What Drexel Is Doing to West Philly (and My Paycheck)

Why my friend from Penn is jealous.

My office at Drexel is on the corner of 33rd and Chestnut. Seven years ago, when I first started teaching there, I was grateful that the bookstore was in my building, so that I could easily pick up bottled water or a bag of soy crisps on my way in and out of the building. Between that and the plethora of awesome lunch trucks in the neighborhood, I have been satisfied. 

32-Year-Old Man Sues Parents, Says They Made Him Fail Life

But he’ll drop the lawsuit if his mom invites him to dinner.

Desperate times call for desperate measures. Or maybe it’s only that desperate people grasp at straws … and lawsuits. Bernard Bey, a 32-year-old homeless man from Brooklyn is suing his parents, citing that their lack of love and his sense of abandonment, has led him to his current state.

He’s Ugly. She’s Hot. The Perils of Up-Dating

How society judges people trying to mate "out of their league."

Do you know anyone who is up-dating? (Or updating?) Do you know what up-dating is? Because we just can’t help ourselves from making up new words and pretending that things are new trends or phenomena when they’ve actually been around forever, enter up-dating—when someone dates or marries someone “out of their league."

Do Women Secretly Love to Be Called MILFs?

Reactions to MILF Diet book.

If the Twitter Diet isn’t working for you, or your fingers are tired from all that tweeting, maybe you should try the MILF Diet. Yes. It’s a real thing. Or at least, author Jessica Porter, a macrobiotic chef, cooking instructor and hypnotist (I’m not sure how that last title fits in either), wants us to believe so.

How Are the Singing Kids of Newtown Being Exploited?

Why performing "Call Me Maybe" for Ryan Seacrest can help them heal.

So, you know those little kids from Newtown who sang “Over the Rainbow” on Good Morning America? No—not the children who sang with Jennifer Hudson at the Super Bowl, that was the Sandy Hook Chorus. I’m talking about the kids iTunes calls the Children of Newtown, though other sources refer to them as the Newtown Music Project. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8XXfO5JQ48

Shocking Allegation: Women Had Sex Before Fifty Shades of Grey Came Out

Magic Mike and romance porn did not liberate women.

I am so very glad that ABC News has decided that women enjoy porn and that we are no longer ashamed about it. I mean, all this time that I have been slinking around meeting my girlfriends to watch porn on the sly—it just feels so good to know we’re not alone and that ABC News knows exactly what I want and why I want it. ABC News always has a window straight into my soul.

Why Do I Feel Compelled to Defend Beyonce, Hillary Clinton and Lena Dunham?

Wealthy, powerful women shielded by little, unfamous me.

I'd like to point out that Beyonce was singing the NATIONAL ANTHEM for ONE MILLION PEOPLE, OUTSIDE, with probably more uncontrollable factors than any of us can even fathom. And that, P.S., it was a free show. But I already wrote a post defending Beyonce back when she had Blue Ivy and everyone was attacking her for renting out multiple hospital rooms. My defense was simply: “um … she’s B-E-Y-O-N-C-E." The culture that has treated her like some supernatural demi-goddess gets irritated when she acts like one. Oh well.

Does Tweeting Really Make You Skinnier?

I doubt it. But that hasn’t stopped the national media from making it into our new weight-loss sensation.

Trying to keep up your New Year’s resolution to get fit? Having a hard time getting to the gym because of your social media addiction? Well, now you can multi-task and do both: lose weight and let the world know how you’re doing it on the new Twitter diet! The hype, simplified, is this: the more you Tweet, the more weight you lose.

Study: Modern Parenting Is Ruining Your Kid’s Brain

Are we studying parenting too much?

"Life outcomes for American youth are worsening, especially in comparison to 50 years ago." So claims this new study presented at the University of Notre Dame.