I remember my infant psych class in college, part of my childhood development minor. One of the techniques our professor taught us about was using “extinction” to get a baby to stop crying during the night – more commonly known as “cry it out.” I remember her saying that the technique worked well, but only […]
Posted inPluck
What was your childhood soundtrack?
The other day I was hanging out with Teddy in our living room, and I put on a CD for him. I was a bit tired of our usual fare, so I picked out an old goodie, Simon and Garfunkel’s Greatest Hits. As the music played, I realized this was the soundtrack to my childhood. I […]
Posted inSports
A (Chicago) Force to be Reckoned With
This Saturday, June 30, 2012, the Chicago Force Women’s Tackle Football team enters the playoffs with an 8-0 record and an average of 53.1 points per game. The team has dominated its opponents in every game – beating two teams by more than 70 points – and never allowed more than two touchdowns in a […]
Posted inReviews
‘Magic Mike’ isn’t as bad as you think
Is “Magic Mike” the best movie about Channing Tatum as a stripper that could have been made? It’s possible. Director Steven Soderbergh somehow maintains a loose, goofy charm throughout the movie without descending into camp. Yes, there are a lot of naked people in this movie, but the casual treatment of the nudity eventually works. […]
Posted inPluck
Filed under “trees,” “terror”
When I was young, my grandparents owned a farm in northern Michigan just outside of a resort town where I went to day camp with the richest kids I’d ever met. They had Birkenstocks and shaggy blonde hair. They looked like euro-Jesus before it was even hip yet. I was certainly never without, but I, […]
Posted inReviews
‘Brave’ is beautiful, funny, empowering … but a little meh
Rebellious Rating: You know how when you watch Paul Konerko bat, you kind of want him to hit a home run every time? And then when he gets a single instead of a home run, you’re disappointed, but you know you shouldn’t be, because no one hits a home run every time, and a single […]
Posted inPluck
Somehow I manage
Easily one of my favorite jokes ever on The Office. Anyway … Both of the grownups in our household have been crazy-busy lately. As I look around the state of our abode, it’s a grim predicament. It’s not just messy. It’s gross. It’s dirty. “I should really clean that congealed yogurt off the rug before […]
Posted inPluck
Alpha Parent vs. The Conflict: Let’s lock them in a room together and get on with our lives
I was super excited to get my review copy of “The Conflict: How Modern Motherhood Undermines the Status of Women” back in May when the book came out. When it arrived in the mail, I sat down right away to read it. Soon my excitement wore off, and I’ve been dragging my feet ever since to […]
Posted inTravel
Traveling the World Made Me Resourceful
When I was 26, I circumnavigated the globe by myself. I paid for it by saving a quarter of my wages each week from my job as a reporter at newspapers in New Mexico and Ohio. (It helped that neither of the towns where I worked offered much in terms of shopping or nightlife.) The […]
Posted inWhat Are You Proud Of?
Closets are for clothes: I’m out, loud and proud
It’s a not-so-proud moment with a happy ending. It was 1999, and I was living in Milwaukee, working at my first job after college. I’d only recently come out and hadn’t really told anyone beyond my longtime friends, who, by the way, did not even have the decency to pretend to be surprised I was […]