Results from the 2009 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Mental Health Findings
• In 2009, there were an estimated 45.1 million adults aged 18 or older in the United States with any mental illness in the past year. This represents 19.9 percent of all adults in this country. Among adults aged 18 or older in 2009, the percentage h…
Book Review: Operation Mincemeat: How a Dead Man and a Bizarre Plan Fooled the Nazis and Assured an Allied Victory
Of the many non-fiction books on the subject which I have enjoyed reading over the past sixty-five years, I have seldom found one more interesting than Operation Mincemeat. It is a great gift idea for anyone on your list
A Convoluted Journey of Discovery - Book Review: The Hare With Amber Eyes
"How objects are handed on is all about story-telling. I am giving you this because I love you. Or because it was given to me. Because I bought it somewhere special. Because you will care for it. Because it will complicate your life. Because it will make someone else envious. There is no easy story in legacy. What is remembered and what is forgotten? There can be a chain of forgetting, the rubbing away of previous ownership as much as the slow accretion of stories. What is being passed on to me with all these small Japanese objects?"
Reviews of Two Books by Elizabeth Edwards: Resilience and Saving Graces
Who could not admire Elizabeth Edwards? Mother of a dead teenager, cancer patient and political spouse; each role a burden. But when word of her husband’s unfaithfulness hit the news, I wondered why thoughtful and intelligent Elizabeth Edwards would dign…
Stateline: New Budget Cuts Threaten School Funding Settlements
Last month, a group of Kansas school districts sued the state arguing that lawmakers had violated their constitutional obligation to adequately fund public education. More [lawsuits] are likely to be filed in the months ahead, as legislatures – confronted with yet another year of deep budget cuts – opt to scale back education spending
The Past Week In Women's Issues in Congress
On December 1, the Senate approved the International Protecting Girls by Preventing Child Marriage Act (S. 987).On December 3, the Senate passed S. 3817, the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act. Bill of Rights for Women Veterans Passes House
Woodrow Wilson's Women
More than most men, Woodrow Wilson needed women. He needed their love, their support and their companionship. In the confines of his home, he surrounded himself with women. He had two wives (sequentially), one mistress, and three daughters. Theirs is a complex story of love and politics.
Stepping Out of Dark Shadows: A Diagnosis
When I received my physical this year, my doctor hesitated during the breast exam, and then moved his hands back and forth between the right and left orbs comparing them, "I’m not sure if I’m just not remembering what your breast tissue feels like, or if I’m noticing a difference. Your mammogram will tell us if anything is there."
DIY Kits for Gifts
Considering the cost of gifts in today's economy and the number of people who are needle wielders and craftspeople, we thought that DIY kits seem like practical and welcome gifts.
Beauty Queens and Battling Knights
In particular, we examine whether people use riskier strategies against attractive people, whether this affects performance, and whether men and women react to attractiveness in the same way.
For the Holiday Season, Give Me Real Books
An eBook just isn’t much fun. Where’s the tactile thrill in holding a plastic object or in fiddling with a screen? For me, only one plastic object could fit into the thrill category and it’s not a book of any kind. But, as Gilda Radner was wont to say “never mind,” this is about books, real books.
You've Bought It; But Who to Choose as a Shipper?
We once had a package sent from abroad to ourselves, assured by the packer that they took unusual care to protect their goods (a ceramic platter). We could hear the fractured pieces rattling as soon as it arrived — the one of a kind, made by a craft artist, totally destroyed.
Gifts for Gardeners: Pink Pruning Shears and Book Reviews Reprised
A pair of gardening shears of the bypass type we bought this year are those offered by Saboten and called The Elegance Trio. They also include a trimmer and an anvil type. We chose the ones that are pink, great for small hands and easy to use. Digging Dog and Annie's Annuals are marvelous mail order nurseries with unusual and well-described plants in their catalogs.
How Did Labor Do in the 2010 Election?
"Labor 2010 member-to-member mobilization included 30 million phone calls, 20 million pieces of mail and 5.1 million knocks on union family doors." The percent of union households voting Democratic has held up as well as it has because of the growth of public sector unions such as AFSCME and SEIU
Wimbush’s Luck
Wimbush reports to Dunkirk where the squadron is being re-equipped with new Sopwith Triplanes. Seven of their comrades have been killed, wounded or captured by German pilots flying vastly superior Albatros D III’s. On February 15th they proceed to the aerodrome at Furnes in West Flanders, ready to go back to war
The Gifted Victoria and Albert Museum's Holiday Shopping
For example, Ed Kluz is fascinated by the objects of English cultural heritage. He seeks out the eccentric, the lost and the overlooked, vanished buildings, follies, curiosities, tales and uses them as starting points for vibrant artworks which explore themes of renewal and reinvention.
Are Older Women Being Used to Make a TSA Counter-Profiling Statement? Letter of Concern from UCSF Professors About Back-Scatter X-Rays
"We are writing to call your attention to serious concerns about the potential health risks of the recently adopted whole body backscatter X-ray airport security scanners." ... "The large population of older travelers, 65 years of age, is particularly at risk from the mutagenic effects of the X-rays based on the known biology of melanocyte aging"
Curious George Saves the Day: The Art of Margret and H. A. Rey
George’s capers have already been mitigated with some poetic justice, which may be understood as emblematic of the important role the character had played both in saving the Reys’ lives when fleeing Nazi Europe and later helping them rebuild their careers in the United States.
CultureWatch, November Edition
Although Addams hoped for independence and a medical school education, graduation from Rockford sent her into the waters of duty, tragedy, and a nervous breakdown. In compelling narrative Knight spells out these events. More critically, she places Jane’s illness in the context 1880s medical and moral thinking including Jane’s belief "that she lacked the goodness of character to be truly self-denying."
The Decline of Marriage and Rise of New Families
Fully 86% say a single parent and child constitute a family; nearly as many (80%) say an unmarried couple living together with a child is a family; and 63% say a gay or lesbian couple raising a child is a family. Marriage matters, too. If a childless couple is married, 88% consider them to be a family.
Can That Stranger With the Suitcase Be Me?
My pre-vacation resolutions to eat sensibly invariably dissolve at my first sight of a palm tree stirring in balmy breezes, or the bright lights of Picadilly, or the sound of the gurgling waters of the Trevi Fountain, or the melodious tinkle of a Swiss cow bell. I usually lose my first skirmish in another battle of the vacation bulge when I board a plane and a flight attendant serves dinner
Who Are More Emotionally Balanced and Better Able to Solve Highly Emotional Problems?
While teenagers and young adults experience more frustration, anxiety and disappointment over things like test scores, career goals and finding a soul mate, older people typically have made their peace with life's accomplishments and failures. In other words, they have less ambiguity to stress about.
I Took a Risk and Revealed My Age
Everytime I read of an elderly woman (60!) who (amazingly) fended off a purse snatcher or competed in a marathon, my stomach turns. I wanted to let journalists know that women over 70 could start, re-start, and succeed (fingers crossed) in entrepreneurial pursuits.
An Artist Produces a Unique Project
Hannah Haworth produced a unique project entitled 'The Hunt' for a Degree Show at the Edinburgh College of Art in Scotland ... "as I continue to learn more about our early relationships with the landscape, the more my work focusses on craft, ritual and our connections with other species"
Chinamania, Whistler's Love of Blue-and-White and Museum Shopping
"Chinamania: Whistler and the Victorian Craze for Blue and White," a small thematic exhibition on view at the Freer Gallery until Aug. 2011, explores the significance of Chinese export porcelain in Victorian England, where it began as an object of serious aesthetic inspiration but soon proliferated as a status symbol.
