Ivy treated, gifts, books

This is another blog entry of unrelated items from the hodge-podge of my own mind hehe. Poison ivy treatment was yesterday.

From Sacha (P.S. Barb would like donations to Geauga Humane Society, zoo, history museum too) -

Why don't you donate to the Nelson Mandela Children's fund on my
behalf?
http://www.justgiving.com/mandelachildren

Or a microfinance charity:
https://www.kintera.org/site/c.erKPI2PCIoE/b.2639775/k.9172/Donate_Online/apps/ka/sd/donor.asp?c=erKPI2PCIoE&b=2639775&en=8fLLJROnEcIMLNMnGcLHIRPFKpLOLRNuGcIQJZPAJkITK4NME

I would also be happy if you donated to a Russian orphanage or to
Iraqi refugees on my behalf.


In no particular order
1 Geauga Humane Society
2 Zoo
3 Microfinance
4 Nelson Mandella
5 Russian orphans
6 Natural History Museum

The latest YOU book from Oz is the first I have read. The illustrations are especially good. There are side bar factoids. What is a factoid? That is something that I have asked myself before. American Heritage gives two definitions.
1. A piece of unverified or inaccurate information that is presented in the press as factual, often as part of a publicity effort, and that is then accepted as true because of frequent repetition: "What one misses finally is what might have emerged beyond both facts and factoids—a profound definition of the Marilyn Monroe phenomenon" (Christopher Lehmann-Haupt).
2. Usage Problem A brief, somewhat interesting fact.

The New Yorker did a good job reviewing in the June edition (I'm way behind in reading those) - Her Way and A Woman in Charge, which I found on the NEW! shelf at Mayfield about 6 months after they were released (better late than never). I agree with the review that the first is more sympathetic. I can't get over how two biographies can focus in on such different items. Bernstein points out that there was support for health care coverage when Hillary proposed it during her husband's first administration. If her proposal had been less comprehensive or had been scaled back, people today would have at least more health care coverage than they now do.

The Klein book mentions Marvin Kalb as one of three examples of great traditional journalism of the past. This is in contrast to the entertainment journalism of today. Klein (who I understand concentrated on the past in writing bios about the Kennedys) included many interesting stories about how decisions are made at the major networks and how various anchors and newspeople get along, especially at the Today show. You have to wonder who were the sources for the book. I don't want all sugar coating in a bio, but I don't want pure gossip either. Should I be reading bios like this? Does it bring harm? It certainly is interesting, especially when you see the twists and turns that come in a person's life and how in a lifetime there is both good and bad - trite but true.