Sightings

Experts say the growth in the number of never married individuals stems from a variety of factors, including the rising share of young adults across the nation — particularly in a number of cities, including Philadelphia — and the tendency of those young adults to marry later in life than their age group once did. According to the Census Bureau, the median age of individuals in first marriages nationally increased from 26.2 in 2005 to 28.7 in 2015, following a decades-long trend. In addition, census data show that more adults are living together and/or having children without getting married.  Although Philadelphia’s percentage of adults who never married stands out among the most populous cities, it is very much in keeping with those of other high-poverty cities. © The Pew Charitable Trusts The percentage of adults in… more »

The US Forest Service has created this helpful tool for locating state and national forests, parks, and wildlife refuges across the country. On the homepage, visitors simply enter ZIP codes to find local sites of interest. For anyone interested in learning (or relearning) how to play the piano, this website provides a series of free video lessons. Ice and Sky earned a 2016 Webby nomination as an outstanding educational website. Horsethief is a digital magazine from Horsethief Books, a publisher of poetry books "from a diverse group of both emerging and established voices." Exotic and dramatic, Maria Merian's artwork was a valuable tool of discovery for Europeans at the time. more »

Rose Madeline Mula writes: Yesterday when I was Googling instructions on how to boil an egg (don't laugh, it's a lot more complicated than you think) the narrative was interrupted by a headline link that screamed, KATE INFURIATES THE QUEEN! Trouble at the palace? OMG! Kate was neglecting her royal duties to tout her revolutionary skin care line, highly recommended by Dr. Oz. So why all these outrageous claims? Because sprinkled throughout this salad of lies are ads for a myriad of products which I refuse to buy. And how do they get away with making these ridiculous false assertions? I wish I knew. more »

The sea of signs kept coming and coming and coming. As I watched the crowd and read the signs, I thought about many of the things you have said. One sign said “WE are what makes American Great.” Another proclaimed "Love not Hate will make America great." These reminded me of your campaign slogan "Make America Great Again" which you adopted from Reagan’s 1980 campaign. Historically, America is great when America is good, not when America is greedy. What can you do to make America good? Build doors, not walls. Be kind, not cruel. Will you do those things? Will you make American really great, not just illusorily great?" more »