Senior Women Web

Rose Madeline Mula writes: I love to travel. Not any more. Not since my trip last winter to Florida where I fled to escape the Northeast blasts. At the beach, I found I could no longer sit in a sand chair. I could sit in it but no way could I get up out of it. I had to depend on strangers to hoist me up before the tide came in. If I pulled out my cell phone invariably it would attract the attention of someone nearby who would gush patronizingly, "Look at you!" as if I had just transformed water into wine. Apparently it's equally miraculous that someone of my advanced years has enough live brain cells to have mastered a basic electronic device. more »

Stanford psychologist Jeanne Tsai found that the more a particular country's culture values excitement, the more its political leaders show enthusiastic smiles. On the other hand, when the specific culture emphasizes calm, those leaders show more reserved smiles. Culturally different emotions and expressions may create misunderstandings between leaders from different nations involved in negotiations or crises. more »

Jane Shortall writes: Pulling on a woolly hat, scarf, gloves, heavy jeans, rubber boots and a waxed jacket, on that wild morning, I went out and walked the legendary Bull Wall in Clontarf, a long, long seafront walk, loved by the citizens of Dublin for hundreds of years. This is the area where the High King of Ireland, Brian Boru, was slain in a battle against the Danes in 1014. On that particular morning, I felt I was battling too. more »

Stanford political scientist Andrew Hall found that contentious primaries that receive heavy media coverage and voter attention tend to produce nominees who do less well in the general election. But, if the primary has not generated much attention, then the primary winner is less affected — and sometimes even helped — in the general election. more »