Loss
Adrienne G. Cannon writes: I continue to envision him here, near me in his chair, in his place in our bed. I look for a sign in some lucky breaks I have gotten — convenient parking spots, a good hotel room. But the smile that comes to my lips when I think of these happenstance scenes fades, as I know I am creating a fantasy in his honor.
Sequestration: “A self-inflicted wound” to a struggling economy
Jake Grovum of Stateline writes: “Ham-handed cuts” nobody thought would actually happen. “The big, dumb spending cuts that no one wants,” - descriptions given to the looming federal budget reductions that are scheduled to take effect Jan. 2, 2013, unless Congress stops them. If they are enacted, more than $1.2 trillion would be cut from federal spending in the next ten years, including nearly $110 billion next year alone.
Someone To Watch Over Me ... And My Shoes
Rose Mula writes: I have no concrete evidence that God exists, but I now know for sure that there's a heaven. Cindy and I entered it that day. No pearly gates, but gazillions of deeply-discounted designer shoes. The proverbial kid in a candy store couldn't possibly be happier than we were ... until the next morning when we went to church.
Bumble Bee Adventures: A Pollinator's Destination Routes Tracked
Bumblebees are remarkable navigators. While their flight paths may look scattered to the casual eye, all that buzzing about is anything but random. Like the travelling salesman in the famous mathematical problem of how to take the shortest path along multiple stops, bumblebees quickly find efficient routes among flowers. And once they find a good route, they stick to it.
No Excuses: Hiding Toxic Ingredients In Cleaning Products
Formaldehyde, a known human carcinogen, is sometimes used as a preservative or may be released when terpenes, found in citrus and pine oil cleaners and in some essential oils used as scents, react with ozone in the air. Chloroform, a suspected human carcinogen, sometimes escapes in fumes released by products containing chlorine bleach.
Winslow Homer and His Maine Studio: “Look at nature, work independently, and solve your own problems”
At his Prouts Necks studio on the Maine coast, inspired by the rugged beauty and dramatic weather of Maine, Winslow Homer produced works that revolutionized marine painting in American art and created an iconic and enduring image of the New England coast.
Elaine Soloway's Caregiving Series: Grateful He's a Tightwad
When we wed, I tried to spoil him with a joint checking account, credit card, and a few doodads that I was happy to bestow on my penny-pinching husband. And while Tommy enjoyed these gifts, he never became infected with my loose-spending ways. I admit to new gratitude. True, no miracle cure awaits my husband, But his frugality, thus far, has kept us both from drowning.
The Endeavour Day: FDR's Evolving Approach to Fiscal Policy in Times of Crisis
"We have come to a clear realization of the fact that true individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence. To many who have pleaded with me for an immediate balancing of the budget, by a sharp curtailment or even elimination of government functions, I have asked the question: 'What present expenditures would you reduce or eliminate?' And the invariable answer has been 'that is not my business -- I know nothing of the details, but I am sure that it could be done.' That is not what you or I would call helpful citizenship."
Bookfest On Book TV and the Mall: A Weekend of Literature and Authors
The 12th Library of Congress National Book Festival is part of a larger Library of Congress "Celebration of the Book" in 2012 and 2013. If you can't attend remember that C-Span's BookTV is holding approximately fifteen and a half hours of coverage on both Saturday and Sunday, September 22 and 23. How about a BookFest party?
Colors of the Universe: Chinese Hardstone Carvings
Val Castronovo writes: Tucked away in a discreet corner on the third floor of the Metropolitan Museum of Art is a small room devoted to the display of some 75 Chinese hardstone carvings, all dating from the Qing dynasty when the craft experienced a resurgence due to imperial patronage.
Asking the Question: Have You Ever Used a Government Social Program?
John Wihbey writes: Programs included the Home Mortgage Interest Deduction; the HOPE and Lifetime Learning Tax Credits; Child and Dependent Care Tax Credits; 529 (Qualified Tuition Program) or Coverdell Education Savings Account (education IRAs); the Earned Income Tax Credit; and “usage of student loans and employer subsidized health and retirement benefits.”
Are You Part of the 47% Who Pay No Federal Income Tax? If You're the Average Retired Senior - Most Probably, Yes
The non-partisan Tax Policy Center:"Provisions that benefit senior citizens and low-income working families with children particularly affect households with income under $50,000 but other factors make higher-income households nontaxable."
The Ever-Shifting Sea Ice: Arctic Drilling Postponed Until 2013
"Shell’s inability to get its own equipment in order, despite a massive investment of time and money, should give pause to any company with similar plans, and the same challenges will remain next year. Until we develop adequate safeguards and sufficient response infrastructure to manage and support drilling operations, the Arctic should remain off limits to drilling."
Dirty Little Not-So-Secrets: The National Political Discourse
Doris O'Brien writes: Freedom of speech has in too many instances become freedom to offend, and, as a result, entering the mass media discussion comes with gut-wrenching risks. Be prepared to be brutally insulted by those who disagree with you. Brace yourself for bombast, rudeness, ridicule and downright lies.
Black Lamb and Grey Falcon, Part 1
Rebecca West wrote: I raised myself on my elbow and called through the open door into the other wagon-lit: — 'My dear, I know I have inconvenienced you terribly by making you take your holiday now, and I know you did not really want to come to Yugoslavia at all. But when you get there you will see why it was so important that we should make this journey, and that we should make it now, at Easter. It will all be quite clear, once we are in Yugoslavia.'
Musical Experience and Understanding Speech in Noise
While research into the impact of musical training on aging processes is a new avenue of investigation, our results indicate a positive role of lifelong musical training on auditory perception and cognitive processes.
Ambassador Chris Stevens and a Travel Warning
As the conflict in Libya unfolded, Chris was one of the first Americans on the ground in Benghazi. He risked his own life to lend the Libyan people a helping hand to build the foundation for a new, free nation. He spent every day since helping to finish the work that he started. Chris was committed to advancing America’s values and interests, even when that meant putting himself in danger.
Genetic Switch Involved in Depression: A promising target for potential therapies
“We show that circuits normally involved in emotion, as well as cognition, are disrupted when this single transcription factor is activated ... We hope that by enhancing synaptic connections, either with novel medications or behavioral interventions, we can develop more effective antidepressant therapies."
Math and Metaphor
"It should not be surprising that students find poetry a useful tool for accessing these mathematical ideas: the language of poetry is precise and exact, as is the language of math. In both idioms words are heavy with meaning, and word choice is crucial. A well-constructed poem will in this manner be like a well-constructed proof."
Gems of European Lace: Queen Marie-Henriette Handkerchief and Rita de Acosta Lydig's Horse-and-Rider Dress
The 17th-century English clergyman Thomas Fuller defended the wearing of lace and the nascent English lacemaking industry, writing that it cost “nothing save a little thread descanted on by art and industry,” and “saveth some thousands of pounds yearly, formerly sent over to fetch lace from Flanders.”
To Use or Not to Use: Apps and Privacy
57% of all app users have either uninstalled an app over concerns about having to share their personal information, or declined to install an app in the first place for similar reasons. Owners of both Android and iPhone devices are also equally likely to delete (or avoid entirely) cell phone apps due to concerns over their personal information.
CultureWatch: A Debut Author - The Warmth of Other Suns; DVD Tip: The Forsyte Saga
By the early years of the 20th century, conditions were so difficult for most blacks in the United States that a great migration began in search of a more viable existence. Isabel Wilkerson has produced real history, real literature and and surely a modern masterpiece. The Forsyte Saga reminds us just how compelling and sexy the Victorian and 1920 eras can be. Can a new production of Trollope's The Pallisers be far behind?
The Horse: From Arabia to Royal Ascot
"As for you, bending double with the very force of the effort you keep a tight rein on your team and with consummate skill wisely reserve them for the seventh lap. The others are busy with hand and voice, and everywhere the sweat of drivers and flying steeds falls in drops on to the field. The hoarse roar from applauding partisans stirs the heart, and the contestants, both horses and men, are warmed by the race and chilled by fear."
Monarchs: Getting Ready for the Fall Migration
Ferida Wolff writes: I found out that each butterfly species has a specific plant that the larvae feed on. And many of those plants, the milkweed included, are being cut down — to build houses, to construct roads, because of wildfires, illegal logging and deforestation of overwintering areas. On personal properties, they are often viewed as unwanted weeds. This is causing a decrease in the monarch population.
Death Takes a Policy: How a Lawyer Exploited the Fine Print and Found Himself Facing Federal Charges
Rhode Island prosecutors say that Joseph Caramadre is an unscrupulous con artist who engaged in identity theft, conspiracy and two different kinds of fraud. Prosecutors contend he deceived the terminally ill to make millions for himself and his clients. His criminal trial is scheduled to begin in November.
