11/10/2009

Mark Patinkin: Let’s take a trip up to my attic
I have a graveyard upstairs in my attic. I know it’s not good to have an unauthorized burial ground on your property, but I do. There are many once beloved members of our household interred there. They are old electronics.

It takes little time for a child to be addicted to lying

Gamers answer new ‘Call of Duty’
New multiple-player games rival the movies in audience appeal and box office receipts

11/09/2009

News flashes from the past
Communist East Germany opened the Berlin Wall, allowing travel between East and West Berlin.

Popeye was right — but for wrong reason
Spinach an excellent source of vitamins A and C, fiber and other nutrients

Masks have been saving goalies for 50 years
Gerry Cheevers painted a black stitch on his mask every time a puck hit him in the face, and soon stitches covered the mask

11/15/2009

Fundraisers
The Warwick Rotary Latin Night with dinner, music and dance lessons is Nov. 12 from 6 to 9 p.m. at the William Shields Post #43, 662 West Shore Rd., Warwick. Tickets are $25 and proceeds support the Rotary’s Dominican Republic Hospital project. For tickets, call Christine Harkins at 781-2700, Christopher Sanford at 633-4788 or Jeffrey Johnson at 965-3697.

Kindling a desire for learning
BALTIMORE — The eighth-graders in Tina Kidd’s English class at Catonsville Middle School were discussing the role of the traditional book and its future in the age of Kindle.

Volunteers in Action: A day for whole families to help out
Rhode Islanders, this year especially, face desperate situations for those with basic needs — food, shelter and clothing. Serve Rhode Island with support from the HandsOn Network, generated by Points of Light Institute, is proud to initiate this year’s Family Volunteer Day on November 21, 2009. Family Volunteer Day is an annual day of service held the Saturday before Thanksgiving to demonstrate the impact that families who choose to volunteer together can have on their communities.

Parent to Parent: Web site offers support for those with sick children
If you’re sick, stay home. Parents of kids with cancer spread the news on the Web: Don’t even think about visiting my child if you or your children are sick.

Fundraisers
The Warwick Rotary Latin Night with dinner, music and dance lessons is Nov. 12 from 6 to 9 p.m. at the William Shields Post #43, 662 West Shore Rd., Warwick. Tickets are $25 and proceeds support the Rotary’s Dominican Republic Hospital project. For tickets, call Christine Harkins at 781-2700, Christopher Sanford at 633-4788 or Jeffrey Johnson at 965-3697.

Volunteers in Action: A day for whole families to help out
Rhode Islanders, this year especially, face desperate situations for those with basic needs — food, shelter and clothing. Serve Rhode Island with support from the HandsOn Network, generated by Points of Light Institute, is proud to initiate this year’s Family Volunteer Day on November 21, 2009. Family Volunteer Day is an annual day of service held the Saturday before Thanksgiving in order to demonstrate the impact that families who choose to volunteer together can have on their communities.

Mark Patinkin: Capitalism still looks good to me
I can still picture the Berlin Wall — it was 20 years ago this month.

Fashions help you channel your favorite TV characters
NEW YORK — So, you admire the fashions of popular TV characters. Do you want to dress just like them?

Video game review: Racing gearheads can pop the hood with ‘Forza 3’
But there’s an upgrade button if you’re not a natural tuner

Women still answer the call to become nuns
LEAVENWORTH, Kansas A happy, party noise filled Annunciation Chapel on the last day of August, a breezy day that felt more spring than end of summer.

Kindling a desire for learning
BALTIMORE — The eighth-graders in Tina Kidd’s English class at Catonsville Middle School were discussing the role of the traditional book and its future in the age of Kindle.

Reunions
Cumberland High School Class of 1984 will hold their 25th reunion Nov. 27 at Effin’s Last Resort, 325 Farnum Pike, Smithfield beginning at 6:30 p.m. For information, call Kathy Bain Farrell at 334-5938 or Christine Dimuccio Kulacz at 333-2461.

11/08/2009

MARK PATINKIN: Less is more when applying to college
It’s the season for high school seniors to be approaching panic mode. They’re applying to college.

Young adults in the lurch
SAN JOSE, Calif. — They met in college and knew instantly they were meant to be together.

Your kid’s precious art: Frame it? Box it? Toss it?
Yes, their pictures are brilliant, but there’s a limit to how many you can save

Parents need to send message on manners
Holly Kopczynski always prided herself on raising her kids the right way, teaching them etiquette basics like saying “Please” and “Thank you.”

Valuable skills are part of payoff for volunteering
Nonprofit community organizations all across Rhode Island need volunteers for interesting and exciting opportunities. Develop valuable skills and try something new by volunteering!

Fundraiser
www.tomaquagmuseum.com.

REUNIONS
slancia@symmetryproducts.com.

11/07/2009

Mark Patinkin: Twitters of the rich and famous
It seems that everyone these days is communicating by Twitter. That’s where you bypass the media and post online status updates a few times a day.

‘Dragon Age’ adds grit to fantasy role-playing
The role-playing fantasy has been a staple of electronic gaming since the 1970s, when students cobbled together interactive quests on university mainframes. But the genre has fallen out of favor in recent years, overtaken by grittier dramas like the “Grand Theft Auto” and “Call of Duty” franchises.

11/05/2009

Historic sites teach Thanksgiving from a Native American view
A few weeks ago, Trudie Lamb-Richmond was leading a school group through the Mashantucket Pequot Museum when a question from one of the kids brought her up short.

Visiting area Colonial, Native American history sites
Contact information for historic sites and museums mentioned in this story:

Westerly’s Grills Preserve a feast for hikers, nature-lovers
Westerly’s Grills Preserve a treat for hikers, nature lovers

Polar Express begins its ride this weekend
All aboard. “The Polar Express” will be pulling from the station beginning this weekend.

Festival Ballet Providence features Balanchine
Festival Ballet Providence continues its intimate Up Close on Hope series Saturday with a tip of the hat to legendary choreographer George Balanchine. At least two of the pieces in the lineup will be from him, his “Tarantella” and a “Pas de Deux” set to music by Tchaikovsky. Otherwise there will be a premiere from the company’s ballet master Yves de Bouteiller (“Secrets of the Moon”) and new works from company member Mark Harootian (“The Risk of Thrust”) and Boston Ballet’s Boyko Dossev (“Nothing Else Matters”).

The ESSENTIALS
FASHION

11/04/2009

Horror filmmaker Corman takes talents online
Roger Corman will produce “Splatter,” interactive horror Web series for Netflix that allows viewers to vote on which characters should be killed off

For the Moment: It’s OK when you don’t know what to say
On a blustery December day five years ago, the phone took me away from all the cooking and the dishes to the incomprehensible words of my son so far away at college. “Pray for Allie,” he said as I sank into a chair at the kitchen table, squeezing the phone so tightly that I could no longer feel my fingers. Why, I wondered, couldn’t I respond?

Health: Diabetes a serious disease
Health

11/03/2009

Mark Patinkin: I’ve never met a rule that couldn’t be broken
Maria Shriver — wife of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger — has been chided for breaking some rules lately.

Online
Better think twice before using photo-sharing and social networking sites

Holiday get-togethers often reveal information about your future husband
Holiday get-togethers can reveal information about your future husband

The ESSENTIALS
HEALTH

11/02/2009

Dot.comedy: Online, it’s survival of the wittiest
Quick way to find out what works and what bombs

Good reading with your stash of Halloween candy
It’s the scary season — and a great time to curl up with a creepy read. So if Halloween didn’t offer you enough ghouls and monsters, these books will give you your fill.

Master woodcarver works his magic on sweet potatoes
WASHINGTON — “I brought two sweet potatoes,” says 8-year-old Catrina Calingaert.

News flashes from the past
Iranian fundamentalists stormed the U.S. embassy in Tehran and took 90 prisoners, beginning the Iranian Hostage Crisis which lasted 14 months.

The ESSENTIALS
FASHION

11/01/2009

A book, and DVD by men, for men, about men
The men’s movement moves on.

A book, and DVD by men, for men, about men
The men’s movement moves on.

Columnist Mark Patinkin: Herewith, my complement of useless information
Here are some things I just learned:

Actress charmed with classic style
American beauty from Philadelphia became ideal modern princess

Designers honor Grace Kelly’s cool, classic style
Grace Kelly film fest on TV

Glam up an inexpensive do
Now more than ever we’re looking to make a fashion splash without spending a ton of cash. But you say you’re having trouble figuring out how to do that?

To love again — with courage
Our lives had fallen into a new but familiar routine. Once again morning meant the bustle of getting children to school, packing lunches. I was still fragile enough to find these ordinary things extraordinary. Sometimes I stood in the basement, my hands pulling warm clothes from the dryer, and paused to marvel at how simple and satisfying this task was: the soft pink shirt, the twisted fairy underwear, my son’s size large T-shirt wrapped around his little sister’s Hanna Andersson striped pajamas.

Chocolate milk comes to the fitness center
Chocolate milk, the drink mothers give children as a treat, is gaining popularity as a post-workout recovery drink.

Video Game Review ‘Dissidia: Final Fantasy’
“Dissidia: Final Fantasy,” with a cast drawn from Square Enix’s long- running RPG series, answers the age-old question: Who would win in a fight between Tidus and Sephiroth? Or Cloud and Kefka?

REUNIONS
CHS75@coventryschools.net.

FUNDRAISERS
The Rhode Island Chapter 9-1 Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association holds its 3rd annual Chicken Dinner Fundraiser Nov. 1, 1-4 p.m., at the South Seekonk Rod and Gun Club, 61 Reed St., Rehoboth, Mass. $12, $5 children, free under age 12. Proceeds help the R.I. Chapter support veterans, troops and community events. Call 323-8649 or 465-4323.

Many doors lead to opportunities in community service
Volunteers participate as community members in many ways. This month there is a wide lens through which to view the work of volunteers in the community.