The Good, the Bad, and the Curious (Links I've Been Reading)

I have a collection of links, and it looks long, so I probably missed a week somewhere. The end results the same, though: a list of things that made me smile, bang my head on the desk, and think. So here you go!

The Good

Cracked has Six True Stories That Will Restore Your Faith in Humanity with bonus videos! And it really worked! (But it's an election season, so it only worked for about an hour.)

Anne Lamott has some tips on becoming the person you were meant to be:

Here's how I became myself: mess, failure, mistakes, disappointments, and extensive reading; limbo, indecision, setbacks, addiction, public embarrassment, and endless conversations with my best women friends; the loss of people without whom I could not live, the loss of pets that left me reeling, dizzying betrayals but much greater loyalty, and overall, choosing as my motto William Blake's line that we are here to learn to endure the beams of love. 

Oh, yeah, and whenever I could, for as long as I could, I threw away the scales and the sugar.

I know I already gushed about them all over Facebook, but I am in love with the Alabama Shakes album. And this is the best song on it:

I don't know why I hadn't heard of this blog before, but the Honest Toddler is hilarious. Here's a post on how to properly make a toddler a meal. 

The Bad

Victoria's Secret wants to make sure we focus on the important things while we work out--like how perfect our cleavage looks. (Thanks Amanda for the link!)

EcoSalon has 10 infographics on education that made my heart skip beats. (I don't suggest this reading for the deeply indebted. It'll just depress you.)

Even though it was Todd Akin, Paul Ryan, and (as Rachel Maddow outlines) a host of other Republicans who keep insisting that we bring abortion, rape, and women's freedoms into the public discussion, Mitt Romney somehow says Obama is "stoop[ing] to such a low level" by daring to talk about women's rights after these wrong-headed Republicans have forced these issues into the spotlight. 

The Curious

This photo history of male affection shows that our current standards of "manliness" are a rather recent invention. 

from two to one has a great post on her year of buying no clothing new that made me do some reflecting on my own purchasing habits (and I don't even like clothes shopping!)

Musing Mama has a post about talking about racism with her five year old:

But how to tell him? When to tell him? What to tell him? I have no road map for this conversation. My husband wasn't really sure how to handle it either. It seems like a turning-point kind of talk, one to be handled thoughtfully and carefully. I didn't want to do or say the wrong thing.

Taken together, these two posts about eating healthy food leave a really interesting picture of just how far we have to come with our cultural food expectations. 

Motherlode has a thought-provoking post about rap lyrics, interpretation, and parenting. 

What else should I be reading this week?