"Raise a glass to mend," scrawls Lady Gaga on a t-shirt she's selling for Valentine's Day, "all the broken hearts of my wrecked up friends." We've heard -- and heaven knows seen -- lots of over-the-top-rawness from this performer lately. But how much is designed to sell t-shirts and how much is actually real?

Hi everyone, We have exciting news: BlogHer's beloved hermoticon and logo are getting a new look this week. So is our tagline. Soon you'll see this logo and tagline on a brand-new BlogHer.com Web site. Voila!   

Today BlogHer begins celebrating our fifth anniversary.When Elisa, Jory and I met five years ago and decided to organize BlogHer's first conference, we had no idea that in 2010 BlogHer would be the go-to community for women who blog and use social media to get their word out. It was February 2005, and we just wanted to answer the question "Where are the women bloggers?" for good -- so we put our credit cards on the table, put our hands on our keyboards and got to work suggesting a conference that became BlogHer '05 for 300+ people.Today BlogHer is not just a conference, but a community that gave rise to a growing media company that reaches 20+ million people. We come together to write the award-winning BlogHer.com news service, to publish Fortune 500 advertising on more than 2,500 superb blogs, and, of course, for events and conferences. With a team of 44 amazing human beings, via offices in New York and Silicon Valley and a growing number of fantastic sponsors who believe in women who blog, BlogHer, Inc. helps women who blog get read, get speaking gigs, get press and marketing for their writing and, if a blogger who embraces our editorial standards is interested in a publisher, get paid. We've loved every minute of it. As always, we want to hear what you think -- and we'd like to thank you with an anniversary present: We're giving away five BlogHer '10 conference passes. Here's how to participate:Step 1: Write a post, comment or Tweet tagged #BlogHer5 on any one of the following topics. Whichever one you choose, it can be abut anything BlogHer, including conference, site and network. Here are your five ways to play: 5 words: Define BlogHer in five words 5 connections: You made through BlogHer 5 pictures: You took at a BlogHer event 5 issues: BlogHer should tackle in the next 5 years 5 opportunities: You’ve gotten because of blogging or BlogHerStep #2: You can leave a comment here with your #BlogHer5 thoughts, but if you choose to blog or tweet, please come back and leave a link to your thoughts in the comments here.  We’ll give 5 BlogHer ‘10 passes at random by February 15, pulling from all of the people who leave a comment here with their #BlogHer5 entry. The pass will be yours to keep or share. (Apologies, but we just cannot track the Twitterverse or BlogHerVerse accurately enough to give everyone a chance to compete fairly for a pass.). So let's get this party started: You've earned it. Together this community has played an important leadership role in demonstrating the sheer power of women using social media -- as writers, commentators, readers, consumers, change agents and entrepreneurs.We are just so proud to be part of this community. Here's to the next five years. :) Best, Lisa for Elisa, Jory and Lisa BlogHer Co-foundersLisa Stone BlogHer Co-founder, Surfette  BlogHer is non-partisan but our bloggers aren't! Follow our coverage of Politics & News.

Did any of you play "what color is your bra?" on Facebook last week? Susan Niebur of Toddler Planet did. Her resulting post, "In the Name of Awareness," takes a silly Web game, sucks it through the vortex of breast amputation -- and delivers fresh language about body image and living as a woman who is surviving cancer.

Okay, everyone, I did it. Two weeks without email was the best gift to myself ever. My new year's gift to you? Advice: Go reserve your own email-free vacation now. On Friday, Dec. 18, 2009, the last day of work before I returned on Jan. 4, 2010, thousands of years later, I set my email to zap itself into oblivion. I was nervous, worried I would be a little lost without the email accounts to which I'm a tetch addicted, without Twitter updates even.