Fashion Mags 'Mean Girls' of the Pub World

clipped from www.alternet.org Elle's ad pages for September are down 21 per cent, Harper's Bazaar 25 per cent, Vanity Fair 27 per cent, W, 53 per cent, and Vogue, 36 per cent. Lady mags are dinosaurs. And since fashion mags aren't the queens of the hallways anymore, it's no surprise that many of those former queens are trying to give themselves a quick makeover, to show they're not with the drowning clique. "personally, read Vogue for over three decades as though it were scripture," as one Salon writer quipped, she has since decided to call off the affair. I'm pretty. You're ugly. Buy this. A former model wrote a poignant essay this week about why she just quit the industry. Jenna Sauers writes, "I often reflected on the fact that studies show that women, after looking at fashion magazines -- full of pictures of girls very much like me, sometimes even pictures of me -- feel bad about themselves. I also often wondered why it is, given this fact, that we buy the magazines again next month." women are now turning to blogs Good fashion blogs economyofstyle.blogspot.com wwwthebudgetfashionista.com

Study Finds Organic Not A Nutritional Plus

clipped from www.reuters.com Researchers from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine said consumers were paying higher prices for organic food because of its perceived health benefits, creating a global organic market worth an estimated $48 billion in 2007. A systematic review of 162 scientific papers published in the scientific literature over the last 50 years, however, found there was no significant difference. "A small number of differences in nutrient content were found to exist between organically and conventionally produced foodstuffs, but these are unlikely to be of any public health relevance," said Alan Dangour, one of the report's authors. "Our review indicates that there is currently no evidence to support the selection of organically over conventionally produced foods on the basis of nutritional superiority." The results of research, which was commissioned by the British government's Food Standards Agency, were published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The pesticides in conventionally grown food destroy water quality due to run off and are harmful for agricultural workers. That's also why some of us buy organic.

Libraries Shut Out of Stimulus $$

clipped from arstechnica.com City libraries shut out of broadband stimulus money? Looks like urban libraries are getting a bum deal when it comes to applying for broadband stimulus grants. The American Library Association wants this fixed. A rare moment when a San Francisco Public Library free Internet access terminal is not in use. Matthew Lasar The first round of stimulus grants "in effect de-prioritizes libraries and discourages them from applying for funding," complains the American Library Association in a letter sent to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. "The ability of our libraries to meet community needs is in jeopardy—especially when library use has heavily increased across the country in these difficult economic times." many jobs require a Web-based application That has put more pressure on job hunters to find computers, and more pressure on the library to help them. the library provides one hour computer/Internet connections. Rarely is a station unoccupied.

If anything, libraries should be first in line.

Paper Heart, Love, and Michael Cerna make the world go round

clipped from jezebel.com Paper Heart is a mocku- docu-dramedy about real-life funny person Charlyne Yi (Seth Rogen's stoner buddy's giggly girlfriend in Knocked Up) claiming she doesn't believe in love. So she sets out with a director pal to learn what love is. Enter Michael Cera. Enter heartwarming quirkiness with an excellent soundtrack. Enter Paper Heart, which opens in select theaters August 7. Added bonus! After watching this film, you may finally develop a response to the plaintive, immortal words of Huey Lewis (and most if not all of the News): Do you believe in love? Do you believe it's true? Wee-ooh-ooh-ooh-wee-ooh?

Everything sweetness and light...

Maiden name no more

clipped from www.theglobeandmail.com I took my wife's last name You'd think it's a small sacrifice to make at the altar, but few people - especially relatives - understand Josiah Neufeld The official at the drivers' licence office squinted at me suspiciously, examined for a second time my birth certificate and marriage licence, and repeated, "You want to change your last name to your wife's?" "Usually it's the other way around." He consulted the form on his screen and said slowly, as much to himself as to anyone, "Yes ... you can do that." Of all the independences one sacrifices at the altar, a name might seem like a small one. Women have been leaving theirs there for centuries. I did it because any form of power comes with duties. I'm obliged to take responsibility for my power, to learn its effects - even unintentional ones - to see what it does to others when I'm not watching, to use it in the best way possible. Sometimes to relinquish it.

Any other lads out there who left their name at the alter?

As Dobbs digs in, CNN rebuts, ridicules, distances itself from birth certificate claims

clipped from mediamatters.org CNN/U.S. President Jon Klein told staffers of "Lou Dobbs Tonight" on Thursday that the controversy regarding the legitimacy of President Obama's birth certificate -- a topic Dobbs has avidly pursued on the air -- is a "dead" story. But in an interview, the cable news chief left open the possibility that Dobbs may continue to raise questions about why the president has not produced a long-form birth certificate. The absence of such a record has spawned rumors that Obama was not born in the United States, despite plenty of evidence to the contrary. "He's got more than 30 years as a television journalist, and I trust him, as I trust all our reporters and anchors, to exercise their judgment as various stories evolve," Klein said of Dobbs, whose daily CNN program is a mix of news and opinion. Hawaiian officials discarded paper documents in 2001 Obama's long-form birth certificate no longer exists and a shorter certificate of live birth that has been made public is the official record,

The Southern Poverty Law Center has taken this up with CNN, calling for the ouster of Mr. Dobbs from the airwaves.

Twitter defamation lawsuit

clipped from consumerist.com Tenant Sued After Using Twitter To Complain About Moldy Apartment If the the puiblic didn't read Amanda Bonnen's Twitter feed before, they will now, thanks to a defamation lawsuit brought against her by Horizon Group Management in Chicago. Bonnen, a tenant, posted an update that said, "Who said sleeping in a moldy apartment was bad for you? Horizon realty thinks it's okay." Now she's being sued. The management company says it has been greatly injured in its reputation as a landlord in Chicago because of the Tweet, and seeks an excess of $50,000 in damages. You can read the complaint here. Update: Horizon responds. Uptown Resident Sued For Twitter Post [CBS 2 Chicago] (Photo:TarikB) Amanda Bonnen has closed her Twitter account and the post is gone, which probably is all Horizon wanted, but now that the suit is public, the post will continue to live Or she already settled with them apparently has only 15 followers doubt her tweet was capable of degrading "its reputation as a landlord in Chicago

Public/private communication - post is search-able, but she only had 15 followers.