Culture Watch
If You're Looking For A Link To the Mueller Report, Look No Further
Editor's Note:
We're not downloading the entire Mueller report, but here is the Justice Department URL to read the report at:
Report On the Investigation Into Russian Interference In The 2016 Election, Vol I and II; Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller, III
https://www.justice.gov/storage/report.pdf?_ga=2.80421777.744576135.1555603755-461170982.1555603755
Mueller received the following military awards and decorations:
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What Does Your House Really Cost and Can You Afford It In Retirement?
While it is certainly admirable to pay off your mortgage before you retire, our experience is that retirees and pre-retirees over-estimate the impact. In today’s world of low mortgage rates, paying off the last $100,000 of your mortgage, may free up cash flow, but isn’t saving you much in interest cost. You are still left with paying insurance, and property taxes, which will continue to go up. If you consider the fact that the IRS allows for a building to depreciate over 27.5 years, it stands to reason that you may need to almost completely replace your home over 25-40 years. And if you are banking on your home to pay long-term care costs or for a move to a more elderly friendly environment, you might be disappointed in what you get. more »
The Body Transformed: The Purpose and Power of Jewelry; "The urge to adorn ourselves is now nearly universal"
New York City's Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibition (Floor 2, Gallery 999, Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Exhibition Hall) opens with a dramatic installation that emphasizes the universality of jewelry — precious objects made for the body, a singular and glorious setting for the display of art. Great jewelry from around the world will be presented in a radiant display that groups these ornaments according to the part of the body they adorn: head and hair; nose, lips, and ears; neck and chest; arms and hands; and waist, ankles, and feet. more »
Christmas Presence: Jewelry, a Musical Powder Box, a Bike, See's Candy and Double Acrostics
Julia Sneden wrote: It's embarrassing to think back over the sheer volume of presents I've received over the years. A few stand out: a beautiful, winter-white skirt of soft wool embroidered with pale blue and silver snowflakes that I longed for but knew we couldn't afford, that turned up miraculously anyway ... an opal ring that my great aunt had promised me when I was sixteen ... from my husband, a pair of books by Carmen Bernos de Gasthold, the first Christmas we were married ... a present my eldest son selected all by himself for me when he was about eight, blue ornament earrings paid for from his allowance ... the Double Crostic books another son gives me yearly ... a copy of Babar the King brought me by my adult middle son ... photos of my grandchildren taken and compiled into a little book by my clever daughter-in-law. more »
Journalists Trying To Help Readers Cope May Mislead on Holiday-Suicide Myth
During the holidays, many in the press write stories aiming to help readers cope with the blues and other seasonal conditions. But some journalists inadvertently support a myth about the holidays and suicide, or quote well-intentioned sources who should know better. Despite the fact that the holiday season has some of the lowest average daily suicide rates, some journalists continue to perpetuate the holiday-suicide myth. In the 2017-18 holiday season, two-thirds of the print news and feature stories that mentioned both the holidays and suicide drew a false connection between them, according to the latest analysis by the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania. more »