Too Old...? Babies Can't Count

In a brilliant longer article in NYMagazine, the prejudice against older mothers is examined- by older they mean women who are pregnant in their late 40s and into their 50s. Is it really so bad or are social norms correct? Available here.

Cinderella Ate my Daughter

it's the title of a book which came out earlier this year, and one i will be putting on my "to do" list. for a taste, there's a review here.

medicine and humanity and possibility

HIV and AIDS are diseases that no-one thought possible to cure. so when a doctor in a hospital came up with a solution, tried it, and it worked, he was scoffed at. "who was this guy and who did he think he was?!" that man was gero hüttner and his patient was timothy brown, aka The Man Who Had HIV, and Now Does Not.

why kids don't like wearing coats

NPR says it's ok, kids don't need coats as much as parents think they do. if they don't wear a coat, it doesn't automatically mean they're going to catch a cold.

groundbreaking.

smile and the world smiles with you

laugh....and you can achieve world peace...??!

that's enough to make anyone giggle...

perspective

when you think you're having a bad day, bookmark this page to remind you that it wasn't you who was run over on Bolivia's Road of Death

the exhilaration of survival

Tim Kreider: Fourteen years ago I was stabbed in the throat. This is kind of a long story and it’s not the point of this essay.
The point is that after my unsuccessful murder I wasn’t unhappy for an entire year.

I wish I could recommend this experience to everyone. The catch is that to get the full effect you have to be genuinely uncertain that you’re going to survive. The best approximation would be to hire an incompetent hit man to assassinate you.

and now for something completely different

the obama administration is bringing the issue of torture closer to the surface - and it seems to be agreed that torture ain't a good thing. this article addresses the fascinating question, is solitary confinement a form of torture?" it's thought-provoking stuff. and scary.

this is heartbreaking

with not many other options, Afghani girls have taken to setting themselves on fire . Truly upsetting.

disappeared news

stories that were huge....and have now fallen off the radar. 'oh, that was...so 2007 darling.' but this one I think is important - the model-weight debate. And, topical too after Heidi Klum got blasted for being too fat. hello, real world? time to come back from vacation.
In this thoughtful article from the New York Magazine, Emily Nussbaum aims to find out, what's going on with the incredible shrinking models?

smoking is bad for you

so says this drain.

world AIDS day

Today is World AIDS Day.
Each day, around 8500 people die as a result of AIDS.
We can all do something to help bring this number down. Inform Yourself. Try and resist your urge to scream or hit something when you read what the Pope has been saying. Have a go at these quizzes . Speak up, speak out. And always use a condom.