Questions about Endocrine Disruptors?
It was several years ago that our daughters raised our awareness about environmental concerns and the development of children lined to endocrine disruptors: tktkt. A recent New York Times column by Nicholas Kristof brought up this issue and led us to t…
A Volume of Friendship: The Letters of Eleanor Roosevelt and Isabella Greenway 1904-1953
Long after her death in 1962, readers remain fascinated by Eleanor Roosevelt — her life, her comments, her views. Isabella Greenway is barely known outside of Arizona — the state she represented in Congress from 1933 to 1937 — but her fifty-year friendship with ER was longer than that of any other of ER's many acquaintances.
Brilliant Women, 18th Century Bluestockings
They got their comical name - 'Bluestockings' - when another guest, the botanist Benjamin Stillingfleet (1702-71), was welcomed at one of Elizabeth Montagu's salons even though he had arrived absent-mindedly wearing the blue woollen stockings normally worn by working men, instead of the more formal white silk."
December 2009 CultureWatch
Abigail & John: Portrait of a Marriage is important because it helps to regender early American history which remains overly focused on generals and male political leaders. Lori Hahnel’s collection of short fiction, Nothing Sacred, is spare, subtle and literary but not pretentious in any way, and very pleasing. Now in paperback, the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, Olive Kitteridge, give the reader a deep sense of the connectedness of the small town and its inhabitants, and of Olive’s place in the scheme of things.
Style: Shopping for the Fashionable, Different and Inexpensive Items at Kimono Kool
We're always looking for inexpensive items for granddaughters, as well as ourselves. We bought shoelaces from Dandelion in San Francisco and thought we'd pass it along to our readers. Decades ago, we bought similar items made from kimono material that last forever and go with everything. We still have the same kimono items from decades ago and just passed one along to a granddaughter as a belt for a Cacharel dress that was missing one.
Something New: A Privacy Complaint Tool
The Center for Media and Democracy has introduced the Privacy Complaint Tool: "From time to time, you may encounter a Web site or an Internet-based product or service or an offline company that you believe is violating your privacy."
Current Reading: Doctors Overlook Signs of Child Abuse
Physicians often misdiagnose bone fractures caused by child abuse as accidental breaks, particularly if the child is male and the doctor is not a pediatrician, a new study found.
Shop at the National Maritime Museum for Unique Gifts
For a truly unique gift, adopt a penguin and receive a gift tin with the following: After registration you will receive: •A personalised certificate displaying your name and your penguin’s name •A colour photograph of your chosen penguin.
Shopping: FeelMoreHuman
We were intrigued by the name of this site and found that in addition to a stylish assemblage of interesting and green gifts, the site suggests charities to contribute to, local suppliers to contact. Eco-friendly gifts are arranged according to category and brand. Even pets are not left out as well as health and beauty.
White House Photos and an Announcement of a New Commission
The White House presents a Photo of the Day and now with November closing, there's a goodly supply, including a picture of close aide Reggie Love tossing a football to the President; Presidential Commission for Study of Bioethical Issues
The Holiday Hustle Hassle
Unless the eight-foot tree is completely hidden behind a pile of bionic, electronic, computerized, overautomated and overpriced toys that cost more than you used to have to spend to furnish an entire house (real, not doll), they start reading you their Constitutional rights.
NPR's Program, Safe Driving For Seniors: Officials Get Creative
We want to preserve a senior's dignity and their independence — but we want to have highway safety," she says. "So if we can evaluate a senior — or anyone that's a high-risk driver — and determine that they can go to the doctor, church, because it's a safe driving distance, we can limit their driving. It keeps them from getting into high-risk situations."
LuEsther Mertz Library, NYBG, Fruits and Flowers of Winter
Gardener, if you listen, listen well: Plant for your winter pleasure, when the months dishearten; Plant to find a fragile note touched from the brittle violin of frost.Vita Sackville-West, The Garden
Making Thoughtful Plans For a Retirement Home
Some states have superior regulatory laws, some have few. Where we live in North Carolina, the Department of Insurance oversees the long-term care communities, thanks in large part to the work of an attorney who retired here and saw the need for oversight. If residents have legitimate conflicts with management, it's a good thing to have a place to turn. There is a National Continuing Care Residents Association (NaCCRA).
Frontline's The Card Game; An Examination of Credit Card Practices
President Obama and his team pushed through a credit card reform bill in May, and they're now looking to establish a new Consumer Finance Protection Agency. But the banking and financial services industries contribute huge amounts of money to Congress - and the jury is still out on whether the new regulations can pass. From a Frontline press release about the upcoming PBS program about the consumer loan industry and its impact on a fragile economy.
Wet With Blood; The Investigation of Mary Todd Lincoln's Cloak
The Chicago History Museum has a number of sources online for the viewer. This booklet, Wet With Blood, is one of them. "Being a full and graphic account from a reliable authority of the Bloody Evidence of President Lincoln's assassination ..."
A New Museum Destination: Cafesjian Center for the Arts
From a mural by Armenian painter Grigor Khanjyan; an exhibit of photographs by Patti Boyd, the ex-wife of Beatle George Harrison and guitarist Eric Clapton; an installation of installation of 24 Swarovski light socks; and Dale Chihuly's Ikebana installation, the newly opened Cafesjian Center for the Arts is a new travel destination.
Does Exercise Contribute to Arthritis? Assessing and Improving Value in Cancer Care
The Harvard Medical School: If you’re putting off getting into a regular exercise routine because you’re worried that exercise contributes to arthritis, think again. An Institute of Medicine Workshop Summary report can be read online: Assessing and Improving Cancer Care
Shopping for Children: Mahar Drygoods
On Mahar Drygoods' site, there's a quote from the Phantom Tollbooth which might sum shopping for children that's inexpensive but charming:"So many things are possible,just as long as you don't know they're impossible."- Norton Juster, The Phantom Tollbooth
Current Reading, Screen Memories from The New York Times
"Devotion to playthings and playmates, a fascination with bodily fluids and a queasy obsession with sex — these were what defined a movie hero not preoccupied with killing bad guys. Traditional romances and sex farces were supplanted by comedies of arres…
Mrs. Delany and her Circle, at the Yale Center for British Art
At the age of seventy-two, Mary Delany, née Mary Granville (1700–1788), a botanical artist, woman of fashion, and commentator on life and society in eighteenth-century England and Ireland, embarked on a series of one thousand botanical collages, or “paper mosaics.” These were the crowning achievement of a life defined by creative accomplishment.
New Recommendations about Pap Tests and Mammography Screenings
Following on the heels of the AHRG's new guidelines for mammography screening, the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynocologists recommend that the first cervical cancer screening be delayed until age 21 as well as a recommendation for less freque…
The New Brown-Baggers
Doris O'Brien: As America increasingly divides along economic lines, the rich have become targets of disdain and envy. Not that they haven't always been, but now there are rumblings of an egalitarian movement in America to bring the wealthy down several…
Movers and Shakers of Garden Design
Many garden but few gardeners have the power to reach into the future to shape landscape style and fashion. Gertrude Jekyll, Mien Ruys, Geoffrey Jellicoe, Frank Lloyd Wright, Thomas Church, Roberto Burle Max, and Edwin Lutyens are just some of the extraordinary gardeners from the last century who influence today’s garden design.
Interesting Garden Shopping Web Sites
Please refer to Linda Coyner's articles for many more links Blue Poppy Garden - The store and B&B is located in Sedgwick, Maine, overlooking the Benjamin River…
