All Blog Posts (1,565)

The Sarasota Film Festival is proud to announce that Jake Schreier's ROBOT & FRANK will open the 2012 Festival with a screening at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall on Friday, April 13^th. Frank Langella and Mr. Schreieattend the festival’s Opening Night festivities.

Set in the near future, ROBOT & FRANK is the story of Frank (Frank Langella), a retired thief living alone and resigned to longing for the local librarian (Susan Sarandon).…

We’re gearing up for Selection Sunday March 11^th, 2012 and, if you are involved in an office bracket like I am, you know that Sunday signifies the official start of March Madness!! I’m the organizer of the brackets in my office pool – The ‘Bracket Mistress’ –  and this year I am bound and determined to come out on top. I am offically declaring that I want UNC-Asheville to live up to the hype and win it all because I am NOT a Syracuse fan. A group of us diehard March Madness fans…

A. Parker's Books and Book Bazaar will be exhibiting at the 31st Annual Florida Antiquarian Book Fair this weekend.  It's a great Fair, with many notable book dealers from across the…

What does a woman do when she wakes up and discovers half of her eyebrow missing?  No, it was not one of those college pranks in which mischievous things happen while sleeping.  This is alopecia rearing it’s ugly head again.  My 11-year battle with this disease has provided tears, joy, disappointment, embarrassment, resignation, strength, growth, wisdom and…

Historically men have dominated green jobs, yet a new report is trying to shift the tides. The report recently released by the Department of Labor, “Why Green Is Your Color: A Woman's Guide to a Sustainable Career,” highlights the fact that green jobs tend to be dominated by men, yet opportunities abound for women as well. It has been noticed as well by Ecotech Institute, the first and only college entirely focused on preparing America’s…

In 1681, King Charles II of England granted a huge tract of land in the New World to William Penn to settle an outstanding debt. The area later became Pennsylvania. Two years later, Penn was busy with plans for a city he called "Philadelphia." As one of the earlier supporters of colonial unification, Penn wrote and urged for a Union of all the English colonies in what was to…

Cancer stuns us, often to the point it is hard to think straight, hard to turn off the thoughts, and especially hard to organize our thoughts (especially once the chemo fog rolls in).  Suddenly, we are thrust into the life of a cancer patient - facing tests, appointments, treatment, so much that is new to us, and all at once.  Last year, I was at my mother’s side at every step…

 Inspirations Day Spa is now open in downtown Sarasota. The day spa extends the quality personal-care services clients have been enjoying for years at Inspirations Salon.  As a special introduction to the spa, massages and facials may be enjoyed for only $49.  A wide range of services are offered by the spa’s highly trained staff:  Massage (Swedish,…

The dust has settled ever so slightly on the Komen-Planned Parenthood eruption.  It seems everyone and their cousin has weighed in on the issue.  Meanwhile, I’ve listened.  My overall perception and opinion of Komen hasn’t changed at all, but I think the depth of my understanding of has.

According to Karen Handel, the emails that Komen was getting in…

Margaret Higgins Sanger (September 14, 1879 – September 6, 1966) was an American sex educator, nurse, and birth control activist. Sanger coined the term birth control, opened the first birth control clinic in the United States, and established Planned Parenthood. Sanger's efforts contributed to the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case which legalized contraception in the United States. Her famous article, The Case for Birth Control, was first published in the WOMAN CITIZEN, Volume 8, February…

On February 21, 1828, the first printing press designed to use Sequoyah's newly invented Cherokee alphabet (a system representing each syllable in the Cherokee language with a separate written character) arrives at New Echota, Georgia. Within months, the first Indian language newspaper, called the Cherokee Phoenix, appeared in print.



To celebrate this phenomenal achievement and to remind us how poorly we have treated our Native…

The Literacy Council of Sarasota is having its annual Author's Luncheon on Friday, February 17th, 2012. James E. Duffy, former President of ABC Television network and co-founder of Project Literacy US, will speak.  A. Parker's Books and Book Bazaar have donated a $50 Gift Certificate as a door-prize for this worthy organization.…

Screening Saves Lives.  We’re bombarded with the message.  Colon cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer, bowel cancer, cervical cancer, you name it cancer, heart tests, blood cholesterol tests, on and on… so long as we screen we catch it early and we survive.  For better or worse, that is the message seared into my cells.

With so much cancer in our…

Of course, we wish that everyone chose an Xtreme Lashes Stylist for their eyelash extensions but we always hate to hear of anyone receiving a bad eyelash extension application, no matter who they choose. The image above was shared with us by Xtreme Lashes Poland and is of a woman who came to see them after having a very poor quality lash application from an unqualified person, NOT an Xtreme Lashes Stylist.

We always stress that training is immensely important when…

(The following is a 4women guest blog from Liz Belilovskaya, of I Had Cancer.)

When you or someone you love is diagnosed with cancer, your natural reaction may be to want to find out as much as possible about the disease, from available treatment options, to likely side effects, to the day-to-day…

How many surrendered body parts does it take to truly cheat cancer by BRCA mutation?  4 and counting….

A majority of women who test positive for a BRCA mutation view prophylactic mastectomy as the most effective strategy for reducing breast cancer risk.  Take out the ovaries too and we…

I'm blogging at Literarily Speaking today with not only a cool way to promote your book, but an incentive for you as well! I found a neat program that allows you to make your own 3D movies (not hard at all) and I've used it to promote an upcoming book about relationships I will be self-publishing shortly. But...I goofed. There's a mistake in the video and I don't think I'm the only one who can notice it!  …

Who would’ve thought Barbie could rise to the pinnacle of cancer politics?  And still climbing.  In a country in which approximately 12,400 children are diagnosed with cancer each year (and the number keeps climbing), I can see why the topic of childhood cancer could and would touch on raw emotions.  It’s taken me…