Social Media

Rob Garfield is a psychiatrist and psychotherapist who specializes in "men's issues. " He's writing a book, The Guy's Guide to Friendship , and is interested in how men communicate or, more often, don't communicate, and the effect that has on their physical, mental, and spiritual well-being. Garfield, 67, who practices in Bala Cynwyd and is a faculty member of the psychiatry department at the University of Pennsylvania, conducts "friendship labs" and men's retreats to induce men to open up and relate on a deeper level.

The Institute for Excellence Charter School of Winslow Township has known for a week that the New Jersey Department of Education won't renew its charter for the fall. Absent a reversal of that order, the 480-pupil school will have to close its doors permanently on June 28. But some parents, teachers and administrators at the embattled K-5 aren't waiting for its board to make a decision about whether to file a legal appeal. They have stepped up with an aggressive social media and grassroots campaign that targets Gov. Christie, the state legislature, the education department and TIFECS's board of trustees.

WE'RE NOT SURE that Miley Cyrus ' leaving Twitter - again - is going to up the number of followers for @DNTattle , but after fiance Liam Hemsworth was reportedly caught locking lips with January Jones at a pre-Oscars party and Us Weekly claimed that Liam and Miley's "Wedding Is Off," Miley's taking another break from social media. "I am so sick of LA and sick of the lies that come with it," she tweeted. "I didn't call off my wedding. Taking a break from social media.

Reading her grandmother's diary descriptions on the way to Philadelphia, Susan Gibbs imagined the great ship in its heyday: ladies in their mink stoles, ballroom dancing, indoor pool, champagne, luxurious spa, and pleasant sea breezes. Her grandfather, William Francis Gibbs of Rittenhouse Square, had designed the world's fastest, safest, and most technologically advanced ocean liner - the SS United States - and saw its launch in 1951. His "queen of the seas" represented, for many, America's optimism and can-do spirit after World War II. The 2,000-passenger ship still holds the transatlantic speed record.

YOU'VE HEARD of the mommy wars? Well, how about the hair wars? In this case, though, the battle lines aren't drawn between stay-at-home moms vs. career moms, but between black women who straighten their naturally curly hair and those who don't. Get folks going on this subject, and it can be shades of Spike Lee's "School Daze" all over again, which is why I find it interesting that the University of Pennsylvania will host a daylong symposium on Friday called "The Politics of Black Women's Hair.

WHENEVER a cop is involved with a civilian, there's the tendency to give the benefit of the doubt to that civilian, particularly if she can get a sympathetic hearing in the media. Put on a sad face, say you were disrespected by a man or woman in blue and the prime-time ratings go through the roof. Yes, there are times when that sympathy is warranted, because some power-hungry fascist is parading as a public servant, or pocketing the proceeds of a crime or abusing a family member in the knowledge that the "blue omerta" will protect him from prosecution.

Can a video lie? Should it get the last word? Is it always or ever subject to interpretation? Can a million people on YouTube see what they believe to be a Philadelphia police officer striking a woman to the ground and a judge see something else? "This is not a social media contest," Philadelphia Municipal Court Judge Patrick F. Dugan said after finding former Lt. Jonathan Josey not guilty of doing what the viral video seemed to show he had done: strike a woman during last year's Puerto Rican Day festivities.

Producing master plans to combat blight and revive rundown neighborhoods has practically become a cottage industry in Philadelphia. But comebacks, when they happen, rarely turn out the way planners script them. So it is with Point Breeze, which begins south of Washington Avenue on the west side of Broad Street, and extends well past Snyder Avenue. Once a working-class area of stalwart brick rowhouses, dramatically punctuated by cathedral-size churches that seem worthy of Rome, Point Breeze began coming apart at the seams with the '80s crack epidemic.

A story Sunday on Latino social media misnamed the vice president/general manager of social media for Univision, Peter Beck. A story Tuesday incorrectly identified the town where the movie Safe Haven was shot, Southport, N.C. The Inquirer wants its news report to be fair and correct in every respect, and regrets when it is not. If you have a question or comment about news coverage, contact assistant managing editor David...

By Myles Martel Today, we pause to remember the birth of President Abraham Lincoln and, later this year, on Nov. 19, the nation will commemorate the 150th anniversary of his Gettysburg Address. This two-minute oration, consisting of less than 300 words, is widely regarded as the greatest speech in American history. Scholars from several disciplines, including history, literature and speech communication, have written extensively and perceptively about Lincoln's tribute to the 50,000 Union and Confederate troops who were killed or wounded at Gettysburg.