Bo scandal breaker at U.S. embassy

“Two things were clear the moment he walked in: this was a very big deal, and this was a very unsavory character. This is not the Dalai Lama who walked in the door.” NYTimes 4/18/2012

Why Trees Matter

"In Japan, researchers have long studied what they call 'forest bathing.' A walk in the woods, they say, reduces the level of stress chemicals in the body and increases natural killer cells in the immune system, which fight tumors and viruses. Studies in inner cities show that anxiety, depression and even crime are lower in a landscaped environment."--Jim Robbins, NYTimes, 4/12/12

Frank Langella true memoir

Frank Langella's memoir, Dropped Names, is a true memoir, that is, a collection of memories of other people. "The word has been corrupted these days to mean essentially the recounting of anything traumatic or even vaguely interesting that happened to the author, but it used to be more commonly used to describe recollections of famous figures: other people....A natural raconteur, he seems to fit precisely Henry James's famous description of the novelist as one 'on whom nothing is lost.'"--Charles Isherwood, NYTimes, 4/14/12, review of Dropped Names