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Sworn Virgins in Albania, Montenegro and Kosovo
In the isolated areas of Albania, Montenegro and Kosovo, the gender roles have traditionally been extremely restrictive for women. They could not inherit, own land, vote, work outside of the home, choose their own spouses, smoke, drink, wear pants or watches, sing or dance, interact with men, or own businesses. They weren’t even supposed to…
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My Trip in the Wayback Machine
When I was a kid I used to love a segment on the Rocky and Bullwinkle Show featuring a dog named Peabody and his pet human, Sherman. They would take trips in the Wayback Machine and go to various points in history. This always intrigued me. If I had a Wayback Machine, where and when…
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Let Your Freak Flag Fly!
I like to wear crazy, colorful socks. That way if I find that I’m taking myself too seriously, I can always look down at my feet and regain a sense of emotional balance. I have always been drawn to people who are different. Whether it’s pink hair, or strange clothes, or simply thinking outside the…
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How to Drive Yourself Crazy
From a recent conversation with a friend: Friend: Do you think I’m a selfish person? Me: Not at all. In fact, I find you to be compassionate, supportive, generous, and a good listener. Why? Friend: Well…It occurred to me the other day that if I were selfish, I’d never know, would I? Because I’d be…
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Humbly Reaching Out
From a recent conversation with my boyfriend: Me: All of a sudden so many good things are happening in my life! I’ve got that job interview, I got a promotion in my captioning job, I got my 100th follower on my blog, and I just saved a couple hundred bucks by transferring a credit card…
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Violence: Have We Evolved at All?
I’m reading a book that is set in the 1850’s and in it there’s about to be a public execution. People have been camping out since the night before to see it as if they were trying to buy tickets for a Justin Bieber concert or something. (Perish the thought.) It’s all rather grizzly, and…
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Black and Blue, Literally and Figuratively
I have a black bruise on my knee the size of a fist, and I’m angry. Really, really angry. The reason for my ire is quite simple. Sexual harassment. Yesterday I had to squeeze past a guy I know to reach for something. He was sitting in a swivel chair. When I turned back to…
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Split, Croatia: The Coolest City You’ve Never Heard Of
people have built their homes within the abandoned Palace walls.
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Embracing Negative Emotions
“Few situations –no matter how greatly they appear to demand it – can be bettered by us going berserk.” Codependent No More, Melody Beattie Most of us have been taught that there are negative and positive emotions. Anger, sadness, grief and frustration are bad. Happiness, love, joy, and bemusement are good. Because of this, we…