Dory Devlin, Shine staff’s Blog

It's a big week for Sarah Palin.

Four months after her early departure as Alaska's governor, a year after the end of her vice presidential bid as John McCain's running mate for the White House, and six months after signing a book deal with Harper Collins, Palin's book is out. She appeared on Oprah to kick off her book tour, and sales were brisk before she sat in Oprah's coveted chair. "Going Rogue: An American Life" is on the bestseller lists at Barnes and Noble and Amazon, which is selling the $29 book for $9 to compete with Wal-Mart's bottom-price bestseller deals. (No wonder advance sales are doing so well!)

Book reviewers and the AP have gotten advance copies of the book, so as we wait to dive into the 432-page, no-index read ourselves, let's take a look at some of the early reviews: Read More »

While lots of restaurants have been making small menu changes and offering deals to entice money-strapped families through their doors to splurge on a meal out of the home, Ruby Tuesday has been undergoing a $100 million makeover. Goodbye flair and all kinds of garage-sale stuff on the walls, hello homey lamps, warm hues, and paintings of chefs at work adorning the walls.

The look is new, and so is the menu, which goes upscale a bit--a tricky move during tough economic times. Read More »

Spoiler alert: If you haven't seen the final episode of the season and plan to, don't read this. But do watch it soon!

I hate waiting a week for the next episode of "Mad Men." So it's a good thing the amazing Season 3 finale of "Mad Men" gives us so much to think about during a too-sad, too-long break between seasons. One viewing of this classic caper episode, or "Sterling Coup," as the Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan calls it, just won't do to absorb all that has happened, especially with the women in Don Draper's world. 

The women of "Mad Men" have always been among the most compelling characters of what may be the most compelling TV show ever. And in this season, some, like Betty Draper, found their voice, while others' voices grew stronger, more confident. Read More »

We're closer than we've ever been to passing a health reform bill, but there is still a long way to go. Members of the House of Representatives worked over the weekend, passing a health care bill 220-215 on Saturday.

President Barack Obama called the vote "courageous," since no federal legislative body has gotten this far. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said, "No longer will being a woman be a pre-existing medical condition" because the bill would end insurance company practices of charging women more for coverage than men. And Senate Republicans were all over the Sunday news shows saying the House bill is dead on arrival in the Senate. Read More »

Since there can never be enough reminders that not all "free" annual credit reports are truly no-strings-attached and free, take some time to check out this New York Times article on how tricky it can be for consumers to figure out when they may be duped into paying for an credit-monitoring service most us will never need.

We told you about those cute-jingle commercials with twenty-somethings strumming about their credit woes and singing that all would be good if only they had gone to that website which starts with the word free. There is only one website recommended by the Federal Trade Commission for consumers to access free annual credit reports, and that's AnnualCreditReport.com. Read More »

Talk about a glass-half-full, glass-half-empty time. Just when we can be encouraged by news that the recession is over, it's hard to feel happy when so many people remain out of work and unemployment is expected to rise even more before it falls.

Here's another reason it's hard to feel good about any possible forward momentum: A Hewitt Associates study finds that even though we have talked a good game about the importance of saving during this economic crisis, it turns out that half of all workers continue to cash out their 401(k) plans when they leave or change jobs. Read More »