Get silly with it! Connecting over absolutely nothing.

There's no doubt that there are many serious issues facing our girls today. For those of us with daughters, nieces, god-daughters, students, and other young women in our lives, staying informed about these issues is key to raising smart girls. However, staying informed can also turn you into one crazy statistic-spewing mama.

I've realized in the past few weeks that I can be the real-deal girl power crusader all I want. And I can instill solid common sense in my girl-child, too. But sometimes ... even the Mommy B's gotta lighten up.

I have a little bit of a phobia about (gulp) clowns. Never liked them. Don't get them. If I see one coming, I'm going the other way. So it's strange that the other night my girl-child and I got into a deep conversation about clown names. Yeah, clown names. Bozo, Flappy, Swirly, Patches, Bongo, Jingles, Boinkers. Bwwaahahahaha! ... Boinkers!

The names are hilarious! Of course that's what draws you in. The funny name makes you let your guard down. Then the horror begins (shudder). So anyhoo, a silly conversation about clown names was a nice way to end the night.

Sure I'd heard about this (an interesting look at the power of celebrity marketing. Thanks to Ypulse for the scoop).

And this (underage sex is advertising's new cash cow).

And this (a wonderful insight on boobies in Hollywood and society at large from Shaping Youth).

Of course, normally I'd open a dialogue about some of these issues with my daughter. But sometimes, it's just nice to connect over nothing, because those are the moments that really matter.

Boinkers would be proud (from a distance, hopefully).