DC Ethics

The Long Winter

My brother used to complain about a guy from Hawaii in his college dorm who was constantly "lotioning" - this was before metrosexuals made male grooming acceptable. Now I am amused to see how many of my male colleagues have lotion and lip balm on their desks and do not seem a bit self conscious about applying one or the other in public.

Despite many expensive options, an article in the New York Times points out that some of the best lotions are quite affordable:

Yet among the thousands of expensive moisturizers on the market, many skin care experts across the country recommend some half-dozen or so tried and true, inexpensive brands: Eucerin Dry Skin Therapy Plus Intensive Repair Body Crème ($8.99), Nivea Creme ($7.99) and Aveeno Skin Relief Moisturizing Lotion ($9.29).

“In this kind of weather, moisturizers that contain humectants and fats that help repair that outer layer of skin can be a good strong barrier against the elements,” Dr. Greenberg said. Petrolatum products — think Vaseline Petroleum Jelly or Aquaphor — can be ideal for specific spot treatments on the face, he said, including chapped lips or cheeks, and dry, cracked skin on hands and feet.

And one of my eye doctors recently prescribed something I had never heard of before - an eyelid wipe! "Use this instead of a regular lotion or cleanser near your eye!" she admonished.

With such elaborate skin care regimens, it is amazing one ever has time to go outside!

What would Andrew Carnegie say?

The Dallas Public Library has launched a program whereby patrons pay $5 to check out popular books and DVDs. While I can see the appeal from the beleagured libraries' point of view, given that their budgets have been squeezed to the breaking point, I do think the mission of the library as providing free services to the community should be sacred. However, I am sympathetic to the need for library fundraising and plan to join my own library's "Friends" group today (as I go off to use its free Internet access since my own is erratic today).  Here is another link.

Vote for Alex Biega for Hobey Baker!

The Hobey Baker Award is the Heisman for college hockey, and Alex is my father's favorite Harvard player. You can vote for him (or your own favorite) here.

All Roads Lead to Betsy-Tacy

Meg Cabot is showing some love for Betsy-Tacy on her blog:

"Did you know HarperCollins/Avon is re-issuing the Betsy/Tacy books? I’m writing a forward to one of them! Yay! I love Betsy!"

Rumor has it Meg Cabot will be coming to the Betsy-Tacy convention in July! I wish I could bring my nieces - Alexa loves Allie Finkle so much!

Best School Stories

Here is an article from the London Times with a top 25 boarding school stories - most of which I agree with (a few I have not read!):

5) The Autumn Term, Cricket Term and Attic Term by Antonia ForestForest wrote only 13 novels, all but one connected with the Marlow family. Ten of them were about the Marlow children, beginning with the Autumn Term (written in 1948) and were fabulous tales of the six girls and two boys. They deserve to be better-known. I particularly remember Nicola and Lawrie, the two youngest sisters, who didn't quite live up to the standards of their hugely successful older sisters at Kingscote, the family boarding school.Autumn Term, and its sequels, The Cricket Term and the Attic Term and were funny, beautifully written, and seemed far more realistic than many of the other boarding schools books around (especially when it came to the relationship between all the sisters).

No Facebook!!

It is somewhat funny to read that Obama's new White House staff are being told they can't have personal email accounts on their classified computers - no Facebook!

Less amusing was hearing allegations that the Clinton staffers removed the Ws from their computers before leaving eight years. Hey, those are my tax dollars!

This is more amusing: "The Bush daughters showed Sasha and Malia Obama around [the White House]," [comedian Mark] Russell joked. "Barbara showed them where all the bedrooms were, and Jenna showed them how to make a fake ID."

Inaugural Language and Media

As my Latin teacher, Miss Cox, used to say, "Nihil novi sub sole," - there is nothing new under the sun, and this interactive from the New York Times measures all the buzz words used since George Washington's first inaugural address.

The publishing industry is in terrible shape, and several of my friends at B&N.com were laid off last week. Can we take hope from the fact that Obama is a big reader? Will he be able to do anything to promote literacy and book purchasing, whether by individuals or by libraries?

Michiko Kukatani writes that "Mr. Obama’s first book, “Dreams From My Father” (which surely stands as the most evocative, lyrical and candid autobiography written by a future president), suggests that throughout his life he has turned to books as a way of acquiring insights and information from others — as a means of breaking out of the bubble of self-hood and, more recently, the bubble of power and fame."

However, it isn't enough for Obama to be a much needed literary president and for adult readers influenced by Obama rush out to buy books about Lincoln. I wish he would share the books Malia and Sasha are reading so that parents buy these books for their children (although the books need to be read, too).

The Boston Herald offers a list of must-see presidential movies. Embarrassingly, I have only seen one of them! Maybe it is time to join Netflix!