I loved Barbara Ehrenreich's essay a few years ago in Harper's on the subject of pink breast cancer kitsch. You can read it at http://www.bcaction.org/Pages/LearnAboutUs/WelcomeToCancerland.html. A choice quote:

"Yes, atheists pray in their foxholes-in this case, with a yearning new to me and sharp as lust, for a clean and honorable death by shark bite, lightning strike, sniper fire, car crash. Let me be hacked to death by a madman, is my silent supplication-anything but suffocation by the pink sticky sentiment embodied in that bear and oozing from the walls of the changing room."

Yes, that's right - not 12 oz a day. The very thought makes me gag (note that I am a vegetarian).

Wikipedia lists multiple botanical sources of omega-3 fatty acids, including flax, walnuts, kiwi and acai. And also mentions eggs, grass-fed meats (including lamb and beef) and the milk and milk products from grass-fed cows.

Some people might not want to 'skip the fish', so knowing which ones to eat is really great news for them. However, knowing how to get our EFAs from veggie sources is great news for us, too. And most of them are things I might not otherwise choose because of high cost and fat content - like avocadoes and nuts. Much cheaper and better for me than any encapsulated nutritional supplement! YUM!

I don't think fish is the only source of DHA - that's just the easiest place. A few quick googles and a browse through wikipedia suggest factory farming has depleted the quantity in cows' milk and eggs, but if you buy the good stuff you can still get DHA from them. If you are a vegan and want supplements, they also sell this concentrated algae stuff (also a popular ingredient in baby formula nowadays) - but I'm not vegan and prefer whole foods. Looks like I need to be careful to get all those acids, though, because it's definitely much harder without fish. Unless I start imbibing baby formula - but I haven't let corn syrup pass my lips since I lived in Iowa City. Watching trains comprised entirely of tanker cars full of corn syrup put me off it - and that's the main ingredient of baby formula.

I am reminded of my own robust blood-iron levels, even during three vegetarian pregnancies - perhaps, at least in part, because I am of Scottish descent. Regional adaptations regarding nutritional requirments can and do happen, and they can stick with us for a while. And they can change.

Skipping feedings also reduces your milk supply, and having a nursing pad full of milk against your rock-hard, painful, leaking breast for nine hours increases the chance of thrush (that's a yeast infection in your breast, and if you've never had one, don't even think about telling me it's minor) and mastitis (a very serious infection of milk ducts that causes fever and other flu-like symptoms). This is not a minor issue, you insensitive, know-it-all jerk-offs. Get a life.

I witness my artistically inclined kids doing something really brilliant and spot-on once every few months. Those lightning strikes are even less repeatable for kids than they are for adults. Sounds like the mistake here is a controlling father trying to make the phenomenon consistently repeatable. But artists spend a lot of time painting, and most of their work is not that great. The museums of the world are full of second-rate paintings by people who are remembered for a smaller number of phenomenal pieces.

was worth those two movie pitches, KitchenGirl and Silenced. Why pay for movies? Thank you!

to find scientists who still want to argue that the only possible evolutionary value of an individual in a social system is to pop out babies (or sperm). That point of view is so limited, and I thought it had been debunked. What about the fact that grandmothers make the best midwives - including teaching the younger women how to nurse? My experience and the experience of those around me suggests that these "natural" things don't Just Happen like they seem to for dogs and whales. The alternative narratives (like this grandmother hypothesis) are more interesting and plausible, and more applicable to our current society.

And as a person who is enduring hot flashes on a regular basis, it pleases me to think there is a good reason for menopause!

Brightstar, you could always just provide the link instead of getting huffy. Sounds interesting.

What a crock of shinola. If we were going by who has a 'normal' name, we'd be electing John Edwards. Hey - what a great idea! Let's base the dem primary on pronounceability! (Just this year, though, please....)