Blog Archive

When “I Can’t” Becomes “No One Should”

I hate Jersey Shore. I saw it just one time, when my daughter was watching the first episode and I happened to be in the room. I found the people horrifying, and the very idea that…

Ditch the penny – yea or nay?

Canada’s getting rid of the penny, and all I can say is it’s about blooming time. I’ve experienced what I consider two sides of fiscal portability – one year in France, and two years in New…

Not My Mother's Bean Salad

My mother loved to make three-bean salad. The minute it turned warm this dish began appearing on our dinner table as a regular side dish. Now don’t get me wrong; my mother was a wonderful cook.…

Pandora’s Box: 50 Shades of Grey

For those who’ve remained blissfully unaware, 50 Shades of Grey is the latest publishing phenom. Discussed obsessively everywhere from the Today show to Newsweek, the plot can be teased in just a few sentences: Christian Grey is…

Romance and Cultural Expectations

Recently I have started volunteering as an advocate for Sexual Assault Crisis Response group in my community. Since I believe the more information and training I have the more effective I can be, I dragged myself…

Earworm of the day: Bruch's Adagio

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZjw9pN0kX0Can classical music provide earworms? For me, it can. I end up humming or whistling the melody for days, which can be awkward, as there’s usually a much larger range of tones to be covered, and…

eReading Survey

The must-have device for readers these days seems to be an e-reader whether Kindle, Nook, Sony, BeBook, or other dedicated reader. For those who want to do more than simply read on a device, there are…

Playing with Paper

I love stationery, always have. Initially, I began with just cards – birthday cards, the just because funny Hallmark cards, Christmas cards. Then I began a love affair with stationery sets – pretty matching paper and…

Speaking of Audiobooks: Friends Helping Friends

There’s a definite methodology to finding an audiobook that fits your tastes.  If you don’t subscribe to that theory, you may liken the entire hunt for a successful audio experience to finding a needle in a…