My reason...err, excuse for not being on here

I really have slacked off on writing or posting things here on my blog lately. For the few people who actually read this, I apologize. Believe it or not though, there is actually someone other than myself to blame for my absence. Her name is Angenette Crawford-Sharp. She is my wife. For the last four-and-a-half years, she has been a Middle School Science Teacher. the most dedicated, almost to a fault, Middle School Science Teacher that any school, student or parent could hope to have. She was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING at what she did. Unfortunately, that meant at times that our children and I went on the back burner.

The woman has boundless energy. She was getting up at 4:45 am so that she could get dressed and be at the bus stop by 5:46 am. She would ride the bus to the Transit Center where she would transfer to the bus that would take her down the street that her school was on. This entire process lasted until roughly 6:30 am. You have to understand that this was late by her standards. Before we lost our car, and she was able to drive to work, she was there at 6:00 am so that she could have "ample" time to set-up for the day. The roughly 45 minute travel time which that time of the morning would take about 12 minutes in a car was a real cramp to her style.

The school day actually started at 8:30 am and would last until 4:00 pm. During that time she would teach 5 classes and end the day by conducting a meeting because she was the Team Lead. She attended countless meetings on her team and departments behalf and relayed that information to her constituents in a timely and efficient manner. She handled all discipline issues and discipline referrals for her team. She coordinated field trip and PRO activities with the other 8th grade team and their team lead. She also worked very hard to coordinate her lessons with the other 8th grade Science teacher. All the while, he made no attempt to do the same. Last but not least, there were the parent contacts. I would guess that she spent a third of her day emailing or calling parents. She talked to them about their child's grades and what it would take for them to get the grade that the parent wanted. She talked to them about their child's discipline or more appropriately put, lack thereof.

Busy day right? I get exhausted just thinking about it. Guess what though. It is just getting started. At  the end of each day, she would hitch a ride home with a co-worker of her's who lives on our side of town. At this point you may be wondering why she didn't catch a ride with that person in the morning to avoid having to get up so early and ride the bus. The answer is fairly simple. That person did not get to school early enough to allow my wife the time that she needed to prepare for her students and her day.

Once she arrived home, I would immediately run out the door and head to work. Which left her at home alone 4 out of 5 weeknights. From the time she walked in the door, she would entertain our children who would cling to her from the moment that she walked in the door until the moment that their head hit the pillow that night. She fed them a snack even though most days I had just given them a snack. She prepared dinner and had it on the table at 6:00 pm every night. She bathed them, read to them and then put them down to bed at 8:30 pm.

It was at this point, nearly 16 hours into her day, that she would take a shower, and get herself ready for bed. But only so that she could sit in bed, surrounded by papers and projects that she was grading and lessons that needed prepared for the next day. A few times, I would come in the door between 10:30 pm and 12:30 am and find her slumped over in this pile of papers asleep. But most of the time, she was still hard at it, insisting that she "finish looking over one last classes" assignments for that day.

It wasn't until I turned the light off and insisted that she lay down that she finally conceded that the day was in fact over. This generally happened around 1:30 am. Only so that she could get up and do it all over again in roughly 3 hours.

You may or may not have noticed that my last blog entry was posted on June 3rd. My wife's last day of the school year was on June 4th. Since that day, I have delighted in every moment that I have been able to spend with her and our children Lauryn and Ben. Especially her. I am attempting to make up for the lost "us" time that we missed over the last 4 and a half years. And that friends, is why I haven't posted a blog entry for the last 13 days. I have been spending time with my wife.

I will do my very best in the coming days and weeks to do better about posting on here. I must warn you though. I don't anticipate my wife starting her new job as a Nursing Assistant until mid to late July. So, if my entries are sparse in the time in between, I do hope that you understand. :)

Golden Girls Star Rue McClanahan Dies at 76

Golden Girl Rue McClanahan has died at the age of 76.

"She passed away at 1 a.m. this morning," her manager, Barbara Lawrence, tells PEOPLE. "She had a massive stroke."

McClanahan, who played man-happy Blanche Devereaux on the still-popular '80s sitcom Golden Girls, had suffered a minor stroke earlier this year while recovering from bypass surgery. Lawrence adds that at the time of her death Thursday, McClanahan “had her family with her. She went in peace."

Still in syndication, Golden Girls ran on NBC from 1985 to 1992. Only last year, McClanahan's costar, Beatrice Arthur, died from cancer. Estelle Getty died in 2008. Surviving star Betty White, 88, is currently enjoying a remarkable resurgence in her career, having recently hosted Saturday Night Live.

Born in Healdton, Okla., Rue lived in six towns by the time she was 8. Her father was a road builder who moved from one project to another. She found solace in acting ("the only thing I ever wanted to do") and after four years at the University of Tulsa moved to New York, where she worked as a part-time file clerk while trying to find jobs in the theater.

Her first job was off Broadway, in 1957, and she finally hit Broadway in 1969. TV work came from soap operas, until she made it on CBS's Maude, starring Beatrice Arthur, starting in 1972. She played Maude's best friend Vivian.

But it was Golden Girls that put her on the map and led to fame, fortune – and several husbands. In all, she had six, including actor Morrow Wilson, whom she wed in 1997 and who survives her, as does a son, Mark Bish, from her first marriage.



Credits: Charlotte Triggs and Stephen M. Silverman, PEOPLE

Doodle 4 Google: 9-year-old's drawing hung on the biggest fridge of them all

Just days after its wildly successful Pac-Man logo, Google has changed its banner once again. Today, the company turns to budding artist Makenzie Melton, the 9-year-old winner of this year's Doodle 4 Google contest.

The annual competition collects thousands of student submissions and millions of votes from Google users. Poll results crowned Makenzie, a third grader from El Dorado Springs, Mo. Along with the honor of ruling Google's homepage for a day, Makenzie will receive a $15,000 college scholarship, a new computer, and $25,000 for her school to build a new computer lab.

Makenzie says that her Doodle 4 Google drawing, called "Rainforest Habitat,” aims to raise awareness that "the rainforest is in danger and it is not fair to the plants and animals. I love everything except spiders and snakes, but I would still save them.”

While the contest is open to students in kindergarten through grade 12, elementary schoolers have dominated the competition. Both of the previous Doodle 4 Google winners were in sixth grade.

Today's special logo shows again that Google is committed to increasingly frequent novelty banners. Before Pac-Man (which you can still play for free, by the way), there was the Tchaikovsky dancers, the Thumbelina flipbook, the Topeka April Fools' joke, and several others – all within a month of each other.

Credits: Chris Gaylord, Christian Science Monitor

Man Uses Helium Balloons To Cross English Channel

In a goofy yet mesmerizing stunt, an American adventurer crossed the English Channel on Friday carried by a bundle of helium balloons, ending a quiet and serene flight by touching down in a French cabbage patch.

Jonathan Trappe, 36, of Raleigh, North Carolina, was strapped in a specially equipped chair below a bright cluster of balloons when he lifted off early Friday from Kent, in southeast England.

About five hours later, he lowered himself into a French field by cutting some of the balloons away.

"It was just an exceptional, quiet, peaceful experience," Trappe told Sky News television, which covered the adventure.

Asked why he went, Trappe replied: "Didn't you have this dream, grabbing on to a bunch of toy balloons and floating off? I think it's something that's shared across cultures and across borders — just this wonderful fantasy of grabbing on to toy balloons and floating into open space."

However, the channel crossing wasn't a matter of just grabbing a few balloons. Trappe says on his website that he made a scouting trip in March and gained clearance from French and British aviation authorities and from customs and immigration offices on both sides.

His equipment list didn't stop at balloons and a chair, but included an aircraft transponder, oxygen system, aircraft radios, emergency locator beacon, in-flight satellite tracking and a radio tracker.

"He had all the correct authorization and I believe he even gave something to the owner of the land where he came down by way of damages," said a spokesman for French police.

Last month, Trappe claimed the record for the longest free-floating balloon flight after spending 14 hours blowing in the wind over North Carolina and traveling 109 miles. On another flight, his website says he ascended to 17,930 feet, just below controlled airspace.

"There are risks and we work to methodically reduce the risk so we can have a safe and fun flight," said Trappe, who is certified for balloon flight by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration. "Because really it's only about dreams and enjoying an adventure, and that's only enjoyable when it is safe."

His crossing was much less eventful than the first balloon crossing of the English Channel in 1785.

The pioneering French balloonist Jean-Pierre Francois Blanchard and John Jeffries, an American doctor who paid for the flight, set off in a hydrogen balloon which started leaking in flight. The pair dumped all their ballast and most of their clothes into the water and just managed to stay airborne and land in Calais.

Credits: NPR

Vice President Hillary Clinton?

Reading tea leaves is not science. And what I'm about to discuss is an epic tea-leaf read. But it could make for an interesting strategy for 2012. Suspend a little disbelief and read on.

Here's the background. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton hasn't spoken much on domestic policy since she took the foreign affairs gig. For someone so vocal during the campaign, it's been clear she's purposely sticking to her charter and staying out of domestic affairs.

Yesterday, according to Ben Smith at Politico.com, Hillary spoke to the Brookings Institution on national security strategy. That's exactly what you'd expect from SecState.

But then she took an interesting foray into domestic affairs by saying, "The rich are not paying their fair share in any nation that is facing the kind of employment issues..."

The comment itself is what got Politico's attention, but her rare move into domestic policy is what caught mine. Although Mrs. Clinton prefaced her statement by saying it was her personal opinion, that made it even more interesting.

Why would she say such a thing when she's been so disciplined about her messaging? Especially with China and Korea heating up, the Middle East still simmering, and all sorts of other threats and risks across the world - why would she move to the topic of wealth disparity?

Well, here's one idea. What if she's getting ready to go back on the domestic stage? How could it possibly make sense for her or for President Obama?

Here's how: Obama/Clinton 2012.

Think about it. For many true believers, it was the dream team to end all dream teams in 2008, but instead Barack chose Biden. There were many reasons, including Biden's clear foreign policy experience. But another was Obama really couldn't take a chance on being upstaged by Hillary before he'd proven he could be President. And then, of course, there was the Bill Factor.

But all that's changed now. Obama's been President and he's 99.9% likely to be the Democratic candidate in 2012.

Joe Biden hasn't distinguished himself - he hasn't hurt himself much, but he also hasn't been a standout either. As much respect and affection as I have for Joe, he doesn't add anything to a 2012 ticket - and you know 2012 is going to be the battle to end all battles.

Plus, Mr. Biden's recently had some pretty serious challenges with the failing health of his son.

Finally, Biden's not likely to be a serious candidate for the top office in 2016. He just doesn't have the brand power and so he’s unlikely to be the heir apparent.

Here, then, are three solid reasons why Joe probably shouldn't be on the 2012 ticket: 1) he doesn't add anything in an election where every advantage is needed, 2) he's got family health issues that are probably sapping his attention and energy, and 3) he's not going to be able to carry the torch in 2016.

But if Biden shouldn't be in the veep slot for 2012, who should be?

What about Hillary?

First, who (after Obama) has more star power in the Democratic party than Hillary? Not Nancy Pelosi. Not Harry Reid. Hillary.

Next, who can bring more juice, excitement, and support to a party that's kind of lost some of its juice and excitement? Not Pelosi. Not Reid. Not some governor from the sticks. Hillary.

What if Sarah Palin is nominated on the GOP side? She'd automatically grab a lot of the women's vote. Who can counter that, has comparable star power, and also show a tangible difference between "momma grizzly" and world-wide policy experience? Hillary.

And, finally, what if Obama's numbers go low enough that another Democrat tries to unseat him in the primaries? Is there any Democrat who stands even a tiny chance? Yep. Only one. Hillary.

Here we have some very compelling reasons for Hillary on the ticket. 1) she has star power, 2) she can bring excitement and loyalty back to the party, 3) she adds the women's vote element, 4) she has wide foreign policy experience, and 5) she could otherwise be a possible competitor.

Finally, which Democrat has the best chance to win in 2016, at least based on today's information? Hillary.

If Biden were out and Hillary were in, an Obama/Hillary ticket would make for a very interesting campaign season. Plus, there'd be Bill. Every election's tons more fun with Bill involved.

Like I said at the beginning of this piece, I'm only reading tea leaves.

Credits: David Gewirtz, AC360, CNN

What are the top 10 beaches in the US?

The Hamptons is atop this year's Top 10 Beaches list, with Coopers Beach on Long Island, N.Y., taking the No. 1 slot and Main Beach in East Hampton, N.Y., coming in fifth place.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Best Beaches list, put together by Stephen Leatherman, Director of Florida International University's Laboratory for Coastal Research in Miami. He's also referred to as Dr. Beach.

The list was released today.

"The Hamptons are world-class beaches and are probably better known to Europeans than most Americans," Leatherman told LiveScience. "This is the first time that a NY beach has been the national winner." (Both Coopers and Main beaches did make the list last year, coming in at third and sixth, respectively.)

Leatherman nailed down his choices last week, and with the precarious Gulf oil spill creeping closer to shore, he had to knock the Florida Panhandle beaches off the list just in case the gunk made its way to these beaches along the northernmost stretch of the state just above the Gulf of Mexico.

Even so, Florida did get some love, with Siesta Beach in Sarasota and Cape Florida State Park in the Keys getting placement.

Here are the Top 10 Beaches for 2010:

1. Coopers Beach (Southampton, N.Y.)
2. Siesta Beach (Sarasota, Fla.)
3. Coronado Beach (San Diego, Calif.)
4. Cape Hatteras (Outer Banks, N.C.)
5. Main Beach (East Hampton, N.Y.)
6. Kahanamoku Beach (Waikiki, Oahu, Hawaii)
7. Coast Guard Beach (Cape Cod, Mass.)
8. Beachwalker Park (Kiawah Island, S.C.)
9. Hamoa Beach (Maui, Hawaii)
10. Cape Florida State Park (Key Biscayne, Fla.)

Located on the east end of Long Island, Coopers Beach is the main stretch of sand in the Village of Southampton, which along with East Hampton make up the famous resorts called the Hamptons – where the rich and famous reside and frequent during the season. The turrets of clothing designer Calvin Klein's mansion are among the views visible from Coopers Beach.

Though officially only 500 feet (152 meters) long, Coopers' sandy shores extend for 7 miles (11 kilometers). And in addition to being far beyond the reach of the Gulf oil slick, the beach was also spared any damage from the storms this past winter that pummeled the U.S. Northeast coast.

In other words, the perfect spot to spend Memorial Day. "I will be traveling to Southampton on Sunday and will certainly be at Coopers Beach on Memorial Day with some friends," Leatherman said. "I will be incognito."

As with Coopers, all 10 beaches were chosen from Leatherman's survey of 650 public beaches along the U.S. coast of the Atlantic, Gulf and Pacific. He uses 50 criteria for ranking beach quality, including sand softness, frequency of rip currents, size of waves, presence of shorebirds, water color, the presence of oil and tarballs, whether it's overcrowded, public safety, maintenance of grounds and other factors.

Credits: Christian Science Monitor

First the oil spill and now this! What's next for BP?

“BP wants Twitter to shut down a fake BP account that is mocking the oil company. In response, Twitter wants BP to shut down the oil leak that’s ruining the ocean.”

- Jimmy Fallon, Late Night

A British scientist says he is the first man in the world to become infected with a computer virus.

Dr Mark Gasson from the University of Reading had a chip inserted in his hand which was then infected with a virus.

The device, which enables him to pass through security doors and activate his mobile phone, is a sophisticated version of ID chips used to tag pets.

In trials, Dr Gasson showed that the chip was able to pass on the computer virus to external control systems.

If other implanted chips had then connected to the system they too would have been corrupted, he said.

Medical alert

Dr Gasson admits that the test is a proof of principle but he thinks it has important implications for a future where medical devices such as pacemakers and cochlear implants become more sophisticated, and risk being contaminated by other human implants.

"With the benefits of this type of technology come risks. We may improve ourselves in some way but much like the improvements with other technologies, mobile phones for example, they become vulnerable to risks, such as security problems and computer viruses."

He also added: "Many people with medical implants also consider them to be integrated into their concept of their body, and so in this context it is appropriate to talk in terms of people themselves being infected by computer viruses."

However, Dr Gasson predicts that wider use will be made of implanted technology.

"This type of technology has been commercialised in the United States as a type of medical alert bracelet, so that if you're found unconscious you can be scanned and your medical history brought up."

Professor Rafael Capurro of the Steinbeis-Transfer-Institute of Information Ethics in Germany told BBC News that the research was "interesting".

"If someone can get online access to your implant, it could be serious," he said.

Cosmetic surgery

Professor Capurro contributed to a 2005 ethical study for the European Commission that looked at the development of digital implants and possible abuse of them.

"From an ethical point of view, the surveillance of implants can be both positive and negative," he said.

"Surveillance can be part of medical care, but if someone wants to do harm to you, it could be a problem."

In addition, he said, that there should be caution if implants with surveillance capabilities started to be used outside of a medical setting.

However, Dr Gasson believes that there will be a demand for these non-essential applications, much as people pay for cosmetic surgery.

"If we can find a way of enhancing someone's memory or their IQ then there's a real possibility that people will choose to have this kind of invasive procedure."

Dr Gasson works at the University of Reading's School of Systems Engineering and will present the results of his research at the International Symposium for Technology and Society in Australia next month. Professor Capurro will also talk at the event.

Credits: Rory Cellan-Jones, BBC News

Lost's 2.5 Hour Finale Had 45 Minutes of Commercials

This is getting ridiculous: Hollywood Insider reports that final 2.5 hour episode of Lost had 45 minutes of commercials (the running time on Hulu confirms it):

ABC packed roughly 107 spots — or more than 45 minutes of commercial and promotional time — into the two-and-a-half-hour Lost series finale, according to our (very unscientific but pretty reliable) count. Just when the finale would unveil a major plot point, a break would occur featuring anywhere from five to 11 ads and/or sneak peeks for fall shows on ABC. Granted, some of the spots were extremely clever (Target used images of the island’s smoke monster to peddle fire detectors) but numerous, nonetheless.

If you're wondering what the fuss was all about, you can watch Lost: Season 1 through Lost: Season 5 on Netflix streaming.

How to make a simple candle trick

Art Linkletter dies at 97

Art Linkletter, the easygoing, smooth-voiced emcee famed for his long-running hosting gigs of the radio show “House Party” and the TV shows “People Are Funny” and “Kids Say the Darndest Things,” has died, CNN has confirmed. He was 97.

Linkletter rose to fame as a radio announcer in San Diego, later becoming a program director. In 1944, he launched “Art Linkletter’s House Party,” a daytime CBS radio show that moved to television in 1952 and ran until 1969.

His nighttime show, “People Are Funny,” started on radio in 1942 and ran on NBC television from 1954 to 1961. According to Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh’s “The Complete Directory to Primetime Network and Cable Shows, 1946-Present,” the show featured everyday guests who would be interviewed by Linkletter and then be asked to do a stunt. The result for those who failed at the stunt was often a pie in the face or a splash of water.

Linkletter also hosted a short-lived quiz show, “The Art Linkletter Show,” in 1963.

But he’s probably best remembered for “Kids Say the Darndest Things,” which began as a segment on “House Party.”

Linkletter would ask several children their thoughts on various topics; their responses were often hilariously absurd. A collection of the children’s sayings eventually became one of the best-selling books of the era.

At its height, Linkletter’s fame was notable enough to make him part of Milton Bradley’s “Game of Life,” which featured Linkletter’s endorsement and his photo on the game’s $100,000 bill. His 1960 biography was called “Confessions of a Happy Man.”

Credits: CNN

Everyone Wants Someone To Do Something About the Oil Spill

The Obama administration is very, very unhappy with British Petroleum. But since the oil spill, Obama and his team have behaved as though there wasn't much they could do about the oil gushing into the Gulf, or BP's seemingly slow response to the crisis. Now commentators are turning their ire from the oil company to the administration, pushing Obama to take control of the cleanup away from BP and do whatever has to be done to stop the flow of oil into the ocean. They say Obama has offered too little, too late. "What took so long?" Peter Scheer asks at TruthDig. "It isn't enough to simply blame BP for not getting the job done. Go out and find someone who can. Lead. Give orders." At the New York Times, Andrew Revkin strikes the same tone: "President Obama not only has the authority, but the obligation—however politically risky that might be—to take ownership of efforts to stanch the flow," he writes. "To my mind, if the 'top kill' procedure being prepared for midweek fails, Obama must step forward far more forcefully and publicly engage an oil-well SWAT team drawing on the country's leading lights in hydraulics, deep-ocean engineering and geology, from the Pentagon outward." The nation's biggest fan of offshore drilling has weighed in too, with Sarah Palin wondering on Fox whether Obama's campaign contributions are the reason the president has been, "taking so doggone long to get in there, to dive in there, and grasp the complexity and the potential tragedy that we are seeing here in the Gulf of Mexico." But at 24/7 Wall St., Dougles McIntyre says the demands for action may be fruitless. "The leak may be beyond the ability of technology to cure," he says, "and only the eventual exhaustion of the pressure from under the ocean's floor will stop the spill from expanding."

Credits: Slate Magazine

Why Mexico welcomes Obama's plan to send 1,200 US troops to border

The Mexican government all but praised President Barack Obama's decision to send 1,200 troops to the border, in a departure from the usual complaints about the US immigration enforcement policies.

Unlike President Felipe Calderon’s fiery opposition to Arizona’s immigration law or his calls for a new immigration policy, Mexico’s official reaction to the deployment of US National Guardsmen near the border has been measured, even as the public response has been mixed.

The troops will “strengthen efforts to combat transnational organized crime," the Foreign Affairs Ministry said in a statement, which predicted the guardsmen will not be involved in immigration enforcement. The ministry also wrote of a “shared responsibility” in fighting drug traffickers and called for additional resources to prevent arms and cash smuggling into Mexico.

Some Mexicans said they respected the United States’ right to send armed forces to protect its citizens. Mexico, after all, is battling drug cartels on this side of the border. Others saw it as a ruse to target undocumented migrants:

“This is not just about catching drug traffickers. They are out to get illegal immigrants and the narcos are just an excuse,” said Carmen Rodriguez, 49, a translator from Mexico City who has family members in Boston. “There will be more violence at the border.”

Obama administration officials said the troops won’t conduct searches for illegal immigrants, but will gather intelligence, work on surveillance support and train local law enforcement. Obama will also ask Congress for $500 million for law-enforcement in the region.

Mexican worries

An editorial in the local newspaper La Cronica de Hoy, said the National Guard deployment coupled with recent news that legislation is moving forward in 14 US states to crack down on illegal immigrants is "more than worrying."

Mexican drug trafficking analyst Jorge Chabat said the new measure won’t hurt US-Mexico relations, but neither will they stop the flow of drugs and undocumented migrants, as smugglers will find new routes into the United States.

“The U.S. government has spent over a decade taking similar measures, placing the National Guard at the border and building a wall, but there is no significant impact on the flow of drugs or undocumented workers,” said Chabat, of Mexico City’s Center for Economic Research and Teaching.

The Obama administration said that illegal border crossings have slowed, but analysts say that is thanks to a weak economy, not increased security.

“This is long overdue,” said George W.Grayson, a professor of government at the College of William & Mary who studies Mexico-US relations. “Our current law enforcement agents at the border simply cannot handle the pressures that come from human smugglers, illegal immigrants and drug traffickers.”

Raul Calles, a 65-year-old public administration consultant in Mexico City said his country’s elected officials are to blame for not reining in drug violence and leaving Obama with no choice but to send in troops.

Calles said that a history of foreign invasions in Mexico leaves him uneasy with a militarized US border and that he doubts the National Guard will do anything to help his country -- by, say, stopping the flow of US weapons into Mexico.

“If Obama is doing this, it’s not because he cares about Mexico, but it’s for his own interests.”

Credits: Nacha Cattan, Christian Science Monitor

Americans Spent 4,000,000 Hours Playing Google Pac-Man

The good news is that the gods of Google have seen fit to enshrine Friday's tribute to Pac-Man on its own site. Change your home page and you can spend the rest of your life clicking "Insert Coin" before you click "Search." The bad news is that the data nerds at RescueTime have already quantified exactly how guilty you should feel about all that Pac-Man. Tony Wright examined data from thousands of Web users and determined that the average person spent 36 seconds longer than usual on Google on Friday, the day the special logo launched. That means Google's millions of users spent 4,819,352 hours playing Pac-Man. Assuming that most of them were playing at work (which surely is a safe assumption), and they all were worth $25 an hour (which may not be a safe assumption), then $120,483,800 worth of work evaporated into the Googlesphere Friday. Wright says the "damage" would have been even worse if it had been more obvious that the logo was a fully-functioning game. "I'd wager that 75% of the people who saw the logo had no idea that you could actually play it," he says. "Which the world should be thankful for." Kottke's Aaron Cohen begs to differ. "Holy crap," he said Friday. "I think this is why they made the Internet."

Credits: Slate Magazine

"Today Show" Host Discusses Wrong College In Commencement Address

Today Show host Ann Curry received a standing ovation after delivering the commencement address at Wheaton College in Massachusetts last Saturday—despite the fact that she was talking about the wrong school. According to Talking Points Memo, Curry listed the alumni of another Wheaton College—an evangelical school in Illinois—rather than the graduates of the formerly all-women college in Massachusetts. "It is with a heavy heart that I ask you to forgive me for mistakenly naming graduates of the other Wheaton College in my address," Ann Curry wrote in an open letter on Wheaton's Web site, thanking students for their applause despite the gaffe. "I am mortified by my mistake, and can only hope the purity of my motive, to find a way to connect with the graduates and to encourage them to a life of service, will allow you to forgive me," Curry wrote.

Credits: Slate Magazine

5 books for kids of all ages

Is there any greater treat in life than a really good children's book? Here are five titles that will make you want to read over your children's shoulders.

1. When You Reach Me, by Rebecca Stead. This mystery involving a 12-year-old New Yorker holds “tremendous appeal.”

2. Elijah of Buxton, by Christopher Paul Curtis. A “warm and wise” narrative tells the story of freed slaves.

3. Raven Summer, by David Almond. The summer games of two teens take a frightening turn in this “truly original novel” set in rural England.

4. Al Capone Shines My Shoes, by Gennifer Choldenko. A 12-year-old is living on Depression-era Alcatraz Island in this “fast-paced adventure story.”

5. The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place, by Maryrose Wood. This tale “pairs the Gothic humor and arch narration of a Lemony Snicket with a more benevolent worldview.”

Credits: Marjorie Kehe, Christian Science Monitor

Adobe Photshop Beauty Cream

If it can make Madonna look human, just imagine what it could do for you. Apparently Adobe Photoshop Beauty Cream is also safe to rub in your eyes. Don’t mind the stinging. That’s totally normal. Temporary blindness might also occur. In fact, it probably will, but it’s so worth it. Beauty is pain! Unfortunately pain hurts.

Achieve that wrinkle-free Photoshop glow with Adobe Photoshop Beauty Cream. Coming to soon to the beauty section of your local Walmart. Or you can just make a Photoshop Mask.

Credits: GEARFUSE, Andrew Dobrow

Swagger Wagon

What? Michelle Obama isn't America's favorite first lady?

Someone may want to tell Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton as she globe-trots on behalf of President Obama’s foreign policy that Americans pick her as one of their favorite first ladies.

Secretary Clinton ties with Nancy Reagan in a new national poll by Angus Reid Public Opinion in New York that asks Americans to name their favorite first lady since 1974. Clinton and Mrs. Reagan finish tied for first place at 19 percent each, with current first lady Michelle Obama coming in second at 15 percent. Laura Bush follows with 12 percent.

“The irony of this is that Hillary and Nancy were the two first ladies of modern times to be a political liability for their husbands,” says Robert Watson, a scholar of US first ladies at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Fla. “They are the only two first ladies who were not more popular than their husbands when they were in office.”

But first ladies Reagan and Clinton have both risen recently in the public’s estimation, he adds, first as their respective husbands have gained in public stature, but then in their own right.

She ought to be an advocate

The online survey of 1,016 Americans, conducted in early May, did not ask respondents to explain their choices. But an accompanying finding of the poll –that Americans want first ladies who are strong advocates for certain causes during their time in the White House – may help explain the poll’s results.

Nancy Reagan is remembered for the admonition to American kids to “Just say no” to drugs, while Clinton is associated with international women’s and girls’ issues (that is, once Americans get past the Clinton presidency’s health-care debacle).

The other first ladies since 1974 – Betty Ford, Rosalynn Carter, and Barbara Bush – all came in under 10 percent.

Despite taking the red second-place ribbon, Mrs. Obama clocks a favorable 60 percent approval rating among Americans over all.

Often in such ratings the current “office holder” takes top prize, aided by current events and name recognition. “In any poll of the ‘best’ and ‘worst’ presidents, for example, the recent ones always come in at the top of the list,” Professor Watson says.

Male voters shy away from Michelle

But the poll suggests that Obama may have been denied the blue first-place ribbon by American men, who give her considerably lower marks than women. While women overall give Obama the top prize at 20 percent, nearly a quarter (24 percent) of American men choose Nancy Reagan as their favorite first lady.

Obama, whose husband faced a deficit among male voters in the 2008 election, lags behind Reagan, Clinton, and Laura Bush with only 8 percent of the male vote.

“Part of the problem for Michelle Obama is that the folks who don’t like her husband really don’t like her husband, and so they are not about to like her, either,” he says. But Obama’s overall high marks reflect wide approval of how she has made herself “Mom in chief,” as Watson says.

“Michele Obama has found the balance that all first ladies struggle to find,” he says, noting that she makes clear she is a mother and her husband’s helpmeet first, even as she takes on popular issues like nutrition, child obesity, and improving services for military families.

Watson says that in the most recent poll he conducted among presidential scholars of first ladies, nearly a decade ago, Clinton did OK – coming in at number 10 – while Reagan was near the bottom (Mary Todd Lincoln came in dead last).

But both first ladies have risen in the public’s esteem since then, he says. Reagan – aka “Dragon Lady” during her White House years, Watson recalls – has a considerably different image now, fashioned by the way she stood by her ailing husband and protected him. “People now really see it as a love story,” Watson says.

And Clinton? Americans, who still associate first ladies with their husband’s presidencies, “are thinking the balanced budgets and years of relative peace during Bill Clinton look pretty good,” Watson says. “And then to many of them,” he adds, “Hillary has turned out to be a pretty solid secretary of State.”

Credits: Howard LaFranchi, Christian Science Monitor

Four great picture books for young readers

How do little readers learn to tangle with big ideas? It’s not always easy to make worthy content mesh with engaging art. But 2010 already offers several examples of picture books that neatly blend the two.

Even the most fervent admirers of Nobel Prize winner Wangari Maathai wouldn’t attempt to share her memoir with first graders. That’s why longtime children’s author Diane Muldrow gives us We Planted a Tree (Golden Books, 40 pp., $17.99). Muldrow’s simple poem – paired with winsome illustrations by New Yorker cover artist Bob Staake – takes its inspiration from Maathai’s vision of using trees to help heal the earth. “We Planted a Tree” tells a story that is as simple as it is profound. A young family in Brooklyn plants a tree in their yard, even as a family in Kenya does the same. The book then traverses the world – Tokyo, Paris, New England – and the seasons, demonstrating the many benefits – shade, clean air, fruit, and even sap – that we derive from trees.

But how about relationships between people? Can they be healed as well? Jordan’s Queen Rania Al Abdullah believes that they can and has written The Sandwich Swap (Hyperion, 32 pp., $16.99) to prove it. The queen, who lives in a famously troubled part of the world, explains in an author’s note that this book is inspired by an incident in her own girlhood. “The Sandwich Swap” tells the story of Lily and Salma – best friends forever who love to play, create, and eat together. (Their joy of their togetherness radiates throughout veteran illustrator Tricia Tusa’s sunny drawings.) At least, that is, until the day that Lily tells Salma that her hummus sandwich is yucky. And Salma responds that Lily’s peanut butter sandwich smells funny. It all escalates from there and the girls must – and do – find a way to bring peace not only to their friendship but to their entire lunchroom.

For young readers who are also eager to learn their numbers, Cats’ Night Out (Simon & Schuster, 32 pp., $15.99) by Caroline Stutson offers a charming opportunity to count a stylish group of urban felines as they cut the rug in a back alley. First there are two, then there are four, six, eight, and so on up to 20. “How many cats will dance tonight?” asks the refrain as more and more nattily attired tabbies appear in each frame. The very hip retro illustrations by artist/animator J. Klassen are a particular pleasure here, and you are bound to know at least one child – or adult – who will thrill to the sight of a very suave group of cats doing the fox trot by moonlight while clad in top hats and tails.

Of all the lessons to be learned, however, none is more important than the power of unconditional love as demonstrated by Maryann Cusimano Love’s You Are My Wish (Philomel, 32 pp., $16.99). Lovely watercolors by Satomi Ichikawa follow a tender grandma bear and her happy, snuggly grand-cub throughout the course of their day as they picnic, stroll, nap al fresco, and shower each other with love and sweet attention. The little bear’s four favorite stuffed animals go
everywhere with them as well, giving the youngest readers an additional and very charming focal point.