Hello, Hair! My Thoughts on the Return of Downton Abbey

By Jennifer Albers-Smith

***Warning: May contain spoilers for Season 5 of Downton Abbey***

Downton is back. And I’m so relieved. Nothing brightens up a cold January night (here in Michigan) more than a brightly colored and eventful Downton Abbey episode. And Sunday’s premier certainly didn’t disappoint. I spent a few days over Christmas vacation sick with the stomach flu, and I relived all of the Downton moments watching seasons 1-4 from my couch. I was ready for Sunday.

The clothing and hairstyles were fresh in my mind, so the first thing I noticed in Season 5’s premier were the new hairstyles. I wrote this post last year gushing over the clothes; now it’s time to focus on the hairstyles. Even Jimmy had a new ‘do. And poor Molesley…he has a good heart, but he’s hard to take seriously with his new “blue” hue.

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Howard County Goes Big with STEM for Teens

Teen STEM public library

By Valerie Gross

Two years ago, when Howard County Library System (HCLS) began planning a 50 percent space increase for its Savage Branch, a team of HCLS visionaries proposed an opportunity: Why not design a cool, jazzy space to serve as headquarters for HiTech, HCLS’ cutting-edge STEM education initiative for teens?

This idea led to the HCLS Savage Branch & STEM Education Center, opening this summer. The venue will boast an Einstein Classroom, George Washington Carver Science Lab, Oscar Micheaux audio/video room, Curie Café, Leonoardo DaVinci Conference Room, and Gallileo Laptop Bar — all perfect for HiTech!

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Downton Abbey: The Clothes, oh, the Clothes!

By Jennifer Albers-Smith

If you haven’t gotten on the Downton train, now’s the time. Exciting things are happening on the show, and I can hardly wait until Sunday night when I get to see another episode. I refuse to spoil it (although I’m tempted) by buying the DVDs of Season 4 off Amazon and watching it in all in a single, glorious weekend. I love the story line, I love the characters–and man, oh, man–do I LOVE the costumes! Beautiful, beautiful clothes. Mary, Cora, Edith, Rose – all are dressed in these amazing silk dresses that I want to grab from the t.v. and wear in my everyday life.

It’s 1922. T.V. didn’t exist. How did women learn about the latest fashion?

Here’s an ad from the Daily Mail, taken from Gale NewsVault.  This one screams Rose to me, although Edith in Season 4 could also carry this off. She’s much more daring.

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