A few days ago, we posted a story contrasting the merits of dating undergrads and grad students. And while academics are perfectly fine for dating, I’ve found a hunk who knows all the moves, but doesn’t have a degree. As a matter of fact, he hasn’t even passed fourth grade yet.

It’s true: 9-year-old Alec Greven from Colorado has recently published a book that’s the talk of the town, called How To Talk To Girls. He originally wrote it as a handwritten pamphlet for his schoolyard peers whom he noticed were having some trouble talking to the ladies.

Now the book, which also helps men of all ages identify different kinds of women (pretty girls, he says, “are easy to spot because they have big earrings, fancy dresses, and all the jewelry”), is available in stores nationwide. And before you dismiss his suggestions as merely elementary, I think he’s really onto something. Consider these insights he shares with his fellow man:

* Comb your hair and don’t wear sweats.
* If you say hi and a girl says hi back, you’re probably off to a good start.
* Control your hyperness and cut down on sugar if necessary.
* A crush is like a love disease that can drive you mad.
* Make sure you have good friends who don’t try to take the girl you like.
* Class clowns never make a good partner. Read More »

I just read the beautifully written (but also mortifying) novella by Ian McKewan, On Chesil Beach. It’s a lovely little book, with well-drawn characters, but I think the main reason it’s been pretty famous this year is because of its infamous sex scene, a scene in which two inexperienced virgins get just about everything wrong.

Without giving it away, I couldn’t help laughing even as I blushed. At the same time, I learned a lot about what NOT to do when the realities of our bodies inevitably trip us up.

1. You must talk about sex. On Chesil Beach is set in the early sixties, a time when it was “simply impossible” for anyone to discuss sex. It’s the ultimate taboo subject even when people are married, and as a result, couples who get together barely know what to do with each other or even what to expect.

In the book, Florence is given a brief pamphlet about the bare bones of sex, but she still doesn’t have the first clue of what to do or what will happen on the man’s side of things. Because of this huge taboo of talking about sex, neither of them can talk healthily about it when things go wrong. Times have changed a lot since then, but I still think the taboo stands in a lot of situations. We’re not supposed to say certain words, protest if something hurts, or talk about what we want. But without having these difficult and embarrassing conversations, people will end up being disappointed, hurt, or just plain confused.

2. Don’t feel ashamed. A powerful sense of shame is another reason why Florence and Edward feel paralyzed in McKewan’s book. When things go wrong, Florence immediately assumes it’s her fault, she has done something wrong. Edward similarly feels ashamed for having “failed.” In reality, sex the first time is harder than TV and movies make it out to be. It takes a little finagling to get the jigsaw pieces together, so to speak, and if either girl or guy feels shame about this, it will taint the whole experience. Read More »

Brad Pitt will give you a virus.

That’s what she said!

Anne Hathaway’s dirty little secret.

How to wake up ready to go every. single. day.

Throw some moody florals into your wardrobe!

Win some badass bags from Lucky Mag

Why are the girls from 90210 so damn skinny?

It’s cool to pee your pants. Seriously.

The blingiest engagement rings ever.

The worst version of the National Anthem EVER.

Sex and the City: The Prequel?!

Miley Cyrus stole my boyfriend.

What if Sarah Palin was yo mama?

Another reason to hate Gwyneth Paltrow.

I have posted what seems like a million small-batch recipes here at CC, and I’ve adapted the vast majority of them from this book. If you live by yourself or with only one other person, you like good food, you don’t mind cooking, and you can only have one cookbook, buy this one. You will NOT regret it.

There’s absolutely everything in here, from general small-batch advice to a lowdown on ingredients to winning recipes of all kinds. And every recipe in here is truly excellent. I can’t stand fat cookbooks full of thousands of recipes that obviously were never tested, meaning you have to dig through the whole book to handpick the recipes that may have the potential to be edible.

Not so with Cooking for Two. The authors, Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough, have really tweaked every recipe, and it’s obvious. The ingredient amounts are right on, and you can expect fantastic taste with everything you make from here.

I can’t say anything specific about the seafood section since I don’t eat seafood, but the casserole and poultry sections really shine. Also, many of the recipes can be adapted for slow cookers to make them even easier! Read More »

According to CNN.com, a woman named Misha Defonseca recently admitted that she fabricated nearly all the content from a “memoir” she wrote of her childhood as a Jew during the Holocaust.

The book, Misha: A Memoire of the Holocaust Years, claims that the author spent four years as a child wandering the European wilderness and being raised by wolves.

Would you believe that? Yeah, I didn’t think so.

The author, who has further admitted that her name is not actually Misha Defonseca but Monique De Wael, said that the book was “not actually reality, but my reality.”

I’m going to refrain from making fun of her because it’s clear that the woman needs professional help, but the point is that there’s no excuse for even disturbed people to make up stories about their lives and then market them as “memoirs.” Read More »

I have more t-shirts than anyone should really have ever. Not only could I dress myself for about a month just in t-shirts baring my university’s logo, but I have countless free beer promotion shirts (bonus from working in a bar), funny saying shirts (my favorite being the “I have reservations” Native American one), and shirts from every event/concert/outing I have attended forever.

And I wear a lot of them. I used to boycott getting really dressed up during the day (who needs to look cute in a 9 AM class?), and rock my comfy jeans and a tee. On the rare occasion that I actually decide to enter the gym I’ll throw on one from my collection. But a lot of the time they sit in my dresser unused and unloved. And it makes me kinda sad. Cause all clothes should be loved, right?

One day I thought I might wear one out to a bar if I could create something with it. I was trying to go for the “I - didn’t - really - try - to - look - cute - but - somehow - I - just - look - adorable” look. Except I’m seriously not that creative and the only thing I could think to do was cut the neck a little, and maybe do something to the short sleeves. Read More »

Ryan Gosling, my future husband, walked away from a major film project this week, citing simply “creative differences”. The Peter Jackson helmed “ The Lovely Bones” will begin shooting today with Mark Wahlberg replacing Gosling.

“Lovely Bones” is based off of the popular book of the same name by Alice Sebold, centering on a murdered 14-year-old girl watching the way her death has affected everyone close to her. Gosling was slated to play her father, and decided to gain some weight to help him seem age appropriate.

According to the Los Angeles Times, when Gosling walked onset, bearded and heavier than usual, Peter Jackson became slightly bent out of shape. The director was “still expecting some movie star allure” from Gosling, “not paunch and a beard”.

First of all, if it’s Ryan Gosling, it doesn’t matter if he’s got antennas and three arms—he’ll still give an amazing performance and be alluring while doing it. Besides, when did a beard and a little paunch hurt anyone? Has anyone seen Vince Vaughn lately? How about Benicio Del Toro? Tom Hanks? Read More »

• Don’t fall into this cuddle-trap, ladies. You’re all better than this. (COED Magazine)

• 73 year old man kicks ass, takes names. Awesome. (10tv.com)

• The pope has a cat? The cat is writing a book? My brain just exploded. (Yahoo!)

• An alert official suspected there may be something sinister behind Mr. Potato Head’s toothy grin. Yeah, Ecstasy. (AFP)

• This is why you don’t plan your wedding on Craigslist. (KATU)

• Looking to finally get healthy? Do it the old-school way! (UK Dailymail)