The Southern California arena rock, hair metal, laidback hippie garden culture - for many growing up in the '70s and '80s, none of it made us who we were like Lou Reed did.

When I was growing up, my parents thought there could be nothing better than being a writer. And at that time, society afforded that impracticality.

Mothers suffer in the workplace. That fact is by now so painfully familiar it even has a name: the motherhood penalty.

As consumers, we can pressure corporations both to monitor and improve workplace conditions overseas - when inspections reveal violations, these companies should address the gaps immediately.