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Toddlers and Tiaras: Claire Edition

We do our best not to push our girls into stereotypical gender roles or characteristics. And while we would secretly love it if they turn into tomboys, we never force them to play (or not play) with certain toys and encourage them to allow their own preferences to develop. As it turns out, our 16-month-old Claire is becoming the exact opposite of a tomboy. She is, in fact, turning into a frilly girl. Our suspicions started about a month ago, when we began to let her "choose" her own clothes. (We give her an option of weather- and activity-appropriate clothes to choose from.) And wouldn't you know it — she would ALWAYS pick something pink. And just in case it was a fluke — "Why...

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Photoshopped Classic Nudes

In her Venus project, Italian artist Anna Utopia Giordano asks the question "What would have happened if the aesthetic standard of our society had belonged to the collective unconscious of the great artists of the past?", digitally altering great classic works of art to better fit today's waif-like standards. I will be completely honest; some of the subjects of the paintings do look better after their waists have been tucked in and their breasts made fuller, like Richard Westall's The Power of Venus. However, others — like Boticelli's The Birth of Venus — just look plain wrong. What are your thoughts on Ms. Giordano's work? Via Flavorwire....

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Cool Tool Tuesdays: La Mer The Powder and The Powder Brush

Welcome to today’s installment of Cool Tool Tuesdays, where I feature a favorite item from my life and spotlight it so that others who are not familiar with the product may also benefit from it. A cool tool can be any book, gadget, software, hardware, material, or website that I have personally tried and love. Do you have any questions about today’s cool tool? Would you like an item featured in the future? Please leave a comment to this post, or send me a message via my contact form. Enjoy! As I looked around my room to find inspiration for today's Cool Tool Tuesdays, my eyes rested on a pair of products I have never written about before — and I couldn't believe I haven't,...

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How Donuts Help Us Understand Social Media

Ed. note: It has come to my attention that the content for the image below already exists. I had seen the Google+ one from a Google+ post, was immediately reminded of the "How Pee Helps Us Understand Social Media" graphic, and made this, further inspired by the comments on the Google+ thread. (I have not seen the Instagram version since I am an Android user and do not have an Instagram account.) As a result, I have decided to remove my URL from the bottom of this image, but will keep this up with the Istagram picture linked: http://instagr.am/p/nm695/ I hope that this is a satisfactory compromise for those who believe this is straight plagirism. Last year, I had shared a small graphic...

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Panem’s 13 Districts Visualized [More “Hunger Games” Pr0n]

A fanatical Hunger Games fan by the name of V. Arrow has thoughtfully and carefully put together a map of Panem's 13 districts, taking into account all historical accounts from the books, and merging what has been revealed about each district with the typography and natural resources of North America. Click on over to aimmyarrowshigh's LiveJournal, where she details the reasonings and processes that went into developing this magnificent map. She also has a small FAQ section which answers, "Why don't you leave big blank spaces of empty land between the Districts? What about the Wilderness?" and "Y U NO HAVE MORE OF CANADA AND MEXICO?" :-) Via Nerd Approved....

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