Paging Dr. House

R.J. Stove on the mental health debacle in Australia. Share

La Duthé

An actress of the old regime.

"Let us say to the glory of Alençon that the toffee was accepted with more joy than la Duthé ever showed at a gilt service or a fine equipage offered by the Comte d'Artois."

Balzac, Honoré de. An Old Maid

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Harassment Claims

They are on the rise and more often than not filed by men. According to the Wall Street Journal:

The spike in male sexual harassment claims coincides with a recession that has hit men harder than women. From September 2008 to January 2010, 4.4 million men lost their jobs compared with 2.3 million women, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics figures. As the economic downturn took hold in 2008, sexual harassment filings by men and women jumped by 10.8% to 13,920 claims. Employment lawyers say that when jobs are harder to obtain, many forms of litigation, especially discrimination, increase.

In the past, victims of harassment—especially men—might have "voted with their feet," and found new jobs rather than turning to the legal system, says Greg Grant, an attorney with Shulman Rogers in Washington, D.C. "When they can't get other jobs and they still have to pay the bills and support families," they have to either live with the harassment or risk the potential stigma of speaking out, says Mr. Grant. And sexual harassment experts say the numbers are still under-reported because of the stigma associated with men who are sexually harassed.

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The Other Boleyn Girl (2008)

“Well, if it isn't the Boleyn Whores. Two former ladies of mine. Hiding in shadows.”
- Queen Katherine of Aragon (Ana Torrent), The Other Boleyn Girl (2008)

Here is a review from Irish playwright Gareth Russell, who knows more about Anne and the Boleyns than I ever will. Gareth did not care for the film. I enjoy The Other Boleyn Girl for the costumes and acting and the marvelous way Queen Katherine tells people off. However, there is no mention of the martyrdoms of St. Thomas More or St. John Fisher...or of anyone else, for that matter. Share

Kartọffelbrei

A delectable recipe, favored by an Empress. Share

A Tale of Two Grandmothers

An article about my grandmothers and how they inspired my faith. (Catholic Exchange welcomes similar stories about inspiring women.) Share

William Morris

Art and poetry. Share

Gossip

Three ways to stop it. (A MUST READ.) As etiquette consultant Patricia Rossi so aptly describes:

We’re talking about Gossip. We have all done it or cracked our necks in half, craning to hear it. Let’s square off with ourselves to eradicate gossip from our lives. We especially need to cut loose the slippery fancy forms of gossip we use to seem sympathetic, concerned, or to deem our gossipy selves innocent.

Example: “That poor Ted, bless his heart, sure is ballooning up. He needs to back away from the buffet,” or, “Please pray for Sally. She’s on her fourth plastic surgery and starting to look like a drag queen!”

No matter how we dress it up with feigned concern, and/or, “Bless their hearts,” it’s still gossip.

We need to take responsibility. We need to rid our lives of this most pernicious of vices.

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Warsaw and Lodz

A Tale of Two Cities. Share