The Toledo Museum of Art's 2013 “The Art of Writing” Poetry Contest invites you to submit an original poem inspired by a work of art in the Museum’s collection.  Submissions are due March 28, 2013.  This spring the Museum will host a showcase of notable entries and a reception for writers and their guests.  Cash and membership prizes are awarded.   Register in one of four ways at:  http://www.toledomuseum.org/learn/writingcontest/   

Q:  What was the life expectancy of a 65-year-old in 1940 when Social Security began sending benefit checks?  What's the life expectancy of a 65-year-old today?
A:  On Jan. 31, 1940, Ida May Fuller, 65, of Brattleboro, Vt., was issued the first check, for $22.54, under the Social Security Act of 1935.  Then, she could expect to live another 14.7 years, and a man at 65 could expect to live another 12.7 years.  Now, at 65, a woman can expect another 20.9 years, and a man can expect another 18.9 years.  "Increases in life expectancy are a factor in the long-range financing of Social Security," the government says.  "But other factors, such as the sheer size of the baby boom generation, and the relative proportion of workers to beneficiaries, are larger determinants of Social Security's future financial condition." -- Social Security Administration.   http://www.thecourier.com/Opinion/columns/2013/Feb/JU/ar_JU_022513.asp?d=022513,2013,Feb,25&c=c_13   

The vocal folds, also known popularly as vocal cords, are composed of twin infoldings of mucous membrane stretched horizontally across the larynx.  They vibrate, modulating the flow of air being expelled from the lungs during phonation.  Another name for the airway at the level of the vocal cords is the glottis, and the opening between the cords is called the glottic chink.  The size of the glottic chink is important in respiration and phonation.  Open during inhalation, closed when holding one's breath, and held apart just a tiny bit for speech or singing; the folds are controlled via the vagus nerve.  They are white because of scant blood circulation.  The folds vibrate when they are closed to obstruct the airflow through the glottis, the space between the folds: they are forced open by increased air pressure in the lungs, and closed again as the air rushes past the folds, lowering the pressure (Bernoulli's principle).  A person's voice pitch is determined by the resonant frequency of the vocal folds.  http://www.sciencedaily.com/articles/v/vocal_folds.htm

 

phonation   Etymology:  Gk, phone, sound; L, atio, process

the production of speech sounds through the vibration of the vocal folds of the larynx
Mosby's Medical Dictionary, 8th edition  © 2009 Elsevier
http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/phonation

Established in 1996, the Barnes & Noble Writers for Writers Awards celebrate authors who have given generously to other writers or to the broader literary community.  Nominations are solicited from past winners, other prominent writers, members of the publishing community, and Poets & Writers' Board and staff.  These nominations are reviewed and winners selected by a committee comprised of current and past members of the Board of Directors.  Title of the award has been given to Barnes & Noble in appreciation of their extraordinary support of Poets & Writers.  Recipients of the 2013 Writers for Writers Award are Steve Berry, Rigoberto González, and Judith Kelman. The awards will be presented at Poets & Writers’ annual dinner, In Celebration of Writers, on Monday, March 18, 2013 in New York City.  Find biographies of current winners, and see list of winners from 1996-2012 at:  http://www.pw.org/about-us/writers_writers_award_and_editors_award

History is the story of who we are.  It is writings, images, art, and memorabilia, much of which is donated to museums and archives.  However, of the more than 1.7 billion rare and unique books, periodicals, and scrapbooks currently in collections, at least 16%, 270,000,000, are endangered because of poor conservation. Of the 21,000,000 paintings, sculptures, and decorative art now in those collections, 26%, 5,500,000, are threatened.  What if these rarities are not preserved?  Quite simply, links to our past will be irretrievably broken.  If you have or know of a historical project that needs attention, Steve and Elizabeth Berry are here to help.  Contact them at historymatters@steveberry.org.  http://www.steveberry.org/berry-history.htm

Established in 2008, Visible Ink offers patients at Memorial Sloan-Kettering the opportunity to work individually with an experienced writer, editor, or teacher on a writing project of their choice, which need not be disease related.  The program is free of charge and open to all interested inpatients and outpatients, regardless of their writing level or experience.  To date, more than 500 patients have enrolled and 35 writers, editors, teachers, and graduate writing students have signed on as volunteers.  Visible Ink promotes self-expression, stress reduction, personal growth, and individual success for participants who have experienced a serious illness.  Patients benefit from the opportunity to tell their stories in a positive, supportive framework.  Visible Ink participants have produced more than 15,000 pages of written work, including novels, short stories, blogs, personal experience essays, journals, letters, poems, stage scripts and screenplays, song lyrics, and articles.    Each year, Visible Ink participants are invited to submit up to two written works from which a committee selects pieces to be published in our anthology and included in our staged reading.  The anthology is distributed at the staged reading.  Copies of the anthology are also sold in Memorial Sloan-Kettering gift shops.  For more information on the anthology and staged reading please contact: 

Judith Kelman  Visible Ink Founder & Team Leader  Judith.kelman@gmail.com  212-535-3985

Greg Kachejian Artistic Director & Administrator  Kachejig@mskcc.org  212-639-7579
http://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/counseling-support/writing-visible-ink

Scarlett O'Hara, born Katie Scarlett O' Hara (credited as Scarlett Hamilton - Kennedy - Butler), is the protagonist in Margaret Mitchell's 1936 novel Gone with the Wind and in the later film of the same name.  Scarlett was born in 1845.  She also is the main character in the 1970 musical Scarlett and the 1991 book Scarlett, a sequel to Gone with the Wind that was written by Alexandra Ripley and adapted for a television mini-series in 1994.  During early drafts of the original novel, Mitchell referred to her heroine as "Pansy", and did not decide on the name "Scarlett" until just before the novel went to print.  In the 1939 film version of Gone with the Wind, Scarlett O'Hara is similar to the character in the original novel, but there are some noticeable differences.  In the book, Scarlett gives birth to three children:  Wade Hampton Hamilton, Ella Lorena Kennedy, and Eugenie Victoria "Bonnie Blue" Butler.  In the film version, only Bonnie is featured.  In the sequel book, Scarlett, she has another daughter with Rhett, Katie Colum O'Hara more commonly known as "Cat".  Scarlett is by far the most developed character in Gone with the Wind.  She stands out because she is strong and saves her family but is incredibly selfish and petty at the same time.  She challenges nineteenth-century society's gender roles repeatedly, running a store and two lumber mills at one point.  Scarlett is in some ways the least stereotypically feminine of women (in other ways the most), and the more traditional Melanie Wilkes is in many ways her foil. But Scarlett survives the war, several marriages, the birth of children, and even a miscarriage.  Melanie, on the other hand, struggles with fragile health and a shy nature.  Without Melanie Wilkes, Scarlett might simply be seen as harsh and "over the top," but beside Melanie, Scarlett presents a fresher, deeper female characterization; she lives a complicated life during a difficult period of history.  Some of Scarlett's lines from Gone with the Wind, like "Fiddle-dee-dee!," "Tomorrow is another day," "Great balls of fire!" and "I'll never go hungry again!", have become modern catchphrases.  http://gonewiththewind.wikia.com/wiki/Scarlett_O'Hara  NOTE that a home in my family was one of the homes considered for Tara, but it was not chosen.