I know there are a few of us with kids either starting college in the fall, or starting Senior year and so right in the middle of college planning.  And, I don't know about your house, but ours has been a little stressful over the past few months!  My DD is a good student - good grades and good SAT scores - so she has her sights on very competitive colleges (many overlaps with parentalunit's recent college trip!).  I'm proud of her and want the best for her, but I also see the pressure she puts on herself.  In her view, every decision impacts on her college application!

This video was mentioned on the news in NYC Friday morning, so I jumped onto Youtube to watch it.  It's now made the national news.  I was so moved I had to share it with all of you at MT.  Maybe it's just me, but I was very teary at the end of it.  I hate the idea of bullying and love how this young man eloquently lays out the problem.

Breaking news yesterday - Texas supreme court ruled that the children taken in the raid on a FLDS compound should be returned to their parents.

I've been asked a question by one of the families with whom I work - how do we tell our daughter she has autism?  It's an interesting problem - this girl is now 10 years old, and within the last couple of years has become more aware of her difference from the other kids.  She's also beginning to learn how to advocate for herself - telling friends or teacher how she feels, what she needs - she's not good at it yet, but she's starting to "get" it.

We are very excited in our house - a Broadway musical that we have a small connection to did very well in the Tony Nominations!  The show is In The Heights, and if you have a chance to come to NYC to see it, I can't recommend it strongly enough!

My DD (16yo, Junior in HS) is in the middle of a weeks long project - ending with a historical paper for US History.  They have to ID an event of the late 20th century, research secondary and primary sources, come up with a thesis, and then write a paper defending their thesis.

After much discussion, she has come up with the following thesis:  That radical events and/or radical language that were used early in  the women's movement led to only incremental change; significant changes came when the women's movement used political (legislation and courts) to effect change.

The Executive Board of the Parents Association of DS's school seems obsessed with lice these days.  In the past three days, I have received (no exaggeration) at least 50 emails with the word "lice" in the subject line.  I can't get a handle on how wide-spread a problem it is, because the families who are affected are very upset and vocal.  

Anyway, we are faced with a question of what should we (PA) or the school do, if anything to combat a lice outbreak in the school?

We've all heard Barack Obama's story many times, but I've heard very little about his mother than the (now trite) 'white woman from Kansas' line.  So, I was pleased to see this biographical story in today's NYTimes.  Maybe I"m the only one who was so unaware, but until today, I never even knew her name.

Wow! Anyone else noticing the increase in the cost of baked goods?  Around here, we're seeing an increase in prices in bakeries, pizza places, and (horrors!) bagels!

Seems it's a global shortage of grains.

Anyone reading or want to read Pollan's new book?  I'm about 3/4 through and finding it both enjoyable and provacative.  I'd be happy to host a discussion if others want to read.

Otherwise, I may just wait and share some of my favorite parts with all of you when I finish.

Expat Brit - have you read this - I think you'd find it very affirming!

Taking advantage of my first time "front paging" to share this story from New York Magazine.  It's a very interesting story about how kids learn to lie (did you know it's a sign of intelligence?), why they continue to lie, and what they lie about.

(Unfortunately, the teaser headline - "they're copying their parents" is only a small part of the story - just another stab at parent-guilt)

Anyone else see this article in  Atlantic Monthly this month?  In it, the author makes the argument for "settling" in order to get married.  Parts of the article sound more tongue-in-cheek than real

And all I can say is, if you say you’re not worried, either you’re in denial or you’re lying. In fact, take a good look in the mirror and try to convince yourself that you’re not worried, because you’ll see how silly your face looks when you’re being disingenuous.

 But the overall theme is provacative - can an over-romatic view of love and marriage prevent us from finding life partners?