Oh, god.

[conuly]

Fixing pipe in the basement = mucho moola down the proverbial drain.

Oh, GOD.

*******

New York and Connecticut take action against food stamp cuts

http://bit.ly/MLmemr

The Indian sanitary pad revolutionary

Now I, of course, am all about my reusable menstrual products, but if disposable ones help reduce serious stigma so that women can go to school and work, well, that's for the best.

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-26260978

Let’s make an effort to move more freight by rail and less by road. Trains are more efficient.

http://wapo.st/MKKWn9

Russia sets sights on Ukraine warships as U.S. threatens economic punishment, Pentagon suspends military ties

http://nydn.us/1cyyais

If you can catch the beat, you might be able to exercise harder, better, faster, stronger.

http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/health/248246221.html

Obama's budget would shift tax benefits from wealthy to poor

http://lat.ms/MLkh9x

Everything that’s wrong with the suburbs, in one image

http://grist.org/list/everything-thats-wrong-with-the-suburbs-in-one-image/

The Dalai Lama’s Ski Trip
What I learned in the slush with His Holiness.

http://slate.me/1jANRuE

Russia ties compound German dilemma in Ukraine crisis

http://reut.rs/OXoB7T

Man Buys 10.000 Undeveloped Negatives At a Local Auction and Discovers One of The Most Important Street Photographers of the Mid 20th Century

http://www.webburgr.com/vivian_maier/

Comments

[siderea]

If you can catch the beat, you might be able to exercise harder, better, faster, stronger.

http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/health/248246221.html

That article is pretty weak for what turns out to be a very fascinating topic. The effect of music to increase stamina and speed is one of the oldest and best documented psychological phenomena, going back to[*] German industrialists in the 19th century who wanted to know if it was economically advantageous to pay for singers for their harvesters, so conducted formal studies. Answer: yes.

If you find yourself intrigued by the topic, there's a great mindblowing book about it: Keeping Together Through Time: Dance and Drill in Human History by William McNeill.

[* That's just who did the first formal study. Obviously, the phenomenon had been observed into antiquity, q.v. the story of Jason and the Argonauts.]

[waterfall8484]

Oh no! I hope it's as easy and cheap a fix as possible.

Reading 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, and 10.

I have to love any post that mentions such diverse topics as a man that develops a way to make cheap sanitary pads and an incredibly talented and unknown photographer. ♥ Awesome!

[conuly]

Regarding the pads, a comment I got over on LJ that you might be interested in, then:

http://conuly.livejournal.com/2156481.html?thread=12784577#t12784577

[waterfall8484]

Thanks, that was interesting, something I haven't thought about.

[houseboatonstyx.livejournal.com]

When Muruganantham looked into it further, he discovered that hardly any women in the surrounding villages used sanitary pads - fewer than one in 10. His findings were echoed by a 2011 survey by AC Nielsen, commissioned by the Indian government, which found that only 12% of women across India use sanitary pads.

Muruganantham says that in rural areas, the take-up is far less than that. He was shocked to learn that women don't just use old rags, but other unhygienic substances such as sand, sawdust, leaves and even ash.

Fresh ashes are a lot more hygenic than a manufactured pad that has been through many hands and is lined with purchased processed cloth. Leaves and sawdust probably are too. Also they can be disposed of anywhere, by scattering and/or burying them. In contrast, his manufactured pad stays intact, thus becoming a breeding ground quite unhygenic indeed -- before a dog finds it and smears it all over the neighborhood.

I've seen this story several times. It's lauding a man hwo takes villlage women away from the product each woman makes for herself -- to a product of a machine that the village elders must buy and then control.

There are village level projects run by women, showing how to make at home the bags to hold the ashes etc. Much more worthy. I can find the link if anyone is interested.

[conuly]

I always like more information.

[houseboatonstyx.livejournal.com]

Here are links to many such projects. Many of these specify 'resuable'.

http://www.bing.com/search?setmkt=en-US&q=africa+village+menstrual+pad+%22cow+in+it%22&first=9&FORM=PORE

In the article I remember, a reusable cloth bag contained the disposable ashes, sawdust, etc.

Ideally the bag was sewn by the woman herself using her usual sewing materials and method. the project also made bags to sell or give away, and gave away some of them finished, and gave demonstrations of how to make them.

Here is my gripe about articles such as the one you posted. For city women who are currently buying imported Kotex at high prices, Mr. M's machine can manufacture a cheaper and slightly better version of ... well, Kotex. But the article then jumps to dissing 'village women' who are currently making their own bags for ashes etc, or buying from other village women who are making them by hand with local materials. And the articles about Mr. M don't even mention the many projects helping the village women to do their own.