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Can the Simple Act of Storytelling Help Them Heal

When you have suffered a major setback, experienced betrayal or loss, what have you found brought you some relief? Did the ear of a friend help? Someone listening, not trying to solve your problem, but showing in their eyes that they care. They hear, and they care.
Telling our stories helps us heal. It releases some of the energy the experience created and begins to externalize the experience. In telling it, in giving the story to another, it is not ours alone (continue reading…)

Adriana Jenkins and the Case for Personalized Medicine

Adriana Jenkins had an intoxicating personality and lived every day to the fullest — until, earlier this year, when she died from a rare form of breast cancer at age 41. Adriana was in the prime of her life — she had a thriving career in biotech public relations, was an incredible artist and had an extensive network of friends, that to Adriana, were her family. I’m part of her family.
At age 32, Adriana was engaged to be married, getting ready to start a new job with an up-and-coming biotechnology company and excited for what was to be the best time of her life. And then came the phone call from her doctor that changed everything (continue reading…)

VICTORY Mississippi Trashes Personhood Nonsense

In what has been described as “the most conservative state in the union,” Mississippi voters last night defeated — no, trashed — the anti-stem cell, anti-freedom, anti-woman nonsense known as Initiative 26, the Personhood Amendment.
If ever there was a state religious extremists could control and dominate, Mississippi certainly seemed like it.
Even Republican Governor Haley Barbour, while admittedly having “concerns” about the initiative, caved to the pressure and voted for it.
No less a Republican luminary than Mitt Romney said he would sign a Constitutional amendment supporting the central tenet of Amendment 26:
The anti-research opposition had every advantage: funding, the use of certain churches for organizing centers, the backing of powerful Religious Right political groups like the Family Research Council, the support of the Republican hierarchy — even a few scared Democrats who temporarily forgot which side they were on — and the fact that no state has fewer advantages in terms of wealth or education.
But Mark Twain’s state prevailed. Mississippians came through for their state, our America, and the world.They saw through the shenanigans, and defeated Amendment 26 overwhelmingly, 55-45%.
One day, when a free Mississippi establishes a stem cell research center, dedicated to healing the sick, we should look back, and remember this day.
Thank you, Mississippi.

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Unintentional Innuendo What Is It and Are You Doing It Too

We all know how easy it is to damn someone with faint praise. When you describe a coworker as “not completely useless,” or a potential blind date as “decent enough looking, I guess,” other people understand immediately what you are really saying. Faint praise is generally used intentionally, to send a message. And that message is: steer clear of that one.
Why don’t we just come out and say what we really mean? The short answer is that there is an awful lot of social pressure to avoid directly criticizing other people (continue reading…)

Out of Control French Fries

By Kate Krader, Restaurant Editor, Food & Wine
Follow Kate on Twitter: @kkrader
When it comes to french fries, I’m pretty much a purist. I’m perfectly happy with the Thrice-Cooked Chips (translation: twice fried fries) at New York City’s Breslin. But for many, that’s way too simple. Let’s look at a few enterprising places that get creative with their fries.
Slideshow: Best Burgers in the U.S.
Thrasher’s French Fries, Ocean City, MD (continue reading…)

Pew Study Kids Are Mostly Kind to Others Online

Both adults and kids say “people are mostly kind” (Source: Pew Internet & American Life Project)
A just released study from the Pew Internet & American Life Project found that “69% of social media-using teens think that peers are mostly kind to each other on social network sites.”
The study, which wasunveiledWednesday at the annual Family Online Safety Institute (FOSI) conference in Washington, was conducted by Pew in partnership with FOSI and Cable in the Classroom. The researchers interviewed 799 teens and their parents via cell phone and landline earlier this year.
Even some of the bad news isn’t necessarily bad
In addition to the good news, there was what at first looks like a disturbing finding that “88% of teens have seen someone be mean or cruel to another person on a social networking site,” but on reflection, I actually don’t find that troubling.
Earlier this week I was in NewOrleansfor the International BullyingPreventionAssociation conference. As I walked down Bourbon Street in the famed French Quarter one evening, I saw a couple of overlyinebriated people yelling at each other in a mean way. They weren’t being mean to me, I wasn’t being mean to anyone and the vast majority of people around us (including many who were equallyinebriated) weren’t at all mean (continue reading…)

Are You Trying Too Hard to Make Your Kids Think Youre Cool

If you’re a parent and you’re over 50, your kids will not be duped into thinking you’re cool if you imitate their clothing style, adopt their slang and embrace their culture. Maybe you were hip in 1969 when you were rolling around in the mud at Woodstock, but the mere fact that you’re now over 50 means that achieving the level of coolness that your kids and their friends enjoy is an impossible goal for one reason – you’re over fifty. And yes, if you understood what I meant by the word “hip” you’ve just dated yourself.
For starters, please stop using the word “awesome” (continue reading…)

On Not Giving A Damn Sex Cougars And A Few Cues From The French

There’s a common refrain I always hear among women forty-five to fifty-plus. Never mind if we’re single, married with kids, or divorced with same. By the time we hit fifty most of us stop caring so much what so many people think of us. We flip our middle fingers at the shoulds and shouldn’ts that used to tyrannize us (continue reading…)

Occupy Your Next Vacation

Vacations, as we all know, cost money. And somebody benefits from the dollars we expend to “get away from it all.” So here’s my question: Would you rather line the pockets of the big corporations who run the major hotel chains, or would you instead like to use your buying power to support little guys who are trying to change the world?
For example, there’s a treehouse lodge in Laos — you have to zipline in to get there — where all proceeds go to save endangered singing gibbons. Or consider Lied Lodge, an eco-friendly spa in Nebraska, where 100 percent of profits benefit the National Arbor Day foundation. Likewise, Untours, a travel company in Pennsylvania, uses all its proceeds to fund low-interest, start-up loans to worthy organizations (continue reading…)

The Horror Of AirTran

This article was co-authored by Rahim Kanani and Tyler Moselle.
A few months ago, Tyler parked his Oldsmobile under a tree in Cambridge, MA, prompting countless birds to unleash hell. Soon after, we were driving around Logan Airport and Tyler slowed down at one of the terminals to ask a security guard for directions. The officer surveyed the filthy vehicle.
“You fellas must be lookin’ for AirTran,” he said.
We were, and that was just the beginning.
Tyler and I needed to fly as cheaply as possible from Boston to Washington and AirTran fit the bill. We arrived at Logan 90 minutes early to find that our flight had been delayed 5 hours (continue reading…)

Explaining What Fortunate Means

Ever try to explain a concept to your child and realize you are failing miserably?
This happens to me all the time.
Getting that glimpse of how differently they relate to the world is pretty special. It happened to me a few weeks ago…
My four-year-old and I went to the post office and I gave my change to a homeless man who always sits outside with a sign. On this particular day, my son questioned why I gave him my change.
At some point during the car ride home, I must have said something like “giving to those less fortunate” because hours later, that same night, the following conversation happened…
He asks me what “fortunate” means and I know immediately he is still thinking about the homeless man we encountered earlier.
He isn’t satisfied with a synonym like “lucky” which I attempt at first (continue reading…)

My Candidate Herman Cain

There is a saying that the third time is the charm. For presidential candidate Herman Cain it is not the third but the fourth time that he has stubbornly denied accusations of sexual harassment and refused to give up his political ambitions.
For a proud liberal like me, it is very disappointing. I had the Machiavellian hope that the pizza man’s political rise was not temporary and that, with a little bit of luck, he would end up being proclaimed the official presidential candidate of the glorious Republican Party.
With Herman Cain as the presidential candidate, according to my calculations, the reelection of President Barack Obama was more than probable. The electorate may have doubts about our current president in terms of economic policy, the number one concern of voters in the 2012 election, but can not be so politically blind if faced with an Obama versus Cain option.
But how can we save Cain after this one (continue reading…)

ASK A MEXICAN Special Mujer Edition

Dear Mexican: I am an Anglo intruder in New Mexico. When I moved to Albuquerque from Virginia, I fell in love with Mexican culture. I was impressed at what I called “Southwestern hospitality.” I have had so many second dinners when I go to people’s homes that I gained a few pounds within the first few months. To me, the words “laid back” or “easy going” describe perfectly the people I’ve met, here in New Mexico (continue reading…)

What Happened to Kim Kris Three Lessons from a Celebrity Flame Out Marriage

Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries’ celebrity marriage lasted exactly 72 days. After a huge blow-out “fairy tale” wedding and all the fanfare on TV and in the tabloids, the marriage lasted less than three months. What happened? And what relationship lessons can be learned?
Flame-out marriages a la Kim and Kris often come about because of unique and powerful pressures in celebrity marriages — pressures that are not apparent to the public. Kim has even said that conditions were “not ideal” for her relationship (continue reading…)

Dare I Stay in Touch With My Childs Ex

When your child goes through a divorce, you certainly wish to express loyalty and support to your own flesh and blood. But what if you have enjoyed a rich, mutually supportive bond with your child’s spouse over many years? Should you be expected to give this relationship up?
There is no clear-cut answer: the camps will be divided as to the proper protocol. And certainly, the way the parties address this sticky issue will dictate how the relationships evolve going forward.
You are now placed in the unenviable position of navigating a totally different relationship with the very person you may have treated like a son or daughter (continue reading…)

Dancing Under the Country Club Sprinklers

My mother, who I’ll never get used to writing about in the past tense, lived the American Dream trajectory. Raised on a Minnesota dairy farm, she was a student teacher in the bare schoolrooms of the Dakotas. Finishing her degree she ended up teaching in the Prairie State. She fell in love with her landlord in Vandalia a town where Lincoln is rumored to have jumped out of the courthouse to dodge an unfortunate vote.
There was only one telephone and it was in my dad’s room (continue reading…)

How to Manifest Your Desires

In this week’s vlog I riff on manifesting. The key to manifesting your desires is to tap into your love energy and inspiration. Energy attracts like energy. Therefore, if you feel the feelings of romantic love you’re attracting romance toward you — or if you feel abundant then you’re attracting more abundance (continue reading…)

Arizona Topples Senate President Russell Pearce SB 1070 Immigration Law Architect in Historic Recall Vote

MESA, AZ — In a stunning blow to the Tea Party movement, a huge turnout in Mesa’s conservative LD 18 overwhelmingly voted out Arizona’s hardline State Senate President Russell Pearce in a historic recall election today.
As the self-proclaimed “Tea Party President,” Pearce’s national role as the figurehead for punitive immigration measures also turned the recall election into a referendum on the state’s notorious SB 1070 “papers, please” immigration law, which Pearce had made the hallmark of his legislative career.
According to the Maricopa County Recorder Elections Department, Republican moderate and SB 1070 opponent Jerry Lewis overcame the Pearce campaign’s series of dirty tricks and election war chest to win 53.4% to 45.3%. in a contest that divided the city’s influential Mormon Church.
“This is a huge shift,” said Randy Parraz, co-founder of the Citizens for a Better Arizona, which organized the recall drive in one of the most conservative districts in the state (continue reading…)

Smile An Interview with Beach Boy Brian Wilson Plus Chatting with Andy Warhol Siren Ultra Violet and Boyz II Mens Exclusive Clip

A Conversation with Brian Wilson
Mike Ragogna: Brian how are you doing?
Brian Wilson: I’m good, what’s up with you?
MR: Right now, I’m about to do an interview that I’ve been looking forward to for quite a while now!
BW: Well, let’s go ahead with the interview.
MR: (laughs) Thanks. Brian, what was your vision with Smile?
BW: Early Americana, trying to capture the feeling of Americana and old days.
MR: What was the collaboration like between you and co-writer Van Dyke Parks?
BW: It was a thrill because he was very much a genius lyricist (continue reading…)

6 Reasons Mississippians Said No to Personhood Amendment

Only a few months ago strategists were urging their candidates in Mississippi to stay clear of the “Personhood” initiative they’d be sharing space with on the ballot. More than a few candidates, believing it was the only safe path, chose to take a public position in support of the measure defining human life as existing at the moment of conception (or cloning, or a twinkle in an eye). Disease, rape, incest not counting as exceptions. Nothing would (continue reading…)

Falling Through the Cracks in the Deficit Debate

Has the quest to solve the nation’s deficit problem caused some in Congress to lose common sense? It would seem that way, when the nation’s food and nutrition programs are threatened with potentially huge budget cuts affecting the lives of millions of vulnerable, struggling American families as Congress wrestles with deficit reduction recommendations.
Take WIC, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, for example. If you’re not familiar with WIC, you should be — it is without a doubt one of our country’s most important, impactful, and successful public health programs. It serves nearly 9 million mothers and young children monthly, including 53% of all infants and 25% of all pregnant women in the U.S.! WIC has a proven track record over more than 35 years of improving healthy pregnancies, birth outcomes, reducing infant mortality, and preparing kids ready to learn (continue reading…)

Its Simple Youre Either For the Bank Tax or Youre For the Banks

There’s talk that the president and other elected officials will try to tap the Occupy Wall Street movement’s energy to boost their campaigns. It’s good to see the rhetoric finally moving in the right direction. Even better, now there’s an easy way to prove it isn’t just election-year lip service: They can support the financial transactions tax being introduced in the Senate.
That should please the self-described “deficit hawks,” since it will put an estimated $350 billion on the government’s books (continue reading…)

Inspired Justice in a World of Tight Budgets

Crime and Justice budgets are thin but that doesn’t mean victims have to suffer. An inspiring story of “Can-Do” during this “Can’t Do” time. The lesson: Don’t wait for Washington to deliver.
A Golden Retriever named Lily patiently sits at the glass entryway of a red brick building tucked behind Good Samaritan Hospital in Rockland County, New York.
Lily is a specially trained therapy dog and she instinctively knows just what to do when the next troubled person arrives (continue reading…)

Some Memories of Hollywood Great Hal Kanter

The great writer/director/bon vivant wit Hal Kanter died on Sunday at the ripe old age of 92. And it got me to remembering, and I decided to share the thoughts with you.
Many of you will recognize the name of the creator of Julia, many Bob Hope films, and as a writer of so many Academy Award telecasts.
I have personal memories, though, and thought I’d expound on a few. In particular when I was on the Writers Guild of America West Board of Directors with Hal for two years in the early 90s, and he sat next to me for one of those years. He often pinch hit for me when I wanted a point made and I was on the minority side, as I knew Hal had more gravitas (continue reading…)