Lisa Miller

Lisa Miller

Being a parent is a constant learning process

I am sitting cross-legged on the floor in the dressing room, waiting for Allie's dance number to be called. The cave girl costume has been donned, the jazz shoes double-tied, the hair pulled back, the requisite dab of lipstick applied.
Healthy doesn't have to mean expensive

Half of Americans will be obese by 2030 if current trends continue, according to a report released last week in the British medical journal The Lancet.
A family era ends with close of Potter series

As Harry Potter fans the world over flock to theaters for the final screenings of the final film in the eight-part series, I'm marking the end of an era myself, reading the last pages of the last book to my last child.
Independent stores make up for loss of Borders

For many small communities, the Borders store at the nearest mall was the only place to browse and buy a variety of books, beyond the few titles offered in Walmart bestseller and bargain racks.
Untethered from the cable box

I never imagined it would be so easy to be cable-free.
Saturday, June 11, 2011
On cells, sprouts and sodas

It figures. Six weeks after we dropped our landline, the World Health Organization issued a warning that radiation from cell phones might cause brain cancer. Meanwhile, the ultimate health food, organic bean sprouts, is being blamed for one of the deadliest E. coli outbreaks in recent history.

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Saturday, May 21, 2011
End of the world as we know it? I feel fine

If you're reading this article after 6 p.m. and the ground is not shaking beneath your feet, then Harold Camping was wrong. Again.

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Sunday, May 1, 2011
Song lyrics are an odd measure of attitudes

It was the third rainy weekend in a row, and I was scrolling through comments to a post by MSNBC blogger Melissa Dahl about a new study linking song lyrics to cultural changes.

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Saturday, April 9, 2011
Parenting adventure takes a turn

On Friday, my 13-year-old daughter, Abby, will embark on the biggest adventure of her life.

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Saturday, March 19, 2011
Japan devastation: Powerful reminder of our limitations

The images were surreal. People screaming from higher ground as they watched the relentless wave of brown water sweep up houses and topple power lines. Cars and boats floating like bath toys. Aerial photos of flattened villages, with crumpled roofs jutting out of the debris-laden landscape and orange-suited rescue workers like ants on a mountain of twigs.

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Saturday, February 26, 2011
As food prices rise, sustainability makes more business sense

Frustration with high food prices is among the underlying causes of the unrest in the Middle East and North Africa, and a global food crisis may be brewing.

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Tuesday, February 8, 2011
National agenda needed to advance green technology

In his State of the Union address, President Obama issued a call to action for Americans to "out-innovate" the rest of the world and build on our history of doing "big things." Green technology is the next big thing, and it's our best hope to reinvent ourselves as competitors in the global economy. But we won't get there without a comprehensive national agenda supported by all parties -- political, yes, but also businesses, consumers, educators and students.

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Saturday, January 15, 2011
Shootings remind us of need to teach children to hope

They should have been chattering about spelling tests and Hannah Montana songs. But instead, the two second-graders in my backseat were talking about the shooting of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. They had heard about it at school and were commiserating over the "sad" and "creepy" news as we drove home for a play date.

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Friday, December 3, 2010
Marketing tactics could get kids to eat healthy foods

In a new twist on the "Super Size Me" fast-food diet experiment, the executive director of the Washington State Potato Commission ate nothing but spuds for 60 days.

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Saturday, November 13, 2010
'Oneonta 360' captures essence of our area

The fact that Oneonta's new branding campaign has generated so much controversy shows how passionately people feel about this place. One thing everyone might agree on is that the essence of Oneonta cannot be easily conveyed in a few words or a logo. However, photographer Stephen Joseph makes a fascinating attempt to capture it in his new book, "Oneonta 360." If you haven't seen it yet, stop by Huntington Library, where one two-page spread is on display each day.

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Saturday, October 23, 2010
Stem cell research must move forward

Robert Edwards of Britain received the Nobel Prize in medicine earlier this month for research that led to the birth of the first "test-tube baby" in 1978. Hugely controversial 32 years ago, Edwards' work is now lauded as a medical breakthrough that has brought immeasurable joy to the families of the 4 million babies born through in vitro fertilization.

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Saturday, October 2, 2010
Supersized salmon? No thanks

Davenport Garden Center owner Dennis Valente drizzled maple syrup over sweet potatoes in the cafeteria kitchen while a group of sixth-graders topped pizza crusts with pesto they'd made using basil from their school garden.

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Saturday, September 11, 2010
Chobani yogurt: Nothing but good for the area

I'm in love with Chobani. True to its marketing slogan, this locally made, Greek-style yogurt is, indeed, "nothing but good." First of all, it's delicious: thick, creamy, fruity and sweet (but not too sweet).

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Saturday, August 21, 2010
Summer is a perfect time to unplug

Last month, I wrote about the rewards of disconnecting from information technology during a weeklong family camping trip. Since then, I've picked blueberries, skipped rocks, curled up with my 6-year-old and a pile of books, walked in the woods, and spent a gorgeous day at the lake picnicking with friends and watching the kids swim.

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Saturday, July 31, 2010
There's no multitasking while camping

I am sitting in a log cabin in the woods, soaking up the peace and quiet. We've just finished a family game of ladderball, and my husband is taking a nap while the kids play a board game with my sister at the picnic table outside.

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