Columnists

You think the economy is hurting? Oh, friends, you have no idea.

Janet Yellen - currently the vice chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve - has been nominated to succeed Ben Bernanke at the helm of the world's most important central bank. A former UC Berkeley and London School of Economics professor and San Francisco Fed president, Yellen is a globally admired economist with many fans on Wall Street. The way it looks now, in January she will become the most powerful woman in the world.

When I was a kid in Danville back in the mid-1970s, I saw my dad putting bricks in all the toilet tanks in the house to help do our part during the drought. I remember sections of cracked earth in the back of our house, with crevices so deep I imagined if I pulled one away, I might get to see clear to China. I remember the gas shortage that resulted in us running out of gas in the behemoth of a Suburban and literally coasting into the driveway of the gas station to take our place at the end of the snaking line while Jackson Browne’s “Running on Empty” played over the radio.

On a recent visit to Russia, I was amazed at the great number of

In the Gospel of John, Jesus told his followers: “A new commandment I give you: Love one another. As I love you, so must you love one another.” A scholar has estimated that there are some 34,000 separate Christian denominations, and so this commandment seems to have been broken 34,000 times.

Q: I have a guinea pig whose toenails are starting to curl. Should I bring him in to the vet or can I cut these nails myself?

Our cat, Murphy, has brown eyes. Today, they look a little red

When it comes to history, I’m always entertained by uncovering the surprising chain of connections that link the past with the present. To illustrate this game of connect the historic dots, let’s take this year’s centennial celebration of Silicon Valley’s Villa Montalvo estate and connect it, along a winding avenue, to the reign of the great Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne.