Books… Reading is for Babies 25 Jun 201413 Jun 2015 The American Pediatrics Association says, "Immunize your children against illiteracy." NPR's Audie Cornish interviewed Professor Susan Neuman about new evidence showing that the younger you read to your children, the better. Reading benefits babies,…
Children… Oh, the Places You’ll Gather Memories 2 Jul 201213 Oct 2012 At Brenna Martin's high school graduation, she received a surprise that took her father Bryan 13 years to prepare: a favorite Dr. Seuss book filled with comments from all her…
Caring… Hamlet in Prison 12 Jul 201111 Jul 2011 Jack Hitt's hour-long report for This American Life on Hamlet performed by prisoners, originally broadcast in 2002, has inspired me all week with its deep insights about Hamlet and encouragement for…
Caring… Friday Flick: Music with Shining Eyes 8 Jul 201110 Jul 2011 If you've never loved classical music before, give Ben Zander twenty-one minutes to change your heart. If you've loved it already, share this with someone who could use a little…
Advertising… Your Brain on Ads 14 Jun 201114 Jun 2011 Take a therapist who trained her daughter to watch media, including ads, with critical attention. Now imagine this daughter, Maya Cueva--already a journalist while still a teenager--not only applying that…
Business… Summer Survival 11 Jun 20119 Jun 2011 Is summer over yet? Oh, yeah, I don't have a break. And my children do! So here's what I want--or rather don't want--for me (and everyone around me) to be…
Collaboration… Friday Flick: Drew in Concert 10 Jun 20113 Jun 2011 Full disclosure: I raised this amazing composer. And I would still love his music even if I hadn't. Drew Nichols is a "third stream" composer, combining classical and jazz, so…
Caring… Dead Grandmothers 9 Jun 20119 Jun 2011 We've been known to joke about it in faculty meetings: how many grandparents some students can lose in a single year. (And yes, we do name names.) Here's one professor's concerns…
Caring… Record of Settlement 4 Jun 20113 Jun 2011 Icelander Baldur Hedinsson can trace his lineage to 1075; that's how complete the Icelandic records are. It's a culture based on reading through the dark winters and they wrote, too. (Oh,…
Creativity… Friday Flick: Marriage Proposal 27 May 201127 May 2011 Usually, I cringe over public marriage proposals. Somehow this one seems different, maybe because the theme of Matt and Ginny's courtship has been "Making the Movies Jealous," it has high…
Blogging… Are You Addicted to Blogging? 23 Apr 201123 Apr 2011 My last post introduced me to bloggers reporting on a poll, "How Addicted to Blogging Are You?" My own results: So what does 55% mean? I thought addiction was like…
Blogging… Random Unexpected Blog of Awesomeness 21 Apr 201121 Apr 2011 Younger son's blog idea: "It's time for your random blog of the month." I didn't know I had such a thing. He explained, "Oh, you just write about Pokemon cards…
Gwyn Nichols 