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McCain Smear Campaign: Why Do We Care?

2008-02-25T14:34:00.000-05:00

It is almost old news, having been blasted all over CNN, NBC, CBS and more. It is supposedly sensational, having been broken by the formerly austere New York Times. Yet, people are still getting their panties or boxers in a twist over Republican front runner John McCain.
You know the details: John McCain is purported to have had a relationship with a telecommunications lobbyist, Vicki Iseman, as long as nine years ago. Nine years!
Both parties have denied the sentimental relationship but whether it is true or not, the question remains, loud and clear: who cares? (read on...)

Of Superstitions, Odd Beliefs and Various Miscellanea

2008-02-19T14:56:00.000-05:00

Virtually every community within society at large subscribes to some type of strange belief, superstition, unfounded fear or simply warnings. Some of those I grew up with stemmed from the deep, enigmatic pages of the Jewish Talmud. Others, from my father's Slavic roots or our Italian neighbor's parents.

1. Pregnant women should not step on fingernails for it may lead to miscarriage or other harm to the unborn baby. This is discussed in the Talmud, and Jewish law warns that cut fingernails should be burned or buried. Standard practice in our home was to flush them down the toilet, which is an adequate way of disposing them. (read more)

How to Go to the Mall with Your Baby

2008-02-19T11:17:00.000-05:00

So your baby is six months old already (when did that happen?) and you haven't yet been to the mall. Not the strip mall with the boring supermarket and flower store, but the mall mall, one of those enclosed chicken pens which make America a great place to live in. You stopped going when you were eight months pregnant because you found you were spending more time in the bathroom than in DSW. Plus, it wasn't as if you could fit into anything that wasn't in Mimi's Maternity! Once baby came along, you restricted your car trips due to the heavy volume of desperate crying in the backseat. Furloughs to the grocery store, pharmacy or doctor became your daily adventures: lock the car seat into it's base, hop into driver's seat, wait for high pitched cry. Sing at the top of your lungs (read on)

Your First Place: Cleaning Tips

2008-02-18T15:08:00.000-05:00

So you've moved into your first apartment, condo, house, or other. Congratulations! After the obligatory house warming party and a week of settling in, it is time to tackle one of life's inevitable truths: You've got to keep your place clean!

Aside for the regular dust bunnies or spills on the dining room table, there are some new territories to explore. Exciting, isn't it? Here is a list of a couple of hot spots along with some cleaning tips.

Garbage Can: The trash receptacle, as it oftentimes prefers to be called, magically swallows all you throw at it. Garbage pails are your friends, and you must treat them well by lining them with bags and emptying them once in a while. Once a day is preferred, but hey, if you prefer to wallow in the smell of rotting banana peels it's really none of my business. But what I'm really getting at is this: you need to actually scrub that thing clean once in a while. Yep, you heard me. Various odors and spills will collect in your garbage bin, awarding your kitchen with the faint aroma of decay and deterioration. So once every few months yank the bag out and take the can to your shower or bathtub-con-shower (read on)

Symptoms of Pregnancy: Understand Early Signs and Conditions of Being Pregnant

2008-02-06T19:49:00.000-05:00

On a late December day, one year ago, I realized I had missed my menstrual period, something that had never occurred before. This was accompanied by my infallible gut feeling that told me I was pregnant. Brilliant, aren't I?

I was also more tired than usual. Medical textbooks will tell you that fatigue is a common sign of early pregnancy. The sleepiness is caused by increased production of a hormone called progesterone. This symptom will likely return in late pregnancy.

Friends of mine have reported additional early pregnancy symptoms such as breast tenderness and dizziness. Women who are more in tune with their bodies will likely experience more symptoms even before receiving (read on)

Elisa's Chicken Salad Recipe

2008-01-31T17:08:00.000-05:00

It is well known that Chicken salad recipes are very hot diet items world over. They're all doing the chicken salad, so hurry, do not dilly dally, grab your best knife and jump on the chicken salad bandwagon while you can! As an aside, allow me to specify that chicken cutlets are not exclusively diet foods - schnitzel, anyone?- and are gladly enjoyed by people all across the weight chart. I would know. Humph!
(Read on for recipe)

On Parenthood and Life Changes

2008-01-31T09:28:00.000-05:00

In the alternate universe that is motherhood, you are suddenly as visible as a Victoria's Secret billboard on the West Side Highway. Only, it's not you people notice, but your delightful offspring.

'How cute' they chortle in the supermarket line. 'Look at those eyes!' Yes ma'am, I do look at them often, thank you for pointing them out. 'Oh what a sweet boy!'

It's a girl, you absolute bonehead! Must I dress her in pink for the rest of her life for your benefit?

After all the compliments and tongue clicks, you must passively nod and listen to a combination of wistful memories and mommy tips. 'Two months? How I miss that age! I have teenagers' I smile demurely in false commiseration, as if I care, when all I want is for my baby to nap for more than 30 minutes so I can finally tackle that nasty rim in the bathtub. (Read more)

Employee Handbook - Looking Out for Workplace Violence

2007-07-11T09:38:00.000-05:00

The Virginia Tech shooting tragedy has once again raised America's and the world's awareness of possibly unstable individuals in school and in the workplace. The grim reality is that any one person could snap at any given time and businesses are not going to hire psychologists to sit on premises and assess all employees from CEO to janitor. However, following the VA Tech episode many companies have circulated lookout guidelines, hoping to catch a shooter before he or she goes too far.

In our time, awareness often turns into excessive madness as the line between healthy apprehension or alertness and paranoia is too often blurred. To Illustrate this point...(Read On)

A City Girl in Small Town America

2007-07-05T16:15:00.000-05:00

It wasn't until I moved into a small town in New York State that I became aware of the true implications of living outside a metropolis like New York. Growing up in Europe, I was well aware of the basic facts: Americans drive everywhere, they live far from the stores, they never get to walk and that's why they're so fat (sorry, weight challenged).

(Read more...)

Little Known Facts: Cottonelle Toilet Paper

2007-01-26T12:01:00.000-05:00

Little known Fact: Cottonelle toilet paper and tissues are widely sold in Italy as well. That wasn't the little known fact, here it comes. Over ten years ago, concerned was expressed regarding the name Cottonelle: it appeared to be misleading, since the product advertised was not Cottone (cotton in Italian). In an effort to reach to consumers and possibly avoid lawsuits, Cottonelle importers inserted contest slips in all tissue boxes and toilet paper packages.
The contest: find a new name for Cottonelle and win a large amount of money in golden coins.
Read More

Going to Europe: Tips for Tourists

2006-12-19T17:20:00.000-05:00

Tip #1: Remember the time difference. This is not a rhetorical recommendation, for sometimes, in the heat ofpreparations, future travelers tend to forget about minor details such as time zones, and end up calling people in Europe when it is only 4:00AM there, thus leaving a very bad preliminary impression. Please remember there is a big world out there, and it's not all in American. Which leads me to my next tip...

Tip #2: Announcing you are American will not always cause Europeans to trip all over each other trying to touch your saintly hand. (Read why...)

Top Gaffes of 2006: Bad Role Models

2006-12-18T18:03:00.000-05:00

I wouldn't want to be an American child in the year 2006. For one, I wouldn't be able to move around in school, out of fear of getting suspended for firing a paper clip at the janitor. I also wouldn't be able to feel too safe anymore, thanks to terror alerts. But most of all, I really really would hate to have the following over hyped people as role models:

Britney Spears: You know I was going to mention her. In 2005, Britney proclaimed: "In the future, I will refrain from discussing my private life in interviews. It will be expressed solely through art."

Of course it will, Britney, of course it will. The art of bad child rearing, the art of constantly making the wrong choices in your personal life, the art of conveniently forgetting to wear panties.

Mark Foley: Foley is a bad role model because of his (read on)

Free Stuff I've Received Through Slickdeals.net

2006-12-13T12:51:00.000-05:00

The Slickdeals.net freebie forum is one of the most addictive on the web. No matter the income or lifestyle, everybody loves freebies. Plodding through the forum requires sifting through the necessary (cosmetics, cleaning supplies, foods) and unnecessary (odd DVDs, perfume samples which basically are lift and sniffï )

Of course, freebie addiction is bad if you (continue)

BuonItalia- Best Italian Food Store in NYC

2006-12-11T19:02:00.000-05:00

One of the most authentic Italian botteghe in New York can be found in Chelsea Market, which consists of a series of specialty shops enclosed in a building not far from the West Side Highway, in the Chelsea neighborhood.

I came across BuonItalia on a Google search for Italian Sweet Olives, a favorite of mine. Everything is to be found in New York City, including Italian food imports, but copycats abound. Fortunately, at BuonItalia I was able to purchase the same brands I find in Rome.

As you enter the store,(Continue)

Children and Sexual Identity- New York Times Controversy

2006-12-08T09:16:00.000-05:00

Young children love to play dress-up. Many children tend to dress more boyishly or girly, some little girls will vehemently refuse to wear dresses. We all used to see this as normal, a whim that would pass in half a year or so. As a teacher I sometimes noticed that the parents themselves unknowingly influenced the child’s wardrobe decisions (Barbara doesn’t like dolls? What a tomboy! She probably abhors skirts, lets buy her pants only…subsequently Barbara is viewed as a tomboy, without her input or consent due to her age). (Read on...)

Brides Wear Biodegradable Maize Dress

2006-12-07T15:07:00.000-05:00

Corny dresses coming soon!

An eco-conscious Italian designer, by name of Franco Francesca, has created a bridal gown that is entirely made of maize. Twenty-Five Kilograms of maize were used to create eight meters of fabric: that's 55 pounds of maize for 26.25 feet.
This wonder of a dress (continue)

What do Jews do on Christmas Eve?

2006-12-06T16:37:00.000-05:00

You already know the answer: they go to the movies. I have my heart set on 'Blood Diamond' and my husband would love to see 'Turistas'.

What else do Jews do on December 25th?

Let My People Go is an organization that sets out to prepare "the Nation's Biggest Jewish Singles Events" on Christmas eve and other dates. (Continue)

10 Ways to Survive in Brooklyn

2006-12-05T19:12:00.000-05:00

1. If you live anywhere but Park Slope or Brooklyn Heights, adopt an accent. Purely American accents are as rare in Brooklyn as American flags are in Riyadh. Depending on the area you live in, you could try for Italian, Chinese, Puerto Rican, West Indian, Ghetto, Yiddish, Israeli, Indian, Arabic or Russian. Should you wish to optimize your accent, you could always consult a specialist in order to try and get that Syrian parlance just right. You wouldn't want anyone to think you're from Beirut now, would you? (Read on...)

School Exams and Nutrition: Optimize Your Diet Before Tests

2006-12-04T17:44:00.000-05:00

Once again we turn to Italy for nutrition advice. Italians may have a reputation for laziness and inefficiency, but they do go through intensive school cycles. After five years of high school, students must past the ‘Esami di Maturita’, or maturity exams, which cover astronomical amounts of material. Nutrition advice given to these students in preparation for the tests might serve as an eye opener for high school and college students worldwide (read more)

Exit Thanksgiving, Enter Christmas

2006-12-03T09:34:00.000-05:00

I'm so glad Thanksgiving is over. No longer are big fat turkeys staring at me from the bus stop billboard. No more intelligent TV discussion about the merits and demerits of this holiday. No more arguments about religion vs. state. No more recipe swapping and gift buying. I ask you, since when must every holiday be an occasion to exchange gifts? Enter the opportunist sales industry: (read on)

Homeschooling Our Children and the Dumbing Down of Public Schools

2006-12-03T09:32:00.000-05:00

The decision to home school children does not come easy to most parents. The social school environment is impossible to reproduce, and many children who are home schooled probably feel somewhat removed from the general society. Of course, many homeschoolers find friends in the various after school activities (continue)

Men and Women: The Naked Truth

2006-11-29T08:03:00.000-05:00

Men and women are not born equal, any child could tell you that. However, an opinionated adult would tell you that men and women are indeed born equal, but social conditioning causes them to play different roles and act and react in different manners.

While I do believe that society has long had a part in the forming of gender roles, I am also sure of the fact that there are many inborn behaviors and tendencies that will always be sitting right there in the gap between woman and man. (Continue)

Top Weekly Diet Tip: Licorice Root

2006-11-28T10:15:00.000-05:00

Licorice is widely used not only as candy, but as a herbal remedy. The Chinese include licorice in herbal medicines used for digestion or subduing inflammations. Licorice root is also used as a dietary supplement for sore throats, ulcers and bronchitis. It has also been known to alleviate PMS symptoms. (Read more)

Breast Cancer Tied to Too Much Red Meat in Study

2006-11-22T14:39:00.000-05:00

A study by Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School of Boston claims a connection between a diet filled with read meats and the possibility of developing a breast tumor for pre-menopause women.

The researchers followed over 90,000 women from 1989 to 2003 and reached the conclusion that (continue)

How Americans Are Being Duped by the Importing Business

2006-11-21T10:05:00.000-05:00

The San Benedetto brand bottles very good water. It is not the highest ranking in Italy, but it is way above the likes of plebeian Acqua Panna. Which is why I can’t understand why both these brands sell for up to $40.00 a case in the unites states.
I said $40.00 a case! Italian water is being sold at the price of gold, and Americans are lapping it up, pardon the expression. Continue...

Effigy of American Soldier Burned in Rome

2006-11-19T16:37:00.001-05:00

Thousands of Italian pacifists demonstrated for peace in the Middle East last week.
In the northern city of Milan, 50,000 marched in the city center, their slogans calling for a two-state solution in Israel. There were no incidents in Milan, but in Rome, the capital city of Italy, things took an ugly turn.

20,000 demonstrators (read the rest)

Why You Should Watch the Borat Movie

2006-11-19T15:19:00.000-05:00

Warning: possible spoilers.

Why should you, a respectable grown family oriented adult, go to see the Borat movie?
The movie is really funny. As in laugh-out-loud-in-a-theater-while-you-usually-are-that-person-who-glares -at-loud-theater -laughers funny.

I happen to be one of those people who (read more)

Elisha Cuthbert Rages, the Girl Next Door Turns Sour

2006-11-19T15:18:00.000-05:00

According to TMZ.com, Elisha Cuthbert lashed out at a parking valet on November 13th, chastising him for bringing her the wrong keys.

Did I say chastised? Elisha allegedly exploded in a fit of rage, shouting 'These are not my keys!' , scaring the wits out of the worker. The poor valet must have cursed his stars and then some.
In the words od TMZ: Cuthbert quickly went from smiles to a fit of rage as she had to wait for the keys to her Porsche, screaming, "These aren't my keys!" and flailing around the wrong set in anger.

Elisha is only (continue)

Death of the Board Game

2006-11-19T15:16:00.000-05:00

Growing up in the 80’s, board games were an essential part of our childhood. We had no TV, and recreational activities included climbing trees in the park, construction games, imagination games such as ‘Travel Agency’, ‘bake nasty cookies‘, or ‘pinch your younger sister‘, and of course, board games.

Some board games were more expensive than others, and (read more)

Curse of the Bond Girl, Superman Death Sentence

2006-11-19T11:19:00.000-05:00

Eva Green, an acclaimed French actress, stars in the new release of Casino Royale. Director Martin Campbell had trouble finding a blonde Bond Girl. Actresses notoriously shy away from the role, convinced that it has certain stigma attached to it. In fact, it is popular belief that (get more)

Woman Killed in Sderot Israel was Muslim

2006-11-19T11:04:00.000-05:00

Sderot is an Israeli town not far from the Gaza strip, and it has been under constant attack for years. Kassam rockets are regularly fired from Gaza, piercing roofs of schools and synagogues, shattering stores and injuring and killing residents.

The Israeli evacuation of the territories in the Gaza strip has acerbated the conflict
continue

Modern Heroes: Primo Levi - Survivor, Chemist and Author

2006-11-19T11:00:00.000-05:00

Primo Levi was a quiet, studious character who ended up in Auschwitz as a result of his work for the Italian resistance. Betrayed by a fascist who had been posing as one of Levi’s group, Primo reportedly chewed up and swallowed his list of resistance allies.
Read more »