In the last year or two, one way I’ve been coping with depressing news headlines has been to bury myself in “nice soothing murder mysteries.” They somehow seem less frightening than real life. And since I favor mystery series that transport me to another place or time, they’re also educational. Whether modern Venice, southern France, […]
We recently attended a lecture on Long Island shipwrecks at the Mystic Seaport Museum, and took in the related Lego exhibit while we were there. Then we went to a Mystic Schooners baseball game. It struck me that these widely divergent fields of endeavor have all developed phrases to describe easily avoidable mistakes. In tennis […]
Or, actually, in a peanut butter filled chocolate shell. I recently read about a grandson of the founder of Reese’s Cups who is suing Hershey Corporation. He claims the current owners of his grandfather’s brand have changed things and that now the treats are neither actual chocolate nor real peanut butter. As Reese’s Cups […]
I know, I know – could it be more trite? And yet… There’s so much research demonstrating the importance of community, friendships, and loose social networks to health and happiness. Anybody who claims to have pulled themselves up by their bootstraps is forgetting all the kind words, second chances, mentoring and plain old good luck […]
A psychology professor named Angela Duckworth wrote in the New York Times about a phenomenon she calls situational agency. She means that willpower is not what works to get yourself to resist temptation, or to do something you know you should. Instead, successful people create a structure around themselves that minimizes the need for willpower. […]
Turns out one of my favorite sayings actually has a name – Hanlon’s Razor. It says “never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.” An article in The Economist recently recommended using it to squelch the urge for revenge against annoying or deceitful colleagues. Having found that advice to be useful over […]
Dick Van Dyke recently celebrated his 100th birthday and the flurry of publicity has been a bit annoying. Everything from mainstream media to people posting that they met him once, all trying to claim a piece of this beloved performer. Nonetheless, some of the insights from interviews with him are useful. Everyone asks, of course, […]
For several years now I have railed against the proliferation of touch screens in cars, as they grow ever larger and more complicated. That is part of the reason I prefer older cars and keep them forever. (My trusty mechanic knows me well, and shared his home and cell numbers.) I find screens distracting, preferring […]
A recent Facebook post by a friend introduced me to the word meliorism. It’s defined as the belief that the world can be made better by human effort. She was feeling very discourage and, given recent events, was understandably no longer convinced this was true. Nonetheless, I prefer to remain optimistic. Perhaps foolishly so, but […]
Air travel is much less enjoyable lately – smaller seats, more delays, longer security lines, disgusting food, jets falling out of the sky… I used to love packing efficiently and strolling aboard to sit comfortably in my aisle seat, where I’d have my choice of meals after we left on time. No more. Now I […]
