I wrote earlier about research concerning women who avoid highly competitive careers in order to raise a family. (Blog 1/29/15) Others have chosen differently, deciding to remain childless so they can compete in those challenging jobs. The decision to have a child or not can b
James Cuno, President and CEO of the J. Paul Getty Trust writes in “Cultural War,” that when Turkey’s Minister of Culture, Ertugrul Gunay, suggests “each and every antiquity in any part of the world should eventually go back to its homeland,” the gentleman is in error. (F
Though I am a self-proclaimed feminist, I discovered recently that the majority of my readers are men. The division between the sexes isn’t large but enough to surprise me. True, I don’t target a specific audience with my blogs. I write what interests me and hope others will
A writer, sitting alone with a computer, lives a courageous life. It begins with an internal struggle to manage thoughts, to edit fearlessly and then expose the work to the public where it will be praised, ridiculed or ignored. I think Harper Lee at 82 is remarkably brave to come
One day at lunch, recently, a resident at the retirement center where I live was kind enough to compliment me on my play, Woman on the Scarlet Beast, which she’d seen the previous night. Her companion hadn’t attended the performance but was quick to remind me that my small trium
I’ve written a good deal about the impact of robots and the electronic world on everyday life. (Most recently Blogs 10/2/14,10/15/2/2/15) Like Bill Gates, who helped develop and advance computer technology, I fail to understand why people aren’t more worried about where it is
Being poor in America isn’t for the faint of heart. You need your wits about you because you can’t afford a doctor if you get sick or a lawyer if you get scammed. One of the biggest predators of the disadvantaged, along with pay day loan sharks, are for profit schools. The
The Sun, a British newspaper, has laid to rest a long time tradition: the Page 3 girls. For the last 45 years, every Monday, loyal fans turned to page 3 to be “greeted with a photo of a smiling, topless model.” (“The News,” The Week, January 30, 2015 pg. 14.) But no more
A recent essay by Christopher Beha in Harper’s compares the literary criticism of Lionel Trilling (1905-75), who reigned in the mid-twentieth century, with that of contemporary critic, James Wood. (1965 -) Trilling judges a work based upon its the effect on the reader. Wood, h
Ralph Douthat of The New York Times raises a question worth considering. Can we defend free speech without weakening it by carving out exceptions? (“Je Suis Charlie! Testing the limits of free speech, The Week, January 21,2015 pg. 16.) Some prominent universities that purport t