Here's a nice summary of different parenting styles: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parenting_styles The authoritarian style is strict and dictatorial, with no dialog between parent & child. The permissive or indulgent style is lenient, with little...

Well, you may accuse me of having sentimental tastes in film, but I really did enjoy the 1998 movie with Robert Redford, called The Horse Whisperer. It's about a reclusive Montana rancher who has an almost mystical ability to gently connect with and...

In an amusing study by LE Williams and JA Bargh, published in Science in 2008, subjects exposed to warm objects behaved in a manner which was more interpersonally warm. Here is the reference: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18948544 In the first...

This is a sequel to one of my previous posts: http://garthkroeker.blogspot.com/2008/10/chocolate.html A recent study looked at various hormonal and metabolic changes associated with consuming chocolate. In this case, 30 people were given 40 g of...

Why Cats Paint: A Theory of Feline Aesthetics by Heather Busch & Burton Silver. I find this book a masterpiece of humour, a wonderful parody of art criticism, and also a simple entertainment for those of us who enjoy pets. Have a look at the...