Henry David Thoreau

Our favorite rule in Elmore Leonard's 10 Rules of Writing.

Wilkinson Residence by Robert Harvey Oshatz

Located on a flag lot, a steep sloping grade provided the opportunity to bring the main level of the house into the tree canopy to evoke the feeling of being in a tree house. A lover of music, the client wanted a house that not only became part of the natural landscape but also addressed the flow of music. This house evades the mechanics of the camera; it is difficult to capture the way the interior space flows seamlessly through to the exterior. One must actually stroll through the house to grasp its complexities and its connection to the exterior. One example is a natural wood ceiling, floating on curved laminated wood beams, passing through a generous glass wall which wraps around the main living room.

Piper Kerman explains how in real life she ended up sharing a cell with her former girlfriend who trafficked heroin and involved Piper in the transport of drug money, leading to their imprisonment:

Actually being able to confront her brought me to the point of recognition that my situation was my own responsibility and my own fault, she offered me an “opportunity,” but I chose to take it, she didn’t hold a gun to my head, she didn’t make me do anything, she asked me and I said yes. I think that if I had not been brought face to face with her I would never have gotten quite to the point of taking full responsibility for my actions.

New York Times reporter Elizabeth Rosenthal in her series, “Paying Til It Hurts" does an in-depth analysis of rising healthcare costs in the U.S.  She’s on the show tomorrow to discuss her recent articles.

This comparative chart is from her first article “The $2.7 Trillion Medical Bill"  She goes into why colonoscopies are why the U.S is first in hospital expenditures:

Colonoscopies offer a compelling case study. They are the most expensive screening test that healthy Americans routinely undergo — and often cost more than childbirth or an appendectomy in most other developed countries. Their numbers have increased manyfold over the last 15 years, with data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggesting that more than 10 million people get them each year, adding up to more than $10 billion in annual costs.