My father,who survived the Holocaust, couldn't sleep. He also didn't want to. And withdreams where he saw his lost mother's face appear in the middle of a fryingegg, fringed by bubbles of boiling fat, who could blame himHe didn'ttalk about his family - it was too painful. More than that, words couldn't betrusted to convey the reality of what had happened. Read Full Story

Like Toula Portokalos I often think of myself as the geekwho, by merely putting on some cover up and perming her hair, bloomed into abeautiful woman.I think of myself that way, but the transformation never actually happened.Maybe that is why I love lsquo;My Big Fat Greek Wedding' so much. It allows me todream big. Read More Read Full Story

The Tiger Woods debacle in Florida this past weekend, the one inwhich he crashed his car into a tree in the middle of the night and was rushedto hospital, unconscious with facial lacerations, got me thinking. How muchof an invasion of a celebrity's privacy are we, the public, entitled to Read Full Story

We found this in the New York Post and here is an excerpt from the newspaper describing the photos.'The story of Eddie's [the hamster] wild ride dates back to 1996, when the District Attorney's office was preparing for the trial of crazed subway bomber Edward Leary. Prosecutors needed a model of a subway train to show jurors just where Leary detonated his explosives.Architectural engineer Marie Venticinque was enlisted to construct the tiny train car replica. The model did its job - Leary is ... Read Full Story

A ‘stunt’ doll is being used as part of a new training programme to help prepare dogs and cats for the arrival of a new baby or improve their relationship with young children. Read Full Story

I have just received my first Christmas card of 2009.Every year, like the first Fererro Rocher TV advert, it turns upridiculously early. Always from the same people. Why they feel it necessary tosend seasonal greetings in November, I will never know. Perhaps it's to giveslackers like myself more time to get organised and return the sentiment. Read Full Story

Before I had kidsI swore I would never be one of lsquo;those' moms who sent out Christmas cards withpictures of their kids on the front. I enjoyed the festive photos Hallmark hadto offer, of snowmen and Santas, even a picture of Jesus was just alright withme. However I dreaded getting pictures of other people's kids in some cornyoutfit, posing in front of a fake fireplace, or at the beach in shorts andSanta hats. Was all this really necessary just to wish someone a MerryChristmas And anyway, ... Read Full Story

Did you see over the weekend that a man in Florida killed his aunt, twosisters and his cousin's six-year-old daughter at a Thanksgiving dinnerparty And I am horrified to say, that I didnrsquo;t feel much emotion inresponse to this sickening news. I know that itrsquo;s terrifying andhorrifying; however I am becoming increasingly immune towards thehorrors of which I read everyday. Are people becoming evermore sick andtwisted, or was the world always this bloody Read Full Story

So, we decided to take the plunge and become expats. Almostimmediately I was faced with my first task; telling family and friends of ourmomentous move. This was an interesting experience because misconceptions aboutour destination - Moscow - abound. Few people in western Europe have travelledthere, so it's understandable that in the same way that London is universallyknown by those who've never visited to be constantly rain-soaked, gloomy, andrequire copious use of galoshes in all seasons, an... Read Full Story

Today is Black Friday in the States. That means the day afterThanksgiving when Christmas shoppers throughout the country get up at 4am andbombard stores to get first dibs on the door-buster deals that retailers areoffering in the lead up to the Christmas holiday.It got me thinking. Why do they call it Black Friday It's a goodday - right Gathering gifts for your loved ones. Injecting giant amounts ofcash into a sagging economy. Singing Christmas carols while you wrestle thisyear's hot toy out ... Read Full Story