Amber

Hmm, this is interesting. Recent studies suggest that food allergies may be caused by the absense of certain intestinal bacteria...in part due to increased use of antibiotics in very young children.

Food allergies have increased about 50% in children since 1997. There are various theories explaining why. One is that the 21st century lifestyle, which includes a diet very different from our ancestors', lots of antibiotic use, and even a rise in cesarean section deliveries, has profoundly changed the makeup of microbes in the gut of many people in developed countries. For example, the average child in the United States has taken three courses of antibiotics by the time he or she is 2 years old, says Martin Blaser, an infectious disease specialist and microbiologist at New York University in New York City. (See here for more on the reach of microbiome research these days.)

Cathryn Nagler, an immunologist at the University of Chicago in Illinois, has spent years probing links between the immune system, intestinal bacteria, and the onset of allergies. Back in 2004, she and her colleagues reported that wiping out gut bacteria in mice led to food allergies. Since then, Nagler has continued trying to understand which bacteria offer allergy protection and how they accomplish that.

Tags: food   medicine   science

Amy P. was recently on The Approval Matrix, and was asked about the difficulties the “modern man” face. 

Her response was perfect.

(gif via amypoehler, article via micdotcom)

The Daily Show returned from a brief hiatus last night, and there was absolutely nothing in the world for them to talk about. The end. Actually, there was that little matter of Ferguson, which Last Week Tonight already beautifully covered two weeks ago. So what angle did Jon Stewart take? His go-to: skewering Fox News. The episode began with Stewart taking the Ferguson Challenge, which is a lot like the Ice Bucket Challenge, except with tear gas and you don’t get to see anyone’s nipples poking through their shirt. The segment ended with a serious reminder that even in the liberal Xanadu that is New York, cops will still target black people in resplendent suits over white people who look like they’re homeless.

And now, here’s “Race/Off” (Nic Cage has a movie idea…).

Filed under: TV Tagged: Ferguson, JON STEWART, THE DAILY SHOW

by Meaghan O'Connell

Dear Life Partner,

I am using the Billfold to tell you that I paid $29 to have someone come clean our apartment in a few weeks, the day before my mom is coming to visit.

I know if I discussed this with you first you would NEVER stand for it, and use it as a way to guilt me into cleaning the house more. I know I am bad at cleaning. I know you are good at cleaning. To make up for my inferior standards of cleanliness, I am investing 29 of my own dollars into two hours of professional service.

DO NOT PROTEST. Or do, but do it as you read this, when I am not around. I am telling you this via the website I work for because I do not want to hear you protest.

As for the rate, it is $29 because I got a flier in the mail from some startup called Handybook which yes, I am worried is VC-funded and underpays their employees. I am not going to Google it for fear I find a Kevin Roose article about it or something. Twenty-nine dollars is an introductory rate. They basically automatically sign you up for recurrent cleanings and it’s up to you to cancel before they come back, and charge you at a higher, more humane rate. I promise I will try to cancel before then.

I know we both feel weird about someone coming in to clean our house. I KNOW. I did not really think this through—$29 seemed like such a great deal! It still does. They say that tax and tip is included but I would like to see a breakdown. They did not provide one. What if they tip badly? Should we leave an extra tip? You will want to.

They’re coming in the afternoon, when I am on baby duty and you are working. Maybe I could have not told you at all. Maybe you would have come back and I could be like, “Oh yeah the baby took a really great nap and I cleaned the whole house for the first time in our four-year relationship!”

I booked the cleaning a few days ago but it was on the same day that I made plans with an old friend, for both of us to have lunch with her and her husband, and I could only break one of these things to you at once. So here it is.

On September 10th someone will be cleaning our house for $29. I am sorry. I love you.

M

 

Photo via Flickr

29 Comments

Everywhere you look, everywhere you go, there’s a not very good 1990s show being revived. Boy Meets World and Saved By the Bell have already received their 21st century facelifts in the mostly Minkus-free Girl Meets World and whatever the hell this is, and now, according to TV Guide, Full House may be coming back, too, because something needs to be on evening TV. How predictable.

Warner Bros. TV is mulling a new take on Full House, with some of the original cast intact…Leading the charge is John Stamos (Uncle Jesse) — who has an ownership stake in the show, which gives him good reason to champion the new series. Original executive producer Bob Boyett and creator Jeff Franklin (who’s writing the new version) are actively involved. Candace Cameron Bure (D.J.), Jodie Sweetin (Stephanie) and Andrea Barber (Kimmy) are on board, while Bob Saget (Danny) and Dave Coulier (Joey) are also involved in some way. (Via)

Noticeably absent are Burnsy’s girlfriend Lori Loughlin and the Olsen twins, who semi-retired from acting after the multiple Academy Award-wining New York Minute. Might as well call it quits when you’re at the top, I guess. Anyway, if Fuller House does actually happen, the writers are going to need some story ideas. That’s what we’re here for.

-Joey has a hot date with a singer-songwriter from the 1990s. They go to the movies.
-Joey tells a prominent San Fran tech blogger to cut it out, gets subtweeted.
-Joey masturbates to pictures of the Olsen twins, reminds himself he’s not their REAL uncle.
-Joey thinks about reviving Ranger Joe, but realizes that’s a horrible idea and quits the project.

I can only write for Joey. He’s my muse. What are your ideas?

Via TV Guide

Filed under: TV Tagged: BOB SAGET, CUT IT OUT, DAVE COULIER, FULL HOUSE, JOHN STAMOS, Lori Loughlin, revivals

fuck-yeah-feminist:

bookmad:

"fat girls shouldn’t—"

—have to deal with your narrow minded bullshit.

^^

THIS.

This grandma has ALL THE FEELS when she hears about her granddaughter’s lesbian relationship for the very first time. And it’s nothing short of spectacular.

From stunned and traumatized to genuinely perplexed about how two lesbians can anatomically be together, she is just getting her mind blown to kingdom come. Although the clip’s only three minutes long, there’s an endless amount of priceless grandma quotes to take note of. Here are some of my favorites:

(And, yes, I had to capitalize them all — they are just that good.)

“YOU JUST KISS ON THE LIPS? THAT IS BULLSH*T AND YOU KNOW IT!”

“WHAT IS THIS SECRET THING THAT YOU DO?”

“YOU KISS HER HOLE!”

“I NEVER HEARD OF THIS IN MY LIFE…”

“SHE PUTS HER TONGUE IN THERE?”

“IF A WOMAN TOUCHED MY TITS, I’D SLAP HER IN THE FACE.”

Also, don’t miss grandma’s lovely memory about sex “back in the day”, which involved, and I quote, just “one hole.”

Filed under: Upcoming, Web Culture Tagged: funny, gay, LESBIANS, OLD PEOPLE, REACTIONS, REALLY OLD PEOPLE

When he was 20, Christopher Knight walked into the woods of Maine and didn't speak to another soul (save a quick "hi" to a passing hiker) for 27 years, during which he lived not off the land but off the propane tanks and freezers of his neighbors.

He started to speak. A little. When Perkins-Vance asked why he didn't want to answer any questions, he said he was ashamed. He spoke haltingly, uncertainly; the connection between his mind and his mouth seemed to have atrophied from disuse. But over the next couple of hours, he gradually opened up.

His name, he revealed, was Christopher Thomas Knight. Born on December 7, 1965. He said he had no address, no vehicle, did not file a tax return, and did not receive mail. He said he lived in the woods.

"For how long?" wondered Perkins-Vance.

Knight thought for a bit, then asked when the Chernobyl nuclear-plant disaster occurred. He had long ago lost the habit of marking time in months or years; this was just a news event he happened to remember. The nuclear meltdown took place in 1986, the same year, Knight said, he went to live in the woods. He was 20 years old at the time, not long out of high school. He was now 47, a middle-aged man.

Make sure you read until the end. This isn't a just-the-facts-ma'am piece on some hermit; it turns out that someone who has spent almost three decades alone has something insightful to say about being human.

Tags: Christopher Knight

The month from hell continues for the Ferguson Police Department. With the Michael Brown murder investigation still in progress, the department’s past alleged transgressions are continuing to emerge. And they’re not pretty.

Believe the accounts and some of FPD’s finest scoured neighborhoods and terrorized residents like Stab, Pee Wee and Zilla did to “Kid” on House Party. Justin Cosma is the officer who, earlier this month, arrested reporter Ryan J. Reilly because he refused to leave a Ferguson McDonald’s. Turns out, Officer Cosma has a record.

While then working at the nearby Jefferson Police Department, Justin “hog-tied” a 12-year old boy because, well, just read it for yourself.

According to a lawsuit filed in 2012 in Missouri federal court, Justin Cosma and another officer, Richard Carter, approached a 12-year-old boy who was checking the mailbox at the end of his driveway in June 2010…The pair asked the boy if he’d been playing on a nearby highway, and he replied no, according to the lawsuit.

…

Then, the officers “became confrontational” and intimidated the child, the lawsuit claims. “Unprovoked and without cause, the deputies grabbed [the boy], choked him around the neck and threw him to the ground,” it says. The boy was shirtless at the time, and allegedly “suffered bruising, choke marks, scrapes and cuts across his body.” [Slate]

As fate would have it, charges were not pursed by the county prosecutor because the boy allegedly assaulted officers while resisting arrest.

If Ferguson’s public relations fiasco wasn’t already making Donald Sterling shake his head, try this. Another officer, Eddie Boyd III, left the department last week after “credible accusations” he pistol-whipped a 12-year-old girl and young man who was a high school freshman.

Now would be a good time to surmise many of Ferguson’s police officers are “no angels” either, huh?
[Slate]

Filed under: Media, SmokingSection Tagged: EVERYTHING ELSE, Ferguson Police Department, Justin Cosma, Michael Brown Shooting, SMOKE BREAK, WORLD NEWS

fallontonight:

Jimmy writes his weekly Thank You Notes!

stuffmomnevertoldyou:

Check out the FIRST little league baseball player of ANY gender or race to make the cover of Sports Illustrated. Go, Mo’ne!

The Ice Bucket Challenge video craze ought to be winding up any day now. But here are two more famous people who just joined in on the soaking wet fun: Patrick Stewart and Benedict Cumberbatch. They’re both part of the Stark Trek universe, but their videos couldn’t be any less alike. Batches of Cumbers gets surprise attacked, while Stewart, he’s one classy motherf*cker, so his version of the Challenge involves a stiff drink. Amen.

Filed under: Web Culture Tagged: ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH, Ice Bucket Challenge, PATRICK STEWART

I do not officially have a bucket list¹ but if I did have one, watching a total solar eclipse would be on it. Was just talking about it the other day in fact. Well. I am pretty damn excited for the Great American Eclipse of 2017!

In August 21, 2017, millions of people across the United States will see nature's most wondrous spectacle -- a total eclipse of the Sun. It is a scene of unimaginable beauty; the Moon completely blocks the Sun, daytime becomes a deep twilight, and the Sun's corona shimmers in the darkened sky. This is your guide to understand, prepare for, and view this rare celestial event.

It goes right through the middle of the country too...almost everyone in the lower 48 is within a day's drive of seeing it. Cities in the path of the totality include Salem, OR, Jackson, WY, Lincoln, NE, St. Louis, MO (nearly), Nashville, TN, and Charleston, SC.

Weather will definitely play a factor in actually seeing the eclipse, so I will be keeping an eye on Eclipser ("Climatology and Maps for the Eclipse Chaser") as the event draws near. Early analysis indicates Oregon as the best chance for clear skies. Matt, I am hereby laying claim to your guest room in three years time. So excited!!

[1] Also on this hypothetical bucket list: dunking a basketball, going to outer space, learning to surf, and two chicks at the same time. ↩

Tags: 2017 solar eclipse   astronomy   space   Sun   USA

Molly Ringwald being a mom will never not be weird. She should always be the age she was in Sixteen Candles (I don’t remember the exact number). But now, instead of portraying the titular role in The Secret Life of the American Teenager, she played a mom on the ABC Family show. She has kids in real life, too, including a daughter named Mathilda, who recently posed like her ’80s icon mother while shopping at Target.

Why don’t I ever see Molly Ringwald when I’m at Target? All I get is, ugh, Anthony Michael Hall.

Via @MollyRingwald

Filed under: Film Drunk, Upcoming, Web Culture Tagged: MOLLY RINGWALD, SIXTEEN CANDLES, TARGET

Peter Frampton was for Marlo. This… this was for Leta.

The French Laundry is a very famous restaurant in Yountville, California, that Anthony Bourdain once called “the best…in the world, period.” I’ve never been there, but I assume even the appetizers cost as much as 10 value meals from Wendy’s. It’s a foodie’s dream to get a reservation, so I highly approve of the Bold Italic’s idea of having a four-year-old girl review the joint.

Lyla is the youngest person to eat a full tasting menu at the French Laundry. With all the widespread and well-earned prestige of the restaurant, it’s not difficult to find countless multiple-syllable reviews from professional critics. Here we prove that there is no purer critique than the facial expressions of a teeny tiny child.

Here are her thoughts on certain meals, including Hen Egg Custard:

Lyla was shocked by this dish. SHOCKED! She insisted that it was NOT a real egg because, as she said, “They can’t get the top of it off without cracking it!” Once she got in there, though, she loved it, even if she was tenaciously confused about what exactly was inside the “definitely not an egg” shell, explaining, “To me, the chicken inside is a fluffy marshmallow.”

Jardinière de Légumes

“This pepper tastes like babies.”

Bread

“It looks like the house that bees live in. AND I HATE BEES!”

Adorable. See all the photos here.

Via the Bold Italic

Filed under: Upcoming, Web Culture Tagged: anthony bourdain, LITTLE KIDS, restaurants

Find a Nail Polish That Lasts – Consumer Reports News. Their most recommended is a $2 bottle of polish! It’s Sinful Colors brand, which I’ve been using for my toenails for a few years now. I’m stupidly thrilled to be validated for my frugality here. Via Super Punch.

Made in America: The Girls of a Certain Age. I had no idea some of these brands are made in the USA, this is a good list to keep in mind.

Rich People Gotta Upholster Too | dooce®. Sarah Brown on Restoration Hardware then and now. I second this.

I Have Been Waiting My Whole Life For This Butter Knife at The Frisky. That is indeed a very clever butter knife.

by Ester Bloom

The ALS ice bucket challenge is bigger than Kickstarter. It’s bigger than Jesus plus Kanye plus baby North West multiplied by the sum of Brangelina and Warren Buffet. I mean, did you watch former Leader of the Free World and amateur painter George W. Bush’s video? This shit has gotten real:

The ALS Association received $8.6 million in donations Tuesday as proceeds from the ice bucket challenge continued to pour in at record rates. The association has begun posting daily tallies from the fundraiser on its website, stating on Wednesday that since July 29 it had raised $31.5 million. That’s an $8.6 million jump over the previous day’s tally, and more than 16 times the amount it had received over the same period last year.

“Increased awareness and unprecedented financial support will enable us to think outside the box,” the ALS Association said in a statement. Celebrities, athletes and politicians ranging from the Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl to former President George W. Bush have taken the challenge, pouring buckets of ice water over their heads to raise ALS awareness.

So yeah, some people have raised objections about priorities and stuff, including the thoughtful Jia Tolentino, but they’re missing one key point. When you’re burnt out from a summer of Gaza, Ferguson, ISIS, ebola epidemics, and Taylor Swift, it can feel restorative to dump a bucket of ice on your head and/or watch someone else do it. For a good cause, of course.

6 Comments

“Last year, in total, British police officers actually fired their weapons three times. The number of people fatally shot was zero. In 2012 the figure was just one. Even after adjusting for the smaller size of Britain’s population, British citizens are around 100 times less likely to be shot by a police officer than Americans. Between 2010 and 2014 the police force of one small American city, Albuquerque in New Mexico, shot and killed 23 civilians; seven times more than the number of Brits killed by all of England and Wales’s 43 forces during the same period.

The explanation for this gap is simple. In Britain, guns are rare. Only specialist firearms officers carry them; and criminals rarely have access to them. The last time a British police officer was killed by a firearm on duty was in 2012, in a brutal case in Manchester. The annual number of murders by shooting is typically less than 50. Police shootings are enormously controversial. The shooting of Mark Duggan, a known gangster, which in 2011 started riots across London, led to a fiercely debated inquest. Last month, a police officer was charged with murder over a shooting in 2005. The reputation of the Metropolitan Police’s armed officers is still barely recovering from the fatal shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes, an innocent Brazilian, in the wake of the 7/7 terrorist bombings in London.

In America, by contrast, it is hardly surprising that cops resort to their weapons more frequently. In 2013, 30 cops were shot and killed—just a fraction of the 9,000 or so murders using guns that happen each year. Add to that a hyper-militarised police culture and a deep history of racial strife and you have the reason why so many civilians are shot by police officers. Unless America can either reduce its colossal gun ownership rates or fix its deep social problems, shootings of civilians by police—justified or not—seem sure to continue.”

- Armed police: Trigger happy | The Economist (via kenyatta)

The Daily Show and The Colbert Report have been on hiatus, so it was up to Last Week Tonight‘s John Oliver to try to make sense of what the hell is happening in Ferguson, Missouri, right now.

Well, he couldn’t, because it makes no f*cking sense, but Oliver gave it his best shot by succinctly rounding up everything that’s happened since the first of six bullets struck Michael Brown. There’s a lot to get into it — “the Hispanic,” Family Dollar camouflage, the militarization of the police, two stoner bros saying “duddddeeeee” when they see the vehicle their local law enforcement drives around in, etc. — but be sure to stick around for Oliver singing parodying a song called “Die, Motherf*cker, Die.”

It’s a great moment in a GREAT segment.

Filed under: TV Tagged: Ferguson, HBO, JOHN OLIVER, LAST WEEK TONIGHT

If you’re one of the many people anxiously awaiting Tina Fey’s return to network sitcom action in any capacity at all, I’ve got some bad news for you – we’re going to have to keep waiting. According to Variety, Fox has changed its mind about the series order for Cabot College and passed on the show that Fey would have produced with her 30 Rock partner and former Saturday Night Live and Friends writer Robert Carlock. Cabot College would have starred Asif Ali, Margaret Cho, Jack Cutmore-Scott and Bonnie Dennison in a story about a women’s college that begins accepting male students, presumably with hilarity ensuing. However, unless another network (HEY, NBC! YOU!) picks it up, Cabot College’s doors will remain closed. What do you think about that, Liz Lemon?

Oh come on, you have to be more upset than that.

Come on, angrier!

There we go. In the meantime, we’ll have to wait for Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, a midseason order for NBC that will star Ellie Kemper from The Office and this year’s romcom spoof They Came Together. And then we’ll all be like…

I can’t really even begin to explain how much I miss 30 Rock, you guys. It’s bordering on obsessive.

Filed under: TV Tagged: cabot college, COME BACK 30 ROCK YOU'RE OUR ONLY HOPE, ELLIE KEMPER, Fox, LIZ LEMON, NBC, robert carlock, sitcoms, TINA FEY, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

CA legislature passed bill to allow gov't to shut off cell phones, up for governor now. Imagine #Ferguson w/o phones https://cdt.org/blog/california-kill-switch-bill-could-be-used-to-disrupt-protests/…

Longtime readers will know that I have been using Credit Karma to monitor my credit score for a while now. The free consumer credit information service (best way I can think of to describe it) built ... Credit Karma Now Offers Free Credit Report Access!

[Read the rest of the story at 20somethingfinance.com]

Weekly spaghetti dinners with a rotating cast of friends and family started as an easy solution for working parents who missed having a social life. We had no idea it would tap into something much deeper. Read More

jtotheizzoe:

Remember LEGO’s announcement that they were producing a minifig set featuring female scientists? Well, that’s now a real thing, and you can buy it, like I just did!

People are taking photos of statues that cleverly make it look as though the statues are taking selfies.

There's a group on Reddit but most of the photos really aren't that good. There are more examples on Instagram, including this one and this one from June that predate the activity on Reddit. But the earliest instances I found of statue selfies were this Instagram photo from The Art Institute of Chicago and this tweet featuring the Statue of Liberty, both from December 2013.

(via @ThatAmelia)

Tags: photography

From PA Press, the latest book in their Words of Wisdom series, The Chef Says. The book features quotes about food and cooking from the likes of Escoffier, April Bloomfield, Julia Child, and Grant Achatz.

Tags: books   food   The Chef Says

by Ester Bloom

There’s an uproar happening right now in plus-size clothing. Fashionista started it by asking a provocative/insulting question,

what if the problem with the plus-size industry isn’t with faceless businessmen, but with the customers themselves? … Sarah Conley, a plus-size blogger and retail consultant, explains that when retailers are approached by customers to feature more true plus-size models, the companies will often conduct tests. One such brand displayed the exact same clothes on a size 8 model and a size 14 model on its website; the size 8 model sold better every time.

“As much as we think we want to see people who look like us, it’s not really showing through in customer behavior, which is really unfortunate,” she explains. “I think that people who say they want to see a more diverse group of women, whether it’s body shape or size, they’re not always following those wishes and demands with their credit cards.”

In the same way, the higher-priced items that customers clamor for — items designed by big names, items with more tailoring and trendier items — “don’t sell.” There’s also the issue of impermanence: “Everyone I spoke with agreed that women who are told that their body shape should be considered temporary, always in need of a new diet or weight loss plan, aren’t exactly going to plunk down $300 for a dress that, ideally, won’t fit them in a month.”

Jezebel weighed in, so to speak, and gave Fashionista a succinct answer: no. For one thing, sez Jez,

When plus-size blogger Gabi Gregg launched a swimwear collection with Swimsuits For All, the line sold out in hours. Women were more than happy to spend money on fashionable garments designed to flatter their bodies. Again, how can consumers buy clothes that don’t exist?

13 Comments