In England if you say “let’s do lunch” it means I never want to see you again. We don’t say what we mean to be polite.

I read the book excerpt about Joni, Carly and Carole in Vanity Fair - it was excellent, as is this article. As for Dr. Mark Klein on the 60’s: “Today’s America shows the wreckage created in the form of shattered families, the destruction of affordable middle class life, widespread addictive disorders, out of control public and private indebtedness and the collapse of conventional sexual identity”. Well, yeah, blame it all on the 60’s. Maybe the middle class is disappearing, because corporations are paying slave wages. We couldn’t have Woodstock today, because nobody could take time off work. People made good money in the 60’s and had leisure time. The cultural explosion of that era still influences everything we do - the Beatles, Hendrix, Stones remain to this day. America is indeed in trouble and it has nothing to do with the 60’s.

Is this website for women only? I don’t believe so. And what’s to stop Brad from calling himself Angela and posting anyway? I do love Liz’s European updates - all smoking banned in Holland, except for pot. So now do you serve time there for possession of tobacco with intent to distribute?

The “gaffes” I don’t care about - the press is pouncing on every slip up and it’s not important. Rev. Wright is not running for president. It’s a mountain out of a molehill. I also don’t see why they’re telling Hillary to step down - she’s fighting to the end as well she should. I’m not impressed with Obama - talk of hope and unity are just that: talk. I’d rather he stick to issues, instead of the “inspirational” BS. Obama and Hillary are almost identical on issues. Why a rookie senator should choose to enter a race, where his party already has a strong contender, is beyond me. He should have waited 4-8 years instead of splitting the Democrats down the middle. Unity, indeed.

I agree with Anne Krieg. This site might be for the well-to-do professional woman over 45, but suddenly a lot of us find ourselves struggling - not just us, millions of Americans. I used to travel to Europe, but no more, not with my puny dollar.

I bet the prostitution business got a boost from Viagra.

You found eggs for $2 a dozen? In Vegas it’s closer to $3.

“There is also a new sort of fame in our day that has never quite been known before. It is a fame seemingly invented out of whole cloth, based on nothing and needing only a press agent to keep it alive. This new species of fame does not wait for a man to win a race or a worldly prize before riveting its neon light on his head. People in our day become famous who are no more than advertisements, and they advertise not genius but existence. A depersonalized citizenry avid for identity has invented this new type of fame. The lonely city dwellers, whose human faces are lost in the shuffle of world problems and mechanized existence, elect representatives to live for them”. BEN HECHT, “A Child of the Century”, 1954

Lyall Watson, a British biologist, wrote a fascinating book “Heaven’s Breath: A History Of Wind”. It deals with climate change over millions of years. Climates have changed for no apparent reason since the beginning of time and wiped out species and civilizations. During Roman times, Britain was warmer than it is today. The Dark Ages were called that, because for 400 years Europe was cold and dark. Nobody knows why. Watson puts forth the theory it might have something to do with passing comets and how they impact our electro-magnetic field. That being said, there’s no reason to pollute and poison ourselves, but we might be helpless against climate change. http://wolynski.blogspot.com/

If you’ve ever lived through an infestation of bedbugs, it’s a relief it’s ONLY a cockroach. Bedbugs are the worst thing that can befall you. Seriously. As a child, I lay in bed with the flu, watched this small bug walk across the ceiling, than jump off and land on my pillow with a little “ping”. All night long I heard “pings” on the pillow (how on earth did they know to land on the pillow?). In the morning, I was covered with bites. My mother mustered the forces. All the sheets and bedclothes had to be boiled. She inspected the mattresses, pulling off nests. We had to leave for a day, while something vile was sprayed. We stamped them out, finally. If you stay in a hotel room that has bedbugs, they’ll climb into your luggage. It’s a huge battle eradicating them. Be happy with your roaches.

Wonderful and thoughtful piece. I’ve lived in two other countries before this one and the phrase “God Bless America” is scary, the implication being to hell with everyone else. Why not “God Bless Our Planet?” Louise is praying for her family stationed in Iraq, but not for the hundreds of thousands Iraqi men, women and children slaughtered by American bombs, like so many fish in a barrel. Louise should be asking, why is my family in Iraq? Joan Juliet Buck is a marvelous writer, much more subtle than I am. http://wolynski.blogspot.com/

Posters, on top of every page it says Whoopi, yet you call her Whoopie, Whoppi (thankfully no Whopper… yet). That’s disrespectful. How difficult is to remember Whoopi Goldstein?

“I’ve always met more discrimination being a woman than being black” said Shirley Chisholm. I don’t care if a candidate is white, black or plaid, male or female, but what they intend to do. In politics it’s best to assume every candidate is lying and you just pick the liar that’s best for the job. What else can you do?

Catharine Deneuve said a woman over 45 has to choose between her face and her arse. She is a little plumpish now, as is Judi Dench, and they’re both beautiful. I’ve seen sexy heavy ladies (see the movie Baghdad Cafe) and very unsexy, scrawny, skinny ones… and vice versa. Just be confident and sassy and never mind the measurements. http://wolynski.blogspot.com/

Ballykissangel? I got all of it from Netflix, but if anyone asks, I’ll strongly deny it. What a load of highly addictive and delightful rubbish.