But I still love the idea of being a hunter and gatherer in the wild of the Web, of offering you some additional inspiration and ideas from time to time. So I will keep those charms coming. Not every day. But some days. And keep sending me charm suggestions!

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Press pause. Disappear. You are not as vital as you think you are. A thought that is at once very disconcerting and supremely liberating. {White Hot Truth: You’re Not That Important}

How would things have been different if Ted Kennedy had shared Eunice’s views on abortion? {New York Times Op-Ed: A Different Kind of Liberal}

“There is an opium-den quality to maternity leave. The high of a love that obliterates everything. A need so consuming that it is threatening to everything you are and care about.” {doubleX: My Newborn Is Like a Narcotic}

Does blogging harm the environment? Apparently so. {Economist.com: Computing Climate Change}

Is social media killing social skills? {WSJ.com: Why Gen-Y Johnny Can’t Read Nonverbal Cues}

The blessing and curse of sadness. “My mind and my heart are both empty and full at the same time. I feel half asleep and agonizingly aware.” {A Design So Vast; Sadness at Lake Champlain}

Can we buy happiness? {Boston.com: Happiness: A Buyer’s Guide}

More birthdays means more people surviving cancer. Bloggers across the nation are writing about birthdays today in honor of The American Cancer Society’s campaign for more birthdays. {NYC Moms Blog: Celebrating More Birthdays}

One study shows attractive women have 16% more children than their plainer counterparts. {TimesOnline (UK): Women are getting more beautiful}

Chubby cheek interiors. Asymmetrical armpit hair. Comical confessions galore. {The Extraordinary Ordinary: The Insides of My Cheeks Are Really Fat (and Other Mysteries)}

Tiny tanks to promote abstinence? Obviously. {Slate’s The XX Factor: Abstinence Is… Sexy?}

Is the nest ever truly empty? Should it be? Once a parent, always a parent? {Motherlode: When Is a Parent’s Job Complete?}

Fascinating facts about fat. {Dr. Nicholas Perricone, HuffingtonPost.com: 10 Dirty Little Secrets About Body Fat}

“…William Faulkner and Scott Fitzgerald were the Paris and Britney of their day.” {The Economist’s MoreIntelligentLife.com; When Novelists Sober Up}

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Want to suggest a charm? Contact me!

I wear perfume. Does that make me a jerk? According to Alice Bradley, maybe so. {Finslippy: Attention: I Have Something of Vital Importance to Tell You}

Laugh. And then cast your vote! {Writer Unboxed: Vote for WU’s Most Hilarious Analogy}

Is “balance” overrated? Does mommy + blogger = mommyblogger? {Magpie Musing: Belkin, Mommyblogging, and Balance}

Mama announces that the “video game orgy” will end soon. {The Elmo Wallpaper: Dancing with the Devil}

“Life is what you make of it. It can be drudgery, or it can be play.” {Zen Habits: Work as Play}

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WHAT IS ILI CHARM SCHOOL?

If you’d like to suggest a charm, contact me!

Growing up, I was a major tomboy. In fifth grade, I wore a Boston Celtics cap to school every day. And I wore a full Larry Bird jersey (including those nifty striped knee socks) every day the Celts had a home game. As you might guess, this made me extremely popular among: (1) boys; (2) Knicks’ fans; and especially among (3) boys who were Knicks’ fans.

The point here is not that I was once upon a time an exceedingly popular tomboy who had a rabid obsession with Larry. The point (obviously) is that I was not a big jewelry person. But my friends were. Many of them had charm bracelets. Usually from Tiffany’s. And even in all my kelly green ungirly glory, I thought those bracelets were cool. Because each bracelet was a set of links which united a medley of unique items. Little high heels. Little hearts. Little keys. Little everything.

So, today, I am opening the digital doors of my ILI Charm School, (hopefully, in an ideal world) a daily collection of links, gems, charms. Things I find interesting or funny or well-written. Why? Because on a daily basis, I read a lot of wonderful bits and pieces and (as much as I would like to) I cannot write long, luscious essays about each bit and piece. Because I love the idea of collaboration, of linking up with others out there in the big, bad bloggy wilderness. Because maybe you are at work or at home or at Starbucks, and you are bored or in the mood to learn something silly or serious or somewhere in-between. And, yes, I am your beloved Professor of Insecurities, but all alone, I can only teach you so much.

Enjoy your first day of ILI Charm School! And, going forward, if you want to suggest I add a certain cyber-charm to my bloggy bracelet du jour, please contact me!

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A blogger loses her Dad. Close to home for me. Heart-wrenching and haunting stuff. {Her Bad Mother: Miles to Go}

Triumph after tears? Salvation in struggle? You betcha.  {White Hot Truth: The Divinity of The Suck Factor}

A doll that breastfeeds? What’s next? {Motherlode: A Doll That Breastfeeds}

Is social media killing our social graces? {NYC Moms Blog: How Much Is Too Much (Sharing)?}

Husband and I saw the movie Funny People this past weekend. I did not like it. But now I’m wondering why. {NYT Op-Ed: The Unfunny Truth}

Why do we writers write? {Bridget Asher.com: But Why Persist?}

The battle between pro-natalists and baby refuseniks rages on. {Pregnant with Possibilities: Just A Mom}