Shop for Yourself

Rose Madeline Mula writes: Today, after taking out a second mortgage to finance new footware, you then must analyze your requirements. Will you be wearing them while cross training, weight lifting, long-distance running, short-distance sprints, jogging, or aerobics? A flatter heel will enable you to execute deeper squats, a flexible sole is preferable for kick boxing, and flex-grooved bottoms kick your Jazzercise workout up a notch because they help you sidestep seamlessly and move effortlessly in any direction.   more »

Russell Shorto’s gifts include a keen eye for individual little stories that add a delicious depth to his writing, and thus to our understanding of times and events in Amsterdam; A History of the World’s Most Liberal City; The Virgin of Bennington becomes a meticulous and admiringly recorded history of Betty Kray’s dedication, imagination, and development of the Academy of American Poets; DVD Tips include a look at Doc Martin's long-waited Season 6 and the beginning of filming for Foyle's War's next season more »

Aside from a picture owned by Queen Elizabeth II of England, this is the only other Vermeer known to be owned privately. It is also the most recent to be firmly attributed to the master. In addition to myriad investigations in the 1990s and after, recent analysis has found that it was painted on canvas cut from the same bolt of cloth that Vermeer used for The Lace Maker, which today hangs in the Louvre. more »

The Environmental Working Group's report reveals that a consumer using a Beauty Balm or Color Correcting cream would typically be exposed to an average of 40 chemical ingredients, while someone using three separate products — foundation, moisturizer and sunscreen — would be exposed to an average of 70 chemical ingredients. more »