No more hair pulling?

From the NY Times:

EDUCATION | October 25, 2006
Federal Rules Back Single-Sex Public Education
By DIANA JEAN SCHEMO
The new rules will let school districts create single-sex schools and classes as long as enrollment is voluntary.

Not so fast

This story refers to the layoffs from 2004. But I'm sure there are more to come from this year's events.

From CBS Channel 11: Belo Corporation Accused of Age Discrimination

http://cbs11tv.com/local/local_story_297224148.html

More food for thought

From the NY Times:

BUSINESS / MEDIA & ADVERTISING | October 23, 2006
The Media Equation: Rachael Ray Gives the Gift of Time
By DAVID CARR
People are working longer and harder, allowing a woman who finds succor in store-bought pasta and canned broth to hit a sweet spot.

For all you advertising types ...

From the NY Times:

ARTS | October 22, 2006
The Starbucks Aesthetic
By SUSAN DOMINUS
Can the ubiquitous retailer be a serious cultural arbiter? Don’t laugh; you might spill that $6 Frappuccino.

Bath & Body Works' makeover

This made me laugh, because I just had the same experience.

From the DMN:

Makeup junkie: A Bath and Body Evolution
Thursday, October 19, 2006
By KAREN OSTERGREN / Special Contributor

In my pre-teen years, the best gift imaginable was anything from Bath & Body Works. In just a few birthdays, I accumulated more scented bath products than I could ever possibly use, and my interest waned. Years later, I find myself gravitating back, this time for high-end cosmetics brands like Vincent Longo and Biotherm. That's right, department store lines are now at Bath & Body Works. The company has been slowly revamping their product lines and updating their image. If you haven't ventured into their stores for a few years, you could be missing out.

Well, it's about time. Oi vey.

From the NY Times:

INTERNATIONAL / MIDDLE EAST | October 19, 2006
Israel Warriors Find Machismo Is Way of Past
By DINA KRAFT
The womanizing that used to be considered part of Israeli leaders’ mystique is now a crime.

Trick and treat? Yikes.

From the NY Times:

FASHION & STYLE | October 19, 2006
Good Girls Go Bad, for a Day
By STEPHANIE ROSENBLOOM
Some use Halloween as a “safe space,” a time to play with sexuality.

For parents or future parents ...

From the NY Times:

NEW YORK REGION | October 19, 2006
Preschoolers Grow Older as Parents Seek an Edge
By ELISSA GOOTMAN
Many parents in the N.Y. region are strategizing to keep children out of kindergarten until they are nearly 6.

Book club by proxy?

Hi all — I recently joined a book club through the Junior League, and I've been posting my own personal reviews of the books on this blog. If you're not in a book club or don't really have the time to commit to one, join ours by proxy. I'll post the book selection ahead of time, and we can have a discussion about it right here, but without the time constraint. I'll create a post where we can each add our comments/reviews, and it really won't matter when you finish the book.

What to read now: Traveling Mercies by Anne Lamott

Past selections:
- Entre Nous: A Woman's Guide to Finding Her Inner French Girl by Debra Ollivier
- The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

What the numbers say

From the NY Times:

NATIONAL | October 17, 2006
Married and Single Parents Spending More Time With Children, Study Finds
By ROBERT PEAR
Mothers are spending at least as much time with their children today as they did 40 years ago, and the amount of child care and housework performed by fathers has sharply increased, researchers say.

Book review

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

This book is about three years old and was a bestseller on all of the big lists. I just finished it, and after a pause for reflection, I still find that I have mixed emotions about it.

The concept is highly creative, original and well executed, and the writing is strong. You're engaged from the first page. It's pretty intellectual — with a wealth of cultural references, it will certainly put your general knowledge and education to the test.

The character development also gets high marks, though, by the end, it was hard to know if I actually liked any of the characters. While the author creates very authentic people in some regards (with all their pros and cons), she also makes them so morally ambivalent that it's difficult to always root for them, which is usually what you'd like to do when reading a love story. Henry reminds me of Holden Caulfield, and Clare seems to grow more like him as the book progresses. The characters definitely live for themselves — they don't face their issues in terms of contributing to the greater good — which lends a dark quality to the story and a feeling of it happening in a vacuum.

I think part of the issue is that the book is too long. There's plenty of graphically described action — it never lulls — but frankly, you're just worn out about 100 pages before it's over. Something happens right before the end that seems unnecessary and overly gory, and that's where it finally lost me. Also, the book builds and gets more intense with each scene causing you to expect a surprise ending, and yet it concludes rather quietly. The end was poignant, but also somewhat anti-climactic.

Still, it can be a good read, if you go in with the right expectations. It's an escape. It's entertaining, but not in an uplifiting way. It's a story. It's not a deep social commentary, though it has its moments. I came away wondering if Clare was the better or worse for having Henry in her life, and maybe that was the point. Perhaps that's the realistic element of love stories that never makes it into fairy tales.

Single? Then you're not alone.

Interesting stats from the NY Times.

NATIONAL | October 15, 2006
To Be Married Means to Be Outnumbered
By SAM ROBERTS
Married couples, whose share of American households has been declining for decades, have slipped into a minority.

A San Francisco treat

Here's how to visit San Francisco on a budget, courtesy of the NY Times.

TRAVEL | October 15, 2006
Affordable San Francisco
By GREGORY DICUM
For the cash-strapped tourist, 13 hotels for $200 a night or less and four restaurants that allow you to eat well on a budget.

Makes ya think ...

Courtesy of the NY Times:

HEALTH / MENTAL HEALTH & BEHAVIOR | October 10, 2006
Essay: Friends for Life: An Emerging Biology of Emotional Healing
By DANIEL GOLEMAN
Does human contact help people live longer?

Anyone else hear about this?

Story: Jacquielynn Floyd: Keillor's Dallas jabs read like fictional tale

Well, that's one way to handle it.

From NY Times

INTERNATIONAL / ASIA PACIFIC | October 5, 2006
Dead Bachelors in Remote China Still Find Wives
By JIM YARDLEY
To ensure a dead son’s contentment in the afterlife, some Chinese parents search out a dead woman to be his bride.

The incredible edible egg, anyone?

From the NY Times and the author of How to Cook Everything:

DINING & WINE | October 4, 2006
The Minimalist: Eggs Take Their Place at the Dinner Table
By MARK BITTMAN
Thanks to the popularity of salade lyonnaise and to chefs who have begun offering soft-cooked eggs in one form or another, we have come to reappreciate the egg at dinner.

Lessons from the Amish

No matter what a person's walk of life may be, I never cease to be amazed at displays of compassion in the face of tragedy. There's a link, but I cut and pasted two pertinent excerpts.

CNN.com - Amish grandfather: 'We must not think evil of this man' - Oct 4, 2006

A grieving grandfather told young relatives not to hate the gunman who killed five girls in an Amish schoolhouse massacre, a pastor said on Wednesday.

"As we were standing next to the body of this 13-year-old girl, the grandfather was tutoring the young boys, he was making a point, just saying to the family, 'We must not think evil of this man,'" the Rev. Robert Schenck told CNN.

"It was one of the most touching things I have seen in 25 years of Christian ministry."
-----------------------------------------------------

Jack Meyer, a member of the Brethren community living near the Amish in Lancaster County, said local people were trying to follow Jesus' teachings in dealing with the "terrible hurt."

"I don't think there's anybody here that wants to do anything but forgive and not only reach out to those who have suffered a loss in that way but to reach out to the family of the man who committed these acts," he told CNN.

Sam Stoltzfus, 63, an Amish woodworker who lives a few miles away from the shooting scene, told The Associated Press that the victims' families will be sustained by their faith.

"We think it was God's plan, and we're going to have to pick up the pieces and keep going," he told AP. "A funeral to us is a much more important thing than the day of birth because we believe in the hereafter. The children are better off than their survivors."

Thanks

Just wanted to thank you for sending the past two columns to No. 1 at DallasNews.com. Believe me, these things do not go unnoticed. Thanks much!

Something to think about

Incredible editorial by Tom Curley of the AP. It's on CNN.com: In Iraq, a journalist in limbo.

New column today

Hi, everyone! Check TDMN's lifestyles section, Solutions, or DallasNews.com/Solutions today to read a new column from me. It salutes one of my all-time favorite teachers.

Fortune's 50 Most Powerful Women of 2006

Check CNNMoney.com for the list and several other related features.