Category Archives: Don’t Buy This!

How I Gained Twelve Pounds……and why I’m Not Looking Back

Posted on January 25, 2012 by admin

It was the last photoshoot of our “How Much do you Weigh?” project. For the previous three months, photographer Sheila Daniels and I had opened the lens to 22 women of many different sizes, ages, and backgrounds.  And each of … Continue reading →

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Cultural WTF: “It’s Just a Flesh Wound….”

Posted on June 7, 2011 by admin

We’ve had a virus-y, virus-y winter here in the CIE household.  By the time spring finally rolled around, I was just hoping and praying for a virus-free week; the four of us just seemed in such an endless cycle.  So … Continue reading →

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What I Really Think About ‘Perfect’ Motherhood

Posted on April 6, 2011 by admin

“What you call ‘love’ was invented by guys like me to sell nylons.” –Don Draper, Mad Men “Visualize success, but don’t believe your eyes; it’s a version of the world without the will to despise it.” –The New Pornographers The … Continue reading →

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Cultural WTF: grocery store edition

Posted on March 8, 2011 by admin

Little sign affixed to my grocery store cart: “Holiday Star Cookies: Just 3 ingredients!” 1. Store bought cookie dough 2. Store bought frosting 3. Blue sugar Ummm….with the exception of ‘blue sugar’, these are not “ingredients”.  Pssst…..you want to make … Continue reading →

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Cultural WTF: A picture essay

Posted on March 7, 2011 by admin

“Go ahead.  Get it.  You know you want to.” In the fitting room of our local TJ Maxx.  As if desire were the only consideration when deciding whether to make a purchase. Tweetgovernment,politics news,politics news,politics

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From Happy Meals to Sarah Palin; The Fast Food of Politics

Posted on November 23, 2010 by admin

And somehow, somehow, we are actually being made to fight for the right of multinational corporations to peddle crappy food to our children by offering them a toy. Continue reading →

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Stop drinking that! A Thirsty Nation’s Dilemma

Posted on May 19, 2010 by admin

Several weeks ago, when I voiced my misgivings about what a pregnant woman with a voracious thirst should drink, it paved the way for much larger questions that touches all of our lives, preggo or no: “Wait, what ARE we … Continue reading →

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CIE Holiday Shopping Guide

Posted on December 8, 2009 by admin

News recently broke (and unbroke) about the unsafe levels of the toxic compound antimony on this Holiday season’s hottest new toy, Zhu Zhu Pets.  Until then, it seemed like a great gift for the times: inexpensive, simple, and oh so … Continue reading →

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One Small Step to a Sustainable Holiday

Posted on November 30, 2009 by admin

Amid all of the pre-Thanksgiving buzz last week about Black Friday, a TV news reporter stood in the middle of a well known Big Box store, holding up some of the great deals to be had.  Among her selected items, … Continue reading →

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9 Little Known Toxic Ingredients that Could Affect Your Pregnancy (and what to do to avoid them)

Posted on October 20, 2009 by admin

I blame the pregnancy message boards.  At the outset of my first pregnancy, I was blissfully oblivious to the potential hazards of shampoo.   Then, the posting was clicked: “Shampoo?“, then, the link followed: “Pregnancy Alert: Shampoo Ingredient Could Damage Developing … Continue reading →

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