Reading: Why Scotland Loves Haggis (BBC Travel)
We attend the local Highland Games west of Chicago every year; someday I will brave the foul organ-meat smell of the haggis at the food trucks and actually try this someday.
Reading: Why Are Young People Pretending to Love Work? (N.Y. Times)
“Welcome to hustle culture. It is obsessed with striving, relentlessly positive, devoid of humor, and — once you notice it — impossible to escape.”
I am having a lengthy text conversation with my sister about animal farts. Technology was made for moments like this.
I miss having more than one dog for nights like this.
Reading: Sorry, Sweethearts: America’s most popular Valentine’s Day candy won’t be on shelves this year (MarketWatch)
Related to the previous WashPost link: Social media is rotting democracy from within (Vox)
Reading: Around the globe, Trump’s style is inspiring imitators and unleashing dark impulses (Washington Post)
“… despots — and would-be despots — have seen in Trump a model, as well as an alibi.”
Backyard rush hour.
Reading: Stop Trusting Viral Videos (The Atlantic)
“… the fact that those visceral certainties can so easily be called into question offers a good reason to trust video less, rather than more.”
Today’s “Nancy” strip is a prime example of the freshened comic’s brilliance. “Fourth wall,” indeed.
Reading: Olivia Jaimes, the Mysterious Cartoonist Behind ‘Nancy,’ Gives Rare Interview (Vulture)
The “Nancy” reboot is a thing of beauty, and this interview with the elusive cartoonist behind it is a fun read.
Sage advice from yet another guy I wish was on Micro.blog.
Reading: The Media Wildly Mischaracterized That Video of Covington Catholic Students Confronting a Native American Veteran (Reason)
Food for thought. Regretting much of my own rush to judgment about this story.
When you have extra dough after the initial apple cake for church, bake a smaller cake with what’s left of the filling (mostly dried cranberries simmered with apples, sugar, and cinnamon) on top. Turned out pretty well.
Reading: ‘It was getting ugly’: Native American drummer speaks on the MAGA-hat wearing teens who surrounded him (Washington Post)
God bless Nathan Phillips.
Relieved to see the bags of apples we picked last fall remained pretty fresh while hanging from the rafters of our garage. Moved them to the frozen tundra of the deck for easy retrieval as we make apple cake this afternoon.
Reading: The End of Microsoft’s Windows Phone Is Here (Fortune)
It’s been barely on life support for a while. The husband is still grieving the loss of his Windows-powered Nokia; he is resigned to be part of the iOS cult with F and me.
Two more cookie sheets to go. A nice way for F and me to warm up the house on a snow day.
Reading: Waiting for a Shutdown to End in Disaster (The Atlantic)
“…a grim but growing consensus has begun to emerge on Capitol Hill: There may be no way out of this mess until something disastrous happens.”
Reading: This is the telegram MLK sent Malcolm X’s wife after her husband’s assassination (Vox)
And yet the snow hasn’t even started.
Say what you will about the evil of Twitter, but it’s deeply heartening to see poetry bubble to the surface there when a beloved poet passes away. Wish we saw poetry more often – and regularly – there.
Alexis Madrigal: “There isn’t some global corporate conspiracy to get you to post a photo of yourself from the old days and today. There has been a global corporate conspiracy to get you to post everything about yourself … for the past 15 years.” (H/T @LMSacasas on Twitter)
Some days, I miss working in news. Some days, I don’t.
So utterly sad to see this: Beloved Poet Mary Oliver, Who Believed Poetry ‘Mustn’t Be Fancy,’ Dies At 83 (NPR)