From the HuffPost: The giant panda, long a symbol of the conservation movement, is no longer listed as endangered, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The bamboo-loving bears have seen a 17 percent surge in population numbers in the decade ending in 2014, largely due to conservation efforts in their native China. The mo …
It was uncomfortable and took the fun away. This past weekend, Bill and I went to the home show at Suffolk Community College. We are thinking about doing some much needed work in the house and decided it would be a good place to scout out some ideas. From the minute we walked in, the exhibitors pounced. Literally pounced. We could not …
As many of you may know, when my husband was thirty years old, and his first wife was twenty-nine, she was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Through my husband’s tireless efforts at finding different treatments for her she lived thirteen years after her initial diagnosis. She passed, however, when she was forty-two years old and my husband was forty-th …
I enjoy recognizing those who make a difference in our communities and the world by celebrating people and organizations, who work in ways big and small; for-profit and not-for-profit, to make our world a little greener. It helps explain my role as co-chair of GOtham Green®; it provides a platform for businesses and professionals who seek to connec …
A hug a day... Yes it's true. A study published by Carnegie Mellon suggests that, in addition to making us feel connected with others, hugs may prevent us from getting sick. You might think that hugging hundreds of strangers would increase your exposure to germs and therefore the likelihood of falling ill. But the research out of Carnegie Mellon …
I belong to 2 Book Clubs, yet I do not read. Rather, I commute to the city by car and listen to books on CD. It is a very nourishing way to pass the time. I belong to an all male book group which is presently reading James Kaplan's great biography: Sinatra: The Chairman. I also belong to the Gotham Book Club. The Gotham Book Club is the brain …
Between now and November 8th, I am going to learn more about polls than I may ever want to know. Every day there's a new poll and every new poll is accompanied by an analysis of the techniques utilized by the poll. Then some commentator will delve into the bias of the poll. Gone are the simple days of "here are the results and there's a error facto …
Steve Jobs was ridiculed for wanting to open Apple Stores. They have proven to be ridiculously successful. The Taxi drivers fought so they wouldn't have to accept credit cards. Now its one of their greatest money makers. The Real Estate developers wanted to tear down the High Line because they thought it would lessen the value of their propert …
The US government yesterday issued some go ahead regulations that should pave the way for a new phenomenon to take off -- driverless cars. Think about all of the scenarios where that could come in handy. Kind of like having your own chauffeur. The picture of a passenger sitting in the back seat with no one in the front is kind of like a sce …
On Saturday morning, I had thought of a fun blog idea. Running out to an appointment, I decided to set the idea aside and write the blog on Sunday morning. Then, on Saturday, the explosions in Chelsea and New Jersey occurred as well as the stabbings in Minnesota. And, with that, thoughts of a fun blog flew out of my head. And, I immediately we …
This past Friday during lunch in Princeton, my friend architect extraordinaire Josh Zinder asked each attendee to share a story. Since the next Friday (September 23) marks a special anniversary of sorts, I shared how I met Fred C. Klein or perhaps how Fred met me. A version of that story, perhaps the definitive one, appears in the March 2016 …
What's left after a bruising battle, a war, a conflict, an argument? Raw feelings, resolution, terror....? Can we as a country feel unified? Did we ever? We are fed a stream of news that is divisive and lopsided, you can pick the side. Social media feeds us what we want to hear...not what we should hear. Yes...it's true. Social media keeps track …
Rashomon was an iconic 1950 Japanese movie wherein a number of eye witnesses to a horrendous event each had a different version as to what happened. The Rashomon effect is contradictory interpretations of the same event by different people. It is said that the effect is not only based on differences in perspective, but occurs where such difference …
Recently, I was again reminded of the vagaries of life. Those chance occurrences that could make all the difference.We were driving to Washington, D.C. and were about 30 minutes away on the Baltimore-Washington Parkway when traffic suddenly came to a complete stop. Within minutes, at least 10 emergency vehicles passed us. The traffic app told us th …
...especially if you love women. Who knew that September 14 was such a powerful day for human rights and creativity? In 1879, Margaret Sanger was born, founder of Planned Parenthood and one of the very first outspoken advocates of choice. For all you lawyers out there, in 1921 Constance Baker Motley was born, first African-American woman to be appo …
