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The ad has good intentions, but it doesn’t depict reality, and that could be more damaging to girls than no ad at all.

This new Verizon-sponsored ad, which was made in conjunction with Makers to show how parents unintentionally steer their daughters away from science and math, is receiving a lot of praise for the way it doesn’t focus solely on female body and beauty issues, as well as its willingness to shine the light on the role…

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Manly words. Girly words. How many of each do you know?

Researchers from the Center for Reading Research looked at the first 500,000 results of Ghent University’s online vocabulary test, focusing on differences in gender. It turns out that some words exhibited a large margin between the percent of men and women who reported knowing them. Here are the words that men were most likely to…

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Halloween circa 1978

As far as I know, there are only about 25 photographs of me from my childhood, so when a new one appears in the world (like the one below), it’s exciting for me.   Oddly enough, these photos seem to pop up from time to time. At an author talk a few years ago, a former…

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Truth

So many people think it’s fun. Precious. Joyous. Something they will do in retirement.   No, it’s work. It’s great work, but it’s work.

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Boy fakes his own kidnapping to avoid dentist. A hero emerges in the process.

A 12-year old boy in France faked his own kidnapping to avoid a dentist appointment, appearing in a town 100 miles from his own after claiming to have escaped his captors and sending police into a month-long search for his kidnappers.  The boy is reportedly terrified of the dentist. Obviously, this was not a good…

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Sad, pathetic children

As a teacher, it’s not often that I refer to children as sad and pathetic, but when 33 and then 55 kids can’t stop two professional soccer players from scoring for one minute, something is seriously wrong with them.

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Speak Up tickets, dates for upcoming shows, and a writer’s workshop launch

For storytelling fans, and Speak Up supporters, some news for you today.  First, tickets for our next show, Saturday, July 19 at 8:00 at Real Art Ways in Hartford, CT, are now available. You can click this link to purchase tickets or call Real Art Ways directly at 860.232.1006. Please order soon if you plan…

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Golf is in a decline because people are stupid.

TIME reports that golf is experiencing in a precipitous decline in our country. Golf equipment sales have been tanking. The number of golf courses closing annually will dwarf the number of new courses opening for years to come. Apparently people aren’t playing the game like they once did, which is a damn shame. TIME offers…

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