Real quick round up

• We've kind of known that menstrual blood contains stem cells, but scientists are always learning more about how those cells can be used to treat disease. In the meantime, there are mail-in menstrual banks where you can donate and store your menstrual blood. (For $499 + $99/year, I'm not exactly sure why you would, unless you're soon approaching the age where the well runs dry, so to speak..)
• A pretty awesome description of what PMS is like for one woman. Exceprt: "A black hole of emotions where sad and happy, tired and energetic, talkative and anti-social all meet and penetrate one another, forming a blob of nothingness. Yeah, I kind of feel like that. They’re all inside me, yet I can produce nothing. It’s like a sharp, involuntary intake of breath seconds before what you THINK is going to be a massive, super satisfying sneeze and… nothing." (PS, that's also where I found this picture.)
• I'm sad there is a market for products like The Va j-j Visor. Also I hate the word va-jay-jay. 
• Did you plan your wedding by your menstruation date?

Vitamin E Pill Cures PMS?

I found a link to this article on Twitter about Vitamin E helping ease symptoms of PMS. I've been fortunate in that I have never experienced any really painful physical symptoms around my period, but I know a few of my friends who struggle with it.

Vitamin E pill 'eases pain of PMS by up to two-thirds'

PMS Buddy?

Feministing brought to my attention a new website called PMSBuddy.com. What is it, you ask?

PMSBuddy.com is a free service created with a single goal in mind: to keep you aware of when your wife, girlfriend, mother, sister, daughter, or any other women in your life are closing in on "that time of the month" - when things can get intense for what may seem to be no reason at all. ...Saving relationships, one month at a time!

Uhm, alright.

This website is geared towards men who want to keep track of women's magic times with the assumption that said magic time correlates with moodiness.

Firstly, as someone who has never really had any trouble with PMS, I can say that that correlation doesn't exist (in me, at least, and certainly in other women).

Secondly, PMSBuddy says it is "a great way to give people in your life a heads-up of when you might be feeling a bit irritable without having an awkward conversation". So instead of an "awkward conversation" (whatever that means), you can instead sign up for regular awkward emails?

Thirdly, maybe I don't want anyone or everyone to know when I'm having my damn period! This site kind of operates on the assumption that ladies will gladly tell you their bleeding schedules so you can avoid picking up on any social cues about if someone's grouchy or not. And for that matter, it also assumes regular bleeding schedules.

PMSBuddy, I hope, is intended to be a light-hearted joke kind of thing, so I'm trying not to get too analytical about it. Personally, I've never really thought jokes about PMS were funny. Although they're not always offensive (though most of the time they are), they just plain don't make me laugh. So this seems like a dumb idea to me. There are a lot of aspects of the website that annoy me: "During PMS women can feel bloated and unattractive. Show her how you really feel with some sexy lingerie". Ugh. Please don't. Odds are 999 to 1 that this website was made by men.

Thoughts?