What’s New
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Rose Madeline Mula: If You Can’t Stand the Heat
Rose Madeline Mula Writes: “It was with considerable trepidation, therefore, that I entered the kitchen of my hostess, the legendary actress, Joan Fontaine, one long-ago Thanksgiving morning, to offer my assistance. Acting was not Miss Fontaine’s only talent. Not by a long shot. She was also a hole-in-one golfer, a prize-winning fisherwoman, a hot air…
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An Undocumented Childhood by Rose Madeline Mula
Rose Mula Writes: Some people never leave home without their American Express card; I never leave home without a camera. Digitized pictures of the twenty-five countries and forty-plus states of America that I’ve visited since my first tour of exotic New Hampshire constantly flash on my computer monitors and digital frames throughout my home, helping…
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Julia Sneden Wrote: Love Your Library
Julia Sneden Wrote: My mind’s eye can still see the face of the Children’s Librarian, although I have long since forgotten her name. We will be wise to continue to back up our knowledge of history and literature and art and science with hard copy. She kept up with my reading level, suggesting writers and…
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Julia Sneden Wrote: If The Shoe Fits … You Can Bet It’s Not Fashionable
Julia Sneden Wrote: My mother was a mini Imelda Marcos. She kept upwards of 40 pairs of shoes well into her 80’s, and was crushed when she had to give up high heels following a heart attack at the age of 89. Her sole criterion in buying shoes was style, not comfort, and she was…
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Joan L.Cannon Wrote: A Family Inheritance: More Than ‘Things’ … Emblems of Our Lives
Joan Cannon wrote: As one advances in years, one accumulates possessions the way a caddis fly larva accumulates grit. The glue that makes us carry it all along with us is in a way self-secreted as well. However, it’s psychic rather than physical — emotional rather than material. Perhaps the most obvious example is a…
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Julia Sneden Wrote: Old Dogs, New Tricks
Julia Sneden wrote: At the age of 37, I started a new career as a kindergarten teacher. My first day on the job, the lead teacher, who was in her 70’s and scared me every bit as much as she scared the children, watched me writing a note. “You’ll have to change the way you…
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Joan Cannon Writes: Finding the Right Excuse; Committing Words to Paper Because …
Joan Cannon Writes: Think of the poets and novelists and playwrights whose words sink into the consciousness of thousands and even millions and remain there, as emblems, guides, beacons of hope or warnings of disasters, and the excuse (as if one is needed) presents itself. Maybe there’s information or a revelation for some unknown viewer…
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Joan Cannon Asked: What is a Book Club? An Old-Fashioned Book Report? A Program Given By an Author? What Is the Accepted Practice?
Joan L. Cannnon wrote: A year or so ago, I was invited to attend a tea given by the combined membership of all the book clubs in the town where I now live. A presentation was scheduled for the proprietor of the much-loved local independent book store cum gift shop. She is a legend in…
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Food Secrets of Downton Abbey: When the Gravy Froze & Dropping Fake Prawns Onto the Dowager’s Lap
Think the actors get hungry sitting around the food hour after hour? While they usually only eat the foods like watercress or cucumber, Food Stylist Lisa Heathcote notes, “They do occasionally tuck in, depending upon how peckish they are, and where we are in the day.” She describes a typical menu at a house party:…
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Flu Predictions From Columbia’s Mailman School of Health & the CDC … The Season Is Upon Us
Website features: Interactive map of the United States that displays the relative severity of seasonal flu in 94 cities across the country; flu and incidence numbers for each. Influenza incidence predictions by city for the coming weeks; map that illustrates the proportion of flu cases by region.
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Olfactory Dysfunction is a Harbinger of Mortality: “We believe olfaction is the canary in the coalmine of human health”
For older adults, being unable to identify scents is a strong predictor of death within five years, according to a study published in the journal PLOS ONE. Thirty-nine percent of study subjects who failed a simple smelling test died during that period, compared to 19 percent of those with moderate smell loss and just 10…
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A Scout Report: ABT (Ballet), Bunraku, Nate Silver, Cuba in Revolution and The Search for Extraterrestial Life
The Great Debate features a video of a public debate between renowned SETI scientist, Dan Werthimer, and skeptic, Geoff Marcy. Each side presents evidence for why we should – or shouldn’t – believe that there really are other advanced civilizations in the Milky Way galaxy…”As we search for a universal language to communicate with civilizations…
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Bouquets: French Still-Life Painting from Chardin to Matisse, Floral Paintings With an Art Historical and Cultural Narrative
The Dallas Museum of Art exhibit traces the development of the floral still life from the late 18th century through the early 20th century, emphasizing the tremendous depth and scope of creative engagement with the genre throughout this era. The exhibition features more than 60 paintings by more than 30 artists, including renowned figures such…
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Just What Are Benzodiazepines, What Are Their Risks and Why Are Older People Its Greatest Users?
The study found that among all adults 18 to 80 years old, about 1 in 20 received a benzodiazepine prescription in 2008, the period covered by the study. Long-term use — a supply of the medication for more than 120 days — also increased markedly with age. Research has shown that benzodiazepines can impair cognition,…
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Some States Retreat on Mental Health Funding
The National Alliance on Mental Illness report states that 42.5 million Americans suffer from some sort of mental illness, 19.7 million have a substance abuse problem and 8.8 million report that they have seriously considered suicide. The MHA report also ranks the mental health of young people across the states. Vermont, North Dakota and Wisconsin…
