Real Simple explains how to get your brain to operate more efficiently. Jonah Lehrer lists 10 ways to improve your thinking (excerpt): 1. Tap your emotions. 2. Don’t think under pressure. 3. Consider alternative points of view. 4. Challenge your…
Dowry offer for Chelsea Clinton: And Rumi thought the price of kissing was your life
CNN reports on Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s promise to “convey this very kind offer.” Moni Basu writes (excerpt): What can 40 goats and 20 cows buy a Kenyan man? Chelsea Clinton’s love, if you ask Godwin Kipkemoi Chepkurgor. The…
Just how temporary is the custody awarded to Michael Jackson’s mother?
The New York Times adds a little context to the looming custody issues following Michael Jackson’s death and the apparent change of heart by Debbie Rowe toward 12-year-old Michael Joseph Jackson Jr. and 11-year-old Paris Michael Katherine Jackson, 11. [An…
Today is your lucky day & you can’t control it!
CNN shows us the difference between controlling the outcome and controlling how we face the outcome. Peter Bregman writes (excerpt): So here’s the good news: You can change your results by changing your mind-set. When Dweck trained children to view…
Save the environment, one divorce at a time
CNN connects deforestation with weddings and divorces. Arwa Damon writes (excerpt): Newly married couples must plant 10 trees under the program. If they divorce, they must plant 50 others. **** Environmental officials estimate around 50 million trees are needed in…
And of course the cup is empty: When ordering, ask for the engagement ring “on the side”
NBC and WCBD–Charleston, SC shakes us up with the story of Reed Harris and Kaitlin Whipple. Reed tried to make a memory and he succeeded (excerpt): Everyone except the bride-to-be was in on the plan to stash the ring in…
Living in Unscripted World: Using improv to move conversations and your life forward
CNN and Real Simple help us us think faster and better on our feet through improv (excerpt): 1. The “yes…and” technique The “yes…and” technique gives you the chance to acknowledge what’s been said and then move the conversation to a…
First comes love, then comes the champagne picnic, the romantic marriage proposal in a dinghy, the coast guard . . .
The BBC finds not all marriage proposals require coast guard assistance (excerpt): Two lovers were rescued as they drifted out to sea following a romantic marriage proposal in a dinghy. Colin Howell, 35, enjoyed a champagne picnic with his girlfriend,…
Essentially human: an answer to the question, “am I normal?”
Psychology Today explains how not being “normal” is normal, and perhaps what makes you most special! Kathleen McGowan writes (excerpt): In probing the common standards of normality, Wood has made a surprising discovery: Being normal is actually extraordinary. It’s an…
Celebrity divorces: lessons of the rich and famous
USA Today shares divorce lessons of the rich and famous. Jane Straus provided her comments on Ryan Phillippe and Reese Witherspoon, Hilary Swank and Chad Lowe, Kate Hudson and Chris Robinson, Paul McCartney and Heather Mills, Charlie Sheen and Denise…
The Shocking Truth! What you need to know about the toys in your home
CNN and Mental Floss spread the true life stories behind some America’s favorite toys! Tim Moodie’s article highlights: 1. How the Slinky got stuck between a cult and a mid-life crisis (Betty James took over the company her husband founded–the…
Britney Spears teaching America . . . Divorce and Custody 101?
FindLaw explains how Britney Spears is highlighting principles of Family Law and child custody disputes. Joanna Grossman identifies and discusses three lessons: Lesson #1: Courts, not Divorcing Parents, Ultimately Decide Custody Lesson #2: Parental Behavior Matters in Custody Battles Lesson…
Spiderman chooses new form of divorce?
Ireland On-Line reveals the breakup of Peter Parker’s marriage to Mary Jane (excerpt): In Spider-Man No. 545 the web-slinger agrees a deal with villain Mephisto, to protect his identity and spare his elderly Aunt May. In return Spider-Man’s alter ego…
“It’s a perfect time of year. It’s the best Christmas present ever.”
The Grand Rapids Press reports on the adopted man who found his birth mother at work. Pat Shellenbarger writes (excerpt): For more than two months, Steve Flaig eyed the woman running the cash register in the home improvement store where…
Ringtones lead to jail cells
The New York Times rings up “two hours of inexplicable madness” with a report on the Niagara Falls judge who heard a cellphone ring in his courtroom. When no one fessed up, he played the “Go Directly to Jail, Do…
Does the “attorneys advocate, judges referee” rule apply in divorce trials too?
The ABA Journal shows how a New York judge [Arlene Silverman]’s ‘incessant’ questions interfered with a trial and resulted in reversal. Debra Cassens Weiss reports (excerpt): “While we recognize that the dynamics of a criminal trial may result in some…
Helping: It takes Guts and Grace
It was a warm, sunny evening. I felt safely enveloped by the cozy surroundings of Empire along the Lake Michigan shoreline. Escaping to the Leelanau Peninsula; a pilgrimage my wife Stephanie and I take often, since honeymooning there some 19…
From state identification card to expunging records
Michigan Reentry Law Wiki was launched to help transition people from prison to the community. The website is supported by Legal Aid of Western Michigan and the Michigan Poverty Law Project.
Bloodline? Or experiencing the joys of being a father?
CNN and AP reveal what may be a new frontier for grandparent rights. After a four-year battle, an Israeli court in Tel Aviv has granted the wish of the family of a dead soldier. They had a hospital take and…
Not the normal thing
USA Today reveals the loneliness of being the only woman on the US Supreme Court. Joan Biskupic writes (excerpt): For now, O’Connor’s absence is more symbolic. In court, the sight of Ginsburg — a slight figure in a tall, black…