li This I Believe: I Believe In Party Dresses By radio.wpsu.org Published On :: Mon, 30 Sep 2019 18:32:38 +0000 I believe in party dresses. My mother and I both use clothes to make a statement. For 26 years, my mother, Margaret Simmons, worked as a high school home ec teacher. She can sew anything: business suits, wedding dresses. She must have altered a hundred prom dresses over the years for her students who were not conventionally sized. My mother loves fabric in bright colors, purples and reds. But she went to work every day in rather conservative business suits. That was her cry for some modicum of respect from school administrators who thought nothing of interrupting her class to get a cup of coffee from the home ec room kitchen. My mother started college in the 1950s. Teaching and nursing were pretty much the only fields that were open to her. Like most of her female classmates, she dropped out to get married. Three kids later, she finished her degree at the age of 40, staring down the difficult reality of single parenthood. She needed respect and a living wage. She didn’t get either. Full Article
li This I Believe: I Believe In Mental Health Awareness By radio.wpsu.org Published On :: Thu, 10 Oct 2019 22:52:04 +0000 I believe in mental health awareness. I believe that one cannot be physically healthy without being mentally healthy. Mental health has always been something I take very seriously. One’s emotions and mental stability can change their whole life, for better or for worse. And in doing that, it can change the lives of individuals around them. After being diagnosed with anxiety in the summer of 2017, I was immediately put on medication and placed into therapeutic and psychiatric help. Once I started talking things through and getting used to my medication, I realized that this thing called “anxiety” had been living in me for longer than I thought. I always assumed it was normal to have trouble breathing before major events, while meeting new people, or in a situation of sadness or stress. It was what my mind and body were used to. Once I found myself not being able to leave my dorm room, excessively sweating through the night and losing my appetite, I knew that this had gone way beyond a Full Article
li This I Believe: I Believe In Movie Theaters By radio.wpsu.org Published On :: Thu, 24 Oct 2019 17:20:43 +0000 I believe in movie theaters. The first time I went to a movie theater, I was about 6 years old. My parents took my brothers and me to the Rowland Theater in Philipsburg to see the original Disney version of 101 Dalmatians – it was around 1969. I remember sitting in the balcony. I remember a night scene where a car was barreling down a road with a network of dogs barking. I was scared and I was fascinated, and, doggone it, I couldn’t see the whole screen. There was a bar that ran across the front of the section, and it cut through the middle of the screen blocking my view. I had to keep scooching down in my seat, trying not to spill my popcorn. Cruella DeVil terrified me, and yet I wanted to see everything. I grew up going to matinees at the theater, as did almost everyone in my generation who grew up around Philipsburg. We all have memories of the 102-year-old movie palace that still draws people to our beloved town. This theater ties us together. The years have flown by since that Full Article
li This I Believe: I Believe In Taking Risks By radio.wpsu.org Published On :: Fri, 08 Nov 2019 17:30:51 +0000 “For all of you out there, there’s an old cliché: Go out on a limb—that’s where all the fruit is.” I listened to Colin Cowherd say this years ago, right after he left ESPN to work at Fox Sports. As an aspiring sports broadcaster, I’ve always loved watching Cowherd, but I never bought that dumb saying. However, it’s turned out to be a saying that’s defined much of my life. My family moved around a bit when I was young, but when I was six, my parents settled us down in Horsham, Pennsylvania. I loved Horsham. It was the first place I lived where I could make friends with neighbors, classmates, and not fear having to leave them in a few months. I was able to create a life for myself, and it was a life that was very comfortable. Then in middle school, my parents’ marriage started to fail. In the 8th grade, my father told me he was moving to Charleston, South Carolina because he’d accepted a teaching job there. He also told me the time had come for him and my mother to split. Where I fit Full Article
li This I Believe: I Believe In Running By radio.wpsu.org Published On :: Thu, 21 Nov 2019 22:45:38 +0000 I believe in running. If you asked me how I felt about running five years ago, I would have laughed at you. My feelings about running? Pure, undeniable disgust. Coupled with my asthma and general lack of motivation, I considered running as one of my worst enemies. When I was younger, I always dreaded the days in gym class when the teacher announced that we would be running the mile. I would drag myself to the starting line, a little behind everyone else, and wait for the whistle to blow. After the whistle blew, I started off in step with my classmates, but felt an all too familiar pit in my stomach as my classmates pulled ahead. My lungs began to burn, and my legs felt like they’d give out any minute. My breath would hitch in my chest as I slowed to a walk, shamefully looking up to see my classmates run past. My mind would race, and I’d constantly berate myself for walking. Why can’t I just run like everyone else? I’d ask. My lungs wouldn’t allow it, and I felt like they held me back. Full Article
li This I Believe: I Believe In Empathy By radio.wpsu.org Published On :: Thu, 05 Dec 2019 22:45:00 +0000 I believe in empathy. Part of empathy is understanding that every life we meet goes beyond the small part we see. One day, seven years ago, my family and I learned this life lesson together while on a family walk. To everyone outside, it looked like we were on an idyllic family stroll. In truth, we were walking to the hospital where we would learn whether I could survive my brain cancer. Just like the people who saw us, we too had no idea about the invisible struggles anyone else on the sidewalk faced. This experience has helped us have empathy for others. Before that, when I was wronged, my knee-jerk reaction was judgment. But now, I’m learning to have patience and to imagine what the other person might be going through, from roommate conflicts to a lost internship. This new perspective saves everyone involved unnecessary grief and bitterness, leaving room for happier things. Many behaviors change from condemnable to understandable with additional information. For example, a misdeed Full Article
li This I Believe: I Believe In Bunco By radio.wpsu.org Published On :: Thu, 19 Dec 2019 22:45:00 +0000 I believe in Bunco. As a trailing spouse, I’ve lived in Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Morocco, Boston, New York City, and Jacksonville, North Carolina. What’s a trailing spouse? Well, I followed my husband around the world for his career. We took our possessions, worked, traveled, and had children in these places. While it sounds exciting, when we arrived in a new city or country, I felt apprehensive about meeting new people. But through a game called Bunco, I was able to make life-long friends and gain valuable knowledge about the local community. Bunco is a dice game. It requires little skill, except the rolling of dice. It’s mostly a lot of gabbing, chatting and maybe a glass of wine…or two. It’s a great excuse to get out of the house for a few hours, away from chores and child rearing. The first time I played Bunco was in Jacksonville. One day when I was at the grocery store, I met a woman named Jen. We bumped into each other while scouring the shelves for gnocchi, and we struck Full Article
li This I Believe: I Believe In Good Parenting By radio.wpsu.org Published On :: Thu, 02 Jan 2020 22:45:00 +0000 I believe in good parenting. Since before I can remember, my cousin, Chase, has lived with my family. Our birthdays are twelve days apart and we have always been inseparable. We went to school together, had joint birthday parties, and basically lived our lives as twins. Although his last name isn’t Fleece, he did not know a life apart from me and my siblings. Chase’s mom had not particularly lived in a way that valued Chase or his brother, Brandon. She had them at a very young age and their dad was not in the picture. She was not sober and needed a little bit of help to get her back on her feet. Brandon, who lived with his mother, got in trouble constantly. He did not receive discipline or consequences, so he continued to misbehave. My mom stepped in when Chase was born to make sure he would get off on the right foot and to give his mom some time and space to sober up. Brandon is now living life in and out of jail and on drugs. Chase is now playing hockey in college and working two Full Article
li This I Believe: I Believe In Getting In The Zone By radio.wpsu.org Published On :: Thu, 16 Jan 2020 22:45:00 +0000 I believe in getting in the zone. The air around the swimming pool was still. Suddenly, an earsplitting “BEEP” pierced the silence, and the entire natatorium exploded with the sound of hundreds of cheering fans. SPLASH! The swimmers hit the water and the race began. With lactic acid throbbing in my arms and determination set in my mind, I had only one goal: to push my body and mind so vigorously that the only thing capable of stopping me would be that wall ahead. Underneath the surface of the water, I heard no cheering. I heard only the sound of my rapidly beating heart. Under the water, I saw nothing but that wall. I was focused on achieving my goal. I was focused on winning. That experience was the first time I can remember being in the zone. I believe experiences that put you in the zone are important to human development. Growing up, I was always a competitive swimmer, but I didn’t take the sport too seriously until 8 th grade. At that point in my life, I was a teenage boy going Full Article
li This I Believe: I Believe in Staying Young By radio.wpsu.org Published On :: Thu, 30 Jan 2020 22:45:00 +0000 I believe in staying young. Middle school is different than elementary school. There’s a sudden weight of responsibility on my shoulders. I am no longer shepherded from class to class by a chaperone. My peers expect me to be older and different than I was in elementary school, even though it’s just the difference of one summer. But there are some parts of me that remain the same, that still dream of playing with dolls and talking about my favorite Disney princess. There’s also a part of me that still wants to use tiny plastic figures to build worlds with my sister. Some kids experience this as only a small melancholy tug in the back of their mind. Some kids, on the other hand, experience it a bit more deeply, but pretend to ignore it. On the first day of middle school, recess was uncomfortable. Nobody knew anyone and I, like many others, just awkwardly sat with the kids who went to the same elementary school as me. Nobody played. We just all sat like zombies and made small talk, Full Article
li This I Believe: I Believe Immigrants Make America Great By radio.wpsu.org Published On :: Thu, 27 Feb 2020 22:45:00 +0000 I believe immigrants make America great. My maternal grandparents were refugees from an area in Syria that later became Lebanon. In the early 1900s they escaped a drought, the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, and relentless poverty to pursue a better life in America. My grandfather, we called him “Jiddu,” which is Arabic for “my grandfather,” was employed in a shoe factory and spent his spare time hanging out on his friend’s vegetable farm. Neither of them achieved prominence. They lived their lives contributing to industrial America and raising their children. I could not communicate with my grandparents because of the language barrier. I was told that Sittu, my grandmother, learned to read the destination on the bus she needed to take, but other than that could not communicate in English. I wish I had been able to ask them about their lives in the old country and why they left. Like other immigrant groups, they took a risk in coming to America’s shores. I believe those risk-takers Full Article
li This I Believe: I Believe In Being True To Yourself By radio.wpsu.org Published On :: Thu, 12 Mar 2020 21:45:00 +0000 I believe in being true to yourself. I’ve spent my entire life as a younger sister. My older sister was the tall one, the academically gifted one, and the soccer prodigy. People saw me as a smaller, lesser-than version of my sister. Everyone loved her and I wanted to be her. Without realizing it, I constantly put myself in her shadow. I allowed my identity to be connected to hers. I was comfortable there. We overlapped in high school for one year. She was the senior soccer captain; I was the freshman with something to prove. But, our coach made it clear I was not proving I deserved to be on the field in my own right, instead I was proving I could be as good as my sister. During this time, I felt trapped. There were expectations thrust upon me which were unattainable simply because we were two different people. When she graduated, I hoped the comparisons would end. That didn’t happen. During a soccer game my senior year I made a really good pass that was headed in for the game-winning Full Article
li This I Believe: I Believe In Black Clouds By radio.wpsu.org Published On :: Thu, 26 Mar 2020 21:45:00 +0000 I believe in b lack c louds. My official job title while I was i n the Marine Corps was “ Crewmaster .” That means I was an enlisted aircrew member who took part in logistics and combat support missions on the Marine Corps’ largest aircraft , the C-130 , also known as the “Super Hercules.” I could spend hours describing the various aspects of my job, but in summary the Crewmaster is responsible for nearly all aspects of aviation on the Super Hercules, short of actually flying the plane. The community of Marine Aviators, including Pilots and Aircrewmen, is tight knit. Every body knows every body , and m any of us receive a nickname, or what we refer to as “ c all s igns.” My call sign was Black Cloud ; a nickname I received because nearly every time I set foot on an airplane, something went wrong. Usually, these were relatively minor issues, such as erroneous alert messages or radios that weren’t working properly. But sometimes I brought bad luck in more serious ways. On ce , a liquid Full Article
li This I Believe: I Believe In Abandoned Buildings By radio.wpsu.org Published On :: Thu, 09 Apr 2020 21:45:00 +0000 I believe in abandoned buildings. The first thing you need to know about me is that I am a terrible driver. If I drive past something that I think is interesting, I will turn my eyes away from the road and look at that thing for a potentially dangerous amount of time. I'll be like, “Oo, look at that field!” Or, “Oo, look at that sunset!” And passengers in the car will be like, “No, look at the road!” And eventually I will, but I will always look at an old abandoned building. I'm not sure exactly what about dilapidated buildings intrigues me. Maybe it's tactile, when I look at one I can't help but imagine walking on the soft, creaky floorboards while looking up at the exposed rafters as sunlight rushes in through the dusty windows. As I walk, I inhale the air that feels uniquely musty, yet safe. I trust it like I'm breathing in an old familiar book. Maybe the thing I love about old buildings is that they have so much history. You know that something has happened there, perhaps so many Full Article
li This I Believe: I Believe In The Telephone By radio.wpsu.org Published On :: Thu, 23 Apr 2020 21:45:00 +0000 I believe in the telephone. In today's hyper connected world, personal communication is an incredibly easy task with the ubiquity of social media and instant messaging. But, a downside of these new methods of communication is that they can sometimes be overwhelming. I'm sure I'm not alone when I say the swarms of notifications on my phone and computer cause me to waste more time than I'd like to admit. On Instagram, for instance, I've wasted countless hours scrolling through my feed and messaging. Last month, when I checked how much time I spent on that app, I was downright embarrassed. So, how can we improve the quality of our social interactions rather than the quantity in 21st centuy life? I believe a way to address this is by taking a step back in time to another piece of technology, the telephone. The telephone remedies the issue of focus that I and many others often deal with online. The voices of thousands are present on social media and the internet, but in a phone conversation Full Article
li This I Believe: I Believe In Being In The Right Place At The Right Time By radio.wpsu.org Published On :: Thu, 07 May 2020 21:45:00 +0000 I believe in being in the right place at the right time. Several years ago, my husband and I were traveling through Italy and stopped in Venice for a couple of days. Anyone who’s ever been to Venice knows about the maze-like streets and how easy it is to get lost. On this particular day, we were on a crowded narrow street consulting our map when I happened to look up and see a 4-year-old Asian girl wearing a red dress coming toward us on the other side of the street. As she looked around bewilderedly, I knew this little girl was lost. In the next instant, a tall man wearing a belted brown raincoat swept up beside her, grabbed her hand, and continued walking. Immediately, and without thinking, I ran across the street and stopped right in front of him. I pointed my finger in his face and shouted, “NO!” He was at least three inches taller than me and powerfully built, but I was totally fearless. His mouth dropped open as he gaped at me. He let go of the child’s hand and I quickly pulled Full Article
li New Yahoo News/YouGov poll shows mixed reactions to Biden's handling of Tara Reade assault claim By news.yahoo.com Published On :: Thu, 07 May 2020 13:10:16 -0400 Nearly half of people polled were “not satisfied” with Biden’s response to Reade’s allegations. Only 19 percent said they were “very satisfied.” Full Article
li COVID-19’s toll on kidneys puts strain on dialysis supplies By news.yahoo.com Published On :: Fri, 08 May 2020 07:55:02 -0400 Outpatient dialysis facilities have also reported challenges, including separating COVID-19 positive and negative patients and protecting their own workers. Full Article
li Covid-19 Impact: MTR partners with Swiggy to deliver its packaged food portfolio By retail.economictimes.indiatimes.com Published On :: 2020-04-24T13:53:03+05:30 With this partnership, MTR products such as masalas, spices, Ready-To-Eat meals and breakfast mixes will be accessible through MTR stores and kirana tabs on Swiggy. Full Article
li KFC Q1 system sales decline 2%, Pizza Hut declines 6%: By retail.economictimes.indiatimes.com Published On :: 2020-04-30T08:33:11+05:30 KFC India managing director Samir Menon said: “Subdued growth in March and softness is on account of the lockdown. We continue to operate around the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic with our delivery business only amidst the lockdown situation in the country as we comply with all regulatory directives.” Full Article
li Covid lockdown: At McDonald’s, Domino’s sellers, staff get paid in slices now By retail.economictimes.indiatimes.com Published On :: 2020-04-30T11:33:36+05:30 “There is absolutely no income coming our way due to the Covid-induced lockdown for over a month. As a result, most companies are facing the problem of paying the employee salaries in full for the month of April,” said National Restaurant Association of India president Anurag Katriar. Full Article
li Burger King India joins hands with Delhi Police to provide burgers to orphanages By retail.economictimes.indiatimes.com Published On :: 2020-04-30T14:12:09+05:30 The staff delivering the meals wear protective gear like masks and gloves to ensure safety. Since Covid – 19 outbreak, Burger King says that it has further strengthened its restaurant procedures around food safety, cleanliness and hygiene and increased its sanitization frequency in all restaurants across the country. Full Article
li Restaurants are giving out fake recipes to keep the customers' craving alive amid Covid-19 lockdown By retail.economictimes.indiatimes.com Published On :: 2020-05-02T15:12:29+05:30 How to keep customers’ cravings alive has become a challenge for restaurants. Full Article
li McDonald's to reopen 15 outlets in UK this month, fast food fans relieved By retail.economictimes.indiatimes.com Published On :: 2020-05-02T17:18:16+05:30 The company said it would announce the locations of the restaurants next week, with plans to open them on May 13. Full Article
li Liquor stock in excess of Rs 10 crore to expire: Maharashtra Hotels & Restaurants request for permission to liquidate stock By retail.economictimes.indiatimes.com Published On :: 2020-05-04T21:52:55+05:30 The association has stated that allowing liquidation of the unsold stock will minimize the losses and introduce working capital by encashment of the existing liquor stock. Full Article
li Allow us to sell liquor stock: Hotels, restaurants to govt By retail.economictimes.indiatimes.com Published On :: 2020-05-06T08:53:50+05:30 As per industry estimates, any standalone restaurant from an established chain could have alcohol inventory of ₹10-25 lakh lying with it. For five-star chains, the stocks are worth much more. Full Article
li Zomato targets push into alcohol deliveries By retail.economictimes.indiatimes.com Published On :: 2020-05-07T08:34:38+05:30 "We believe that a technology-enabled home delivery based solution can promote responsible consumption of alcohol," Mohit Gupta, Zomato's CEO for food delivery, wrote in a business proposal to ISWAI. Full Article
li Karnataka allows pubs, bars to also sell liquor from Saturday By retail.economictimes.indiatimes.com Published On :: 2020-05-09T08:15:50+05:30 The order directed pubs, clubs, bars and lodges to allow only one customer to enter their respective premises at a time and leave soon after purchasing liquor at the maximum retail price (MRP). Full Article
li Johnson & Johnson to buy Actelion for $30 b By retail.economictimes.indiatimes.com Published On :: 2017-01-27T09:19:44+05:30 J&J, already the world's biggest maker of health-care products, is fulfilling its goal of gaining a new drug category with the transaction and dealing a blow to France's Sanofi, which had also courted Actelion. Full Article
li Reliance Brands pips FirstCry.com to acquire Mothercare India rights By retail.economictimes.indiatimes.com Published On :: 2018-02-06T07:57:13+05:30 Mothercare is the latest brand after Mango, Forever 21 and Sephora, among other global labels, to change hands from DLF Brands. Full Article
li TheMomsCo launches baby care range, to expand offline presence By retail.economictimes.indiatimes.com Published On :: 2018-03-21T13:23:14+05:30 The range has been launched offline as well through its 4 brand stores in premium hospitals across Delhi and NCR. Full Article
li Suresh and Priyanka Raina's brand Maaté marks its offline presence By retail.economictimes.indiatimes.com Published On :: 2020-03-19T17:52:36+05:30 Maaté will offer free samples to all the expecting parents and to the parents who come for a regular check-up for their kids. Full Article
li Phoenix firefighter dies after battling work-related cancer By rssfeeds.azcentral.com Published On :: Fri, 08 May 2020 04:34:52 +0000 David Mathis died in hospice care on May 5, according to the Phoenix Fire Department. He was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in 2007. Full Article
li Evacuations lifted, SR 88 reopens after 2 Apache Junction brush fires By rssfeeds.azcentral.com Published On :: Fri, 08 May 2020 05:10:20 +0000 Two brush fires in Apache Junction are believed to be human-caused. Full Article
li Can you get coronavirus from a public pool or water slide? An expert explains as Arizona reopens By rssfeeds.azcentral.com Published On :: Fri, 08 May 2020 14:30:09 +0000 You might be asking when it will be safe to use a public pool or water slide. Here's what an expert said about coronavirus transmission in water. Full Article
li Cottonwood police release body cam footage from arrest of man accused of shooting, injuring an officer By rssfeeds.azcentral.com Published On :: Fri, 08 May 2020 19:40:10 +0000 The incident began with a report of a man demonstrating "erratic" behavior and "threatening others with physical violence," according to Cottonwood police. Full Article
li Cottonwood police release body camera footage of shooting involving 57-year-old Jeffrey Thomas By rssfeeds.azcentral.com Published On :: Fri, 08 May 2020 19:40:09 +0000 Cottonwood Police posted a video on Facebook of a shooting that occurred when officers attempted to detain Jeffrey Thomas, 57, for a mental health evaluation on May 6. Full Article
li Phoenix salon has soft opening as order lifts By rssfeeds.azcentral.com Published On :: Fri, 08 May 2020 20:38:35 +0000 Erika Clary of Arcane Hair Parlour in downtown Phoenix talks about slowly reopening as barber shops and salons are allowed to reopen on May 8, 2020. Full Article
li Police: 1 shot, several detained in shooting near Curry and Scottsdale roads in Tempe By rssfeeds.azcentral.com Published On :: Sat, 09 May 2020 03:18:30 +0000 Sgt. Matt Feddeler, a spokesman for the Tempe Police Department, said the shooting stemmed from a hit-and-run involving two vehicles. Full Article
li At The Republic, a new effort to explore tribal issues at the heart of the news By rssfeeds.azcentral.com Published On :: Sat, 09 May 2020 03:05:35 +0000 Thanks to philanthropic support — and your readership — we will spend the next two years examining tribes in Arizona and the Southwest. Full Article
li Scottsdale council member Guy Phillips cleared of ethics complaint related to Southbridge II project By rssfeeds.azcentral.com Published On :: Sat, 09 May 2020 18:14:58 +0000 Scottsdale Councilman Guy Phillips is cleared of an ethics complaint that alleged he had conflicts of interest related to the Southbridge II project. Full Article
li COVID-19 testing blitz under way at State Farm Stadium, many other sites By rssfeeds.azcentral.com Published On :: Sat, 09 May 2020 17:45:19 +0000 At least 37 sites in nine of Arizona's 15 counties were available for testing of people who have symptoms or who believe they have been exposed to the coronavirus. Full Article
li This weekend's Arizona 'testing blitz' set for at least 9 counties By rssfeeds.azcentral.com Published On :: Sat, 09 May 2020 05:41:06 +0000 A second COVID-19 "testing blitz" is scheduled for Saturday in at least nine counties. State officials have not disclosed turnout for the first event. Full Article
li Robot ceremonies. Virtual dance parties. Online speeches. How Arizona colleges and universities are celebrating graduates By rssfeeds.azcentral.com Published On :: Sat, 09 May 2020 14:00:05 +0000 Arizona colleges and universities have dramatically altered graduation ceremonies to adapt to COVID-19. Full Article
li BookMark: "Sophia Of Silicon Valley" By Anna Yen By radio.wpsu.org Published On :: Thu, 25 Jul 2019 20:00:00 +0000 At first, all Sophia Young wanted was to find a job until she could find a husband. Instead, she finds herself working for Scott Kraft, a notoriously unpredictable and demanding tech mogul. She soon becomes more interested in her work in investor relations than in getting married, which she never planned on. She is quickly promoted and becomes an asset at Kraft’s new business, an animation company called Treehouse that’s set to disrupt the movie industry. Fans of Pixar, Apple and Steve Jobs will enjoy the parallels between Jobs and the fictional Kraft. Kraft, who founded a revolutionary technology company called Quince before taking over Treehouse, also creates the first wave of smart phones, known as “Q-phones.” Similarly, author Anna Yen pays homage to Pixar, where she herself worked in investor relations. In the book, Treehouse creates movies like “The Amazings,” and “Treasures,” which seem to be a nod to Pixar’s real-life movies “The Incredibles” and “Toy Story.” As Sophia becomes Full Article
li BookMark: "A Splash Of Red: The Life And Art Of Horace Pippin" By Jen Bryant & Melissa Sweet By radio.wpsu.org Published On :: Thu, 22 Aug 2019 21:45:00 +0000 As the director of the Pennsylvania Center for the Book, one of my favorite tasks is choosing a children’s or young adult title to represent Pennsylvania at the National Book Festival in Washington, D.C. It’s a responsibility I take very seriously. I consult with colleagues and search for information about children’s and young adult books by Pennsylvania authors or illustrators. I look for titles with topics that have some connection to the Commonwealth. I’m delighted to share that this year’s selection is a picture book biography—"A Splash of Red: The Life and Art of Horace Pippin”written by Jen Bryant and illustrated by Melissa Sweet. Horace Pippin was the grandson of a slave, born in West Chester, Pennsylvania on February 22, 1888. He died in 1946 and is buried in the Chester Grove Annex Cemetery. He began and ended life in Pennsylvania. As a child, Horace was always drawing pictures. He won a drawing contest and the cherished prize—colored pencils, a pair of brushes, and a box of Full Article
li BookMark: “The Tangled Tree: A Radical New History Of Life” By David Quammen By radio.wpsu.org Published On :: Thu, 12 Dec 2019 23:20:39 +0000 “The Tangled Tree: A Radical New History of Life” offers those who usually read novels a chance to enjoy ‘creative non-fiction.’ This book is a well-told narrative about the molecular building blocks of life and how they evolved. David Quammen accepts the challenge of documenting the advancement of evolutionary life science while revealing its significance to all of our lives. Quammen also gives us insight into the vibrant communities of scientists carrying out similar work. Quammen begins by introducing the image of the Tree of Life. He describes how it has evolved from the image of a ladder-to-heaven in ancient and medieval thinking into Darwin’s branching, upward-growing tree. Quammen closes his introduction with his own surprising proposition. He suggests Darwin’s tree image is no longer the precise metaphor for what life is. Quammen introduces each new evolutionary twist and turn until the new Tree of Life ends up looking more like a web than an upwardly-reaching tree with Full Article
li BookMark: "Pennsylvania Furnace" By Julie Swarstad Johnson By radio.wpsu.org Published On :: Thu, 05 Mar 2020 22:45:00 +0000 How do we love the land, even as we participate in doing damage to it? How do we honor those who have come before us, even as we acknowledge the destruction they advanced? These are the questions that came to me as I read “Pennsylvania Furnace” a new book of poems by Julie Swarstad Johnson. In poems that weave effortlessly, sometimes magically, between past and present, Johnson considers the significance of resource extraction in relation to American lives. Her poems step back and forth across the continent, juxtaposing the Arizona desert-cities of the author’s home with the ridges and valleys of central Pennsylvania. Here in Appalachia, where her parents are from, Johnson finds the remnants of Pennsylvania’s booming 19 th -century ironmaking industry and goes on a journey to learn about those old furnace stacks that stand, as one poem puts it, “like lone towers left from fortresses / by the roadside.” Like students of this local history who came before her, Johnson acknowledges that Full Article
li BookMark: "Charming Billy" By Alice McDermott By radio.wpsu.org Published On :: Thu, 30 Apr 2020 21:45:00 +0000 What makes a book relevant more than twenty years after it was first published? In order to persist, books tell tales that go beyond the experiences of the main character and become relatable to broad audiences across time. “Charming Billy” by Alice McDermott does exactly this while questioning the nature of relevance through an exploration of the titular character. Billy Lynch is an alcoholic. That’s the unchanging reality that leads him to die alone in New York City before the book begins. In the opening chapter, readers meet the community at his funeral, huddled inside a bar and grill ironically drinking the very stuff that fueled Billy’s addiction. It’s through their conversation that we learn of Billy’s goodhearted nature. Billy is willing to help out a friend in any situation and finds ways to make people feel good about life. It’s at that table we meet Billy’s cousin Dennis, who seems to have access to Billy’s life in ways the rest of the family doesn’t. Dennis’ daughter, Full Article
li Preethi Kitchen Appliances forays into cook hobs By retail.economictimes.indiatimes.com Published On :: 2018-06-30T12:00:00+05:30 Preethi is exporting products to the US, Asian and African countries and it currently constitutes around 8% of its revenue. Full Article