Hey Gabbers! In case you haven't noticed, it's time again for the grandmother of all art shows, the Venice Bienale.  Here's some images I found from the 2005 event, when the Guerrilla Girls were invited to contribute a piece.  From a distance, you may think this is a lovely, elegant chandelier, suitable for the most formal ballroom in all the world.  Up close, you realize that the Guerrilla Girls are up to their usual antics.  Hmmm….I wonder if they're GladRags users and this is what they saved in just one year?  (Only their hairdresser knows for sure…..) Read more about the Guerrilla Girls and their years of great social activism on behalf of all artistic woman by clicking here.

Hey GladRag Gabbers!  I heard the most inspiring interview on the radio the other day that I am telling everyone I know about it.  I am a huge fan of National Public Radio, listening to it for much of my days in the studio.  One of my favorite shows is the Splendid Table with Lynne Rossetto Kasper.  It took a while to grow on me, but I love learning all kinds of interesting facts and cooking tips, so now I am a regular listener, podcaster, and weekly free e-newsletter subscriber.  For example–here's one thing I bet you didn't know that I learned on this show:  cracking an egg on the rim of a bowl is actually more prone to get egg shells in the egg than if you crack it on a flat surface like a countertop.  Try it if you don't believe me, but it's true–the egg will form a perfect crack right around the middle if you use the latter technique. The show that played last weekend was an interview with  author Dan Buettner and his book  The Blue Zones.  This book is a fascinating study on longevity in the habits of four groups whose members frequently make it into their 100's.  Among the behavior patterns of this elite crowd are things like: maintaining close friendships, gardening, eating simply.  To listen to the interview online, click here. (This show was dated June 6, 2009.)

I have weiner on the brain.  Yes, you heard me right: weiner. No…not….get your mind out of the gutter, girlfriend!  I mean adorable precious kissing machine Weiner Dogs, also known by their formal moniker: Dachshund.  I am the proud owner of one Dachshund/German Shorthair mutt, a rescue dog from our local Humane Society.  I recently commissioned my cousin Tripper Dungan, a great artist in his own right, to paint me a special sign for my driveway gate.  In addition to his painted panels and upcycled construction materials, Tripper is also locally known for his shadow puppet shows where he makes all the puppets from discarded cardboard from cereal boxes (!) and puts on a hilarious evening of eye-popping fun.  To see a sample of this, click here to see the video he made with his shadow puppets for a local band. To bring this story all the way back home to the GladRags Gab audience, it's time for another tampon craft project!  That's right, get out that box of tampons you never use any more since you saw the light and switched to GladRags.  Here's the finished product to get you inspired and click here for full instructions, courtesy of a hilarious blog called Crabbymommy.

I know it's only been a week, but after such a lovely introduction from Brenda on her recent GladRags newsletter, this durn persnickety female felt a little guilty about being overwhelmed with things like this and this last week.  Let me make it up to you with a GladRags tribute to the Gabbiest Gabber of them all, Gabby Hayes! On second thought, maybe not. So since the topic is somehow connected to gabbing, let me gab a bit about the day we're celebrating today (in the United States at least) Mother's Day.  One of my favorite blogs that I have loyally checked on purty durn near every Sunday morning for the past three years is Post Secret.  In case you haven't heard about this phenomenon, it's a participation-based blog where people mail their secrets in on an artfully rendered postcard (NO letters allowed–the idea is to let your secrets go free!) and then Frank, the person on the other end of that agreement picks his two dozen favorites and posts them anonymously on his blog.  If you click here within a week of this blog post, you'll see the mostly mother's day-themed secrets.  This website changes every week with no archives available.  I hope it will inspire you to have your own cathartic experience and participate in this amazing project.

I made this blood orange tart for valentines day, but highly recommend it anytime you want to impress a loved one.  Click here to get the recipe from Food&Wine Magazine!

One of my favorite books when I was a young whippersnapper was the classic by Margaret Wise Brown.  The drawings that Clement Hurd did to accompany this simple narrative were just perfect.  Well, sort of.  Apparently this book didn't completely stand the test of time and a reprint issued in 2005 made sure to erase the burning cigarette that used to be one of the few accessories the bunny's room.  (smoking?  bad bunny! what did I tell you about smoking?) The New York Times took this act one step further with their tongue-in-cheek  list of things that would make Goodnight Moon (and the world) safe again.  Click here to read that article.

I loved this article about a UCLA study on the friendships among women.  Apparently there's a hormone (oxycotin) released in women that help us cope with stress.  I knew something was up!  The report goes on to explain how friendships among women are the key method that relieves stress, so as soon as you're done reading this, why don't you give one of your galpals a little ringaling? (painting by Gustav Klimt)

Here in Portland, OR, the trees are in full bloom. Fortunately, I can still appreciate this annual phenomenon, despite the horrific hay fever that always accompanies this florific splendor.  In fact, it makes me want to grab my tampon applicator pan pipe and skip merrily through my neighborhood park.  Tra la la!  (Thanks to tamponcrafts.com for this  instructional video.)

Some folks who advise other folks on how to promote their business feel strongly that you should keep your political views to yourself, lest you offend a potential customer.  We feel, on the other hand, that it's important to put those views out there loud and proud because there's no time to waste.  We have a planet to save, after all! GladRags has always felt strongly about this logic, and to prove it, we joined a few groups while we were there setting up our shop.  We're particularly fond of the ones that are set up in order to share valuable information among women of the world.  Here are a few of our faves that we hope you'll look into: American Heart Association: Go Red for Women With over 21,000 members, their mission is to create more awareness about the causes and prevention of heart disease.  By encouraging women to wear red, it helps remind people to keep these discussions alive.  Who knows…one simple act might save someone's life! Hey Facebook, breastfeeding is not obscene! Do I even need to explain this one?  Who decided this was on par with pornography anyway? Real Women Have Curves!! This group is currently sporting a membership of over 32,000 people who spread the gospel that real women come in all shapes and sizes.  Case in point:  Marilyn Monroe was a size twelve!  If we were at the Gap, that would be the fat girls section!  'Nuff said. tips for all women… please join… and pass on This is a great group (over 300,000 members!) that features nine crucial tips that any woman can use to protect herself in the horrifying event of abduction or physical attack.  I can never read these lists enough, personally. 2 Million people against Female Circumcision{FGM: Female Genital Mutilation Although this group is still on its way to the desired number of members, they create awareness that this horrifying practice is still at large in many parts of the world. and last but not least, GladRags recommends the group "Commie Homo-Loving Sons of Guns," who got its name from Sean Penn's recent acceptance speech after winning the Oscar for his portrayal of slain San Francisco politician Harvey Milk.  Remember the day when famous actors wouldn't take leading roles as homosexual characters for fear it would ruin their careers?  (It wasn't that long ago, kids!)  Nice to see some positive change we can measure. that's all for now, but we'll share more of these important social issues with you another time.  (If you would like to suggest any groups, we're all ears!  Friend us and pass on your favorites.)

GladRags now has a Facebook business page!  Click here to join our group and be our very special friend.  If you're a regular user of this amazing social networking site, you'll be able to easily catch up on our blog postings there, plus get alerts on your homepage when we have fresh news to share with you!