Three things

First, the NH House told health insurers they had to cover at home birth. This makes me incredibly happy. The Radical Doula has covered the myriad reasons why this is important many times, and if you know nothing about birthing as a business in this country, this film is a very good place to start. But to summarize, birthing, like pretty much everything else in our current society is a business. Therefore, sadly, doctors are often coming at our health issues (and especially births) not solely from the perspective of what is best for us, but what is also best for their bottom line. Forcing the health insurers to cover the not only less expensive, but in many cases more healthy, option of a home birth by mid-wife is a huge step in the right direction for many birthing women and reproductive freedom in general.

Second, Essin'Em hooked it up yesterday with a link to a new Women's Sexual Health Study put on by Indiana University on the use of lube in female sexual acts (both partnered and not). Apparently;

In recent years, there has been a growing movement by manufacturers to develop products that are responsive to consumer demands for a wider range of personal lubricants used for sexual activity. However, there has been very little research about how individuals use these products and how they would rate various lubricants in terms of sexual comfort, pleasure, sensation, texture or ease of use. A better understanding of these issues will help manufacturers design better products and will help health-related professionals better address women’s questions related to the use of such products.

Sounds like something easy, fun and useful to participate in, no? I'd encourage you to consider signing up as well!

Lastly, I read today on the No Reservations Crew Blog that Bourdain has recently taped a show in New Orleans.

“Tony wants to see how the city is recovering after Hurricane Katrina, most importantly, how the restaurants are coping with the storm and aftermath. The focus is on what Katrina did to the people and the industry.”

Needless to say, I think this could provide a heart wrenching, compelling and rather revealing look at post-Katrina NO. Not only reminding people that the people who live there are STILL dealing with the aftermath of that hurricane, but also providing a context wherein viewers can relate to those people. All good things. I'm very excited for this episode.

And you know, between his happening to be in Beirut during the bombings, and this show, Bourdain seems to be becoming more of a "historian" of sorts than I bet he thought he could ever be.