Links aug30

Today's links, on parenting.

watch/read/read

• Jay-Z talks candidly about his paranoia of not being a good dad. 

• Greatest moments in the history of parenting. (BuzzFeed)

• Why you're a terrible human being if you send your kids to private school. (Slate)

• Making a case for the CTFD method of parenting. (Wellcommons) 

• And lastly, what if you don't want to be a parent? (Time/CBS News)

50 years ago today

"Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children."
(Photos: Getty Images)

10

This happened ten years ago today.

Here's to ten, twenty, forty and more years...

Wednesday selfie

Today's look: Nail art gets graphic.

The color(s): First I used Essie nail color in Chinchilly (three coats) then Revlon nail color in Black Lingerie on top to make the triangular shape. The trick is a steady hand and a generous amount of nail polish on your brush as you apply. And don't forget a base coat (I like Essie's First Base Base Coat) so your nails don't turn yellow and of course, a top coat (I used Essie's No Chips Ahead Top Coat) so your nail color lasts. 

The occasion: Does a girl ever need a reason to have fun with her nails? Exactly.

Why I like this look: I was flipping through the September issue of Lucky magazine and spied model Atong Arjok wearing the coolest nail art in the spread, "Graphic Arts." While Arjok's nails were black and white, I opted for a subtler effect with black and gray.  

I (heart) librarians

This is the most phenomenal parody of the Beastie Boys' Sabotage video. Brilliant. 

The speech everybody is talking about

Ashton Kutcher learned a few things while he was "Chris" (an ordinary guy before he became the famous actor "Ashton"): Opportunity looks like hard work; being smart, thoughtful and generous is sexy (and everything else is crap); and build your life, don't just live one.

Wise words, Ashton.

    

Flush, please!

This mom was having a moment. And not a very flattering one. But can you blame her? Let's give the woman the benefit of the doubt: she'd probably been asking her little girls over and over and over again to do the bare minimum after using the loo. I imagine she'd been having one of those non-stop Calgon-please-take-me-away kind of days and finally, she was looking forward to using the bathroom in peace. 

The house may have been quieter than usual. Her daughters were tucked away in their room. Maybe it was her one moment of solitude for the day. Then BAM! She lifts the toilet seat and sees, to her horror, evidence of the deed.

She lost it and yes, she probably shouldn't have used such colorful language. But we all have our breaking point. I mean, how many of us haven't been tempted to use the F word when frustrated by our kids? The honesty captured in this clip, especially in a climate where parents are expected to be perfect, is so relatable and refreshing.

It's probably why this 24-second video, which was uploaded to YouTube less than a week ago, has already been viewed more than six million times.*    

I've watched it over and over and have cried from laughing so hard. I guarantee you'll be laughing out loud, too. You might even soil yourself. 

Just remember to flush.   


*The original video has since been removed. Hmmm... Someone got in trouble and the sh*t must have hit the fan.     

Links aug14

Afghanistan of yesteryear: a postcard of the Hotel Intercontinental in 1960s Kabul.

A lesson in history.

read/read/watch

• Groovy Afghanistan, before war and the Taliban. (Messy Nessy Chic)

• First covers of 19 famous magazines. (Mental Floss)

• Before they were stars, they had bad hair and those awkward years just like the rest of us. (CelebritySchoolPics)

• This was such a big hit (Jimmy even won a Grammy for it); if you haven't already, you must school yourself on the history of rap. (Late Night with Jimmy Fallon)

• You are what you eat. (History Channel)

Ode to my hubbie (Happy Birthday)

You are my Romeo and I your Juliet (without the tragic ending, though). :)

My bounty is as boundless as the sea,

My love as deep; the more I give to thee,

The more I have; for both are infinite.

(Romeo and Juliet, 2.2: 139-41)

 Happy Birthday to a guy who makes chillin' look so COOL.

Til death do us part (essay contest)

I'm sad to report that these pants no longer exist.
Yes, they finally died. RIP, Melty Pants.

What is one item of clothing you cannot part with? For me, it was my Melty Pants. I wrote about these illustrious trousers back in 2010, when they were still in existence. I'm sad to say they no longer take up space in my drawers. 

What happened? Well, they melted.

The cloth covering my bum literally disintegrated. What started off as tiny pinholes quickly devolved into large openings until sewing the gaping holes didn't work anymore. There's only so much you can salvage, especially when the material starts bunching up around your posterior in the most undignified sort of way.

So I threw them out and I haven't found a replacement since. (I did cut the lower legs off of my favorite sweatpants, as seen in this selfie... They do the job. But they're still not as soft and magnificent as my Melty Pants.)

What about you? Do you have your own a pair of Melty Pants? Or a favorite T-shirt, jeans, sweatshirt, jacket, sweater, etc. that has been with you in good times and in bad, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, through sickness and in health, til death do you part?

I wanna read about it. Send me a short essay, 250 words or less, and tell me about the special bond you share with this item. Every piece of clothing has a story to tell.


*Send your submission to jcsalaff@gmail.com
**Submission deadline: August 31.
***Winner will receive a $50 Threadless gift card.
     
   

Nightmare on Seymour Ave

Ariel Castro's "House of Horrors" at 2207 Seymour Avenue on Cleveland's West Side.
(Photo: Jeffrey Goodman) 

The white clapboard house on Seymour Avenue made famous by monster Ariel Castro will be demolished tomorrow.

Cleveland's "House of Horrors" is just 25 minutes from where I live. And just like the steady stream of tourists who have been snapping photos since Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight escaped exactly three months ago, I had to see it with my own eyes.     

Long before the windows were boarded up and the chain link fence got rolled out, 2207 Seymour Avenue looked like any other house you'd find in this run-down part of town. The neighborhood itself is rather unremarkable as there are so many on the West Side filled with abandoned apartments, vacant lots and condemned buildings.

An abandoned and boarded-up apartment building at 2112 Seymour Avenue.
At one time, I'm sure this was a wonderful place to call home.
(Photo: Jeffrey Goodman)

Immanuel Lutheran Church sits on the corner of Scranton Road
and Seymour Avenue-- just four doors down from Castro's house.
(Photo: Jeffrey Goodman)

Immanuel Lutheran Church is on one corner of the street. A warehouse selling canvas awnings at the other. Lincoln Middle School is two blocks away. A historic Twinkie factory sits abandoned three streets down, on Twinkie Lane.

Twinkie Lane, named after the iconic Hostess cake, is a five-minute
walk from 2207 Seymour Ave. (Photo: Jeffrey Goodman)

City buses roar past on West 25th. Hungry patrons stop by Mr. Hero's for a meatball sub on Clark Avenue. Online bookseller John T. Zubal faithfully tends to his 4 million rare and scholarly books at his 360,000-square foot warehouse-- just two blocks away from Castro's house.

"How could no one know?" wondered Mike Bigio, who drove 45 minutes from Lorain to check out the neighborhood with his wife. "I mean, all these people living here? And not one person heard anything?"

It's the question everyone around the world is asking. And for the residents on this street, it's the question that haunts them. 

Aurora Marti lives right across the street from Castro's house (which is blocked
by the tree). She, like almost all of her neighbors, never suspected a thing.
(Photo: Jeffrey Goodman) 

Perhaps most for 75-year-old Aurora Marti, who considered Ariel Castro "a good friend and good neighbor" until May 6. But now her heart feels sick as she thinks about the three young women who must now put their lives together after this horrific ordeal.

She can't wait until tomorrow, when the wrecking ball comes and smashes Castro's house to pieces. She's relieved. Ready to move on. And at the same time seems a bit amused by the celebrity status of her neighborhood-- though she acknowledges the notoriety is misplaced.

"Tomorrow the house will be gone," said Marti, who has lived on Seymour Avenue for 47 years. "And we can all get on with our lives."   

Officials say the two houses next door to Castro's (left) will also be demolished.
(Photo: Jeffrey Goodman)

Me likey

I love the simplicity of this IIIBeca by Joy Gryson leather
shopper. The color reminds me of merlot. Anything
that reminds me of wine has my attention.

It's only the beginning of August but I'm already looking toward the fall and what I would like to add to my repertoire. I just can't get the following out of my head.

I'm getting sucked into Etsy. Uh oh. This delicate
birthstone charm necklace is, well, charming.

This fantastic Aldo bootie is a cross between a Victorian-inspired
shoe and ice skates. I'll take a pair, thankyouverymuch. 

Its slimming effect makes the tuxedo pant a girl's
best friend. I'm loving this these from Ann Taylor.

The crossover blouse is trending
right now and I can see why.
Perfect. Pooch. Cover-up.

And of course I can't forget the biggest fashionista in my house:

To say my 3-year-old daughter is obsessed with dresses is
the understatement of the year. (I think the last time she
wore pants was a year ago.) Which is why I need to
splurge and get her this adorable J.Crew frock. Pronto. 

This cute H&M tee has everything she likes: pink, bunnies, tutus.

If she wants to channel her inner-Pocahontas,
she can slip on these Minnetonka moccasins.