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A Macy's advertisement for Dr. Scholl's sandals in today's paper reminded me of this WSJ article from a couple weeks ago, "Dr. Scholl's Clicking Sandals Are the Latest Oldie Craze":

With the economy in a lull and the fashion business in a funk, Dr. Scholl's and other wooden shoes, from wedges to clogs, are striding into the spotlight.

"Wood is a natural substance, and natural is peaceful, so we're drawn," says Patricia Field, the costume designer whose choices for "Sex and the City" have helped ignite sales of gold name-plate necklaces and silk-flower pins [and Dr. Scholl's sandals after they appeared in a couple episodes].

Nostalgia for old styles -- and prices -- may also be working in Dr. Scholl's favor. Susan Winget, a partner in the hip clothing retailer Tracy Feith, which has a store in the "Little Italy" section of lower Manhattan, says her shop began stocking the shoe last February and demand for the sandals has soared....

At beginning of the resurgence, many buyers were women in their early 40s reliving their youth. But recently the sandal has been spotted on younger feet, as well as those of Cindy Crawford and Jennifer Aniston.

Trendy or not, I think I'll head down to Macy's and get a pair. [Edit: shoes.com sells Dr. Scholl's online, as well as many other brands, such as Clarks, England.]

On the front page of today's LA Times: "Seeking Poetic Justice" about Sam Hamill, the instigator of Poets Against the War. The group has prepared a book of poems and is holding an International Day of Poetry Against the War on Wednesday, March 5th. I first read about the movement over at Joseph Duemer's site.

Finally, via the Ms. Magazine blog, a Chicgo Tribune article about tampons:

[Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney] learned: 73 million American women use tampons, and the average woman uses as many as 16,000 tampons during her lifetime. (That's about 35 tampons a month over the course of 38 years.) Most tampons are made with cotton combined with rayon, a synthetic material first linked to a rare, bacteria-caused illness called toxic shock syndrome that killed 55 women in the late 1970s and early '80s.

Maloney also discovered that the Food and Drug Administration relies solely on data provided by the feminine products industry for tampon health and safety tests instead of commissioning an independent laboratory to do the testing.

"The government has done more research on the safety of coffee filters than tampons," Maloney says. "For an issue that is so important to women's health, women should be able to rely on independent research, not research funded by tampon manufacturers."

There is a lot more information in the article (requires free registration).