Senior Women Web

Author: SeniorWomenWeb

  • Vincent Van Gogh; The Letters

    The Internet Scout Report recommended this site for it’s collection of the Van Gogh letters thusly:

    “The letters written by Vincent Van Gogh have appeared many times before, but this is the first time they have appeared as part of a complete digital edition. This fascinating collection was created by the Van Gogh Museum and the Huygens Institute, and the letters were edited by Leo Jansen, Hans Luijten and Nineke Bakker. On the site, visitors can view the over 900 letters from and to Van Gogh, complete with detailed annotations and illustrations from the master himself. First-time visitors should definitely click on the Quick Guide to get an overview of the site’s holdings, and then they should also take a look at the sections Van Gogh as a letter-writer [see below], Correspondents, Biographical & historical context, and Publication History. The letters include those from many of his contemporaries, including Paul Gauguin, and of course, those lovely pieces of writing from his brother, Theo. Users can also use the search engine here to look around by keyword. Finally, visitors can also look through the About this Edition area to learn about the reading texts included here, the translations, and the annotations.”

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  • “Horrible Things Happen;”Beneath the Surface of the BP Spill: What’s Happening Now, What’s Needed Next

    Selected remarks from witnesses testimony about the BP Oil Spill to the Energy and Environment Subcommmittee of the House, June 9th,2010;  Briefing on “Beneath the Surface of the BP Spill: What’s Happening Now, What’s Needed Next“

    Horrible things happen … when complex technologies and procedures overtake humans, who service the technologies falsely assuming complete control. In this briefing I attempt to explain the blowout of the BP exploratory well Mississippi Canyon Block 252-01 in terms of complexity, technology, and science. I argue that organizational structures and human behavior have not kept pace with the complex technologies we – the engineers and scientists – have created. Given the structural changes in the industry, academia, and government, this tragedy has been at least twenty years in the making.

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  • Protesting Progressives

    by Jo Freeman

    The mood at the annual progressive conference meeting held in Washington,DC on June 7-9, can best be described as cautious pessimism. After the high two years ago of electing the first African-American President and a Democratic-controlled Congress, both attendance and attitude have spiraled downward.

    Some of the pessimism was expressed in the belief that the Democrats will be lucky to lose only 3-4 Senators and 14 Representatives in November. Others said that “in ’08 we wanted to elect more Democrats. Now we want to elect better Democrats.”

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  • Why Not Take the Slow Lane?

    by Diane Girard

    Some time ago, my daughter gave me a coaster for my computer desk. It says, “Start Off Slow — and then Taper Off.” The first part of that saying has become my motto and I am proud to say that there are advantages to moving through life in the slow lane. However, the slow lane is not the full-stop lane. Many things happen slowly and sometimes they occur with an almost balletic grace that pleases me.

    In the morning, I have time to read the local paper and drink two cups of coffee while I complete the daily crossword puzzle. The news in the paper is mostly old news of course, but I like to read the editorials and the letters to the editor. Occasionally, I am provoked enough to write a letter in response to an editorial. If my letter is accepted for publication, and usually it is, it never appears the next day. Sometimes a week passes before I see it on the editorial page. By that time, my anger can seem a wee bit over-the-top and I wonder why I didn’t take more time to respond. The paper’s crossword isn’t too difficult(unlike The New York Times’ crossword puzzle, which intimidates me) and I won’t claim that it preserves my brain power, or helps prevent dementia — it’s simply fun. And, it’s the kind of activity I seldom indulged in during my full-time work years.

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  • Bernanke Addresses Whether We Can We Sustain Moderate Growth

    Chairman of the Fed Bernanke  expresses his  views on current economic and financial conditions and on issues pertaining to the federal budget. We’ve excerpted some segments of that address:

    Fiscal Sustainability

    Ongoing developments in Europe point to the importance of maintaining sound government finances. In many ways, the United States enjoys a uniquely favored position. Our economy is large, diversified, and flexible; our financial markets are deep and liquid; and, as I have mentioned, in the midst of financial turmoil, global investors have viewed Treasury securities as a safe haven. Nevertheless, history makes clear that failure to achieve fiscal sustainability will, over time, sap the nation’s economic vitality, reduce our living standards, and greatly increase the risk of economic and financial instability.

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  • A Cable Calamity

    by Rose Madeline Mula

    Whatever happened to the concept of rewarding long-standing customers for their loyalty? Don’t ask the cable companies. They haven’t a clue.

    For the past two years I had been a faithful client of Cable Company X. I had been happy with the service — well, as happy as anyone can be with any cable service — and I expected our relationship to continue until I got old. Oh, wait. I’m already old. Well, I figured I’d hang in at least for the foreseeable future. And they would have been delighted with that arrangement, as long as I agreed to a fat fee increase — forty dollars per month more than the already hefty sum I had been paying.

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  • Good Things Come in Threes: A Trio of Rosés – Two Sparkling, One Still

    by Sharon Kapnick

    Rosé season is in full bloom, and there are more rosés than ever to choose from. As the world changes so quickly and there are fewer and fewer constants to count on, I cherish reasonably priced wines that I can turn to year after year. Just as there are certain dishes I try to make every season, there are certain rosés I like to revisit. Here are three perennial favorites, all from producers to rely on:

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  • Love Me, Love My Vote

    by Doris O’Brien

    It’s an election year, and my popularity is at a all-time high! Not that I’m running for office myself, but if I were, it’s nice to know that I recently acquired a lot of friends in high places whom I’ve never actually met. Nevertheless, many of them have really been putting themselves out lately to win my approval, and I must say I’m extremely flattered, even though there are times when I might characterize their efforts as “overkill.” But look at it this way: my phone hasn’t rung off the hook like this since the last election cycle.

    Even at dinnertime, instead of eating like the rest of us, these good folks are busy phoning me to solicit my vote on behalf of some wannabe or other.  Sometimes, the candidates themselves actually call. It’s true, you know. I recognize their voice from the incessant commercials on TV. Last week a sheriff from Arizona even rang me up long distance.

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  • Domino Effect

    by Roberta McReynolds

    It is unquestionably easy to become a slave to technology. The very process of attempting to simplify data storage creates questions and problems I never encounter when I merely toss papers into a box to sort later. Admittedly that system also has drawbacks beyond the obvious fact that I can’t locate, let alone remember, 80% of what’s in all those cardboard containers. Besides the risk of a fire hazard, it looks like I’m erecting a monument to hoarding.

    Whatever degree you rely on computers to organize your life, this happens to be one of those areas where I profoundly envy other generations.

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  • Harvard Med School Healthletter Advice to women about supplements — use selectively

    Weekly health information and advice from the Harvard Healthletter is available without charge on a weekly basis can be signed up for at their site:

    Once we believed it was possible to compensate for dietary deficiencies by popping a multivitamin every day. But research suggests that multivitamins may not be all they’re cracked up to be.

    Moreover, many multivitamins contain some micronutrients in amounts greater than those recommended in the government’s Dietary Guidelines for Americans. If you choose to take a multivitamin, take one daily — no more. It’s an especially bad idea to take extra multivitamins in an effort to ramp up your intake of a single micronutrient. Doing so means you’re sure to get too much of other vitamins and/or minerals, which can be harmful.

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