Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Michelle is immensely popular: more so than Barack and her 2 predecessors

Another key study by the Pew Center, Michelle Obama's Strong Personal Image, this one shows how the first lady's popularity extends to just about all demographics, outpacing even her husband. Of course, she doesn't have to make any key policy decisions, but maybe she should have more input, eh?

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Adventures in Multicultural Living: Little Brother's many older brothers - AnnArbor.com


From IMDiversity.com Asian American Village Editor Frances Kai-Hwa Wang:

At 10:00 pm every Friday night, Mr. Pao, the Administrator of Students, rings the bell for everyone to go home, and…nobody moves. What kind of Chinese School is this that nobody is anxious to leave at 10:00 pm on a Friday night? Everyone, parents and teachers and students, are still talking and laughing, lingering a few more moments together, just one more person to catch. I slowly round up all my children from all their extracurricular classes—gu zheng, kung fu, yo-yo, art—find their coats, pick up their backpacks, and slowly make our way towards the front door.

But where is Little Brother?

I walk up and down all the hallways, ask the parents of all his little friends, check the upstairs and the gym and outside the back door. I finally find him in the multipurpose room, in the center of a big circle of teenagers, all twice his height (which is why I did not see him earlier), holding forth about his favorite Pokemon. Serious stuff.

Two of the teenagers, Brian and Stephanie, are fighting over him again, “Who do you like better? Me or her?” (click on link for more) Little Brother's many older brothers - AnnArbor.com

Friday, January 08, 2010

The Harried Life of the Working Mother

The Pew Research center has come out with an in-depth look at the workplace revolution which has found that 66% of women with children 17 years or younger work out of the home. Begun with all those lionized "Rosie the Riveters," or women who went into the factories during WW II, filling in for the fighting men and producing the materiel necessary for the war effort, the trend has continued with more and more women out of the home and in the workplace. However, despite the gains in education and training as well as personal and economic independence, some women remain conflicted about their role.

Here's the summary, and you can also read the full report, called The Harried Life of the Working Mother. Indeed.