What's New

Diane Girard writes: Unlike the members of a certain famous rock group who think they are young rebels but look like the permanently undead; I don’t believe that seventy-something is the new forty. At age sixty-nine, I know that I’m almost seventy. My body knows it too and it reminds me every morning. When it complains, I know for sure that I’m still in this world. However, I won’t always be here and those dread-filled ads keep reminding me of that. So, how to deal with the facts of death? more »

Val Castronovo reviews: A collaboration between The Met, The Art Institute of Chicago and the Musée d’Orsay in Paris, the works collected chronicle the golden years of Impressionist painting from the mid-1860s to the mid-1880s when Paris became the style capital of the world ... the avant-garde sought to distinguish themselves ... and paint their subjects in a new, modern light, focusing on au courant costumes and accoutrements at the expense of the individuals’ physical characteristics. more »

Fed Governor Sarah Bloom Raskin: "Many of the darkest manifestations of the financial crisis have finally begun to diminish: the boarded-up homes with overgrown lawns, the half-built skyscrapers, the 'We Buy Houses Cheap' signs planted at exit ramps, the eviction notices nailed to front doors. But even as the economy comes back to life, our memory of these events is still sharp and the reputational damage suffered by US financial institutions during the crisis endures." more »

Editor's Note: The audience was surprised to see the First Lady (appropriately dressed in a silvery gown by Naeem Khan) present the Best Picture Oscar to Argo, appearing via satellite from the White House last night. This morning we viewed her on C-Span addressing the nation's governors about a much different and very important subject: more »