How did a book on conservation in Madagascar that was published over a decade ago become another casualty of the sensationalized Jodi Arias trial? In the weird world of cyber-trolls, it took little time for someone to find an academic book on the environment relevant to criminal justice in Arizona....

As someone who has written extensively about mobbing, which is to say, unrestrained group bullying in the workplace, communities, and schools, I have recently been compelled to confront my own role in the public lynching of psychotherapist Alyce LaViolette. Ms. LaViolette is currently testifying on behalf of Jodi Arias, a...

When I was a student taking paralegal classes in Lansing, Michigan in 1977, I got a call from a friend. He wanted to know if I was interested in forming a group to help a woman who had set fire to her husband in the nearby town of Dansville. Curious...

Click here to read an original op-ed from the TED speaker who inspired this post and watch the TEDTalk below.

Next time you think about workplace bullies, you might do well to consider the Stanford Prison Guard experiments. Philip Zimbardo's ground-breaking research on the social psychology...

If anyone ever throws a pie in my face, I hope it's a Tom Douglas pie. Whether it's the celebrated Seattle chef's triple coconut cream pie that's so luscious even the president's been known to knock back a few, or his maple banana cream pie that...

I paid no attention to the text. I just saw on the ballot something about approving marijuana use. Assuming it meant medical marijuana, I voted for it, muttering to myself that I thought medical marijuana was already the law in the state of Washington. Oh, well, I thought, probably just...

Who in the world is Pete Doige? Could he be just another incredibly talented but completely unknown ex-con from Ontario who painted a sophisticated surrealist landscape in the '70s and has never been heard from since?

Or could he have gone on to become one of the most famous painters...

Dear Governor Romney,

I hope you don't mind my writing this letter to you in a public forum, but to tell you the truth it's the only way I know to reach you. I'm writing because I had some questions after watching you on the YouTube clips (I skipped the...

In the mid-nineties I lived under the canopy of a forest in Madagascar where the melodies of lemurs woke us every morning and soothed us to sleep every evening. To me, their music was harmonious, a nightly concert like a distant New Age choir....

Just what does it mean to paint a beautiful picture and pass it off as a masterpiece? If the experts are fooled, is it any less masterful? In my review of Ken Perenyi's memoir, Caveat Emptor: The Secret Life of an American...

When the flea-market find of a possible Renoir hit the news, my first thought was: Pierre-Auguste Renoir? Or Ken Perenyi? I had just that morning come to the end of Perenyi's fascinating...

I recently brought in my car for a routine checkup, and standing on the corner with a sign in her hand was a long-haired woman in thick lipstick, her face immobilized by her resentment. "This place lied to me and damaged my car," her sign ominously warned me as I...

There comes a time in every bad cook's life when guests arrive for dinner. And just because you don't know your way around the grocery store, much less around the kitchen, is no reason to despair. If you can't make it, you can always fake it. Here's how it's done.

In my recent interview with Kitchen Designer Mick DeGiulio, we discussed his design of the 2012 House Beautiful Kitchen of the Year, a multi-purpose living area complete with fireplace, sofa, butler's pantry and his signature sliding backsplashes, for concealing...

Some women dream of one day owning a Chanel bag. I dream of one day owning a DeGiulio kitchen sink. Sleek, sexy and oh-so functional, they're the kind of sinks that make you want to jump up and cut some...

It always baffles me when I run into someone who doesn't cook; it's like finding out they don't eat. But who am I to judge? My father was a carpenter and I can barely hammer a nail. My mother was a wonderful seamstress and I'd rather glue on a button...

When it comes to setting up kitchens, even the best-designed kitchen is unpleasant to be in if it is cold and sterile. And even the worst designed kitchen provides comfort if it has a sense of soul. I know several people with dream kitchens that they don't dare let get...

I recently wrote about the things a kitchen really doesn't need, but who am I kidding? For us Americans, the real fun is talking about what we do need. If you're reading this, you already know you need a good knife, but why stop there? Here are five...

They say if you're lucky enough to live on the beach, you're lucky enough. And I have to agree, living so close to the side of the sea that if I fell out of bed I'd drown. It hasn't been easy; in the last few years I've lost my job,...

After reading a recent Huff Post piece on appliances you don't need in your kitchen, I was struck by the reader comments. While I was initially in agreement that air popcorn makers had to go, one reader noted that she ate popcorn every night and over the year...