I admire Amanda Palmer

Amanda Palmer.

This name has been on my radar for years. My longtime friend Kodi has been raving about her music and her work for as long as I have been on Twitter. I kept meaning to find out who she is.. but I just never got around to it.

My journey to Amanda Palmer is a little bit convoluted.

It all started when my little brother, TeeJay, introduced me to Doctor Who and The Vlog Brothers. I became a huge fan of DW, and a passive observer of Hank and John Green. This past fall, TeeJay came into the possession of three tickets to An Evening of Awesome at Carnegie Hall. He gifted two of those tickets to Jesse and I for Christmas.

One of the many fabulous people included in this celebration collaboration, positivity, art, and all-around good feels, was Neil Gaiman, a man I knew as a writer for Doctor Who.

Neil, I later learned, is both a fantastically amazing writer and Amanda Palmer's husband. Now I really needed to find out who this woman is.

So I followed her on Twitter as well.

And then I found her music.

And then I saw her TED Talk.

And then I was fully enraptured.



What I admire about Amanda is her honesty and the way she connects. Her tweets are conversations. Her blog entries are insights into her mind. Her music is the thoughts you won't let out for fear of judgment. But she let's it all out. She sees her fans and she loves them. She truly appreciates her fans - not in the "Thanks for making me rich" way, either. She gives and receives graciously and humbly. If more people knew had to say "please" and "thank you" the way Amanda does, the world would be a lot better off.






What do you think of Amanda's TED Talk? What do you think of her art and her following?

I'm never buying tampons again

Warning! I'm about to talk about my period.

I have never been a big fan of tampons or pads. I find them uncomfortable and borderline unreliable. Plus, you have to be vigilant about changing them, lest you leak or fall victim to toxic shock syndrome. On top of that, if you don't remember to restock your supply regularly, you are left scrambling around the ladies room trying beg a spare off a stranger or MacGyvering some toilet paper to get you through the rest of the day.

I'm done with that.

About four months ago I took the plunge and bought a Diva Cup. For several years, friends in the outdoor recreation program at Rutgers raved to me about how great the Diva Cup is. I was hesitant at first (and discouraged by a squeamish ex - but that's another story). On a whim, I gave it a try.

The Diva Cup is more comfortable than a tampon or pad. It's made of silicone, so it's flexible, non-drying, and easy to clean. It's as easy to insert as a tampon (though, fair warning, there is no applicator), and feels more secure. In the four months I've had it I have never had a leak, nor have I felt it would fall out. A big plus is you only need to change it about once a day. Most women will find they only need to change it every two or three days. It doesn't dry you out or grow bacteria, so it's comfortable and safe for long periods of time - perfect for traveling or sports. As for care, just give it a wash in the sink and you're good to go. Since you don't need to change it every few hours, you don't have to do this in a public restroom.

Long story short, I'm not going back to disposable feminine sanitary products.

Have you tried the Diva Cup? What do you think? What's stopping you from checking it out?