San Antonio native Joan Crawford won an Oscar for the movie “Mildred Pierce.” Britain's Kate Winslet seems destined to win an Emmy for the TV remake. The latter's performance as Depression-era divorcée Mildred — a highly capable career woman brought down by her obsessive love for her manipulative daughter — is so intimate, you'll find yourself right there with her during both the highs and disturbing lows of her life.

A warning to those who loved the Crawford movie, however: The five-part “Mildred Pierce” on HBO, which kicks off with a two-part block at 8 tonight and continues on subsequent Sundays through April 10, is strikingly different from its 1945 predecessor. It's earthier and much more faithful to the James M. Cain novel's psychological theme of tug-of-war between a mother and daughter. The original movie explored this aspect, but added a thriller element, complete with a murder involving the main characters.

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When it comes to regrets, there’s nothing like a failed romance to reveal the emotional gulf between the sexes. For while it seems a man can walk away from a relationship with barely a second thought, his lover may worry for years about what she did wrong. More than twice as many women as men in a study said they had made mistakes with ex-partners – 44 per cent compared with 20 per cent.

Relationship expert Jean Hannah Edelstein said it showed that women felt they were ‘more responsible for the emotional side of the relationship’. ‘Women are more inclined to look inwardly to identify reasons why a relationship broke down than men,’ she added.

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A new research has revealed that women are more than twice as likely as men to have regrets about their romantic life. Neal Roese, professor of marketing at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Business in Illinois, has found that when it comes to admitting to regrets - particularly among women - romance is the most common source of nagging anxiety, reports the Daily Mail .

And in the field of romantic relationships, everyone seems to have made decisions they had come to regret, said Professor Roese. Some 370 adults across the United States - ranging in age from 20 to 80 - were asked in a telephone survey to list their biggest regrets, and the most frequently mentioned issue had to do with romance, he said.

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Is the conversation between yourself and co-workers negative these days? Do you and your spouse or partner argue over politics, money issues or the kids? World events, personal stress and family problems can easily sap your joy. "I used to be in a pretty good mood most of the time," says an HR director we'll call Brad. "But now that I'm having some health problems, I feel like the wind has gone out of my sails."

While we all need to address our problems fully, as best we can, there's nothing wrong with a little escape. Changing your focus to what's positive, rather than negative, can help. "I lost my job three months ago," says a man we'll call John. "Several other bad things happened in our family as well. I went from happy to miserable in the course of about three days. Help!"We've all had periods of time like John is talking about. Things seem shaky in our lives. In fact, we may wonder if our lives are going downhill.

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Bathsheba Doran's Kin, a drama with humor about the extended families of a would-be couple — an American scholar and an Irish personal trainer — opens in a world-premiere engagement at Off-Broadway's Playwrights Horizons March 21. Kristen Bush and Patch Darragh are featured as the couple in question.

Obie Award winner Sam Gold, who directed PH's hit run of Circle Mirror Transformation in 2009-10, stages the new play on the company's Mainstage. Previews began Feb. 25.

According to Playwrights Horizons: "Anna (Kristen Bush), an Ivy League poetry scholar, and Sean (Patch Darragh), an Irish personal trainer, hardly seem destined for one another. But as their web of disparate family and friends crosses great distances — both psychologically and geographically — an unlikely new family is forged. Bathsheba Doran's play sheds a sharp light on the changing face of kinship in the expansive landscape of the modern world.

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Is Love a Choice? Whereas I do believe that all behaviour is a choice, some emotions - like love - are not. We may fall, like it or not, for some of the dumbest reasons, but love, as the poets say, can be blind.

Scientists believe love is a DNA thing, where body chemistries connect through pheromones and such. A doctor once told me that love is all biochemistry, and we have no choice in it. Sometimes the pull is so strong, we stay in relationships that are unhealthy, and even though we know it, we can't seem to make ourselves leave.

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College is all about having fun, meeting new people, going out and just having a good time. Relationships can and are a part of this mixture of college. However, if not timed right in one's college journey, they will end in a break up. It's a subtle combination of being ready to settle down and finding the person who makes you happy.

Being in relationship as an underclassman really doesn't make a ton of sense in my opinion. You have just entered the next four years of your life in which you will make lifelong friends, develop long-lasting ties and meet tons of people from the opposite sex.

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Pepper Schwartz, an award-winning sexologist, will speak at The University of Memphis today at 1 p.m. in the University Center River Room. She will discuss "Sexuality Throughout the Life Cycle" at the event, which is free and open to the public.

Joy Clay, associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, said Schwartz has gained national recognition for her work on human sexuality and relationships. "We thought that the topic would cross disciplines and be of interest to both students and faculty," Clay said. "Her insights and experience will also be of value to our graduate students in sociology and women's and gender studies.

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It is well-known that pregnancy is meant to be a joyous time however some women experience overwhelming 'baby blues' before the birth of their child.

Anxiety and depression during pregnancy can result in premature birth, or low birth weight, and impact the child's health even into early school years. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Public Health shows that a bad relationship with their husband or partner is the strongest predictor of maternal emotional distress.

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FEMINISM has always had a love-hate relationship with sex. Many men blame feminism for ruining their relationships and sex lives. Zuko Mathyila, a male activist in Cape Town, blames feminism for ruining a lot of marriages and relationships in South Africa.

He blames the feminist media for telling women and men that women should only have sex when they feel like it and to disregard men's needs. He says this message has become common in mainstream women magazines, schools and counselling rooms.

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