Beauty
Julia Sneden Wrote: Relationships: The Tale of a Hairdo
Julia Sneden wrote: "I was reared in a household that included both my grandmothers and a great aunt. Their mantra, designed to counter possible vanity, was: “If it’s clean, shiny, and combed, your hair will do.” My hair was usually clean, thanks to the swimming pool, and like most towheads, it shone in the sun “with more than oriental splendor,” like the Parsee’s helmet (per Rudyard Kipling)...Tidy was another matter. My skimpy braids never met a ribbon I couldn't lose. Hair spray helps to deal with its resistance to discipline, and while it has grown longer by fall, it is no help at all in terms of warmth, since by then I have started my annual reverse-season shedding." more »
Rose Madeline Mula Writes: It's a Wackadoodle World
Rose Madeline Mula Writes: Among other things that have disappeared, along with traditional names, are virgin brides. Actually virgins — period. And brides in general. It seems that fewer and fewer couples are opting for marriage these days as “living in sin” apparently is either no longer considered to be a sin or nobody cares. And the few marriages that do take place often feature the couple’s children as ring bearers and flower girls. A popular inscription in the autograph books we all owned was “First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes (fill in a name) with a baby carriage.” Not any more. Not in that order. And why do people need so much entertainment today? Case in point: I recently saw an ad for a waterproof radio with headphones to wear while surfing. Isn’t surfing enough? When I was young, sitting by the radio listening to “Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy” or “Our Gal Sunday” was the highlight of my day. more »
Annandale-on-Hudson, New York ... With Pleasure: Pattern and Decoration in American Art 1972 - 1985
Often described as the first contemporary art movement comprised of majority female artists, Pattern and Decoration — or P&D, as it is commonly known — defied the dominance of modernist art by embracing the much-maligned category of the decorative. P&D artists gleaned motifs, color schemes, and materials from the decorative arts, freely appropriating floral, arabesque, and patchwork patterns and arranging them in intricate, almost dizzying, and sometimes purposefully gaudy designs. Their work across mediums pointedly evokes a pluralistic array of sources from Islamic architectural ornamentation to American quilts, wallpaper design, Persian carpets, and Japanese Imari ware ceramics. more »
National Institutes of Health: Study Finds Link Between Red Hair and Pain Threshold
People with red hair have a variant of the melanocortin-1 receptor (MC1R) gene. This gene controls the production of melanin, the pigment that gives skin, hair, and eyes their color. The cells that make melanin produce two forms — eumelanin and pheomelanin. People with red hair produce mostly pheomelanin, which is also linked to freckles and fair skin that tans poorly. While red hair has been linked to differences in pain processing, the underlying reasons weren’t well understood. Researchers led by Dr. David E. Fisher of Massachusetts General Hospital examined the connection between MC1R and pain perception. more »