In my current job, I have to give presentations on a fairly regular basis. As such, I usually do a practice run with my coworkers first, especially before delivering to clients. One of the major criticisms I used to receive was about the cadence and volume of my voice. They warned me to avoid vocal fry and uptalk especially, and said instead to speak with authority. Throughout my life, I’ve always had people comment on how I talk. From friends to people I waited tables for, my unique way of speaking is always drawing comment. I talk very slowly. I sound like I’m from California. My voice goes up and down  in pitch like a lullaby (really). So, I tend to pay attention to how I sound when it matters, and am sure to speak in an evenly measured pace and tone, because even though it’s difficult to remember to moderate your voice, I like to be taken seriously when I talk.

While there has been a movement against valley-girl speak on the internet for a while, recently there have been several articles written about a newly identified vocal trend among women. It’s about how frequently women start sentences with the phrase, “I feel like,” and (again) it’s a verbal tic I am guilty of using.  The articles suppose that women use it to moderate their opinions, making them softer, less aggressive, and hence more likely to be accepted by their (particularly male) conversation partners, and I think they are probably not far off. When I find myself using the statement, it’s typically for one of two reasons. First, when someone is forcing me to give an opinion that I would rather not share, so I’m not fully committing in case everyone totally disagrees (think when your professor calls on you in class and you haven’t been paying attention). Second, when I know that people aren’t going to love what I have to say, so I am making it a sentence they can empathize with as a feeling more than attacking them with my opinion.

The phrase reminds me of the way people are often taught to discuss uncomfortable situations, or reason with unreasonable people, the “when you do X it makes me feel Y” communication technique, by making the sentence a feeling, people are less likely to outright reject what you are saying. Additionally, Lean In, and all it’s spin-off literature has called attention to the fact that overly assertive or aggressive women are seen as less likeable by both men and women. Starting a sentence in a less aggressive way may be a verbal way that women are trying to make their audience like them more, and get on their side, because people who like you are always going to be more receptive to what you’re trying to say.

Do you use this lead in? Why do you think women are using it more and more often than men?

You may already know that drinking ups your chance of injury. New research pointed out that even walking after a few alcoholic beverages can be deadly. Alcohol has been linked to increased risk of visiting the emergency room, having a car accident, and drowning, and is often involved in homicides. Now a recent study has even further dissected the issue, examining particularly which brews seem to make people more at risk for injury. It found that about 1/3 of all visits to the ER are drinking-related, and that most often, when people in Baltimore where the study was conducted, visit the hospital after consuming alcohol, they’ve been drinking Budweiser, Steel Reserve, Colt 45, Bud Ice or Bud Light. The scientists involved speculate that it may be because the malt liquor classification of Steel Reserve, Colt 45, and Bud Ice means they are higher in alcohol content than other beers, leading to more drunken recklessness and more injuries. While they are not sure if these results are specific to Baltimore, they suggest that this new data might have implications for labeling and marketing for beers containing a higher alcohol content.

There is something hilarious about taking fairy tale characters and bringing them into the modern world. You already know that I loved the Hipster Disney Princesses, and Fairy Tales for 20 Somethings. The characters we all grew up hearing as bedtime stories, and watching in Disney movies are having an on trend moment. Fantasy television shows are popping up all over the place (Hello Once Upon a Time), and every where you turn there seems to be a new riff on the old classics. Maybe it’s because the millenials who grew up on this stuff are coming of age, or maybe it is because it is just so entertaining.

Now B for Bel has brought the fables into the iPhone age, creating hilarious graphics of what the Disney princesses would post on instagram if they lived in the present day, complete with snarky comments from the other princesses and characters in their lives. Snow white posts #nomakeup selfies, while Grumpy grumbles about whose bed she is sleeping in. Belle brags about the library Beast got her. Mulan posts wedding photos. The results are hilarious. I hope she keeps it up!

I am all for easy ways to prevent physical attack and sexual assault against women. Waaaay back in 2010, I wrote about a lip plumping gloss (when those were all the rage) that came with testing strips to identify if date rape drugs were slipped into your cocktail. While this was a great innovation, it still involved coming off as a little suspicious of your potential suitor when you whipped out a “spike detector kit” after accepting the free cocktail. But now there is a new innovation that will let you tell if there is GHB, ketamine, or rohypnol floating in your beverage with a glance.

The company DrinkSavvy is rolling out plastic cups and straws that change colors if any of those three substances are present. They will go from clear to displaying vertical orange and yellow stripes when contaminated. Now all you have to do it make sure your favorite watering hole stocks them.