Butts, thighs, knees, and shouders

Check out these in-your-face Nike ads celebrating women with athletic builds. I want these on a workout shirt!

Remember, fit is the new skinny.

Are Democrats smarter than Republicans?

This infographic on Gizmodo suggests that is the case. There certainly seems to be a pattern that indicates that the better educated a state is, the more likely they were to vote for Barack Obama over Mitt Romney.

Forbes, however, points out some flaws in these statistics. There are more variables at play, such as income, race, and the level of secondary education attained.

Reading and writing: More than just something for your English teacher to use as a torture device

John Green, one half the fantastically brilliant Vlog Brothers, has recently added English Literature to the Crash Course curriculum. In this first video, he explains why reading and writing are mind-blowingly awesome inventions and how The Great Gatsby will help you get a promotion. Also, he references Doctor Who, which is always a win in my book.

States I've visited

One of my life goals is to visit every state (#83 on the list). In order to qualify as a visit, I will have to have spent at least one night there.

So far I've been to:

1. New Jersey
2. New York
3. Pennsylvania
4. Vermont
5. Maine
6. Massachusetts
7. Connecticut
8. Ohio
9. Maryland
10. North Carolina
11. Virginia
12. West Virginia
13. Washington D.C. (bonus!)
14. Georgia
15. Florida
16. Oregon
17. California
18. Rhode Island (April 15-17, 2011, Beast of the East Rugby Tournament)
19. Tennessee (March 2012, Spring Break training)

I've passed through a few states (New Hampshire, Delaware, Colorado), but I'm not going to let those count. I really want to experience each state, even if just for one day.

If all goes well, I'll be adding a few more states to the list this summer. Fingers crossed!

2012: Books

Books I've read in 2012
* denotes reread

1. The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larson
2. Club Dead by Charlaine Harris
3. Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris
4. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Phillip K. Dick
5. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
6. Life of Pi by Yann Martel
7. *The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
8. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
9. Dead as a Doornail by Charlaine Harris
10. Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James
11. Salt by Mark Kurlansky
12. No god but God by Reza Aslan
13. The Swerve by Stephen Greenblatt
14. Fifty Shades Darker by E. L. James
15. Fifty Shades Freed by E.L. James
16. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larson
17. The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky
18. *A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
19. The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien
20. The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury
21. Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

Men who love My Little Pony

Brony - [n] a young man who is a fan of "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic"

This video explores why a show full of ponies and rainbows has a growing male fan base and why that's not a bad thing.