally getting some real debate in Washington, D.C. -
not just the same old lsquo;I'm right and you're going to hell,' styled debate that
typically accompanies this subject.
]]> Wed, 09 Dec 2009 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/thinking-with-their-dicks.html
Anyone else fed up to the back teeth of
hearing about Tiger Woods and the many affairs and trysts he's supposed to have
had Let's just say he's not exactly coming out of this smelling like roses.

Here in the U.S. we've had quite a lot of scandals in the sex department
recently, with talk show host David Letterman getting busted for at least one
affair with a staffer, while living with his now wife.
Read More]]> Tue, 08 Dec 2009 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/marrying-a-twit-er.html Back in my day, marriage was something sacred. There I said it. BACK
IN MY DAY! Nowadays, however, standing in front of your friends,
family,
and maybe God (depending on your beliefs) there is nothing sacred about
it. At least for Dana Hanna (what a name), it was not about his
lovely bride or the special relationship that he had just entered into.
No, it
was about him - Dana Hanna (a really terrible name).
]]> Mon, 07 Dec 2009 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/showing-compassion.html Let's say you are a hard working immigrant. You run a small delicatessen
for a living. You are a person who has always tried to do the right thing,
stay true to your values and respect your family by being honest, trustworthy
and a more than adequate provider. Then one day a man walks in to your store
with a baseball bat raised, ready to bash your head in if you don't give him
all of the money, your money, that is in the cash register. What the would-be robber
doesn't know is that right below the cash register you have a licensed gun for
your protection - far more firepower than a baseball bat.
]]> Fri, 04 Dec 2009 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/who-would-you-save.html Last Saturday, in New Zealand, Stacy Horton saved his wife, Vanessa... as their son Silva, 13, drowned nearby. He
arrived at the scene of the crash, by the Whanganui River on North
Island, only two minutes after his wife's car had plunged into the
dark, cold river late on Saturday.
Read More]]> Thu, 03 Dec 2009 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/bringing-home-the-bacon.html When
I was planning my immigration to the USA little did I know that my
final few days should have been spent not touring the friends and
relatives, but chowing down on bacon every waking hour!
]]> Wed, 02 Dec 2009 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/easy-tiger.html
The Tiger Woods debacle in Florida this past weekend, the one in
which he crashed his car into a tree in the middle of the night and was rushed
to hospital, unconscious with facial lacerations, got me thinking. How much
of an invasion of a celebrity's privacy are we, the public, entitled to

]]> Tue, 01 Dec 2009 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/thanksgiving-day-rampage.html Did you see over the weekend that a man in Florida killed his aunt, two
sisters and his cousin's six-year-old daughter at a Thanksgiving dinner
party And I am horrified to say, that I didnrsquo;t feel much emotion in
response to this sickening news. I know that itrsquo;s terrifying and
horrifying; however I am becoming increasingly immune towards the
horrors of which I read everyday. Are people becoming evermore sick and
twisted, or was the world always this bloody
]]> Mon, 30 Nov 2009 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/black-friday.html
Today is Black Friday in the States. That means the day after
Thanksgiving when Christmas shoppers throughout the country get up at 4am and
bombard stores to get first dibs on the door-buster deals that retailers are
offering in the lead up to the Christmas holiday.


It got me thinking. Why do they call it Black Friday It's a good
day - right Gathering gifts for your loved ones. Injecting giant amounts of
cash into a sagging economy. Singing Christmas carols while you wrestle this
year's hot toy out of the cold dead fingers (ok, not really dead) of your
shopping competitors.

]]> Fri, 27 Nov 2009 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/happy-thanksgiving.html
OK, I am freaking out man, freaking out. I think it has all caught up with
me.


The economy. Work. DH. DD. DS. Even the dog is getting on my nerves for
God's sake.


I can't remember a time when I was this stressed out ever before in my life.
Is it a sign of the times A sign of my age The dreaded cross roads of
midlife, where you spend days pondering whether or not you have the best
life you could have, or if it has all been a terrible mistake

]]> Thu, 26 Nov 2009 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/multiple-madness.html
Raise your hand if you have ever desired twins at any point during
the baby making cycle.


No - me neither.


Of course I can see the advantages. It is certainly an efficient way
of creating an instant family without the boob sag that consecutive births bring -
although I imagine the extra-large pregnancy belly has to be dealt with via a
drawstring after the birth. But still - one pregnancy and you could end with either
a well-balanced boy/girl combo, a couple of boys who can wrestle each other
like puppies, or a cute set of girls with a shared collection of tatty-haired
Barbies.

]]> Wed, 25 Nov 2009 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/flooding-the-health-system.html Our house is in a flood zone. What that means is that if it rains,
there is a higher likelihood that our house will flood before someone else's home
that is not in a flood zone. What that really means is money. More money out of
our bank account into the coffers of the National Flood Insurance Program
because homeowners' insurance policies don't cover flood damage, so we have to
buy supplemental insurance. We could move, I guess, but we like our house. We
are making a choice.
]]> Tue, 24 Nov 2009 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/oprah-less-is-more.html So Oprah's calling it a day. In about
eighteen months. Well not really. According to her web site, OWN (Oprah Winfrey
Network) TV, launching in January 2011 is going to be a '24/7 cable network
devoted to self-discovery, to connecting you to your best self and to the
world.' And wait - apparently 'Oprah will be with us every day.' Oh, so despite
the fact that the headlines all say Oprah's calling it quits, we are actually
in for much, much more of the same.
]]> Mon, 23 Nov 2009 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/ideology-does-not-make-a-leader.html I held my
tongue for as long as I could but there has truly been a huge white elephant with
its giant, fat ass sitting on my keyboard. A week ago today, the Attorney
General of the US, Eric Holder, announced that the 5 men being held at
Guantanamo Bay Correctional Facility for terrorists, mass murderers and general
scumbags, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who boasted to authorities that he
masterminded the 9-11 attacks against the US, would be moved to New York City
and tried in a civilian court making their actions criminal as opposed to the
acts of war they were. They are reduced from being enemies of the State to innocent-until-proven-guilty
alleged criminals with all of the respective Constitutional rights.
]]> Fri, 20 Nov 2009 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/what-kind-of-bitch-are-you.html I don't think it's too much of a stretch to say that many women
are bitches, or at least have a bitchy side. I do, and I'm pretty sure that
most women can be slotted into one of the following bitch categories:
]]> Thu, 19 Nov 2009 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/women-and-violence.html At a recent professional sporting event, I first noticed a young
couple beginning to get into an argument as we were gathering to enter the
arena. They were too far away to hear, but he was becoming very animated and
she was holding up her hand in that lsquo;talk to this lsquo;cause the face ain't
listening' sort of way.
]]> Wed, 18 Nov 2009 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/whats-on-the-menu.html I get out of bed at the same time each morning, drop the kids off at
school every day, and order the same coffee from the same cafeacute; on the
way to work (always via the same route). I do the washing every
Monday and Friday, the ironing every Sunday, and the food shopping is
delivered
every Saturday. Necessity has always been the mother of anal
retentiveness.
]]> Tue, 17 Nov 2009 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/cmon-oprah-you-can-do-better-than-this.html
A child with two heads, a daughter who had a consensual sexual
relationship with her father for ten years, a woman whose face was
eaten by a chimp.


What's the connection


They've all been on Jerry Springer They've all been in the News of the World, maybe


Nope. None of the above. It's the big O.

]]> Mon, 16 Nov 2009 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/pull-up-a-chair.html Over a three week period in October 2002
John Allen Muhammad and a young accomplice carried out a spree of murders which
terrorized residents of the DC area and left ten people dead. He was sentenced to execution in Virginia, which was carried
out on the night of Tuesday November 10th of this year.
]]> Fri, 13 Nov 2009 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/french-women-do-get-fat-after-all.html
Finally, some good news. I mean some really good news.


You should sit down for this.


It turns out that French women do get fat.


Just like the rest of us.

]]> Thu, 12 Nov 2009 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/suzanne-somers-snake-oil-saleswoman.html Suzanne Somers
first became famous as the airhead blonde bombshell Chrissy Snow on the US sitcom
lsquo;Three's Company' (not doing too many favors for women even back then). Then
she did what many actresses do, and moved into the fitness industry - you might
have bought one of her infomercial ab rippers or exercise tapes over the years.
]]> Wed, 11 Nov 2009 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/migrant-misery.html
According to an article in Business World recently, it is estimated
that 700 million people in the world would like to move to another country if
they could.


Unsurprisingly, Sub-Saharan Africa leads the misery stakes with 38 of
the population wanting to leave. But then, if you were facing life against the grim backdrop of war, disease or famine,
wouldn't you want to escape too

Read More]]> Tue, 10 Nov 2009 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/political-correctness-is-deadly.html I am a
politically correct person. I think we all are these days. And, quite frankly,
it is not by choice but it is because the world we live in has made us so. I
was in a car repair shop this past week when I saw the first news of the mass
shooting in Fort Hood. I must admit that my initial thought was that it was an
act of terrorism and it involved a radicalized Muslim or Muslims. I kept that
thought to myself.
]]> Mon, 09 Nov 2009 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/gossip-girl.html Gossip Girl is a popular TV show here in the States (based on a book
series of the same name). Its primary audience is, as you might imagine from
the name, teenage girls. I have to be honest in that I have never seen the show
so I looked it up on TV.com where it is described as a peek into the world of
privileged teenagers at an elite private school in New York City.
]]> Fri, 06 Nov 2009 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/time-to-explore.html She has fame beyond
everyone's dreams (if fame is what you dream about) so why does Nicole Kidman
feel the need to tell us about how kinky her love life has been, and her lsquo;strange
sexual fetish' encounters Does she have a movie coming out She's now 42 - perhaps she's feeling the pressure of being a lsquo;woman in Hollywood' and has to
pull the kinky rabbit out of the hat.
Read More]]> Thu, 05 Nov 2009 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/justice-gets-burned-by-the-melting-pot.html
This just in from the WTF files:


Keith Bardwell, a Louisiana Justice of the Peace resigned last night
after being pressured by the Urban League, the Governor of Louisiana and,
implicitly, the Supreme Court.


In October, Bardwell committed the act that ultimately led to his
resignation. Back then, when asked for an apology, he said: lsquo;It's kind of hard
to apologize for something that you really and truly feel down in your heart
you haven't done wrong.'

]]> Wed, 04 Nov 2009 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/chivalry-versus-equality.html
You would think that dating, and the politics attached, would get
simpler as you get older and more confident. But actually, I think it gets more
complex.


When I dated the first time around, it was very straightforward. I was
broke, so when it came time for the check to be paid, I never considered
reaching for my credit card. I expected my date to pay. Whatever he might have chosen to believe, his paying
had no bearing on whether he was getting lucky that night. He paid and I made
my determination of his entrance into the promised land on other, more
important factors - primarily, what he looked like and how horny I was.

Read More]]> Tue, 03 Nov 2009 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/flowers-uncut.html In the world of reality TV, I thought we
had covered it all. 'Wife Swap' and 'Super Nanny' seem like rather obvious choices
for a fly-on-the-wall TV show. Admit it - we all love to see other people's
husbands, wives, children or siblings behaving worse than our lot. Although why
American Idol gets put in the 'reality' category at awards shows is beyond me.
It's a competition.
]]> Mon, 02 Nov 2009 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/barbie-you-have-fat-ankles-girl.html
Barbie, you may have a fantastic rack, but you have
seriously fat ankles.


At least, that's what designer Christian Louboutin says, and why he
isn't letting any of his designer shoes be recreated in a mini-doll-version
until that girl has some serious plastic surgery done. Her ankles, he says, are
simply too fat.

]]> Fri, 30 Oct 2009 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/mob-mentality-goes-unpunished.html There's a huge story from Richmond, California
at the moment involving the gang rape of a high school student, on school
premises and during the Homecoming Dance last weekend. Allegedly, the rapes
went on for about two and a half hours, while a crowd of around twenty watched
and photographed the incident, some even joining in with the attack. At no
point did anyone call the police and the victim was later found unconscious
under a bench. The police have about five suspects in custody, but apparently
none of the on-lookers can be charged with anything. While there is a law that
makes it a crime to witness, but not report, an assault on a minor (14 and
under), the rape victim here is 15 and therefore no one can be charged.

Really

]]> Thu, 29 Oct 2009 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/pilots-ignore-air-traffic-control.html How many times has this happened in your
house It's time for the kids to come down for supper, so you shout lsquo;supper!'
loudly from the kitchen. You may have to repeat this (lsquo;I said, right now! What
part of NOW do you not understand') on several occasions, getting closer to
the foot of the stairs until you finally throw in the towel, go up in person,
pound on the bedroom door, kick it open and find your teenager blissfully
attached to his iPod and deaf to the world.
You're not happy, he's not happy, and what makes it worse is when he
admits that he lsquo;didn't hear you the first four times you shouted.'
]]> Wed, 28 Oct 2009 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/this-boy-is-not-obese.html The Mail Online, a veritable potpourri of appealing anecdotes, reported yesterday on 5-year-old Giuliano Stroe for setting a Guinness World Record for the fastest 10 meter hand walk on record. As you can see from the pictures, little Giuliano is not your typical 5-year-old. His father, Julian, has been training Giuliano since he was 2 and the boy now has a 6-pack that would make Daniel Craig jealous.
]]> Tue, 27 Oct 2009 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/a-different-kind-of-tweet.html So I'm reading about Nicole Richie's new
baby boy on the front of People magazine. A new brother for sister Harlow and
very cute indeed. There's just one thing wrong. In a bid to up Gwyneth Paltrow
in the unusual baby names stakes, they've gone and named their bundle of joy
Sparrow. Yes, you read it correctly. Sparrow James Midnight Madden to be exact,
although he's going by Sparrow at the moment. (I'm placing a large bet that he'll be calling himself James by the time
he's thirty.)
]]> Mon, 26 Oct 2009 07:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/fat-family-has-children-removed.html In last Fridayrsquo;s Shout It! Toni raised the issue of U.S.healthcare
firms declining to cover overweight children, as they are beginning to
view childrsquo;s obesity as a pre-existing condition ndash; a big no no
among health insurers. In a comment to the piece, Graffiti Artist Jenny
Critchlow expressed concern that the UK sometimes follows suit with the
US on such things and hoped it really wouldnrsquo;t in this case.
]]> Fri, 23 Oct 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/im-glad-i-am-not-a-stalker.html Being, ahem, a mature woman is not all bad. You develop your own sense
of style as opposed to wearing what magazines tell you to. You acquire
a taste for wine over beer, cheap liquor and hard cider. And, I am
willing to bet, if you were placed in a situation where you split up
with a boyfriend or partner, you probably wouldn't cyber-stalk the
innocent new loves of your former flame into a mental breakdown.

]]> Thu, 22 Oct 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/delinquent-parenting.html A big story in the States at the moment is
the Heene family in Colorado,
who claimed that their 6-year-old child was in a large mylar balloon that had
become untethered. The balloon could be seen flying hundreds of feet in the
sky, chased by military planes. When no child was discovered in the balloon, it
was assumed he'd fallen out and a massive ground search ensued. Fortunately,
the child was found hiding in an attic back at home, but the family is now
under investigation for what turned out to be a complete hoax.
]]> Wed, 21 Oct 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/bank-rant.html I was recently in one of the main high street banks, and for once - oh
joy! There was hardly any queue at all. But instead of the quick service I was
hoping for, everything seemed to be at a complete stand still. The queue began
to grow... what could be the hold up People in the queue began to fidget,
peering over to see if they could figure out what the delay might be. I began
to wish I'd taken a book to read. The lady behind me wondered out loud if they
served coffee.
]]> Tue, 20 Oct 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/give-me-liberty-or-give-me-the-flu.html In an
unprecedented turn of events the New York State Board of Health has
mandated
that all health care workers receive both the annual flu shot and the
H1N1
vaccine this year or lose their job. Now, did I miss something here
Did I wake up to find myself living in The Communist States of
America Since when are American
citizens coerced into taking State mandated drugs or lose their jobs
]]> Mon, 19 Oct 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/big-bouncing-babies.html
There's a news story in the States at the
moment that speaks volumes about the health insurance system.


Parents in Colorado, seeking to
take out health insurance for their 4-month-old baby, were denied coverage because
the baby (at 17lbs) was 'too fat.'

Read More]]> Fri, 16 Oct 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/smokers-lung-donation.html I am totally perplexed by this. In 2007, Papworth Hospital, England's
largest cardiothoracic hospital, performed a lung transplant on Army corporal
Matthew Millington, who died of lung cancer within a year of the operation. The
transplanted organs had been harvested from a heavy smoker. In addition, the immuno-suppressive
drugs used to stop Corporal Millington's body rejecting the donor lungs sped up
the growth of the lung cancer. Some terrible mistake, surely
]]> Thu, 15 Oct 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/before-you-score-app.html I am an iPhone lover. I love everything Apple: iPhones, iPods,
MacBooks, iTunes, GarageBand, Final Cut and well, everything. What has really
made me love my iPhone more than all of the other items on my growing list, are
the apps that are available for it. I no longer worry about getting lost
because I just pull up my GPS app. I don't worry about reservations for dinner
because the Open Table app makes it easy for me to get something at the last
minute almost anywhere I want.
]]> Wed, 14 Oct 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/stephen-gately-rip.html
In all honesty, I can never remember which 90s boyband members were
in which 90s boyband. Even if I can just about recall that Take That were not
Irish, I'm still left with Westlife and Boyzone.


What I do remember is the intense
loyalty of the mostly female fans for such a simple formula - five blokes, all dressed
the same, and all raising their outstretched arms in unison at the end of a
power ballad.

]]> Tue, 13 Oct 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/obama-wins-nobel-peace-prize.html
President Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize last week.


Wait, President Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize last week


For what What has he done, exactly, that qualifies him for this And despite claiming he was 'surprised and deeply humbled' why did he accept it Does he think he deserves it

]]> Mon, 12 Oct 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/spread-the-love-not-the-germs.html Wouldn't you think with the current, manic
fear of Swine Flu, that snot-nosed, hacking coughers would stay the hell away
from others Of course not. There's work to do, classes to attend, exams to
take. What they do is so important that everyone else's health comes a very
distant second.
]]> Fri, 09 Oct 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/injecting-is-too-good-for-em.html Here's a doozy. Romell Broom was slated to be executed by the State
of Ohio last month for the rape and murder of a 9th grade girl,
Tryna Middleton, who was on her way home from a Friday night football game. Broom's
DNA was found 'in' her according to news reports. Turns out that Broom has deep
veins because it took the lethal injection technicians (there's some job, huh)
2 hours before they gave up trying to find a suitable vein in which to pump the deadly
cocktail into his evil little body.
]]> Thu, 08 Oct 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/why-oh-wi-fi.html
What would you be willing to pay pound;25 for


A pair of shoes That'd be a bargain for many of us.


How about a pie and chips Well that'd be a bit expensive.


And, a bottle of bubbly If the occasion demanded.


How about 25 quid to send an email OK, a few emails No Well I
did.

]]> Wed, 07 Oct 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/emotional-baggage.html
Travelling is for the birds. Being some place new, however, is
something I am quite fond of. But, I suffer from a terrible affliction when it
comes to travel - I can never decide what to pack.

So, I
go with what I believe is a very sensible plan: I pick a suitcase based on
whether or not I am checking my bags and then I stuff it with as many of my
clothes/accessories/makeup/swimsuits (regardless of climate) that I can
manage.
I think we can all agree that when on holiday, a lady needs
choices. Hell, even I need choices.
]]> Tue, 06 Oct 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/contact-point-database.html
The proposed Contact Point child database
will contain the names, addresses and other details of England's 11
million children under 18, together with information on their parents, schools
and GPs. It's touted as a 'quick way for authorized practitioners in different
services to find out who else is working with the same child.'


Sounds fairly
reasonable to me although there's much wringing of hands about it, because of data
security concerns and Soviet-style government paranoia. Last week, further
details were given about the database, which, I predict, may change the face of
England's
class system forever.

]]> Mon, 05 Oct 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/two-fingered-salute.html
lsquo;...as far as personal blogging is concerned, I've turned
the page. And it feels good.'


These were the closing words on the final post of blog queen
Catherine Sanderson or lsquo;Petite Anglaise' as she is known by her army of devoted
fans. As one of the most successful bloggers of all time, Sanderson has kept online
audiences gripped since 2004 with the intimate details of her life and
relationships.

Read More]]> Fri, 02 Oct 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/the-zurich-film-festival-jury-has-spoken.html Sorry to bang on about Roman Polanski,
but
- somebody pinch me. The Hollywood folk
here are very upset about his recent arrest in Zurich and are demanding
his 'immediate release.' About 140 film-industry-related people,
including Woody
Allen (of course) have signed a petition, and the Zurich Film Festival
jury
President, the ever-stable Debra Winger has stated, 'The case is three
decades
old and is all but dead but for minor technicalities.' Minor
technicalities! As
I said - somebody pinch me!
Read More]]> Thu, 01 Oct 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/surveying-the-damage.html
Another day, another survey that aims to pit working mothers against their stay-at-home counterparts. This one is about the children of working mothers
being fatter, spottier and more moronic than those of non-working mothers. Or
something like that. I can't really remember.


So, are you ready ladies In the red corner we have all you pushy
ambitious bitches who can't wait to palm your babies onto hatchet-faced
East European teenagers - while shoving doughnuts into their tiny mouths to
stifle their weeping. And in the blue corner we have you lazy half-witted saps
who willingly turn your children into over-indulged despots that develop a rash
if they even sniff a non-organic carrot.

Read More]]> Wed, 30 Sep 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/roman-polanski-fugitive-from-the-law.html
As someone who is naturally belligerent, I have always found
Switzerland's pride in its lsquo;neutrality' rather misplaced. I mean, is there a
more annoying phrase in the English language than lsquo;we'll just have to agree to disagree'
Oh, come now - what's wrong with a good rabid argument
instead Surely people who won't align on one side or another of any debate -
either personal or international - are just life's lily-livered spectators


So I have been in the rather unusual position this week of
admiring the Swiss.

]]> Tue, 29 Sep 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/the-nanny-state.html
British newspapers
this weekend were reporting about two young mothers who work part time and
watch the other one's child on their day off. I wish I'd had an arrangement
like that when I was working part time.

Unfortunately, some
interfering busybody reported them to Ofsted, whose regulations state that
where a person cares for at least one child for 'reward' in their own house, for
more than two hours in any one day, they must be registered as
childminders.
Read More]]> Mon, 28 Sep 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/sex-and-drinking.html
A survey showing that millions of women like to have a drink
before having sex has concluded that this must be because they lack confidence
in their bodies.


I like having a drink before sex - but then I also like having
a drink before watching a film, making a meal, or going to a concert - none of
which involve concerns about body image.

]]> Fri, 25 Sep 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/rights-schmights.html
I was recently reading about a conference
at University College,
London on the
subject of motherhood in the 21st century. Shere Hite, the well known
anthropologist and cultural historian was then quoted in the Times as saying lsquo;I
believe that women of every age have the right to bear children.' She also
lamented the fact that older mothers are pilloried while older fathers are
handed cigars, and thinks the entire issues is one of sexism.


Excuse me. Since when does anyone have a lsquo;right'
to bear children

]]> Thu, 24 Sep 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/obama-at-the-un.html No matter what your political bent or
affiliation, doesn't it feel pretty good to send a black man to the United
Nations General Assembly meeting this morning representing the United States
Didn't you want the President to say something like lsquo;So, Mr. Ahmadinejad,
thought you were going to be screwing around with those white boys from Texas
forever, dintcha Never thought you were gonna have to deal with a brother from
Chi-town.'
]]> Wed, 23 Sep 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/teenager-in-love.html Yesterday a music teacher, Helen Goddard , was convicted of
having a multi-month sexual affair with a 15-year-old female pupil. She was
sentenced to 15 months in jail but the judge, recognizing that the teacher and
pupil were indeed in love, decided not to prevent the two from seeing each
other after Ms. Goddard is freed.
]]> Tue, 22 Sep 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/whos-fooling-who.html
Question: Now that
you are - ahem - older, are you actually any wiser, or is that just a myth they
feed us when we're young and callow to try and take some of the pain away from
our impending ageing process


I'm speaking about a very specific area where getting wiser
would be a good idea; that of Food. Food
consumption, in fact.


A few days ago, having coffee with a friend, she mentioned
that she had been out with some girlfriends recently and that one of them -
after a few glasses of wine - had confessed her lsquo;dirty little secret.' Every
day, at 11.00am, rain or shine, she eats a bar of Cadbury Caramel
chocolate.

]]> Mon, 21 Sep 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/obama-blows-off-eastern-europe.html
You may have read yesterday that President
Obama has come up with a, ahem, 'smarter' plan for the Bush-era Eastern
European missile defense shield. Of course the Eastern Europeans don't
think it
is smarter, they just think it is, um, wimpier. It got me thinking -
how would Winnie's famous 'We Shall Fight on the Beaches' speech read if
President Obama were delivering it today
Addendums in bold:
]]> Fri, 18 Sep 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/grow-a-pair-kanye.html
You may have heard about the rude young rapper, Kanye West, who
interrupted
Taylor Swift's acceptance speech at the VMA awards the other night (best
female
video), to say that he felt Beyonce's video was the best ever. The poor
girl is
a teenager, it was her first award and he ruined her moment. Everyone in
the
audience was shocked, he was boo-ed off the stage and apparently
escorted out of
the building.


Since then it's been the talk of the town. He left a lengthy
apology on his blog, then made a scheduled appearance on the Jay Leno
show
where, in my opinion, he seemed genuinely sorry and a little depressed.

]]> Thu, 17 Sep 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/younger-looking-skin.html
I am getting younger. It is truly a miracle but that is the only way
that I can explain what is going on with my skin.


Take this past Sunday morning. I woke up with a hangover and a face
full of spots. These are not the normal afflictions of a 45-year-old
woman.
These are the badges of honour of a university student.

]]> Wed, 16 Sep 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/revenge-of-the-curry.html
Ban Indian Food. Ban it all. Ban it straight to hell.


The reason it must be banished from this earth is that I cannot help
myself. I love it. I love everything about it. The smells, the tastes,
the
little sauces that come along side it.

]]> Tue, 15 Sep 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/just-what-does-it-take.html
Aren't we supposed to be in a recession at
the moment Haven't about a gazillion people lost their jobs recently
Right.
Thought so. In that case, why can't I get someone to come out to my
house when
I need help Don't these people want work


About six weeks ago I asked a painter to
give me a quote to paint the entire ground floor and basement of my
house. Not
an insignificant job, as the man recognized at the time. I haven't heard
a
dickey bird since then, and you know what, I'm not about to chase the
lazy sod
up either. My walls can stay grubby and bashed up for a while longer.
It's not
like we have a lot of company.

]]> Mon, 14 Sep 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/you-and-me-and-baby-makes-21.html
There has recently been some press in the States about Michelle
Duggar. She and her husband, ahem, Jim Bob, have their own reality
TV show
which chronicles the raising of the 18 children Michelle has borne (15
vaginally and 3 by C-section). The reason there was some news is that
last week
Michelle announced that she was pregnant with her 19th.


Michelle is 42. She had her first child in 1988. During her
child-bearing run she
has had 2 sets of twins, meaning that she has been pregnant 17 times in
the last 21
years.

Read More]]> Fri, 11 Sep 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/mike-duvall.html
The following was taken from a CBS headline article:


lsquo;I like spanking her,' he said to a riveted crony who hung on his every
word.


lsquo;She goes, lsquo;I know you like spanking me.' I said lsquo;Yeah, that's 'cause
you're such a bad girl'.'

So if you were the gambling type, who would you bet was bragging of such
things
Read More]]> Thu, 10 Sep 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/medicare.html
There seems to be a consensus in the US that the
Health Care system isn't serving everyone (apparently about 47 million)
and is
in need of serious improvement.


Obama campaigned on a promise to make
improvements and was elected into office, you'd assume, partly because
of
this. Now we have the Tea Party
bandwagon (www.teapartyexpress.org)
rolling across the country, screaming either that Obama's proposals are
'fascist' or 'Afro-Leninism' (heard by my very own ears on TV).

Read More]]> Wed, 09 Sep 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/lance-corporal-joshua-bernard.html
Lance Corporal Joshua Bernard had his picture posted by the
Associated Press recently as part of the AP's coverage on the war in
Afghanistan. The problem with the photo
was that Corporal Bernard had just had
his legs blown to bits by a grenade and was dying.


Corporal Bernard's family, including his mother, pleaded with the AP not
to
publish the picture. They knew, as the AP did, that
the picture would soon be featured globally in the media, on TV and on
the Internet. The
family knew that at some point they were going to see it because it
would be
everywhere.

]]> Tue, 08 Sep 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/football-widow.html I just heard that the football season starts this Thursday night. I
heard it from my husband who was busy making plans with some friends to
watch
the game. If you are a wife in the States you know exactly what I am
talking
about. For those of you who are not, the National Football League is the
biggest time suck in the history of sports. It used to be, if you were a
lsquo;football widow' it meant that on Sunday you never saw your husband.
There was
a game at 1pm and a game at 4 pm. And, there was always a Monday night
game.
]]> Mon, 07 Sep 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/summer-holiday.html
So it has come and gone once again. Summer that is. It is Labor Day
weekend in the U.S. indicating the unofficial end of summer.


I entered the summer truly jazzed about everything I was going to do
with all of my free time. I actually made a list.

]]> Fri, 04 Sep 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/kidney-compensation.html CNN.com has been doing a series of stories about illegal
trafficking of human organs. This story
is about a man who, 4 years ago, saw an advert in the newspaper in his
native Tel
Aviv seeking a kidney donor. He answered the ad, was a match and flew to
New
York City to have one of his healthy kidneys removed.
Read More]]> Thu, 03 Sep 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/bt-customer-service.html British Telecom (BT) decided to bring about 2,000 Indian call centre
jobs back into the United Kingdom recently as a way to provide work for
permanent employees and avoid redundancies as a result of the recession.
This is such a responsible corporate move that there must be some
ulterior motive but I can't work out what that is yet, so I'll just take
it at face value and say lsquo;well done BT.'
]]> Wed, 02 Sep 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/staycation.html The term 'staycation' is a load of crap. It was invented by
economists or worse, the media, during the most recent recession, the
one we
are sort of emerging from at the moment, in order to rationalize people
staying
at home for their annual family holiday rather than going someplace
fabulous
(or even someplace mediocre).
]]> Tue, 01 Sep 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/xx.html H1N1 is the fancy genetic coded name for the virus formerly known as
Swine Flu. The Internet news sites are ablaze with horror stories of the
approaching pandemic due this flu season. Forgive me if I missed
something here, but didn't we have the same sort of warnings just a few
months ago in the spring when Swine Flu showed up on the world stage
Weren't there going to be hundreds of thousands, maybe even millions of
deaths, from the outbreak that was going to single handedly thin the
populations of the entire planet
]]> Mon, 31 Aug 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/senator-ted-kennedy-dies.html Senator Ted Kennedy died on Wednesday. Brain tumor got him after about
15 months of fighting it off. Ted, or the lsquo;Liberal Lion' of the US
Senate, had the reputation as a staunch fighter for the underprivileged
and a very fair man in that he was one of a dying breed (no pun intended
- really) that would cast aside partisanship in order to make a deal
and get legislation passed.
]]> Fri, 28 Aug 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/hair-free-zone.html Body hair. Why is so much time and money devoted to getting rid of
it Is it because we want to look like young girls Is it because we
like the sensation of having our hair
ripped from our most sensitive body parts Is it because it makes us
feel less
beastly and thus more appealing to the people who spend time down there
for
recreational purposes
]]> Thu, 27 Aug 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/appsolutely-nuts.html
While walking through the mall the
other day, I heard a teenage girl exclaiming to her friend, 'Look at
this
app!' Her voice was high and excited and
her thumbs were moving just as fast, if not faster than her lips.


Obviously she wasn't getting all
excited over a job application (she was too young to work). Or any other
sort
of application related to 'real' life, such as one for a credit card, a
bank
loan or college admission.

]]> Wed, 26 Aug 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/little-league-world-series.html
Williamsport, Pennsylvania is the home of the Little League World
Series, an international baseball tournament for 12-year-old boys (and
one brave little girl from Canada). The tournament is going on all of
this week with eight American teams and eight international teams
competing for the 12-year-old equivalent of worldwide baseball
supremacy.

I watched a bit of it with my husband this weekend who is absolutely
enthralled by it despite the fact that our two boys are well beyond 12
and never came close to competing in something so infamous. The reason I
was able to watch some of it is that every single game is being
broadcast nationally on ESPN.
]]> Tue, 25 Aug 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/oh-what-a-night.html
I have become very clean living as I have gotten older.


I wasn't a drug addict or anything in my younger days, but let's
just say I knew how to have fun and there is many an empty glass and
stomped
out Marlboro Light to prove it.

]]> Mon, 24 Aug 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/scots-free-terrorist.html
Yesterday, for stated reasons of
compassion, Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill freed PanAm
Flight 103
terrorist Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi


In 2001 al-Megrahi was convicted of the
270 murders that resulted from the plane's midflight bombing over
Lockerbie,
Scotland. That means that al-Megrahi served roughly 11 days for each
person he killed. The reason they are letting him go is that he is
terminally
ill with cancer, with only 3 months to live, and he really wanted
to spend
his final days with his loved ones.

]]> Fri, 21 Aug 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/writers-take-heed.html
This was too good to pass up. It seems that being a hack in New York
City can actually get you a writing gig. Or, in the case of Mike Puerto, it gets you a show on
television.


Mike left his job as a derivatives trader in 2000 to devote his time to
driving a New York City taxi and writing a teleplay about Wall Street
called lsquo;Mamp;Arsquo; for mergers and acquisitions. Mike posted a sign in the
back of his cab saying, and I paraphrase here, that 'if yoursquo;re a TV
exec, the driver has a pitch for a 1 hour drama for you.'

Read More]]> Thu, 20 Aug 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/grammar-nutter-needs-a-life.html
Stefan Gatward is really peeved by poor grammar. He
is 62, a former soldier and perpetually disappointed in the
bastardization of the Queenrsquo;s English by the English government and
business. He has taken it upon himself to fix grammatically incorrect
street signs in his village of Tunrbridge Wells. Actually, Stefan would
remind you that it is Royal Turnbridge Wells and you would be
wise not to forget that when in his company.


Stefan takes great exception to the sign naming his street lsquo;St Johns
Close.rsquo; Clearly, to even the largest dolt among us, it should be lsquo;St
Johnrsquo;s Close,rsquo; and with brush and paint can in hand, he is painting the
apostrophe right where it belongs ndash; in... Read More]]> Wed, 19 Aug 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/starbucks-the-evil-coffee-empire.html
I am one of those people who hates the body snatcher like claim modern
chain restaurants have over the old mom and pop shops of yesteryear
(thatrsquo;s right, I said yesteryear). Sure Mickey Drsquo;s was around when I was
a child but it was supplemental to Boccersquo;s, the local burger joint run
by, well, the Boccersquo;s.


Martyrsquo;s the local soda fountain/coffee shop in my old neighborhood was
replaced long ago by the ubiquitous, urbane and soulless coffee shop
from Seattle.


Home Depot has killed all the old hardware stores.


You get the point.

]]> Tue, 18 Aug 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/my-husband-is-too-competitive.html
I love exercise. During the week, itrsquo;s a solo thing, very early in the
morning when nobody else is up. On weekends, however, my husband and I
like to exercise together. We ride bicycles. Actually, I should say
that I like to ride bicycles with him.


Him I donrsquo;t think he likes riding so much with me.

]]> Mon, 17 Aug 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/should-you-or-shouldnt-you.html A comment on PRG yesterday got me thinking.
Apparently if you decide to take on something as challenging as a
marathon (an
admirable albeit insane undertaking), don't throw away your fat clothes.
It
seems that when you start training for a marathon you start eating, as
my
father would say lsquo;like you are going to the electric chair.' Logical
enough.
You're regularly running more miles than you ever dreamed of, so why not
down an
entire pizza for breakfast You'll burn it off.
]]> Fri, 14 Aug 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/freedom-tower.html
Adversity often brings out the best in people and communities. There
are stories of people overcoming great obstacles. Lance Armstrong beat
testicular cancer to win 7 Tours de France. John Wayne overcame the
first name
Marion. Londoners held in there during the Blitz to wear down the Nazi
machine.


And then there is New York City. Bastion of capitalism and a get-it-done
attitude that rivals any city, big or small, in the world. It was 7
years, 11
months and 1 day ago that terrorists flew the planes into the buildings
of the
World Trade Center. I was there. I was on a corner about 6 blocks away,
having
just worked up the courage to leave my high rise apartment when the
first
building collapsed. I ran, with my dog... Read More]]> Thu, 13 Aug 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/women-seen-not-heard.html
My husband and I were at a benefit recently for a charity in which 4
couples were honored for the time and money (both of which were
significant) that they, as couples, donated to the charity. We knew one
of the couples being honored personally (the reason we were in
attendance) and the wife, who earns a very good living, commits far more
of her time to the cause than the husband.


Yet, when it came time for each of the couples to accept their award and
say a few words, the husbands did all of the talking and the wives all
nodded dutifully. Even our friend, the driving force behind their work
and donations, just stood straight, hands behind her back, in support of
her man.

]]> Wed, 12 Aug 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/honesty.html
I say whatrsquo;s on my mind. To put it in PowderRoomGraffiti terms, I tell
it like it is. If someone asks me a question, especially if it is a
friend or family member, I answer it. Directly. Truthfully. Honestly.





Do you know what this makes me





Lonely!

Read More]]> Tue, 11 Aug 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/doctor-doctor.html
Here in the US, those of us who can still afford health care often have
a choice in which doctors we see. What most of these doctors don't seem
to realize is that although our choice is often based on their skill or
reputation, this can very easily be ruined by our experience in the
office.

For example, if it takes me more than two phone calls to get someone to
call me back, I'm not impressed. If it takes more than three days to
return my call, I'm likely to become impatient. If you only work
Mondays and Wednesday mornings, and you're booked up for six months, I
may have to look elsewhere. [...]
]]> Mon, 10 Aug 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/romantic-heroes-for-grown-up-women-in-2009.html
The classic romantic novel works like a kind of drug. When stressed I
use Georgette Heyer, and any Barbara Cartland written before 1950 -
when her '....' became tiresome; and early Jilly Coopers, like Octavia
and Emily. It works like a charm: take two in a hot bath before
bedtime.

In truly mainstream, branded romantic fiction, which I find difficult
to read, the situations are so far-fetched and outside the experience
of real women today as to be an unreal dream of perfection that can
never come true. Heroes traditionally are muscular and capable. They
can read a map, they never need to ask for directions. They run massive
but rather cloudy and indistinct corporations, or they play polo to
Olympic standard while living in penthouses... Read More]]> Fri, 07 Aug 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/hot-vs-cold.html
I am always cold and my better half is always hot.


You would think that this is an issue in the winter when in actuality it
is the summer when this causes our real problems.

]]> Thu, 06 Aug 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/married-to-your-gadgets.html
I have a BlackBerry.


I have a computer with WiFi access almost everywhere I go.


I text, tweet and Skype in the middle of conversation with other people.


I tap on my keyboard while on the phone.


I sleep with either my computer or BlackBerry on the side table next to
my bed.

]]> Wed, 05 Aug 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/clinton-in-north-korea.html
Let's say there is a fence in your town around a mysterious and menacing
military installation.


A sign says lsquo;Top Secret. Trespassers will be prosecuted to the fullest
extent of the law. We're not joking. You will go to jail for a very long
time, if we don't shoot you, if you climb the fence.'

]]> Tue, 04 Aug 2009 06:02:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/dont-text-and-drive.html
Here in the US there are currently fourteen states and the District of
Columbia, with laws against texting or e-mailing while driving. Now, a
handful of Senators are putting forward legislation that would call for a
federal ban. (For non-US readers, laws are state wide only unless
specifically passed as a federal law, in which case they apply to the
entire country). A Virginia Tech study of truck drivers showed that the
drivers were 6 times more likely to be involved in a collision when on a
cell phone, and 23 times more likely when texting. We can assume that
those numbers are similar for car drivers.


It's bad enough having drivers who seem to reserve one hand specifically
for holding the cell phone up to the ear, but... Read More]]> Mon, 03 Aug 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/ridiculous-recall.html
I understand the necessity of recalling products. I'm all for taking
back a stroller that folds up while walking your toddler. Car seats that
don't stay buckled in place. Tainted milk. Poisoned dog food. Even a
condom that has a faulty layer. But the other day when I learned about
this new recall, I was taken aback: My Starbucks coffee grinder!


For God's Sake.

]]> Fri, 31 Jul 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/taking-the-plunge.html
Here are the facts as I understand them:


I have been married for a long time.


I have sex about twice per week (once if you define sex as including
another person).


The sex ranges from ok to good.


I would like crazy monkey sex every now and then.

]]> Thu, 30 Jul 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/wear-a-bikini-in-your-50s.html
Tina
Brown spoke at the BlogHer09 conference about her new politics and
news blog, 'The Daily Beast.' One question she addressed was whether she
uses sex to sell 'The Daily Beast.' She said that on the whole, she
tends to avoid sensational sex stories but had recently done a piece
about looking great over 50, showing a list of hot women in that age group. (Apparently it was one
of her most popular pieces.)


'Bravo' I thought. 'People should know it's not all over as soon as you
leave your 30s.' She then continued (and I'm paraphrasing) that of
course you should still be able to wear a bikini in your 50s 'if you're
in great shape.' What Hold on a minute. What happens if you're not
Has she never been to a beach... Read More]]> Wed, 29 Jul 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/stop-blaming-your-parents.html Some of us may have had parents that weren't that nice to us. Maybe they
were mentally or physically abusive. Maybe they ignored us, drank too
much or did things far worse than that. We are certainly of a generation
in which these things were common.
]]> Tue, 28 Jul 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/mom-a-one-woman-title.html
Like most people I only have one mother.


I know there are situations in which peoplersquo;s parents get divorced when
they are young and a father remarries and they get a second mother. Or,
maybe a person is raised by someone other than their biological mother
and there is reason to call 2 women lsquo;mom.rsquo;

Read More]]> Mon, 27 Jul 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/14-year-old-boy-weighs-550-pounds.html Here is what I was able to garner from a video report on CNN:
Read More]]> Fri, 24 Jul 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/golden-girl.html
I love Rebecca Adlington. She is a fabulous swimmer with a jolly laugh,
great personality, and two Olympic gold medals to her name. I hold her
up to my daughter as a great role model for the wonderful things that
can be achieved in sport if you work hard (and surely distance swimming
training has got to be the most tedious hard work that you can do).


So to me, Rebecca Adlington epitomises all that is great about being
female, sporty and successful. She makes me proud to be British, with
her honest, hardworking ethic.

]]> Thu, 23 Jul 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/seal-of-disapproval.html
Consider this if you will. A small plot of beach is gifted to the City of La Jolla,
California in the 1930's by a benevolent philanthropist. The gift deed
requires that the plot of land be made available for public use.
Families over the years gather at the beach and it has been a
particularly good spot to bring children because it was designed in a
way, as part of the gift, so that the water is always calm and placid.


In fact, it is so calm and placid that harbor seals begin making use of
the beach in the mid-1990's as a place to do their midday sun siesta.
Harbor seals are brazen little buggers because of their status as
lsquo;Federally Protected.' This protection arms them with an audacity that
gives them little regard... Read More]]> Wed, 22 Jul 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/lance-armstrong-hero-or-prick.html
I like watching the Tour de France. It is the only sporting event I
like. I ride a bike as my favorite form of exercise so I can ever so
distantly relate to the pain of climbing up a hill with someone who is a
better rider than you. I feel connected to it more than any other
sport.


I was happy to hear Lance Armstrong was coming out of retirement to try
and win his 8th Tour. I like Lance. He's a cancer survivor
and a bit of a smug rogue. And, truth is, much to my mother's dismay, I
always liked the roguish characters. I didn't like when he left his wife
for Sheryl Crow or when he left Sheryl Crow for someone younger, but,
hey, that's what rogues do.

]]> Tue, 21 Jul 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/the-mother-of-all-equality-battles.html
We have struggled with equality for decades.


We have fought for the right to vote and we battled to control our own
bodies and what grows inside of them. We have burned bras and
participated in free love. We have withheld sex to make a point and we
have gone to great lengths to prove that we can be powerful and feminine
at the same time.

]]> Mon, 20 Jul 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/barack-mom-jeans-obama.html
It was not too long ago that we used this space to address the issue of
the media attempting to
make Michelle Obama a fashion icon, (when the facts donrsquo;t
necessarily bear that out) out of a compulsive need to deify the First
Lady. It seems that the President isnrsquo;t afforded the same deference by
the media.


This week the President threw out the ceremonial first pitch at the
Baseball All Star game that took place in St. Louis. Unfortunately, it
was on our TV and I was forced to watch it. Sure, I was surprised to see
our Commander-in-Chief take to the field before the start of the game,
but even more so when I got a glimpse of his outfit. He was wearing a
baseball jacket in support of his hometown Chicago... Read More]]> Fri, 17 Jul 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/an-orgasm-a-day.html
Apparently a daily orgasm has great physical and emotional benefits.


At least that is what teachers are supposed to tell teenage students
these days. This is according to the National Health Service in the city of Sheffield
which issued a pamphlet entitled 'Pleasure' that espouses the upside of
sexual relations, fornication and other dastardly acts.

Read More]]> Thu, 16 Jul 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/mango-juicer-comments.html If you have something to say about the Mango Juicer video, please do so
below.
]]> Thu, 16 Jul 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/what-in-the-world-is-she-thinking.html
On July 3rd, Sarah Palin decided that fireworks were not the only thing
that would go out with a bang. As you already know, Palin announced her
resignation as governor of Alaska 18 months before her term was up.





Though she endured much scrutiny in the 2008 presidential election with
presidential running mate John McCain, I have to say I was a true Palin
fan. You canrsquo;t deny that shersquo;s different and her methods are
unconventional to say the least. Whether you are a fan of Palin or not,
you have to admit that selling the governorrsquo;s jet on eBay was too cool!
However, I think shersquo;s stepped over the edge this time.

Read More]]> Wed, 15 Jul 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/tears-on-my-keyboard.html
I need a new laptop. In and of itself that does not seem like a big
deal. However, I do not have a clue as to what to buy. So, I did what
anyone in my situation would do. I went to Google and searched lsquo;best
laptops.' That got me such a volume of nonsensical results that I
refined my search - lsquo;best laptops under $1000.' Things got no better. I
ended up on CNET.com from my Google search and could not make heads or
tails out of that. Sure, they had a couple of Top Lists but it seems
that they really like Dells and Macs a lot. I am suspicious that they
are not objective; pawns of big corporate players. Besides that, I am
getting rid of my Dell which has been a disaster and I want to stick
with a PC.


I called my... Read More]]> Tue, 14 Jul 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/texting-can-be-hazardous-to-your-health.html
I donrsquo;t typically enjoy ringing the alarm bell mostly because I find
alarmists extremely annoying people but this article caught my eye this
past weekend. A teenage girl was strolling along a Staten Island street
(the least known of the 5 boroughs that make up New York City) happily
getting ready to send a text message to a friend. The very next thing
she knew, she had fallen down a sewer manhole which had been uncovered
by workers who stepped away for a few moments to retrieve the orange
cones to place around the hazard to warn pedestrians. Luckily, the girl
only suffered very minor bumps and bruises.


Two things about this story worry me. The first is the fact that this
young girl was so enthralled by the goings on... Read More]]> Mon, 13 Jul 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/michael-jacksons-funeral.html
If you were in the U.S. this week you were subjected to a media
phenomenon like nothing I have ever seen. The coverage of the Michael
Jackson funeral/concert/memorial/spectacle was the lead story, front
page, and filler content for every major news outlet in the entire
country. This covers TV networks (cable and broadcast), newspapers,
weeklies, magazines, websites and every local bit of media out there.


With the funeral behind them as of Tuesday, which apparently 31 million
people watched, the media is now aghast over where his body is being
held and what the final resting place for it will be. There are rumors
it is being held temporarily in a crypt owned by Berry Gordy, Motown
founder. For fuck's sake, do you think... Read More]]> Fri, 10 Jul 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/sperm-needed.html
The headline in todayrsquo;s Telegraph.co.uk
reads lsquo;Human sperm created from stem cells in world first, claims
British university.rsquo; With all due respect to the Telegraph, that should
not be the headline, but rather the little gem that is in the body of
the article which states 'It could even be possible to create sperm from
female stem cells, they say, which would ultimately mean a woman having
a baby without a man.' That, my dear ladies, is the headline.


Is this saying what I think it is saying Could this be the drubbing out
of the incessant drumming of our collective biological clock Do we no
longer, at the age of 35, have to start trawling seedy bars, Internet
dating sites and lsquo;Aunt Conniersquo;s... Read More]]> Thu, 09 Jul 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/working-it-out.html
Workout technology is so overdone at this point that I just want to hang
up my Nikes. It is to the point that when I walk into the gym I am
demoralized before I have even broken a sweat. Yes the fancy heart rate
monitors and iPods are one thing - even understandable. It's easy to see
why music makes the workout more pleasant and if you are training for
something I can see why you might take it up a notch by wearing a heart
rate monitor.


But recently I have seen people wearing calorie counters, pedometers,
intensity meters and blood pressure monitors (ok, maybe that last one is
medical). They discuss things like max heart rate, vO2 max, max
efforts, lactic thresholds, endurance thresholds and protein ratios. And
it... Read More]]> Wed, 08 Jul 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/dance-your-ass-off.html
A current reality show/dance competition here in the States is subtly
entitled 'Dance Your Ass Off.' Each week, overweight, or 'full-figured'
contestants train with a professional dancer and give a live
performance. At the same time, because of all the exercise they are now
doing, it is assumed they are losing weight. The winning score each week
is a combination of dance marks and pounds lost.


Okay, I'm all for people trying to lead healthier lifestyles, and I am
certainly not poking fun at overweight people, although why this all has
to be done on national TV beats me. No, my big beef (excuse the pun)
here is this: What has the western world come to that we need dance-offs
and television competitions to help...]]> Tue, 07 Jul 2009 06:03:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/a-lad-insane.html
A 38 year old British film maker and self-confessed sci fi geek is at
the MCM (Movie Comic Media) Expo, in London's Docklands, to promote his
first indie sci fi film called 'Moon' - a drama about a solitary
spaceman slowly unravelling as he approaches the end of a three year
solo stint on a moon base.


Zowie Bowie (for it is he, the son of David) was unwittingly at the
forefront of the trend for celebrities to give their children daft
names, to remind us all that they are not like the rest of us. It is
reassuring to hear that it didn't take long for young Zowie to rebel,
first by shortening his name to lsquo;Joe' and then at 19 reverting to his
passport name of lsquo;Duncan Jones.'

]]> Tue, 07 Jul 2009 06:02:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/pre-nuptial-bliss.html
Pre-nuptial agreements were given significant recognition in English law
for the first time last week after wealthy German heiress Katrin
Radmacher won a landmark legal battle to protect her assets from her
former husband Nicolas Granatino, because of the contract they had
signed before they married. Although they are legally binding in the USA
and parts of Europe, pre-nuptial agreements have never been enforceable
under English law.


In a statement outside court, Miss Radmacher said: quot;I am delighted that
the court accepts that the agreement Nicolas and I entered into as
intelligent adults before our marriage should be honoured.'

]]> Mon, 06 Jul 2009 06:02:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/emails-are-killing-my-sense-of-humor.html
Does anyone else find it terribly difficult to be funny in emails For
me, it is near impossible yet I continue to attempt it at great risk of
harm to my stress level and reputation. The problem is that unless you
tell someone that you are making a joke, which pretty much kills any
chance at getting a laugh, you run into the problem of people
misinterpreting your attempt at good humor as something catty or passive
aggressive. This can result in anything from an email response back
asking you why you are upset, to which you have to respond that you were
just kidding (whatrsquo;s the point, really), or worse, no response at all
because you have offended the other party to that degree.

Of course, in the Internetrsquo;s infinite... Read More]]> Mon, 06 Jul 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/yay-the-4th-of-july.html I love the 4th of July holiday here in the States. It is the greatest
convergence of happy things that can take place on any one given day. In
keeping with a very American style, here are the Top Ten reasons that I
love the 4th of July
]]> Fri, 03 Jul 2009 06:02:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/a-marriage-of-convenience.html
New guidelines from the Government's Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) have
been issued to schools in the UK to help them prevent female pupils from
being taken abroad in the summer holidays to get married against their
will.


The Unit, which is run jointly by the Home Office and Foreign Office,
received 1,600 reports of forced marriage last year, and intervened in
420 cases.

]]> Fri, 03 Jul 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/special-people.html
We have a term for them in our house - lsquo;special.'


They're the pedestrians who cross the road even when you're sitting in
your car staring at your green-as-grass light, and they have a flashing
lsquo;Don't walk' sign. They need to get to work so you'll just have to wait
buddy.

]]> Thu, 02 Jul 2009 06:02:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/lifes-a-gas.html
It always happens when I am just about to step into the shower.


The doorbell rings, I scramble into my clothes and race downstairs to
open the door. It is a man who wants to persuade me to change my gas
supplier to an electricity company.

]]> Thu, 02 Jul 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/return-of-the-rude-vegetables.html
EU rules restricting the size and shape of fruit and vegetable items are
to be lifted from today. The standards, which have been in place for
around 20 years were originally requested by the fruit and veg industry
to ensure consistent quality, but have come to symbolise the very worst
of EU bureaucracy. The tabloid press in particular have always had a
field day when some plucky greengrocer demands that he should be able to
sell bendy cucumbers instead of the EU regulated straight ones.


A staple feature of the BBC consumer programme lsquo;That's
Life' which ran in the 70s and 80s, was the lsquo;rude-shaped
vegetables.' I can remember the studio audience shrieking with laughter
as the presenters exhibited a well-endowed... Read More]]> Wed, 01 Jul 2009 06:02:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/summertime-blues.html
Do you remember those lazy summer days when you rode your bike to the
lake and stripped down to your underwear and went for a dip in the fresh
cool water The sun shined on you and your girlfriends laid around on
the grass talking about the boys that you hoped would show some interest
in you when you returned to school in the fall. The giggling never
ended and the days were so quiet and peaceful that there was a surreal
quality to them


Well, I hope that you remember those days because I sure as hell donrsquo;t.

]]> Wed, 01 Jul 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/fun-party-conversation.html
Race is one of those topics that is so volatile and inflammatory that it
makes abortion, politics and religion look like perfect party
conversation subjects. So why bring it up here Because the Supreme
Court did something today that made headlines. It supported a law suit
brought by white firefighters in Connecticut against the city of New
Haven which threw out the results to a promotional exam because not
enough minority firefighters scored high enough on it. The white
firefighters claimed that there was nothing race based about the exam
and that if you put in the work, you did well. The Supreme Court agreed
and now New Haven must promote those white men who did well and the
minorities who did less well will have to wait for the next... Read More]]> Tue, 30 Jun 2009 06:02:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/time-for-tea.html
Another day, another health report. This time it's about tea. Is it good
for you, or isn't it Is it high in evil caffeine or high in beneficial
antioxidants Does it refresh, or dehydrate Are the health
benefits found with bog-standard builders' brew or only with the
achingly trendy but unpalatable green tea Do we care, or shall I just
go and put the kettle on


When I was younger, it seemed to me that the one thing that signified
you were an lsquo;old person' was the number of cups of tea you drank. I
watched aghast as elderly relatives marked out their
leisurely schedules according to some internal cuppa-clock. In extreme
cases, they were unable even to talk until they had consumed their... Read More]]> Tue, 30 Jun 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/parents-should-do-as-they-are-told.html
This idea of becoming parent to your parents as they age is a bit
unrealistic. Yes, as they get older they require more of your time than
they used to but that does not change the fact that they are still your
parents and they occupy a position of authority over you no matter how
frail and reliant they become. Their authority is one of lifersquo;s
absolutes.


When I was a child and my parents gave me advice, a set of instructions
or a directive, it was futile to disagree. Regardless of how sound my
logic may have been to counter any of the above, they could always trump
it with lsquo;Because I said so,rsquo; and I was rendered powerless.

]]> Mon, 29 Jun 2009 06:02:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/carry-on-atheist-camping.html
Militant atheist Richard Dawkins, author of lsquo;The God Delusion' is
subsidising Britain's first summer camp for atheist children. Camp Quest
was launched in the US in 1996, but is being run for the first time in
the UK this summer, with a financial boost from Dawkins (who has been
nicknamed 'Darwin's Rottweiler'). With no apparent hint of irony, Camp
Quest also intends to offer courses at Easter.


There are already summer camp schemes for children which are run by
church groups or the Scouts (who require their members to swear
allegiance to God, or their faith), but Dawkins says the new camps will
aim to lsquo;encourage children to think for themselves sceptically and
rationally.'

]]> Mon, 29 Jun 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/better-never-than-late.html
I don't know whether it's the Brit in me, the Virgo, the Catholic
upbringing or the eldest-child syndrome but I am chronically early. I
detest tardiness and can be reduced to screaming-banshee-ism at the
merest hint of it. Sometimes I arrive at destinations with so much time
to spare that I go shopping and then find myself galloping to my
appointment, heart racing, sweating bullets and damning myself to, well,
eternal damnation. In general though, being early keeps me calm,
feeling organised and relatively unstressed.


What does stress and annoy me are other people being late, and
unfortunately I seem to be surrounded by them. I very quickly had to opt
out of my first school car-pool because my kids were late to school
when... Read More]]> Fri, 26 Jun 2009 06:02:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/to-be-or-not-to-be-stressed-out-by-train-travel.html
When you are on a train and you suddenly hear the crackle of a public
announcement system, you would normally prepare to brace yourself for
some spurious excuse about the inefficiency of the service.


But a recent initiative from Transport for London aims to improve
day-to-day interactions between the passengers of the Underground system
and the Tube train drivers, with the addition of a little philosophical
thinking.

]]> Fri, 26 Jun 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/the-smoker-in-chief.html
Smoking is a nasty little habit. I know that from the experience of a
partially misspent youth (including and up until my late thirties). It
is also one of the most satisfying things you can do. It is an
all-purpose drug that can act as relaxant, stimulant, depressant,
problem solver and social awkwardness fixer anytime you light one of
those beautiful sticks of tobacco and inhale deeply.


I was happy to hear that President Obama hasnrsquo;t kicked the habit.
It makes him more real for me. Human, just like me. Heck, Irsquo;d love to
sit down with him over a bottle of wine and a pack of Parliaments and
get his view, person to person, (ex)smoker to (ex)smoker, on this crazy
world.

Read More]]> Thu, 25 Jun 2009 06:02:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/extreme-altruism.html
A few weeks ago, my daughter was bursting with enthusiasm about a school
project on organ donation. She managed to prod both my conscience and
my backside enough to get me to sign up to the NHS Organ
Donor Register. She did this by shepherding me on to the website,
and then standing at my shoulder like a mini Grim Reaper while I typed
in my details.


When my little blue and red Donor Card subsequently arrived in the post,
we both glowed with the satisfaction of knowing we had done Something
Good. In her case she had used lsquo;pester power' for a worthwhile cause,
rather than simply to get me to buy chocolate breakfast cereal. In my
case I had agreed that after my death, any body parts which... Read More]]> Thu, 25 Jun 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/teenage-kicks.html
You would think in these troubled times that Head teachers would be
concerned about whether their teenage pupils are taking drugs,
tormenting old people, or knifing each other in the playground.


Not so Chris Richardson, the headmaster of Kings of Wessex School in
Somerset. He has threatened the school's 1,200 pupils aged 13-18 with
detention if they are caught kissing - or to give it its proper teenage
term, lsquo;snogging.'

]]> Wed, 24 Jun 2009 06:02:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/the-2009-bow-act.html I am sure that at some point you have read or heard of the argument to
legalize various forms of narcotics. The basis for this position is that
the government regulates other vices so why not drugs This would then
end the fighting of a futile war and prevent the stocking our jails with
hopeless addicts who will never be reformed.

Keeping with that same line of thinking, I would like to propose
something else that we should legalize: Wife beating. And girlfriend
beating. Heck, letrsquo;s just call it women beating. In fact, we can all it
the 'Beating of Women' Act. The BOW Act for short.
]]> Wed, 24 Jun 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/sarkozy-wades-in.html
President Sarkozy has dived right in to controversy over the wearing of
burkas in public.


In a speech to the French parliament, the President claimed that it was
unacceptable that women in France should be lsquo;prisoners behind netting,
cut off from all social life, deprived of identity.'

]]> Tue, 23 Jun 2009 06:02:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/dogs-are-for-the-birds.html
My dog only has three legs. A canine tripod if you will. Hersquo;s a sweet
guy. A little crazy but still very sweet.


What do I mean by crazy Well, he has separation anxiety. So, for the
past 10 years (today is his birthday as a matter of fact) whenever we
leave him alone there is a high likelihood that he destroys something of
varying value and sentimentality. Beyond giving us our own anxiety,
this has resulted in the destruction of doorknobs, down comforters,
window cranks, picture frames, telephones, remote controls, dish towels,
doors, panes of glass, the wall, cabinets, sofas and a car door ndash; to
name just a few of the things.

]]> Tue, 23 Jun 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/new-balls-please.html
It is the last two weeks of June, when sports fans turn their gaze upon a
leafy suburb of South West London. Strawberries and Cream, Pimms and
lemonade, and the world's top tennis players slugging it out on the
manicured grass courts. What's not to like about Wimbledon


Lots actually. Wimbledon makes me embarrassed to be British. I'm not
talking about the usual grumbles - the over-priced strawberries, the
habitually crap weather, Cliff Richard.

]]> Mon, 22 Jun 2009 06:02:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/rain-rain-go-away.html
You canrsquo;t let things, over which you have no control, get you down.
Isnrsquo;t that psychology 101 The weather falls into this category and you
are supposed to just take what Mama Nature throws your way. But when it
rains for days, weeks and even months on end, I think it is fair to feel
a little bothered and even angry. It hasnrsquo;t been a tropical rainforest
or anything (itrsquo;s been far too cold to resemble anything tropical) but
what has been happening on the East Coast of the U.S. is downright
depressing.


In fact the entire country has been experiencing the craziest weather
patterns recently with late spring blizzards, an obscene amount of
tornadoes, and cool, damp rain well beyond the normal amounts. I only... Read More]]> Mon, 22 Jun 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/happy-fathers-day.html
It is Father's Day on Sunday, so maybe, like me, you have had a last
minute dash to the shops to buy a card for your Dad, and perhaps one for
your husband or partner lsquo;from the children.' I know the kids ought
to make their own card, but I really don't fancy standing over them with
a packet of dried-out felt tip pens and a dog-eared piece of paper,
threatening a ban on all screen-based entertainment until they create
something 'heartwarming.'


My father and my husband are very different people, but as I looked
desperately through the rows and rows of cards, I realised that I
couldn't find anything appropriate for either of them. I have never seen
such a collection of hoary old stereotypes in my life. Who... Read More]]> Fri, 19 Jun 2009 06:02:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/the-internets-newest-virus.html lsquo;Mr. Ahmadinejad, plug in that Internet!rsquo;

Not exactly President Reaganrsquo;s famous line from his June 12, 1987 speech
where he exclaimed the sledgehammer remark heard round the world lsquo;Mr.
Gorbachev, tear down this wall,rsquo; but for all intents and purposes, same
effect.
]]> Fri, 19 Jun 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/back-seat-smokers.html
Professor Terence Stephenson, the new Head of the Royal College of
Paediatrics and Child Health has called for a change in the law to
prohibit smoking in cars, when a child is present.


He has pointed out that second hand smoke has been linked to chest
infections in children, asthma, ear problems and sudden infant death
syndrome, or cot death. He is absolutely right - who would want to clog
up their infant's lungs and cause such damage

]]> Thu, 18 Jun 2009 06:02:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/do-it-for-the-kids.html Parents that stay together for the kids arenrsquo;t really thinking about the
kids if you ask me. That is unless they have had the kids lobotomized
at a very young age.

Doesnrsquo;t it seem like the parents who are always bragging
on about how smart and insightful their children are, are the same ones
that completely discount their childrsquo;s intellect when it comes to
deducing that mom and dad never really look at each other. Or that if
they do, itrsquo;s not in a puppy dog way but more in a smoking, homicidal
way. Or, worse, with complete apathy.
]]> Thu, 18 Jun 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/can-women-write-convincingly-about-sex.html
Kate Copstick, the new editor of rude literary magazine the lsquo;Erotic
Review' claims that the relaunched version of the magazine will be about
two things: lsquo;great writing which is witty, funny, intelligent,
knowledgeable - and sex.'


Well, go for it Kate - I can imagine your new magazine will find a
huge audience! Good luck to you!

]]> Wed, 17 Jun 2009 06:02:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/gender-neutral.html



Now imagine this. The woman takes the test, finds out she is having a
boy and delivers the news to her husband. This is absolutely wonderful
news because her husband, whom she is very eager to please, desperately
wants a boy. You see, they already have a girl and want a boy for, and I
quote, lsquo;family balancing.rsquo;



Guess what happened The test was wrong. Shocking, I know. Well,
apparently, news of a second girl was too much for this couple to bear
and it caused great stress on the union and the couple split. Divorced.
Kaput.

Read More]]> Wed, 17 Jun 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/past-its-best.html
In an attempt to reduce the estimated pound;10 billion of food that is thrown
away needlessly in the UK each year, the Government is planning to
scrap the use of lsquo;best before' dates, or lsquo;sell by' dates on the
packaging of food items, leaving only lsquo;use by' dates.

Across the land, you can almost hear the cheers - especially from the
over-60s. They must be surprised to find themselves fashionably in tune
with the current national angst about food wastage.
]]> Tue, 16 Jun 2009 06:02:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/oops-calvin-klein-does-it-again.html
'Whatrsquo;s old is new' must be Calvin Kleinrsquo;s favorite expression because
once again he has used a tried and true tactic to garner media
attention.


Mr. Kleinrsquo;s company took a familiar billboard on the corner of Lafayette
and Houston Streets in New Yorkrsquo;s Soho and covered it with scantily
clad teenagers (assuredly over 18, but not by much).


The controversy obviously orbits around the question of whether or not
Calvin Klein is going too far by suggesting that threesomes (and even
foursomes in this case) are sexy, and a compelling metaphor for why you
need to own his jeans.

]]> Tue, 16 Jun 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/alexandra-the-great.html
Alexandra Shulman, editor of UK Vogue magazine has been described as
lsquo;hugely brave' for writing a polite little note to the major fashion
houses of Europe, asking them ever-so-carefully if they wouldn't mind
awfully, sending sample garments that are slightly bigger than Barbie's
outfits (although Barbie's clothes are cut for a more generous fit on
the bust).


In order to photograph the clothes for the magazine, Vogue has been
hiring amenorrheaic teenagers for the shoots, then getting the
photographers to retouch the photos so that the girls don't look so
emaciated. Well, you wouldn't want to upset the designer's aesthetic,
now would you

]]> Mon, 15 Jun 2009 06:02:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/thursday-night-binge.html If there were a television show called lsquo;Worldrsquo;s Stupidest Spousal
Deals,rsquo; this one could definitely headline an episode. My
well-intentioned, yet grossly misguided husband suggested to me, in an
effort to keep fit, that we abstain from consuming alcohol, of any sort,
on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of each week. And do you know
what I did I, clearly under the influence of alcohol at the time of his
proposition, agreed.

Ok, so maybe some of you are sitting there reading this saying, lsquo;So,
whatrsquo;s the big dealrsquo;

Irsquo;ll tell you what the big deal is. Four days is a long time to go
without a hint of hooch ndash; thatrsquo;s the big deal.
]]> Mon, 15 Jun 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/talents-got-britain.html
The publicly funded BBC is apparently planning to make cutbacks to the
salaries of its top presenters. Or so it says. We won't know for certain
if they do. Because they don't have to tell us.


In the last few weeks, the news has been full of the excesses of Members
of Parliament who have been greedily gobbling up public money via their
expenses claims. In many cases they have been interviewed by BBC
presenters who are also funded by the public purse.

]]> Fri, 12 Jun 2009 06:02:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/the-medias-new-clothes.html
Michelle Obama has terrible fashion sense. There! I have said it and I
feel so much better for it. Now if only the US media would do the same
thing.


Isnrsquo;t there enough to love about the First Lady without the press trying
to conjure up the idea that, in addition to being stately and
statuesque, she is also a fashion maven

]]> Fri, 12 Jun 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/im-sure-i-took-that-alzheimers-test.html
Scientists in Cambridge have devised a new five minute test to help with
the early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease.


The new test, entitled lsquo;Test Your Memory' is intended for
lsquo;non-specialist use' which means you can Do It Yourself. The test is not
widely available yet, but if further research can prove its
effectiveness, then it will be rolled out nationwide.

Read More]]> Thu, 11 Jun 2009 06:02:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/an-apple-a-day-keeps-my-savings-away.html
As someone who is making their living (however meager) from writing, I
know I am supposed to love Macs. Itrsquo;s certainly the brand that all of
the cool kids flock to. The writers, the graphic designers, the
lsquo;hang-out-in-the-coffee-shoprsquo; set who look really thoughtful and are
concerned for the environment and world peace and all that.


Is it me, or is there a new lsquo;versionrsquo; of the iPod, iPhone, iBook, iDock
and iDonrsquo;tgiveahoot every few months or so And, is it me, or is it true
that my new iPod nano doesnrsquo;t work with any of the stuff I bought for
my original iPod And, is it me or does Apple not even include a charger
with iPods anymore

]]> Thu, 11 Jun 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/do-you-want-sugar-in-yours.html Sir Alan Sugar the former Amstrad chief and front man of TV show lsquo;The
Apprentice' will soon be advising ministers and civil servants on how to
help small and medium sized businesses to succeed. The job is unpaid,
but it appears that lsquo;Siralan' will be in line for a peerage. So
presumably the contestants in future series of lsquo;The Apprentice' will be
pledging their usual 110 commitment to lsquo;Lordalan'.
]]> Wed, 10 Jun 2009 06:02:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/craigs-list-had-better-wise-up.html
I have looked at the ads on Craigrsquo;s List every now and then ndash; once for a
bicycle I thought I wanted. But I lacked the courage to send an email
to a complete stranger to make an inquiry about a used bike.


What if he
was a homicidal maniac

]]> Wed, 10 Jun 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/voting-scandal.html
After the recent European Parliamentary elections there has been the
usual hand-wringing about the abysmally low voter turnout.


I didn't vote, and am therefore likely to be considered by all those in
party politics to be too ignorant or idle to exercise my democratic
rights. While accusations of ignorance and idleness are unlikely to give
me any sleepless nights, I do worry about not exercising my right to
vote.

]]> Tue, 09 Jun 2009 06:02:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/bill-gates-the-hero-and-villain.html
When I grow up, I want to do something great. Maybe I can be President
or cure cancer. It is my experience that at some point in our life we
all have a similar
lofty goal or, conversely, we feel a bit of an underachiever for maybe
not hitting the high marks we had hoped to.



Then along comes a fly in the ointment like this putz Bill Gates who
screws the pooch for the rest of us.

]]> Tue, 09 Jun 2009 06:01:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/happiness-is.html
A recent piece of research conducted by the National Bureau of Economic
Research in the USA has concluded that women are lsquo;less happy' now than
they were 40 years ago.

The main conclusion which has been drawn is that lsquo;feminism' is to blame.
]]> Thu, 04 Jun 2009 01:02:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/animals-with-a-moral-compass.html
A newly released book by Professor Marc Bekoff of the University of
Colorado, Boulder concludes that animals have a sense of right and wrong
and a natural morality that governs their behaviour, particularly in
social groups.


I guess my question is, why is this news As a childhood TV junkie,
this
is a no brainer. Watching Lassie sprint 30 miles to find someone to
pull little Tommy from a certain death, or Flipper fighting off sharks
and underwater banditos armed with spear guns, proved this out easily.
There was Big Ben, Benji, Mr. Ed, etc., and they were all incredibly big
hearted and always trying to do the right thing for their human
families.

]]> Thu, 28 May 2009 16:02:00 +0000 http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/shout-it/sotomayor-has-a-broken-douche-bag-detector.html There has been the usual rhetoric from the Republicans and the Democrats
over Bamarsquo;s nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court
seat vacated by Justice Souter. And if I wanted to, I could pick at
either side of the argument. After all, people are human and flawed,
even potential Supreme Court Justices, so there is never going to be a
perfect candidate
]]> Thu, 28 May 2009 16:01:00 +0000