A Little Dickens - Original readers of Charles Dickens's Great Expectaitons read that work in serialized form. Now you can experience the same story as they experienced it. Discovering Dickens - A Community Reading Project will deliver the story to you on newsprint, bit by bit, each week!

Stress - All In Your Head? - Years ago, people believed it was so. But as time goes by it becomes more and more clear that there are very real physical effects of stress on the body. These effects can adversely effect both the quality of our lives and our health. For details, read:The Heavy Cost of Chronic Stress (from NYT, free registraiton required)

PSA for the Holidays - 'Tis the season when people forget themselves. Her'es a handy animation that reminds you og the dangers of alcohol consumption. Just in time : Alcohol Warnings (requires flash)

Church and State, together at last! - Secret meetings, political graft for religious organizations, bible-thumping policy... it gives me a warm fuzzy just thinking about our current administration.

And the influence of the religious right spreads much further. The Internet commentator Atrios, who played a key role in bringing Mr. Lott's past to light, now urges us to look into the secretive Council for National Policy. This blandly named organization was founded by Tim LaHaye, co-author of the apocalyptic "Left Behind" novels, and is in effect a fundamentalist pressure group. [...]
George W. Bush gave a closed-door speech to the council in 1999, after which the religious right in effect endorsed his candidacy.

Paul Krugman writes in :Gotta Have Faith ( from NYT, requires free registration)

Technical Difficulties - Next time, vote.

I know this expresses the sentiments of many of my fellow Americans. There are those of us who feel that the effort to protect ourselves has been hijacked by an overzealous and power drunk administration. Please stand by...