Albert Einstein

He was the original absent-minded professor -- famed as a mathematical wizard from the age of 26, yet so forgetful he once had to ask directions to his home, and he was concerned enough about neighborhood kids to help them with their math homework.That is the humanity of Albert Einstein, the parts usually left behind when people think about the man who has become this century's idea of genius. And that's the part of Einstein that Ed Metzger introduces to audiences in his one-man play "Einstein: the Practical Bohemian."

7-point plan to fix what ails schoolsI am distressed that our children and grandchildren are born into a culture of violence and death, suffering inevitable consequences of fear. Schools can do some things to improve the circumstances under which our children live and learn. They are:Adopt a dress code that would be uniform, attractive and utilitarian. The code would be mindful of cold and warm weather, adapted to individual differences, and unadorned with emblems relating to athletics, band, chorus, debate or other student activities.

Today, if you're right, you're also wrong.Today is the day to be left and proud. It's International Left-handers Day.International Left-handers Day was started by the now-defunct Lefthanders International, and first celebrated on Friday, Aug. 13, 1976.That day was chosen to counter the superstitions about left-handers and continues to be celebrated by some left-handers.After all, scientists say that if you are right-handed, the left side of your brain is in control, whereas if you are left-handed, it's vice versa -- leading to the inescapable conclusion that left-handers are the only ones who are in their right minds.

"Albert Einstein: A Biography," by Albrecht Folsing. Viking. 878 pages. $37.95.Albert Einstein once said, "What is essential in the life of a man of my kind lies in what he thinks and how he thinks, and not in what he does or suffers." As an expositor of Einstein's scientific ideas, Albrecht Folsing, who has previously published biographies in German of Galileo and Rontgen, is hopeless, lacking flair for images, modeling, metaphor or logic.Folsing is equally inept as a portraitist. The major scientists in Einstein's early years, Ernst Mach, Clerk Maxwell, H.A. Lorenz and Max Planck; and later Niels Bohr, Erwin Schrodinger and Enrico Fermi, never achieve human form.

It's been more than 70 years since Agi Jambor thrilled concert audiences in Berlin with her dynamic piano performances.What followed was a life worthy of a Hollywood feature film -- playing Mozart sonatas with Albert Einstein, escaping Nazi persecution, a brief marriage to actor Claude Raines -- and her discovery by a Baltimore physician and musician who found her living as a recluse in a Pennsylvania farmhouse in 1987.Miss Jambor, acknowledged as one of the world's premier Bach players, was largely forgotten by the time her life ended Monday, the day before her 88th birthday.

Today's Topic is: Your HairstyleIs your hairstyle important?To answer that question, let's consider the starkly different career paths of two individuals: Albert Einstein and Tori Spelling.Tori Spelling is a top celebrity and highly successful television star, despite having the natural acting prowess of a Salad Shooter.Why?Because she always has a neat, modern hairstyle. Also, her father produces every show on television except the test pattern. But her hair is surely a factor.In contrast, Albert Einstein -- despite being a genius who not only discovered the Theory of Relativity ("E equals H2O")

People used to write to Albert Einstein just for samples of his handwriting. He often obliged.So, with all those letters and signatures out there, it might seem odd for someone to pay millions of dollars for another sample of the great genius' penmanship.But that's almost certain to happen today at Sotheby's in New York. Of course, what's being auctioned there is a manuscript of Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity, probably written in 1912. It is the oldest such manuscript in existence.

According to this biography, Albert Einstein, the father of relativity, was neither a good father nor a good relative, but he was certainly quick with a maxim. "Life," Einstein once advised his son, Eduard, who had been hospitalized with a mental disorder, "is like a bicycle. You have to keep moving or you lose your balance."Growing up with a famous parent is seldom easy, perhaps because the stars in any field, even physics, tend to be self-absorbed. His European friends called Einstein (1879-1955)

OSAKA, Japan -- There are at least two reasons why the man who unlocked the secrets of the atom might not be an honored hero in Japan: Hiroshima and Nagasaki.But don't tell that to a mathematics professor at Kinki University, who has spent most of his adult life chasing down the hidden mystery of Albert Einstein. Not his theories, mind you, but his brain.Late last year, he finally found it. The brain, or at least what was left of it, was in Lawrence, Kan., floating in a formaldehyde-filled jar owned by the pathologist who performed Einstein's autopsy.

Albert Einstein Sr.College administratorAlbert B. Einstein Sr., a Baltimore college administrator for 20 years, died Tuesday of kidney failure in Mercer Island, Wash. He was 86.Mr. Einstein was born and reared in Catonsville, where he graduated from Catonsville High School. He moved to Washington 10 years ago, after having lived in Baltimore since 1946.Mr. Einstein worked for the now defunct Eastern College in Baltimore for 20 years as an administrative vice president until his retirement in 1970.

One of President Barack Obama's favorite quotes - which is attributed to Albert Einstein - wisely reminds us, "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results." Some on the far left and some in the media prove Einstein's point on a daily or weekly basis with their continuous assaults against former Vice President Dick Cheney and his single-minded desire to protect our nation from nuclear, biological or chemical attack at the hands of terrorists. The latest onslaught from the left against Mr. Cheney has come because he dares to vocalize that Central Intelligence Agency interrogators actually protected our nation from additional terrorist attacks.

What's the point? -- Certainly, you've seen "WASH ME" or other, less-printable phrases written in the dust on the back of a car or truck. Artist Scott Wade saw the layer of dust on his back windshield as an empty canvas, instead, and this site showcases his works. What to look for --Take a gander at the gallery, which shows a version of Mona Lisa, a portrait of Albert Einstein and more etched into the dirt on Wade's car. Some photos chronicle how the elements (weather, sap, his cat) changed the portraits over time.

As if life weren't tough enough, here's a news flash to grind you down a little further: The dead make more money than you do. This comes to us courtesy of the July Forbes magazine, in an article tastefully titled "Top-Earning Dead Celebs." No. 1 on the Forbes "Dead, Buried And Still Rolling in It" list is Elvis Presley. The King, as everyone knows, has been pushing up daisies for nearly three decades. But according to the magazine, he still made $52 million last year - or at least his estate did, from song rights, Graceland tours and all the rest.

Ernesta Drinker Ballard, 85, a founding member of the National Organization for Women and a horticulturist who helped build the Philadelphia Flower Show into a world-renowned event, has died in Philadelphia. Ms. Ballard died of complications after a stroke on Aug. 11, her family said. Heavily involved in feminist and civic causes, Ms. Ballard marched on Washington, lobbied for the Equal Rights Amendment, and raised money for female candidates. She also was a founding member of the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League, and was chairwoman of NARAL from 1989 to 1991.

Milton Garfunkel has no idea why he has lived to be 99, but finds it curious that his elder sister died at 102 and two brothers lived until they were 92 and 90. All he knows is that aside from bad knees that he blames on many years of handball, he feels fabulous. "I think I can be 120, the way I feel," says Garfunkel, a retired salesman who lives independently with his wife, Peggy, in Yonkers, N.Y. Peggy is 95 and isn't concerned about why she's lived so long. "Why?" she asks rhetorically.

Did you know that Albert Einstein ran into Pablo Picasso in a bistro in Paris in 1904? And that they had a long conversation about life and love, talent and genius with the other patrons and the couple who owned the bar? Hard to imagine? Steve Martin could and did imagine it, in a funny and intelligent play called Picasso at the Lapin Agile. A Student-Alumni Arts production of the comedian's one-acter - it runs about 90 minutes - is being performed through May 11 in Howard Community College's Theatre Outback.

4Kids: Featured site of the month PEACE IN THE GARDEN Take a virtual tour of Anderson Gardens at www.andersongardens.org. Located in Rockford, Ill., these Japanese gardens were inspired by the founder's 1966 trip to Japan. Begin your tour at the Wisteria Arbor. Visit the beautiful waterfalls, granite pagoda and zigzag bridge. Chat for a bit with the stone raccoons, and have tea at the tea house. Once you've completed your journey, stop by the Anderson Center where you can learn more about Japanese studies and horticulture.

PHILADELPHIA - In a bland, windowless room at the nation's oldest historically black college, amid stacks of moldering files and sheaves of tattered papers, Ed Gibson makes history. Literally. One of two archivists at Lincoln University, Gibson sifts methodically through 65 musty boxes of lost letters, worn books and wilted posters that bring to life black history in the Philadelphia region and the nation. Like a scavenger, he picks through papers one by one and indexes documents for students and scholars.

If you're a new parent, there will come a time when either you or your spouse will say these words: "Let's take the baby to a restaurant!" Now, to a normal, sane person, this statement is absurd. It's like saying: "Let's take a moose to the opera? But neither you nor your spouse will see anything inappropriate about the idea of taking your baby to a restaurant. This is because, as new parents, you are experiencing a magical period of wonder, joy and possibility that has made you really stupid.

He was the original absent-minded professor -- famed as a mathematical wizard from the age of 26, yet so forgetful he once had to ask directions to his home, and he was concerned enough about neighborhood kids to help them with their math homework.That is the humanity of Albert Einstein, the parts usually left behind when people think about the man who has become this century's idea of genius. And that's the part of Einstein that Ed Metzger introduces to audiences in his one-man play "Einstein: the Practical Bohemian."