RSS Post: December 2021

Wednesday, December 29, 2021

Poem: In the New Year

Poem: In the New Year
The reality is that, for some, the new year might be a time of dislocation, confusion and loneliness, particularly during these challenging times.
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What Was Causing the Strange Grooves in the Man’s Scalp?

What Was Causing the Strange Grooves in the Man’s Scalp?
A dermatologist looks into a rare and generally benign condition and finds a more serious disorder.
https://ift.tt/3z9m01q

Sun-Dried Persimmons Are Worth the Obsession

Sun-Dried Persimmons Are Worth the Obsession
The fruit yields a slow pleasure of rich, almost floral flesh.
https://ift.tt/3z9MYq4

Tuesday, December 28, 2021

The Shoes of Our Lost Icons Are Still Full of Life

The Shoes of Our Lost Icons Are Still Full of Life
A look at the indelible footprints of Hank Aaron, Virgil Abloh, Halyna Hutchins and more.
https://ift.tt/3eAhHDf

I’m Invited to a Destination Wedding at a Plantation. What Do I Do?

I’m Invited to a Destination Wedding at a Plantation. What Do I Do?
The magazine’s Ethicist columnist on how uncomfortable moments can’t be avoided if our country is going to get out from under four centuries of racism.
https://ift.tt/3Jjqfwp

How to Dig for Clams

How to Dig for Clams
You need a permit. Look for bubbles and indentations in the mud.
https://ift.tt/3Evgqrn

How Play-Doh Helped Save Me From My Despair in Grad School

How Play-Doh Helped Save Me From My Despair in Grad School
On starting over and reshaping one’s path.
https://ift.tt/3FzJX4F

Monday, December 27, 2021

Your DNA Test Could Send a Relative to Jail

Your DNA Test Could Send a Relative to Jail
Thanks to “genetic genealogy,” solving crimes with genomic databases is becoming mainstream — with some uncomfortable implications for the future of privacy.
https://ift.tt/3mCzD4h

How Disgust Explains Everything

How Disgust Explains Everything
For psychologists who study it, disgust is one of the primal emotions that define — and explain — humanity.
https://ift.tt/33QlERS

Can We Have a Meaningful Life in a Virtual World?

Can We Have a Meaningful Life in a Virtual World?
“Am I dipping into the spiritual realm and the infinite game of life? Damn right I am.”
https://ift.tt/32yH5X4

Friday, December 24, 2021

Willie Garson Found a Home Playing the Canonical ‘Gay Best Friend’

Willie Garson Found a Home Playing the Canonical ‘Gay Best Friend’
In a media climate when gay characters were usually flat, he found a playful middle ground.
https://ift.tt/3mxgxN4

Cloris Leachman’s Golden Age Was Middle Age

Cloris Leachman’s Golden Age Was Middle Age
She was an actor for almost 80 years, winning Emmys into her 70s.
https://ift.tt/3qm9esy

Rennie Davis, One of the Chicago Seven, Traded Activism for Inner Peace

Rennie Davis, One of the Chicago Seven, Traded Activism for Inner Peace
When he stopped trying to fix the world, it left some leftists feeling pretty irritated.
https://ift.tt/32dEZfB

Wednesday, December 22, 2021

The Lives They Lived

The Lives They Lived
Remembering some of the artists, innovators and thinkers we lost in the past year.
https://ift.tt/3msDd0W

Melvin Van Peebles Had a Hunger for Intensity

Melvin Van Peebles Had a Hunger for Intensity
The artist filled his “Blue Room” with scenes from everyday life and turned them into sculptures.
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Chucky Thompson Found Music Everywhere

Chucky Thompson Found Music Everywhere
He helped a league of artists figure out how to sound royal and still grounded.
https://ift.tt/32sDLg2

Christopher Plummer’s ‘Strange Loyalties’

Christopher Plummer’s ‘Strange Loyalties’
Even after “The Sound of Music,” he believed his true calling was on the classical stage.
https://ift.tt/3mnSYpO

2021 Was the Deadliest Year on Record for Trans Folks. Kiér Was Only 21.

2021 Was the Deadliest Year on Record for Trans Folks. Kiér Was Only 21.
“She was figuring it out,” said her best friend. “But she never got to finish figuring it out.”
https://ift.tt/3mnREDd

Mary Wilson Refused to Let the Supremes Fall Apart

Mary Wilson Refused to Let the Supremes Fall Apart
She was not in the spotlight, but she was the one who kept them together.
https://ift.tt/3efkUaW

Norm Macdonald Had His Own Kind of Honesty

Norm Macdonald Had His Own Kind of Honesty
He became a comedian’s comedian by bucking the conventions of our confessional age.
https://ift.tt/3mtT8fw

Lauren Berlant Helped Us Understand the Intimacy of Pop Culture

Lauren Berlant Helped Us Understand the Intimacy of Pop Culture
They pioneered a theory for our messy emotional lives.
https://ift.tt/3yRD4ZU

Michael K. Williams Brought Humanity to Men on the Brink of Disaster

Michael K. Williams Brought Humanity to Men on the Brink of Disaster
He was a window into the lives we rarely choose to see.
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James Hormel Used His Spam Fortune to Cement a Place in Gay History

James Hormel Used His Spam Fortune to Cement a Place in Gay History
He gave more than $15 million to L.G.B.T.Q. causes over his life and was appointed ambassador to Luxembourg, which caused a Senate standoff.
https://ift.tt/3ejd4gA

Sunday, December 19, 2021

The Human Toll of America’s Air Wars

The Human Toll of America’s Air Wars
A trove of internal documents, combined with extensive reporting across the Middle East, reveals the tragic, disastrous failures of the U.S. military’s long-distance approach to warfare.
https://ift.tt/3FoOeYk

Friday, December 17, 2021

How ‘Succession’ Turns Getting What You Want Into Hell

How ‘Succession’ Turns Getting What You Want Into Hell
The characters in HBO’s prestige hit let us set aside judgment and just marvel at how ardently, how comically, people will chase after the worst thing for them.
https://ift.tt/3GYRM4h

Thursday, December 16, 2021

Judge John Hodgman on Robe Life

Judge John Hodgman on Robe Life
After work, her husband jumps right into one of his many robes. Is it weird to eat dinner that way?
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Poem: Musée des Beaux Arts

Poem: Musée des Beaux Arts
W. H. Auden’s masterpiece.
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Wednesday, December 15, 2021

What if There’s No Such Thing as Closure?

What if There’s No Such Thing as Closure?
Many of us are taught that if we work hard enough we’ll be able to get over our losses. The social scientist Pauline Boss sees it differently.
https://ift.tt/3dPjeF3

What Stone Soup Means to a Seasoned Chef

What Stone Soup Means to a Seasoned Chef
For Gabrielle Hamilton’s final Eat column, she considers what it takes to feed a village.
https://ift.tt/3s8yR2I

The Pain Was Squeezing His Head Like an Octopus. What Was It?

The Pain Was Squeezing His Head Like an Octopus. What Was It?
The diagnosis came from an unlikely source.
https://ift.tt/33y5Pzd

Tuesday, December 14, 2021

Can We Make Our Granddaughter Give Up Her Scary Dog?

Can We Make Our Granddaughter Give Up Her Scary Dog?
The magazine’s Ethicist columnist on what terms we can attach to our plans to help loved ones — and more.
https://ift.tt/3pXo1K2

Why My Family Loves Giving Leftover Junk

Why My Family Loves Giving Leftover Junk
If you’re looking for an antidote to the most expensive time of year, consider giving them the gift of laughter with a “rewrap.”
https://ift.tt/3pXo08W

What Can You Learn from a Celebrity Masterclass on Empathy?

What Can You Learn from a Celebrity Masterclass on Empathy?
Pharrell Williams is joined by a chorus of famous people whose lessons about feeling for others strangely highlight their personal achievements.
https://ift.tt/33j3x6Q

How to Hang a Gallery Wall

How to Hang a Gallery Wall
Start at the bottom, in the center, and work up and out. Don’t center the biggest piece of art.
https://ift.tt/33tgCux

Monday, December 13, 2021

Can We Have a Meaningful Life in a Virtual World?

Can We Have a Meaningful Life in a Virtual World?
“Am I dipping into the spiritual realm and the infinite game of life? Damn right I am.”
https://ift.tt/3IKa3nv

Thursday, December 9, 2021

John Wilson, the Genius Behind the Weirdest Show on TV

John Wilson, the Genius Behind the Weirdest Show on TV
In the second season of “How To With John Wilson,” the documentary filmmaker shows off his penchant for mutating the mundane into the vivid and extraordinary.
https://ift.tt/3Dwdt9D

Will Smith Is Done Trying to Be Perfect

Will Smith Is Done Trying to Be Perfect
“Strategizing about being the biggest movie star in the world — that is all completely over. ”
https://ift.tt/3lR7A0y

Judge John Hodgman on the Secret Flip Off

Judge John Hodgman on the Secret Flip Off
A married couple have different ways of showing love — and ire.
https://ift.tt/3EHUydf

Poem: For Freckle-Faced Gerald

Poem: For Freckle-Faced Gerald
This is the poem that turned me into a poet. I was 17 when I read it. I had been in prison for two years.
https://ift.tt/3EJeufS

Wednesday, December 8, 2021

We’re Getting Close to ‘Universal’ Vaccines. It Hasn’t Been Easy.

We’re Getting Close to ‘Universal’ Vaccines. It Hasn’t Been Easy.
A new class of flu vaccines could eventually save millions of lives — and perhaps stop the next pandemic — if scientists can overcome the remaining obstacles.
https://ift.tt/31H7rFI

On the Citizen App, Even the Happy Videos Can Be Unsettling

On the Citizen App, Even the Happy Videos Can Be Unsettling
However the “personal safety” app adapts its message, it’s still toying with how you feel about your own community.
https://ift.tt/3pAWpKv

The Secret to This Glazed Holiday Ham? Root Beer.

The Secret to This Glazed Holiday Ham? Root Beer.
The sarsaparilla flavor lends the meat a woodsy mintiness, which sings when it’s paired with aromatics like bay leaves and shallots.
https://ift.tt/3pw4SP2

Tuesday, December 7, 2021

Can I Skip Jury Duty Because of Covid Fears?

Can I Skip Jury Duty Because of Covid Fears?
The magazine’s Ethicist columnist on weighing health concerns against civic duty, what to do about workers who had sex on the job — and more.
https://ift.tt/3lGMAd5

I Can’t Give My Cat the Perfect Life. ‘TV for Cats’ Gives Her a Taste.

I Can’t Give My Cat the Perfect Life. ‘TV for Cats’ Gives Her a Taste.
Ideally, Daisy and I would live in a sprawling home with outdoor space. Instead, she is content to chirp at two-dimensional birds on YouTube.
https://ift.tt/3DsZPnz

How to Break In Boots

How to Break In Boots
Scour them with sandpaper for traction. Wear thick socks or multiple pairs to stretch the leather slightly.
https://ift.tt/3GjtAZU

Thursday, December 2, 2021

The Abortion I Didn’t Have

The Abortion I Didn’t Have
I never thought about ending my pregnancy. Instead, at 19, I erased the future I had imagined for myself.
https://ift.tt/3rvd8li

Poem: [Thought at first that grief had brought him down.]

Poem: [Thought at first that grief had brought him down.]
Ellen Bryant Voigt reminds us that there have been pandemics before. I go back to these poems to remember that if we can write about it, we can survive it.
https://ift.tt/3EicrPM

The Toddler Was Bowlegged, Her Gait Awkward. What Was It?

The Toddler Was Bowlegged, Her Gait Awkward. What Was It?
What the orthopedist saw on the X-rays surprised him.
https://ift.tt/3ltwnHP

Judge John Hodgman on Whether His Letters Are Real or Not

Judge John Hodgman on Whether His Letters Are Real or Not
Don’t believe me? Tell it to my fact checker.
https://ift.tt/3dc7PyH