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CultureWatch Review, Drift: The Unmooring of American Military Power — The next time you wonder where your taxes are going, I recommend reading Rachel Maddow's book. You may also want to take an aspirin or a Xantac, or at least a glass of wine before reading this section of Drift, to dull the pain

A Current Sendak Exhibit, Pen to Publisher: The Life of Three Sendak Picture Books: Outside Over There features a powerful Sendakian heroine, but the adventure here is more perilous, the style of artwork more inventive; the story is full of allusions to Romantic-era painters and musicians. The book tapped into dark memories from Sendak’s childhood and proved to be one of his most labor-intensive books to write and conceptualize

Women in Film, Underrepresented in Film but Twice As Likely in Explicit Sexual Scenes: “It’s disheartening to see that unbalanced portrayals of men and women persist in popular films. Movie-going youth – the largest consumers of movies per capita – who are repeatedly exposed to portrayals of women as sexual and men as violent may internalize these portrayals”

Willem van Aelst, A Member of the Golden Age of Dutch Painting: Over two dozen of his detailed, vibrant paintings are on view, filled with sumptuous fabrics, elegant stone tables, ripe fruit, artfully arranged hunting trophies and brilliant platters, cups, watches, armor and more

Homeland Security Respect for Life Act, Child Protection and Employment Bills Introduced in Congress; Title X Family Planning: "Title X–supported family planning centers served 4.7 million women in 2008 ... contraceptive services ... helped women and couples avoid 973,000 unintended pregnancies, which would have resulted in 433,000 unplanned births and 406,000 abortions. Without these services, unintended pregnancy and abortion in the United States would be one-third higher"

STEM Women All-Stars Hit the Road: Over the past few months, students from Santa Barbara, California to Miami, Florida have played hosts to some unusual substitute teachers, as senior women scientists and engineers from the highest levels of the Obama Administration hit the road as part of the Women in STEM Speakers Bureau roundtable series

FactCheck Examines ‘The Life of Julia,’ Corrected: The Award-winning fact checking site finds some bogus assumptions in the Obama campaign's fable about a fictional woman. The infographic depicts a woman whose life from age 3 to 67 is better under the president’s policies than under those of Republican Mitt Romney. But in reality, the contrasts are not so stark or simple as the Obama team would have viewers believe

Relationship Satisfaction: Do You Empathize With Me ... or Not? Men like to know when their wife or girlfriend is happy while women really want the man in their life to know when they are upset. "It could be that for women, seeing that their male partner is upset reflects some degree of the man’s investment and emotional engagement in the relationship, even during difficult times"

A Summer Destination: 2012 Genealogy Workshops Across the US: The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) offers the public a comprehensive and varied program of genealogical workshops and courses in its facilities nationwide. Topics include an introduction to genealogy and research into records such as census schedules, military service and pension records, and passenger lists

TSA Reveals Passenger Complaints ... Four Years Later: From intrusive pat-downs to body scans to perceived profiling, the Transportation Security Administration always seems to be the target of complaints. It took the TSA almost four years to tell Pro Publica what people complained about — in 2008

Ferida Wolff, Lilac Time: We planted a lilac bush in our backyard. It was a different variety with darker flowers and a more delicate scent. It grew tall and leggy and did not do well. For two years it reluctantly put out leaves, no flowers, and half stopped growing at all. This year it bloomed with vigor; each day we look at the rejuvenation of this beauty

Julia Sneden's Bathing Suit Shopping Classic, Utterly Unsuitable, Choosing a Swimsuit for an Older Woman: With older women and men doing water aerobics and swimming laps, wouldn’t you think the bathing suit manufacturers would recognize that market? We buy suits more often than teenagers because we’re harder on them. No lying on a blanket for hours, or languidly standing around the lifeguard’s chair

Silver: A State of Mind: "The women interviewed and photographed here possess one of the most distinctive outward signs of aging — silvering hair. This shared badge provides an ideal entry into the topic of aging as dilemmas about gray hair lead to other deeper issues about the kinds of personal challenges we all face."

Health & Science | Beauty, Style & Fashion | Sports & Fitness | Health Links | Dermatologist Cynthia Bailey

Lacey Schley, Improv Improves and Alleviates Anxiety: Laughter is the best medicine — at least that’s the case for some anxiety sufferers trying improvisation training at The Second City. The Panic/Anxiety/Recovery Center in Chicago is partnering with a well-known theater troup to use improv to help people overcome their fears

Rose Madeline Mula, Diary of a Would-Be Athlete: I just joined a spinning class for seniors (spinning wool, that is); I’ve become a surfing enthusiast (TV channels and the Internet); I cycle every day (actually, recycle); and last week during a trip to Vermont, I participated in chair lifting — not lifting chairs, but riding in one up a mountainside

Dear Doctor: Patients' Voices: The letters are deeply descriptive and reveal familiar emotions. A father in 1820 pleads for his sick daughter, “Pray send out Dr. Carmichael to me immediately — as I consider her to be in great danger. Delay not a moment, for her life and my happiness depend on it"

A Minor Hurrah! Most of April’s Modest Job Gains Go to Women: The largest job gains for women in April came in professional and business services, which include temporary help services, private education and health, and leisure and hospitality. Women also gained jobs in the manufacturing sector

Making Your Smartphone Work: Just-in-time Information through Mobil Conections: We've observed an uptick in cell phone use for research purposes recently, including confirmation of the owner's accuracy in a conversation with friends, "Let me check that (on my phone)." They're also looking up times that events start, nearby restaurants, objects on view at a musem, shopping nearby and so on

Rose Madeline Mula, The Multitasking Myth: You may think you’re being productive, but, get real, you're not: We see parents at dance recitals, soccer games, graduations — engrossed in texting, instead of focusing on their little darlings who are going to be out of the nest before the next message pops up. Meanwhile, students in classrooms are surreptitiously texting, oblivious to the words of their professors

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