News Item
Men seldom make passes
At girls who wear glasses
Dorothy Parker was an American Writer known for her wit and wisecracks. I have always enjoyed her poetry and short stories in their own right, but I think I’m especially drawn to her writings because Dorothy was such a fascinating person. I love that, for her time, she lived a nontraditional life.
Our One Book, One Community read this year is The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. During the lectures, I heard a lot of people mention informed consent. What struck me about these conversations is that informed consent was talked about as a problem from the past.
True, there are now laws requiring patients be informed about the care and treatment they are receiving. But do a search for “informed consent” in one of our databases and you will find hundreds of articles with titles like Uninformed Consent, Low Quality and Lack of Clarity, and An Ethical Breakdown. It wasn’t all that long ago that the University of Illinois- Chicago (UIC) was suspended from doing research because of issues with informed consent.
Being informed does not equal understanding. Sometimes that might mean a complete lack of understanding, but I think more often we don’t understand enough to make an informed decision. Add the additional complication that most people don’t know what they don’t know- and it’s not hard to see why informed consent still has problems.
The start of a new year always brings promise, and I’m feeling particularly optimistic about 2013. I spent 2012 breaking down and then rebuilding my life. At the same time, my life seemed to be guided by Murphy’s Law that “anything that can go wrong will go wrong.” As I was nearing the point of hopelessness, I decided that I needed to let go and stop fighting what I can’t control. Of course, that kind of surrender does not happen over night (and I still need to be reminded from time to time).
When you stop fighting and living in fear you can find peace and happiness even in the most trying moments. Which reminds me of a quote by Dalai Lama in The Art Of Happiness, “when we meet real tragedy in life, we can react in two ways–either by losing hope and falling into self-destructive habits, or by using the challenge to find our inner strength.”
I would like to invite everyone to join me in making 2013 a fabulous year by recognizing and facing fears, embracing what cannot be changed, and living in the moment. I believe we will find a deeper sense of peace and happiness. Remember that life is a process and this is just one step.
The Namesake is a beautifully written novel about a family that moves from India to America. The story focuses on the son, Gogol, and his journey in life. But it’s really a book about how we come to define ourselves. Continue reading “The Namesake”
One of my text books is Yoga Anatomy by Leslie Kaminoff. The illustrations are beautiful as well as informative. Continue reading “Yoga”
I love it when you stumble upon unexpected treasures. Yesterday, I met a friend at The Art Institute of Chicago, and while we were aimlessly walking around and catching up we came across a new exhibition. The exhibit’s name, The Three Graces, caught my attention and we went over to investigate. There were 500 amateur snapshots dating from 1900-1970 collected over the years by Peter J Cohen. What is so fascinating about the collection is that the subject of each photo is of three women. Why is the exhibit called The Three Graces? Graces or Charites are three Greek goddesses representing grace, charm, and beauty.
I wanted to learn more about Graces, so today I went over to our reference collection and found some great sources. We have The Encyclopedia of Greek and Roman Mythology, The Encyclopedia of Mythology, and Dictionary of Gods and Goddesses. They all had information on Graces (or as I learned from my research- Charites).
I pretty much get this question daily. I’m the de facto meal planner and cook. In fact, I’m contemplating what I’ll cook for dinner right now. How’s that for multitasking? Though I often get tired of that daily question, I very rarely tire of cooking. I especially love to try new recipes and I’m always flipping through cookbooks and tearing recipes out of magazines (not library magazines, of course).
Did you know we have cookbooks at our library?
I’ve lived in eight states, thirteen cities, and have traveled extensively. I can simultaneously feel that I belong anywhere and nowhere. I spent most of my early years in Oklahoma dreaming of getting out but not knowing where I should go. Arriving in each new city I would ask myself “could this be the one?” Chicago is not perfect (the Chicago public school system still boggles my mind), but there are so many things about Chicago that I love it’s become a strong contender for “the one.”
Pioneers 