Two Book Arts Exhibits: The Art of the Book in California and Illustrated Title Pages: 1500 – 1900
"During the last 50 years, the conception and production of the book has evolved into an art form that exceeds all former standards for the book as object" By the end of the 19th century, artists such as Aubrey Vincent Beardsley, Odilon Redon, and Morris had created personal and innovative title pages.
Put That Laundry Basket Down; There's a Robot That Folds
Who wouldn’t want a robot that could make your bed or do the laundry? A team of Berkeley researchers has brought us one step closer by enabling an autonomous robot to reliably fold piles of previously unseen towels.
Hawked
I used to love watching hawks circle, riding the thermals high above the California hillside where I lived when I was a kid. I just tried to imagine how it would feel to be a hawk…rather, it seemed to me, akin to the feeling of diving into the lake, and gliding a long way before I had to give a kick and come up for air...only a whole lot better, because if you were a hawk, you could breathe and glide at the same time you were looking at the view.
A Summer TV Schedule: Hearings on Violence Towards Women, Veterans Mental Care and Protecting Children From Internet Pornographers
It's the summer and television programs are on a new episode vacation. Why not take in a streaming webcast or televised hearing from a Senate or House Committee? Perhaps they're assuming their constituents are not listening or looking in? Prove them wrong.
Theodore Roszack (1933 - 2011): Cult of Information
What it means to think. Is it just to manipulate Ideas or to create them? And how does this relate to the value of the computer? "We need good old-fashioned literacy; not just computer literacy ... what data matters and what data does not matter."
Libyan Conflict Erupts on Pennsylvania Avenue
About eighty percent of the four dozen Libyans were women and young children. I asked one why there were so few men and she initially said that this is what the protests looked like in Libya itself. When I pressed her, she said the men were afraid of retaliation against their families.
Is It Speed-Dating Or Dîner En Blanc
After 20 years of events in Paris and elsewhere, Dîner En Blanc is coming to New York City. One observer (see YouTube clip)muses as to whether it's a speed-dating event. Is it still possible to be on the invite list?
Book Review: Oldman's Brave New World of Wine: Pleasure, Value and Adventure Beyond Wine’s Usual Suspects
I look for value wherever I go. I buy clothes when they’re on sale. When I donate to public radio or charity, I try to do it when there’s a matching offer. So when I notice the word "value" in a book title about wine, I pay attention.
Pew: In Two Years of Economic Recovery, Women Lost Jobs, Men Found Them
In five sectors, notably in retail trade, men have gained jobs while women have lost them. In five other sectors, including education and health services and professional and business services, men gained jobs at a faster rate than women. And in an additional five sectors, such as construction and local governments, men lost jobs at a slower rate than women
A Frida Kahlo Painting Comes Home
Kahlo's affair in New York City with her friend, the Hungarian-born photographer Nickolas Muray which ended in 1939, and her divorce from the Diego Rivera, left her heartbroken and lonely, but she produced some of her most powerful and compelling paintings and self-portraits during this time
Banned, Burned, Seized and Censured and The Greenwich Village Bookshop Door
How did hundreds of thousands of books, pictures, plays and magazines come to be ... censored in less than 30 years? "During the interwar years, more often than not, the objection boiled down to sex. One of the goals of the exhibition is to show that censorship is far more complicated than one might think."
Abortion Is Slowly Becoming Legal in Name Only
In Kansas a new licensing law for abortion clinics mandates what size and temperature clinic rooms must be, requires that staff dressing rooms have toilets, that clinics stock particular medical equipment and supplies, and that they be connected to nearby hospitals. South Dakota enacted an antiabortion law with requirements so onerous they essentially deny a woman her legal right to an abortion.
CRR: An Update on Locally-Administered Pension Plans
The financial crisis and ensuing recession have had an enormous impact on state-administered pension plans ... the demands of local plans are only half the story in terms of pressure on local budgets; local contributions to state plans will be a major driver of future budget burdens.
CSM's Article: "A woman’s credibility is put under a microscope"
Witness credibility is particularly crucial in sexual assault cases, say lawyers, because the alleged victim is likely to take the witness stand. Any information germane to the accuser's credibility can be brought up during cross-examination. This would include statements to other people, interviews with the police, and even who her friends are.
The GAO Examines Retirement Income and Celebrates Its 90th Anniversary
For the two middle net-wealth households GAO profiled with about $350,000 to $375,000 in net wealth, experts recommended purchase of annuities with a portion of savings, drawdown of savings at an annual rate, such as 4 percent of the initial balance, use of lifetime income from the DB plan, if applicable, and delay of Social Security.
The College Affordability and Transparency Center: Why Costs Have Gone Up and What Will be Done?
Three lists focus on tuition and fees, and three others look at the institution’s “average net price,” the price paid by fulltime students after grants and scholarships are taken into account. Each list will be broken out into nine different sectors to allow students to compare costs at similar types of institutions.
Things I Wish I Could Say
"I'd like to thank the Academy ..." How I’d love to utter those words, draped in Dior and dripping diamonds, standing before an audience of thousands of Tinseltown's elite, a bank of cameras capturing the moment for millions more. Heck, I’d even be happy to be able to say, "It's an honor just to be nominated ..."
Women of Note: Capt. Leigh "Breaker" Larkin, A Recipient of the Mackay Trophy
Captain Larkin took charge of the scenario and began relaying to the Combined Air and Space Operations Center the horrific situation of the surrounded coalition forces. "My emotions were a combination of thrill that we did everything right and stress that the soldiers on the ground were still outside the wire."
Michele Bachmann's Waterloo
She claimed government money received by her husband's counseling clinics did not benefit the business, because the funds paid for employee training. It's true the clinics received $24,041 for training, but the business received thousands more in government funds, including money for treating crime victims.
Congressional Bills Introduced; Abortion, Employment and Feminine Hygiene Products
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida, bills to prohibit taking minors across state lines in circumvention of laws requiring the involvement of parents in abortion decisions. Others: A bill to ensure the safe use of cosmetics and a program of research regarding the risks posed by the presence of dioxin, synthetic fibers, and other additives in feminine hygiene products
Alchemy in France: Roquefort's Legendary Tradition
I made a trip I’ve long wanted to do, to a special town in the department of Aveyron. King Louis XIV was not the first foodie to pass this way. When the Romans built the Via Domitia, the route passed not so far from Roquefort. The precious cheese would be sent to the coast and by sea down to Rome, where wealthy aristocrats paid high prices for it.
"Upward pointing fins mirrored the rise in affluence" — The Eisner Museum of Advertising and Design
"As a nation roared into an era where horse-powered buggies gave way to the horsepower under the hood of a shiny new automobile, a new form of class distinction was created. Chrome reflected social status"
Vienna 1900:Style and Identity
In painting, the decorative arts, and music, the evolution of the concept of modern individual identity was borne out in a dialogue between surface ornamentation and inner structure and a search for a specifically modern, Viennese sense of self.
FDA Should Enhance Its Oversight of Medical Device Recalls
The Commissioner of FDA should create a program to routinely and systematically assess medical device recall information, and use this information to proactively identify strategies for mitigating health risks presented by defective or unsafe devices.
Liberal Arts and Empathy in Medicine
Empathy isn’t born into everyone, but it should be possible to be trained into those who don’t possess it to begin with. Most people are uncomfortable in the presence of what they see as authority. That’s the way most patients see their doctors.
