I sincerely hope that by the time my daughter is old enough to get married (should she so choose), this bridal party trend will have gone out of fashion. I didn't want a big wedding party, but ended up with one and no surprise — needless drama and, I suspect, bad karma all around.

This has been a real problem and it is a shame that there has never, to my knowledge, been a methodical, comprehensive effort to study and combat the problem nationally. So much attention has been given to abuse in churches, but I suspect that it also rampant in schools. Keeping in mind that this study just looked at…

kinda ruined this print for my mom at Christmas. Pointed out the alien-ish skull and now it's all anyone can see.

that sounds like the original Sleeping Beauty tale, but it may have been in both.

Cool. I'm back on thinking this will be a fun thing to do with my daughter. I've been to Cons and Ren Faires, so I'm cool with what to expect. I still might wait a year or two, assuming the Con is still going. Has anyone else heard the rumor that they are going to stop making the show? Seems unlikely given the height…

Actually didn't the documentary indicate there is a hipster element? Though, I think defining hipster is more than a little arbitrary. For example, I know someone on an all gay softball team called the Bronies, but I can guarantee that as a straight stay-at-home mom, I am more knowledgeable and probably a bigger fan…

interesting side I'd not heard before. I was thinking of taking my little girl to the Con (we're fans and don't live far) but this definitely makes me reconsider.

I don't care for the over sexualization part, but the same can and has been said about women's costumes (and plenty of other clothes) for years. Like you mentioned, I don't like the synthetic materials because of sweating, but I would totally rock the dresses pictures as tee-shirts. The skirt you find particularly…

Trying to paste ... I have a thoughtful response to this but Kinja won't let me paste it.

I agree with what many other women have stated, he case for homoromantic love is strong, but not for outright lesbianism. I think that Anne's behavior is more akin o what we might call arrested development. And, it makes sense to me given her circumstances. As an orphan treated as little more than child labor hired…

I'm glad to see someone else finally support this idea. Every time the issue of appropriation comes up, most people make it sound like unless you've got the official paperwork to proclaim your genetic history you cannot own or wear a single item from said culture.
I'd also be curious to hear from actual Native…

You do make a good distinction. Both of the graves in question were found objects. As far as I know the other church items were sold to help cover the cost of renovations to said church, or came from churches that were abandoned and the items left behind were not considered monetarily valuable and thus treated like…

But see that's the thing. Native Americans make, market and sell handmade cultural jewelry, baskets and pottery. Are they keeping their culture alive, or being exploited and commercialized by "the white man." I rather think they are proud of what they are producing and WANT to share it and are proud of it. I think it…

I think that does make sense, but Keeping in mind that art and religion, spiritual and aesthetic have some overlap. How many people have Buddha statuary as art but aren't Buddhists? I once saw a complete altar back piece from a rural Mexican Catholic Church for sale in an antique shop. It was breathtaking. In fact…

"But it's one thing if you are mining your own culture, like the SCA does."
But, I also think that we can have a broader definition of our personal cultures. I feel inspired by ancient Celtic culture more so because I share a name with a goddess, than because of the one great-grandfather who was an Irish immigrant. I…

This is such double standard bullshit. If she's convicted can Obama pardon her, or is that only allowed for Federal crimes? Not that I want a conviction, but I'm thinking of where a petition might actually do some good.

I was wondering about that. As a fragile X pre-mutation carrier, I would love to see a list of what this does and does not fix.
Not that it matters for me as I'm old and infertile now, but I am curious.
Of course, I doubt the average person would be able to afford such a breakthrough in this country, even with…

I am a former Catholic and I hate a lot of their wrongs. But, to be fair, a family kicking out the pregnant daughter is more exception than rule these days. Teen pregnancy rate is high among Catholics (that silly anti-birth control notion) and while the parents certainly will not be happy about it (and may talk tough…

I believe the drama in question isn't the child's interest, but rather a birth mother changing her mind about desiring to parent, or, in the case of open adoptions, causing problems down the line.

To be fair China, and lots of other countries, did this years ago. It sucks just the same, but it is sort of impressive that Russia allowed it as long as they did.