Rose Mula writes: I’ll tell you what my real fantasy is — if you’ll promise not to breathe a word to Gloria Steinem. I’d like to be a sex symbol. Who am I kidding? It’s way too late for that, so I’d settle for being someone who can ice skate (on the blades instead of my ankle bones), or who can swim more than three strokes without sinking, do the latest dance steps without looking like a sneaker in the dryer, play a mean game of tennis, or even someone who can gargle without gagging.

With the perfection of halftone printing in the 1890s, newspapers and magazines began publishing photographs on a regular basis. Photojournalism was still in its infancy and standards of veracity were in flux. Were news photographs supposed to be strictly factual eyewitness reports, or could they be modified and embellished after the fact, like the drawings by newspaper sketch artists?

Ferida Wolff writes: What a marvelous philosophical garden we could have if everyone could plant his or her people-supporting ideas within our society. Some of them would not prove viable, no doubt, but some might be just what we need. And it wouldn’t matter which side of the aisle the planter came from because a good idea would grow into something beautiful and benefit all.

While the Constitution is silent on the exact procedure for awarding each state’s electoral votes, 48 states and the District of Columbia currently use the “general ticket” or “winner-take-all” system. The sole exceptions to this practice, Maine and Nebraska, use the “district” system,

Editor's Note: The pumpkins are now decorated with turkey feathers, the waters are receding, it isn't tax time (yet), and after voting, you can turn off the commercials, so sharpen the pen or keyboard and go to it. And good luck.

Julia Sneden writes: The class came to the realization that if your candidate didn’t win, it didn’t mean that you were “dumb” or “a loser.” It just meant that many of us have different opinions, and that election was simply a reflection of those differences. And that our class, like America itself, was special because we accept — and even celebrate — differences, an idea eagerly seized on by the kids.

American weddings have traditionally been emblematic of social status, wealth, and personality. "For Marjorie Merriweather Post, they also reflected her progression from young bride to fully-emancipated American businesswoman, collector, philanthropist, and every bit an embodiment of the American dream. And what dream doesn’t include a great love story or two?”

Hurricanes can create storm surges along the coast and cause extensive damage from heavy rainfall. Floods and flying debris from the excessive winds are often the deadly and destructive results of these weather events. Slow moving hurricanes traveling into mountainous regions tend to produce especially heavy rain. Excessive rain can trigger landslides or mud slides. Flash flooding can occur due to intense rainfall.

The Iveagh Bequest is a collection of masterpieces that includes paintings by seventeenth-century Dutch artists such as Rembrandt, Anthony van Dyck, and Albert Cuyp, and those inspired by them — Thomas Gainsborough and Joshua Reynolds. Also at the Milwaukee Art Museum the work of Grete Marks: When Modern Was Degenerate, a ceramicist whose art was derided in Nazi Germany.

Preventice’s Body Guardian is designed for the remote management of individuals with cardiac arrhythmias. KnowMyMed’s supports team-based medication management and medication reconciliation for high-risk people and provides automated medication. Avado’s Patient Relationship Management System allows doctors and patients to securely track, share, and manage medical information with each other and coordinate health issues outside the doctor’s office.

Jill Norgren writes: "The authors explain this failure of representatives to work together as fallout from the permanence of campaigning in modern American politics. Successful campaigning selects for men and women who present themselves as tenaciously principled agents. These candidates appeal to voters with take-no-prisoner policy positions (refined for local predilections)."

It’s 8:45 in the morning and I’m at the living room window watching my husband enter the passenger side of a car that is not mine. The driver is an attractive young woman. In some other scenario, I’d be the jealous wife, tearful at Tommy’s choice of a new companion. But since this is my life, and the driver is my aide, my feelings are of relief, not wrath.         Tuesday, May 15, 2012 Take Care of Yourself   It’s 8:45 in the morning and I’m at the living room window watching my husband enter the passenger side of a car that is not mine. The driver is an a…