Wednesday, October 17, 2012
A glimpse inside Patch's newsroom decisions in covering the disappearance, and death, of Woodson High School senior.
It's been an emotional month for the Glenn family, the community that embraced them, and the folks sent to report on all this. It's been more than two weeks since Bryan Glenn went missing after dropping his younger brother off at Woodson High School. It's been just more than a week since volunteers found his body on the edge of Thaiss Park. Hours ago, I returned home from Bryan's funeral at Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Annandale to read a thought-provoking rehash by the Washington Post's Tom Jackman of the nightmarish two weeks in which the Woodson-Fairfax community rallied around the search for the senior football player. Jackman clarifies some points about the Woodson student's disappearance, how police reacted and why the Post didn't …
Sunday, October 14, 2012
Thriller based on CIA plot during Iran hostage crisis.
Cinema Siren stumbled off a plane from Paris and into a darkened movie theater Saturday afternoon to see actor/director Ben Affleck's great new fall release, Argo. This highly entertaining movie was made all the more fun by being in a sold-out theater with a crowd entirely made up of people over 30 at 1:50 in the afternoon. When was the last time any of you have seen that? Our thanks go to Ben Affleck, who has turned into quite a force in Hollywood, offering a smartly entertaining movie that is both fast-paced and extremely exciting. You'd think anyone in Hollywood who got the phone call with the storyline of this movie would jump on it. The elevator pitch is amazing: A CIA operative convinces his higher-ups to support his outlandish idea…
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Sometimes the best medicine is rest
Maybe it was the change in the weather, or that guy’s hand you didn’t want to shake, the recirculated airplane air or that someone just coughed in your face. Either way you got sick. You are now one if not all these characters from Snow White - Sneezy, Sleepy, Dopey, Grumpy... and Cough-y and Fever-y. Your first instinct may be to grab the Anti-tussive to get rid of the cough, anti-histamine to reduce the mucus and antipyretic to get rid of the fever. There is, of course, one problem with this: you are now fighting your body from making you healthy rather than fighting the bug that’s invaded your body. Humans have been fighting invading bugs ever since the beginning. Your body is trying to fight whatever bug you have managed to acquire, …
Blogger says community came together during this crisis.
Editor's Note: This blog post was written by Nicole Dash, a mother of four living in Annandale. Check out her blog, Tiny Steps Mommy. The children are in music class and I thought about quickly publishing a “Mom Who Gives Back” article or perhaps answering a couple of questions for my Mom-to-Mom advice column. Instead, I find myself thinking about the 17-year-old boy Bryan Glenn from my neighborhood high school who was found dead in the woods yesterday exactly a week after going missing. The details are still coming in, but regardless of the WHY or HOW it is a tragic loss. You can’t go two feet in my neighborhood without seeing missing person posters for the young man who suddenly disappeared. His car was left abandoned in the parking lot …
Sunday, October 7, 2012
If you have a question you would like to ask President Barack Obama or Gov. Mitt Romney, submit it in the comments section below. It could be asked during the televised Oct. 16 Town Hall Presidential Debate.
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Sunday, October 7, 2012
by Patch Staff If Wednesday’s presidential debate left you with more questions than answers, here’s your chance for the presidential candidates to address the issues that most matter to you. The next presidential debate will be a town hall meeting format at Hofstra University in Long Island on Tuesday, Oct. 16, where voters will ask President Obama and Mitt Romney about domestic and foreign policy. Patch is asking you, our readers, to participate by submitting questions for the candidates. All you have to do is post your question in the comments section below and we’ll send it to the Commission on Presidential Debates. The Commission is partnering with Patch and AOL, along with Google and Yahoo, to solicit questions from the American …
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Self-discipline, a well-equipped dedicated workplace and good communication are some of the must-haves when you work from home
Last week I asked "Is it Time to Telework?" The answer for many busy Northern Virginian's, the answer is an emphatic 'Yes!' Whether you are a pioneer in your office and others are counting on your success or you want to ensure that you remain a valued part of your team, the proper preparation, commitment to daily productivity and continued communication with the home office are essential to your success. Prepare your space Make sure you have a safe workspace that provides privacy and is free from distractions. A laptop in the living room may lead to the temptations of television or a nap on a comfy sofa. When we set up our living rooms we are thinking relaxation not productivity. You want a well lit space with room for your materials. You …
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
The one constant about life in Northern Virginia is traffic. Should you work from home?
Living in Northern Virginia means dealing with traffic. The concept of "rush hour" is lost when commuters jam the roads from 5 a.m. until 7 p.m. and a single accident, broken-down car or construction zone can bring everything to a standstill at times. So, maybe it's time to make the business case to your boss to allow you to telework? The many benefits of telework for the employee Teleworking is also good for employers Not all of us can telework Some workers need to be there either because of the nature of the job (nurses, retail, trades, etc.) or the nature of the facilities. You also may not have the required tools to do the job. Your home may not have a fast and reliable internet connection. There may not be a place in your home that …
Newly-approved committee charged with reviewing Fairfax County school discipline policy should research prevention, intervention, rehabilitation and restoration, community member says.
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Wednesday, September 26, 2012
To the Editor: The Fairfax County School Board recently voted to create a 40-member Ad Hoc Community Committee on Student Rights & Responsibilities (SR&R). The group will be comprised of principals, teachers, counselors, and psychologists chosen by their various professional organizations; a representative selected by the county government; an employee from the FCPS hearings office which administers student appeals of expulsion recommendations; and 24 individuals appointed by the school board members from within their magisterial districts. I watched the various discussions and debates over this issue with great interest. I heard several comments about school board members feeling bullied, intimidated and/or threatened by community …
Monday, September 24, 2012
Ever feel bad after eating a sandwich?
Humans have been eating gluten, a protein found in wheat and other grains, for 10,000 years in agrarian societies and even longer in hunter-gatherer tribes that wild-harvested their grains. About 50 years ago gluten was identified as the culprit in Celiac disease, a disease associated with severe intestinal disturbances. It may sound like along time, but 10,000 years of eating wheat is a drop in the bucket when compared to how long human DNA has been on this planet. Processed wheat and grains tend to cause a lot of health problems due to their over-representation in the American menu. The high-octane fuel that our body needs rarely comes from grains but rather from food in its natural form that comes from the earth. Those foods are: …
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
When the iPhone5 was announced earlier this month, people responded with over 2 million orders in the first 24 hours.
Are you getting the new iPhone? If so, you'll have lots of company. Apple announced that the pre-orders for the iPhone5, the newest version of the most popular smartphone, were double the number of the previous record-holder, the iPhone4S. Pre-orders from Apple.com now have a wait time of 2-3 weeks. So what's new? It's thinner (.3 inches), taller (4.87 inches) and lighter (3.95 oz) than the 4S and increases the display size from 3.5 inches diagonally to 4 inches. This allows for an extra row of App icons and of course, larger viewing surface for photos and videos. It has an extra microphone, improved noise-cancelling and wide-audio sound. The camera is upgraded and includes panorama capability. The glass back has been replaced with metal …
A reader
6:58 pm on Saturday, November 10, 2012
Military or not all kids could consider this. I'm tired of people pointing fingers at military families. How many studies have been done on families whose parents work for other organizations? more ›