Have you noticed Mar-a-Lago face popping up in pop culture? It’s freaky. Certain conservative women and billionaires’ second wives—people who started out looking perfectly fine—now have puffy lips, exaggerated cheeks, and eyes that look perpetually surprised. I finally figured out what they remind me of: marionettes. They look like marionettes. With control-me, make-me-dance strings definitely […]
Laura
Like many of you, I’m guessing, I’d rather read a good book than go to a party. A room full of other people? Some of them strangers? That you have to talk to? Shudder. But after the initial awkwardness of making sure you’re at the right location (do I knock or just walk in?), finding […]
Did you ever have to memorize the prologue to The Canterbury Tales? I did, for high school English class, spring semester of senior year. I was cranky about it—why do we have to recite this stuff?—but as with most things I didn’t want to learn, I’m glad I did. Every springtime I think of the […]
Work is a lot of work. Most of us have to work for about half of our waking hours for about half of our lives. And they’re mostly not easy hours. Work can be full of conflicts, confusion, drama, trauma, and awkwardness. I started writing a work advice column a year ago for Slate to […]
Bad things happen quickly; good things take time. This isn’t a perfect pattern, of course, but I think it’s real and worth thinking about. A wildfire, explosion, earthquake, pandemic, gunshot, car crash, heart attack—all fast. Cancer typically starts out slow but then gets fast. Climate change seems slow, but the reason it’s so dangerous is […]
Thanking people well is a skill that gets better with practice. So let’s practice.
Science vacations are the best vacations. I’ve been ridiculously fortunate to visit some great science-related destinations, and I’m trying to figure out which ones to visit next. I’ll share some of my recommendations here, in no particular order. I hope you’ll share your favorites with me and the rest of the Last Word on Nothing […]
How have you been sleeping lately? Me, not so great. I do fine during the days, mostly. But then I wake up at 3 or 4 a.m. worried about what’s happening in the world. Here are some strategies I use for distracting myself and getting back to sleep. Maybe they’ll be useful for you? You […]
