For years, the identity of the "elevator girl" remained a mystery. Frank's image was published in his most famous book, The Americans, which included a preface written by his friend Jack Kerouac. Of this image, Kerouac wrote:

"That little ole lonely elevator girl looking up sighing in an elevator full of blurred demons, what's her name & address?"

Although Kerouac's influence helped bring The Americans to a much wider audience, his question remained unanswered until around 10 years ago, when Sharon Goldstein, now known as Sharon Collins, found herself drawn to an image housed in the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. "I stood in front of this particular photograph for probably a full five minutes, not knowing why I was staring at it," Sharon said, in an interview with NPR. "And then it really dawned on me that the girl in the picture was me."

At the time the photograph was taken, Collins was 15, working a summer job as an elevator girl in the Sherry Frontenac Hotel. While "all the other kids were going off to summer camp," Collins was working to support her family. She claims she does not remember Frank and his camera, although she wishes she could. After she came forward as the girl in the image, she was able to piece together what happened from Frank's negatives, which shows several candid shots, followed by another group of pictures, where Collins grins and poses. But Frank picked this enigmatic image for his book. Collins has finally decided to come forward and out herself as the subject of the picture, on the 50th anniversary of the publication of The Americans.

As for Kerouac's analysis of the photograph, which pinpoints a quiet loneliness in the anonymous young face, Collins says:

"He saw in me something that most people didn't see. I have a big smile and a big laugh, and I'm usually pretty funny. So people see one thing in me. And I suspect Robert Frank and Jack Kerouac saw something that was deeper. That only people who were really close to me can see. It's not necessarily loneliness, it's ... dreaminess."

Robert Frank's Elevator Girl Sees Herself Years Later [NPR]
The Americans [Amazon]

Here's what you do:

Take the first letter of your middle name and insert it anywhere you'd like in your first name. And then your last name is the smallest foreign town you've ever visited. Presto: You too can compete with Korva Coleman, Lakshmi Singh and Mandalit del Barco.

My NPR name is refreshingly unpronounceable (Anbna is short for Anbnabnelle!). Anna Holmes becomes Anena Mullimbimby, which I think sounds like a disease, or possibly a fun character on a children's TV show from another planet. Dodai is Dosdai KoSamet; Sadie is Osadie Smichow. Margaret's is Margareti Lacock, which sounds like it belongs on National Pornographic Radio. Megan is Mmegan HoiAn, which she thinks sucks — but add an apostrophe and you have M'Megan Hoi'An, an awesome Star Trek villianess. Who are you in the NPR universe?

Your NPR Name, Like Your Drag Queen Name Only Unpronounceable [MediaBistro]

At the end of the film, Miley decides that she is sick of playing Hannah Montana, and reveals her true identity at a concert. She is subsequently booed and shunned, with the Tennessee townsfolk all begging her to put the wig back on and keep pretending. Blankenship writes: "the conclusion tells viewers that being yourself is acceptable when you're with a very intimate circle, but otherwise, it's preferable and even honorable to lie about who you are. Hannah Montana: The Movie suggests that we can make people happy by always being who they want us to be, so we should maintain a performance at all costs. What's a little personal integrity when the entire world will be placated by our perpetual public disguise?" [NPR]

…To give you advice on all your mom-related problems, that is.

When Doree and I started our website, Postcards From Yo Momma, soliciting emails, texts, IMs and all manner of virtual motherly communications almost exactly a year ago, we never realized how much collected wisdom was out there floating in the internet ether. From matters of the heart ("Here are Mom's three rules for a new relationship (the three "N's"): Don't nag; Don't be needy; Don't be neurotic.") to matters of the wardrobe ("DO NOT GET SPANX…get something comfortable and not tight that will just smooth you up and down."), our mothers generally have an opinion on everything, and even though it's completely infuriating, at the end of the day they're usually right, and they always have our best interests in mind.

Speaking of opinions, we were on the radio the other day, and a listener shared her feeling that the entire premise of the book was sexist. "As usual moms are understood as anxious, worry-warts, with nothing better to do than bother their children, and express frustration about their husbands," the listener said. "It's as though moms don't have other roles in the world other than as caretakers." However, if she read the book, she would know that while mothers do show themselves as caretakers (and really is there anything wrong with that?), the moms we feature — like our own mothers — are intelligent, competent, and thoughtful. They have their own lives and interests, and that's what makes the emails so compelling! Certainly, fathers write their own heartfelt missives, but in our experiences, and the experiences of most of our readers, it's mom who dominates the lines of communication.

In that spirit, we invite you to ask all manners of mom-related queries in the comments. Doree and I — along with our moms — will answer some of them in a post on Thursday. My mother is a shrink and Doree's mom is a professor, so they have years of experience giving advice to strangers! We can tell you what to do if your mom starts a Facebook page, how to get her to stop nagging you about joining J-Date and how to navigate a difficult mother-in-law. So post away! Our mommas are listening.

Love, Mom [Amazon]
Postcards From Yo Momma

Earlier: Momma Mia!

The film is about two interconnected families living in a small town and stars Twilight's Kristen Stewart as terminally ill teenage girl who wants to lose her virginity before it's too late.

In the interview below, Masterson says that as an actress directing for the first time, she tried not to tell her actors how she would play a scene. "If I tell everybody, 'this is how I see it' I might be limiting the entire creative process to my imagination and not the sum of all our imaginations," says Masterson. Nolan comments that it's a generous attitude for a director, but Masterson replies, "It's selfish. They bring me presents and I take credit." [NPR]

NPR's Michelle Martin discusses the problems military moms face with a panel of three women who have dealt with them firsthand. She asks them about the recent case of Lisa Pagan, the mother who brought along her children when she reported for duty. Pagan received an honorable discharge after arguing that she was unable to be deployed abroad due to her responsibilities to her family. Surprisingly, all three of the women disapprove - to varying extents - of Pagan's choice.

"When you are a military parent, you have to have that a plan B of who is going to take care of my child when I deploy, because it's not a matter of if you will deploy, but when you will deploy," says Lt. Carey Lohrenz. She goes on to remind us that military dads face the same problems, and it is the job of both the parents and the military to figure out an adequate system of childcare: "Military parents need affordable, dependable childcare when children are young... All service members across the board require more family support services. It is not just the women."

Lt. Linda Maloney agrees that it is the responsibility of the military to "support [enlisted parents] and the family members that are left behind." While she believes that Pagan should have better planned for the possibility of being called for duty, she also would like to see the military rethink the way they deal with mothers on duty.

Pilar Arteaga, a petty officer first class in the Navy, is a single mother, which makes her situation somewhat different. Her pregnancy was unexpected, which only made it more difficult to deal with the challenges of military life. For her, the biggest issue of being a woman in the navy is the constant struggle to "prove yourself" to the men. She feels that the "single parent card" is played far too frequently, and that women like Pagan end up making military moms look bad.

Ultimately, Lt. Lohrenz calls for the military to educate continuously: "It goes back once again to being a leadership challenge...not just a one time, one lecture initiative, but ongoing training to help prevent unplanned pregnancies... I think it is leadership, leadership, leadership."

'For Family, For Country': Military Moms Do It All [NPR]
NC Mom Recalled To Army Duty Will Be Discharged [ABC]

"What goes on today is over-the-top, and more Mike Todd than Mike Todd ever dreamed up. And I find it dysfunctional to a large degree, and what's dysfunctional is the public that supports it. [...] It's up to every woman and man to look in the mirror and know themselves. To know their social agenda, where they work — you know, dress for the occasion, and certainly dress within your means. Nothing is so important — to me, anyway — to go into debt to look a certain way."

Carmen Dell'Orefice, who will turn 78 this June, started modeling at the age of 14, and earned her first Vogue cover after less than a year in the business. She's worked with great photographers from Richard Avedon, Cecil Beaton, and Irving Penn, to Mario Testino and Tim Walker. Just two weeks ago, she took a turn on the catwalk in London for the label Qasimi. For depth of fashion industry knowledge and experience, you can't go past Dell'Orefice, and this weekend, she talked to National Public Radio's Liane Hansen about her career and the future of fashion.

Her comments about the economy might strike some as condescending — as a supermodel with a more than 60-year career behind her, including stints as a spokesmodel for Revlon and Clairol, and ongoing contracts as a face of brands like Rolex and Target, it'd be natural to assume that she probably has a different notion of hardship than the rest of us. In fact, Dell'Orefice was one of the many who recently lost money — in her case, her life savings — to Bernard Madoff's ponzi scheme.

Dell'Orefice had this to say:

"I have to hand it to designers like Isaac Mizrahi, who reshaped and designed Target, and at a price range for not just the middle class but the poorer middle class. And he is a fine designer. [...] Everything should be affordable, because we're a country of such innovation. And some of the prices of things, it's irrational. You shouldn't be a fashion victim. Fashion is meant for every individual to describe their individuality, not to copy one another, but to inspire individuality."

One Of America's First Supermodels Still Striding [NPR]

Related: Madoff's World [Vanity Fair]

According to this piece on National Public Radio by Laura Sydell, there are now 100 million HD televisions in the United States. And that means 100 million more chances to be distracted by the buzzing colors of an anchor's tweed jacket — or the poorly blended foundation at an actor's jawline.

Just as every advance in film has led to attendant changes in makeup artistry, lighting, and cinematography, the advent of $400,000 high-def cameras capable of registering the hairs on a sitcom star's forearm is an opportunity for budding Max Factors - the man himself, seen in the image at left - to swoop in from the wings, pots and potions in hand.

Some of the changes are simple — Erin Kruger, a makeup artist for Nip/Tuck, mentions in the segment that she always airbrushes on foundation when the show is shooting in HD, since sponge or finger strokes would read on camera — but other adaptations in technique are the result of trial and error.

HD filming requires a different understanding of color, and the common TV makeup with-a-trowel look also won't read naturally on an HD camera. When she first made the switch, said Kruger, "there were a lot of issues with making sure reds weren't flaring — a lot of time, red lipsticks will really flare on [HD] camera." The handful of makeup artists I know who work in television with any regularity all seem to speak with a measure of awe about the brave new world of HD; most of them prefer to mix their own concoctions, rather than rely on any of the HD-focused cosmetic lines currently available on the market, like Cargo or Smashbox. It must be an exciting time to be in the industry, with an ever-changing scope for what's possible in terms of color and technique.

Watching HD television for the first time gave me a big shock — the vivid colors and detail are so divorced from regular TV, let alone the fuzzy YouTube videos that comprise most of my audiovisual input, that HD images looked frankly tactile, almost granular and seething with hyperreality, to my under-exercised eyes. This made me remember reading about a study that seemed to show that the generations raised on monochrome television still, even today, report unusually high numbers of black-and-white dreams. Younger people, who've only ever known color television, rarely dream in black and white. If the television we consume in our youth potentially has such far-reaching influence on our subconscious selves throughout the rest of our lives, what might the 21st century explosion of visual media mean for the dream lives of people today, now and in future? If we watch enough high-definition TV, will we start having high-definition dreams? I'm not sure I want to be able to see the beads of sweat on the upper lip of the hideous, deformed man who is, for reasons unknown, chasing me through the dark creaky house which is sort of like my childhood home but not really, or to see the different shades of blue in the glistening water that's lapping at the sides of the ferryboat I've just missed because my luggage is too heavy and I'm in a city where I don't speak the language and my wallet is inexplicably full of sand (I've been having — coincidentally? — weird dreams lately). But then again, if watching enough HD means I might always dream of friends who look radiant and glowing, and who always wear the right shade of red lipstick, I suppose I'd have a team of industrious makeup artists to thank.

HD-Enhanced Blemishes Keep Makeup Artists Busy [NPR]

Related: Black-and-White TV Generation Have Monochrome Dreams [Telegraph]

Leive deflected host Peter Sagal's invitation to criticize Michelle Obama for, in his words, looking like "clumps of kleenex" were clinging to her chiffon Jason Wu gown — but she did disagree with the protocol sticklers who argued the president made a faux pas when he chose to pair his tux with a white tie instead of a black one. (According to the mindless traditions of men's formalwear, white bow ties are supposed to be worn with tail coats and tail coats only, not tuxedo jackets.)

"I thought that that was actually a good step," said Leive, "because she was wearing a white dress, and he was matching the wife. Which I generally think is a good rule for men to follow — you don't want to clash with the wife."

She also brought our attention to the fact that Jill Biden's Reem Acra gown had an eery resemblance to the dress Miley Cyrus wore to the inaugural concert she co-headlined. The gowns do share a similar coloration and distinctive notched neckline, but on closer inspection, Biden's draped and gathered chiffon is a world away from Cyrus fille's prom-y rhinestone belted satin.

Fig. 1: Jill Biden

Fig. 2: Miley Cyrus




Leive wouldn't be drawn on either Michelle Obama's relatively panned Tracy Feith dress ("I was not a huge fan...but I kind of have a problem criticizing someone for what they're wearing to a prayer breakfast") or Aretha's hat ("It was not a diminutive hat, I will give you that"). But she didn't prove to be entirely humorless: when Sagal asked if she ever simply made up the trends featured in Glamour, she replied, "Every month, Peter, come on!" She later joked that as a working mom, if her assistant ever wrote a book about her, it would be called The Devil Wears Whatever's Clean.

On Glamour's "Guy Issue" — the issue that taught us that "54% of guys in 1995 would sleep with a willing 15-year-old, but only 17% of 2009 guys would tap that" — Sagal was friendly but caustic about the mag's raft of Cosmo-like listicles. "'15 Things That A Man Really Wants In Bed'?" he said, "Come on, I worked on this all day, and I came up with two. And the second one is, to eat a sandwich in bed after. Who are you trying to kid here?"

Unperturbed, Leive replied, "Maybe it's up to Glamour to expose you to the other 289 things you actually want?"

Naturally, Leive defended her publication's approach to fashion. "We don't consider ourselves the sort of mean, finger-wagging fashion authority who will tell you that you are not rich enough or thin enough to wear this stuff," she said. "We try to be approachable and relatable and show our share of crazy designer concoctions, but we're always trying to pair them with things that an average woman might have in the closet." I suppose that's why February's issue features a fashion spread where a model wears a Proenza Schouler dress ($1,275), Viktor & Rolf shoes ($1,100), a Lanvin dress ($6,640), and a Dior dress ($15,650). (Also featured are $45 Converses and a $25 bracelet.) In all of February's fashion stories, you have to flick to the back of the issue to get the price list. I wonder why?

After her brief interview, Sagal announced he would quiz Leive about mixed martial arts, according to the show's typical odd-couple topic pairings. She nonetheless revealed hidden depths of knowledge on the topic of solving problems mano-a-mano. Leive got all three questions right, and won the prize for the listener. Perhaps working at a ladymag is more like no-holds-barred single sex combat than we would have guessed.

Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me [NPR]

Related: Glamour's Guy Issue Has Few Guys, Plenty of Issues

Cooney says the cheap cartoons and pie-in-the-face violence of children's television in the '60s spurred her to create a "Laugh In for kids" set in an urban environment. "We decided not to have it in some magic house the way most children's programs are set in a fantasy setting of some kind or in the suburbs," says Cooney, "we were trying to reach all children, but the bulls eye of the target was inner city youngsters." She says now the Children's Television Workshop is looking for ways to use new technology like video games and cell phones to teach. "You have to go where the kids are," says Cooney, "it's a tougher world to find a way of having impactful educational value for children." [NPR]

[Image via Free Republic.]

There is no upside to this story, so I will continue to list the gritty details. According to Amnesty International, "The Russian Federation does not have a specific law on violence in the family," and NPR reports that for the police to intervene in a domestic violence situation, the injury has to be so grave as to "prevent you from work for two weeks."

Number of women's shelters in Moscow: 0. Number of beds in the nearest women's shelter to Moscow: 7. Because housing is so expensive in Russia, many women, like one of the women interviewed by NPR, have to go back to living with their murderous ex-husbands because they can't afford to go anywhere else. Amnesty International tells almost the identical story, one of a woman named "Anna."

In December 2003, after her husband had threatened to set her on fire, Anna finally decided to file for a divorce. Incensed at her action, her husband destroyed the family’s possessions, including dishes and clothes. In March 2004, a week after the couple had been officially divorced, she returned with her older son to the flat, as she had nowhere else to go. Her ex-husband told her that he did not recognize the divorce and that he was going to have sex with her. During the incurring argument he doused her with inflammable liquid and tried to set her alight. While Anna had witnesses who could confirm what had happened, the police told her they could not do anything, because he "had not committed a crime". According to Anna, the police did not pay attention to the fact that he had a lighter nor did they check her coat which was soaked in the liquid.

Some Russian women, like pop star Valeria, have started to speak out against the endemic violence in their country, but silence on the matter still seems to reign. To send money to Amnesty International, click here.

Domestic Violence A Silent Crisis In Russia [NPR]
Russian Federation: Nowhere To Turn To: Violence Against Women In The Family [Amnesty International]
Domestic Violence: Russian Women Speak Out [BBC News]

Explains Tarabay: "Buffy took a deep breath before going into what was often the fight of her life. Every time I got into our bullet proof car to drive around Baghdad, so did I. And on days I was stuck in the bureau, I'd sit in my room and put on another DVD."

Those not familiar with Buffy only need to know that she kicked ass. Yes, there were vampires and demons, yes there was a musical episode. But. She was a teenage girl with the weight of the world on her shoulders (haven't we all felt like that?), whose emotions and dilemmas were instantly recognizable. High school can be hell; Buffy's happened to be on the Hellmouth. A professor at Ursinus College outside of Philadelphia is a leader in Buffy studies. The third academic conference dedicated to Buffy is planned in June at Henderson State University in Arkansas.

But for Tarabay, Buffy's situation was both mirror and inspiration. "Buffy's creator, Joss Whedon, gave his blond destroyer a quick wit, friends who kept up with her, and a wardrobe I would die for," she says. "Especially in Baghdad, where I couldn't wear anything cute." Tarabay continues:

"What made Buffy my superhero was that she wasn't perfect. Like me, she made a lot of mistakes and learned a lot of hard lessons. Watching her deal with her own private war zone helped me deal with mine."

Here's the thing. Buffy ended in 2003. Where's the new kick-ass girl for us to look up to? Not on The Hills, that's for sure. Maybe Joss Whedon's new show (starring Buffy alum Eliza Dushku) will offer a woman with strength, substance and cute clothes?

Vampire Slayer Buffy Saves Iraq Reporter's Soul [NPR]
Related: Pa. Professor Leads 'Buffy the Vampire' Study [AP]
'Dollhouse': First Look at Joss Whedon's New Series [EW]
Earlier: Where The Hell Are The Strong Women?

Both Bradley and Jonah are under the care of psychiatric professionals — Dr. Ken Zucker and Dr. Diane Ehrensaft, respectively. Zucker and Ehrensaft have conflicting theories on how best to deal with a transgender child. Zucker, based in Toronto, believes that boys like Bradley should be socialized as boys, even if they see themselves as girls. He reasons, "Suppose you were a clinician and a 4-year-old black kid came into your office and said he wanted to be white. Would you go with that? ... I don't think we would." Eherensaft, who works out of the Bay Area, sees Jonah's condition as clear cut case of transgender identity. "If we allow people to unfold and give them the freedom to be who they really are, we engender health. And if we try and constrict it, or bend the twig, we engender poor mental health," she tells NPR.

I know both sets of parents are just trying to do right by their children, but it's incredibly difficult to defend Zucker's point of view when you hear how unhappy Bradley is. Since his parents took away all his "girly" stuff, his mom says, Bradley "really struggles with the color pink. He really struggles with the color pink. He can't even really look at pink...He's like an addict. He's like, 'Mommy, don't take me there! Close my eyes! Cover my eyes! I can't see that stuff; it's all pink!'" Meanwhile, Jonah — now Jona — is thriving. According to her teacher, "Jonah is one of the most popular kids. Kids love her, they want to play with her, she's fun, and it's because she's so comfortable with herself that she makes other people comfortable."

Two Families Grapple with Sons' Gender Preferences [NPR]
Q&A Therapists On Gender Identity Issues In Kids [NPR]