Monthly Archives: September 2012

Banned Book Week’s 30th Birthday

Posted on September 30, 2012 by

It’s the season pumpkins and apples, Octoberfests and harvests,  bonfires and hayrides.  And it’s Banned Book Week. What’s more, it’s the  American Library Association’s 30th Anniversary of celebrating not so much the freedom to read as the  perils of censorship. There’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, celebrations, Education, Reading, teaching, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Liebster & Lovely Blog Awards! Thanks!

Posted on September 25, 2012 by

Two blog friends have given me awards recently so I need to fulfill the requirements of each and pass the awards on to other bloggers. Thanks to Roger C. Colby, a teacher and novelist, who presented me with the Liebster … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing | Tagged , , , , | 14 Comments

Oliver Twist & Topdog/Underdog: Fables for Today?

Posted on September 24, 2012 by

Though I like to be entertained when I watch a movie or see a play, I don’t require that everything I watch ends happily or promises rosy futures. This weekend I swallowed a double dose of dark drama that reminded … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, commentary, Reading, reviews, Theater, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Grandma Diary: Pumpkins & Apples

Posted on September 20, 2012 by

On the way to the pick-your-own farm, we saw two police cars. I’d picked Simon up from daycare to go pumpkin and apple picking. “Who made the light flash?” Toddlers would make great reporters. Every question is a why, what, … Continue reading →

Posted in environment, Family, food, Grandchildren, holidays, Judaism, Trees | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 31 Comments

“Liberal Arts” The Movie; Liberal Arts in Life

Posted on September 16, 2012 by

“What do you do with a degree in religious studies?” my dinner companion asked, referring to his son, a Kenyon College senior and friend of my daughter’s, an American Studies major. “Get a job, we hope,” I said. We were … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, daughters, Education, Family, Movies & TV, parenting, Reading, reviews, teenagers, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

My Fashion Dilemma: A Full Closet, Yet Nothing to Wear!

Posted on September 14, 2012 by

It’s Fashion Week in New York City. Newspapers and television are sharing bits of the runway; outfits on tall, thin models that I always wonder who buys. My closet is full yet I have nothing to wear. Not literally of … Continue reading →

Posted in Fashion, New York City | Tagged , , , , | 18 Comments

Cycling Civil War Sites

Posted on September 11, 2012 by

The line to enter the designated parking area snaked around the corner, down the street.  Waiting would have put us about 30 minutes behind so we parked nearby in a restaurant lot, already inhabited by cars with bike racks. My … Continue reading →

Posted in bike riding, Books, Cycling, exercise, sports, travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

Are Robots Eating Our Jobs? Interview with David Brancaccio

Posted on September 7, 2012 by

You wouldn’t think that someone who has traveled around the world, talking to people, gathering stories, would volunteer to drive his first car trip across the United States, determined to not say a word. Or handle money. Or engage in … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, commentary, Education, interviews, Movies & TV, travel, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Grandma Diary: Sand & Water, Mulch & Mowing, Yoga & French Toast!

Posted on September 6, 2012 by

  Sunday is National Grandparents Day, a holiday created in the US in 1978. It’s also National Yoga Month.  We celebrated both last weekend. We convinced our eldest son and his wife to not try to toilet train our nearly three- … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, exercise, Family, food, Grandchildren, holidays, Trees | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

War on Women: Can it get any Scarier?

Posted on September 4, 2012 by

Before Missouri Republican Senatorial candidate Todd Akin made his oxymoronic  comment  “legitimate rape,” the talk of the table, when our daughter and her friends gathered,  was Anne Marie Slaughter’s  Atlantic article,  about whether women can have it all. My daughter, … Continue reading →

Posted in commentary, daughters, Education, Fashion, health, Movies & TV, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments