Parmigianino painted the Schiava Turca in the early to mid-1530s. The sitter wears an extravagant, almost theatrical costume comprised of a ball-shaped headdress, voluminous sleeves, and a striped garment with a plunging neckline. She holds an ostrich-feather fan in her left hand. In the early eighteenth century, when the portrait was in the collection of the Uffizi Gallery, the style of the woman’s costume inspired a cataloguer to invent the title 'Turkish Slave' by which she has since been known.

Joan L. Cannon writes: Most people read poetry (if they read it at all) for the pleasure of it. I get very irritable when the author makes that impossible on purpose — very much like the 'modern' artists and composers who seem not to care a whit if their production is pure fraud. Of course, they get a way with it a lot because no one can figure out how to prove it's bogus.

Imagine you're at home. Maybe that's in Florida, Wisconsin, Rhode Island, wherever. You have cancer. You just had another round of chemo, and the phone rings. "My name is Kate. I'm a health care counselor," the gentle voice says from her cubicle in Cherry Hill, NJ. The caller could also choose to allow the counselor to talk to his doctors or family directly. It's paid for by insurers and federal privacy rules permit this for business purposes. This is no telemarketing call … it’s about the end of your life.

Marcia Schonberg writes: Multigenerational travel is the term used when two family members (one over 60 and the other under than 18) take a vacation together. Oh, and they don't live in the same household either. Discovering options both an energetic teen and a boomer-aged grandparent enjoy wasn’t as daunting as it seemed and Québec bestowed a perfect backdrop for my world traveler wanabee of a grandson, Joey. The province is European in style and as French as you can get on this continent.

In one state, a high-school dropout can land a six-figure job. In another area of the country, only college graduates can compete for that kind of salary. Nevada's median household income fell 9 percent to $51,230 between 2008 and 2013, the largest percentage decrease among states. Maryland has the top median income in the nation, at $73,022, followed by Alaska at $72,626 and New Jersey at $70,223. Since 2008, Alaska has overtaken New Jersey and Connecticut to become the state with the second highest median income, thanks to a 6 percent increase.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is proposing to oversee larger nonbank auto finance companies for the first time at the federal level. The Bureau also released a supervision report that details the auto-lending discrimination that the Bureau has uncovered at banks. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is proposing to oversee larger nonbank auto finance companies for the first time at the federal level. The Bureau also released a supervision report that details the auto-lending discrimination that the Bureau has uncovered at banks. 

"We recognize that the depiction of violence against women in and of itself is not problematic, especially if the depiction attempts to shed serious light on the problem," Amy Bonomi said. "The problem comes when the depiction reinforces the acceptance of the status quo, rather than challenging it." Amy Bonomi is chairperson and professor in Michigan State University's Department of Human Development and Family Studies

Against all advice typically doled out to recent widows such as don’t make a major move for a year following a husband’s death — I have already decided to sell our house. There are rational reasons: a three-bedroom home is too large for just me. There is no longer a dog, so the fenced-in backyard and proximity to the park, are not necessities. There is no gardener husband, so the vegetable plots that were only tended by him will lie fallow. The upkeep is more than my limited budget can handle.