December 2023

very little reading this month. went to the movie theater twice and started packing for louisiana.

the wife [2017], dream scenario, maestro, poor things, the creator

rest of world - How different languages laugh online
conde nast traveler - What Happens to Babies Born on Planes
the atlantic - Why It’s So Hard to Search Your Email
npr- Houston, we have a tomato: ISS astronauts locate missing fruit (or vegetable)
mental floss - Smash Knit: How Ugly Christmas Sweaters Took the Holiday Season by Storm
ifl science - Your Perception Of Time And Space Is Radically Altered By The Language You Speak
artnet - The Most Reprinted ‘New Yorker’ Cartoon Fetches $175,000 at Auction—the Highest Price Ever Paid for a Single Comic

cbs news - Americans say money can buy happiness. Here's their price tag.

npr - Why children of married parents do better, but America is moving the other way
"Almost a quarter, or 23% of U.S. children under age 18, live with one parent and no other adults."
"Almost half of all babies born in the U.S. were born to unmarried women in 2019"
"One of the biggest issues is that women seem to be giving up on men, particularly those without college degrees. The economics hasn't been kind to this demographic: Since the 1980s, those men have seen their earnings stagnate and employment rates fall. In the same period, more women entered the workforce and their average earnings increased regardless of their education level. This change has stripped many men of their traditional role as breadwinner for the family and, in simple terms, made them less desirable marriage partners. Research shows that in parts of the country where men's earnings have fallen, so too have marriage rates."

vogue - How Many Clothes Should We Own, Exactly?
"Researchers from Berlin’s Hot Or Cool Institute found that we should only be purchasing five new garments a year in order to stay in line with the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees celsius, if nothing else changes."
"The researchers found that a “sufficient” wardrobe consists of 74 garments and 20 outfits in total. As an example, they’ve suggested six outfits for work, three outfits for home wear, three outfits for sports, two outfits for festive occasions, plus four outdoor jackets and trousers or skirts. “It’s a very generous allocation that we’ve given in our estimate..."

biographic - City of Glass

November 2023

sedona trip planning, also FINISHING MY QUILT!!! so bad romcoms to have something on I don't need to pay attention to. 

aka Mr chow, sex and the city [2008], sex and the city 2 [2010], set it up [2018], when we first met [2018], lady chatterly's lover [2022], downsizing [2017], marriage story [2019]

the atlantic - The Plight of the Eldest Daughter
charlie hamilton substack - The Giraffe In Red Sneakers
the atlantic - What the Gig Economy Does to a Human
taste - The Golden Age of the Golden-Brown Cheesecake
ny times - Do Cocktail Glasses Have a Gender? For Some Men, Clearly.
the atlantic - Why So Many Accidental Pregnancies Happen in Your 40s
bbc - The surprisingly subtle ways Microsoft Word has changed how we use language
npr - Colorado banned forced prison labor 5 years ago. Prisoners say it's still happening
the atlantic - The Constitution Prohibits Trump From Ever Being President Again
vox - Why Americans Still Use Fahrenheit Long After Everyone Else Switched to Celsius
ap - Last operating US prison ship, a grim vestige of mass incarceration, set to close in NYC
the guardian - ‘We’re sedating women with self-care’: how we became obsessed with wellness
martha stewart - Forget Clunky Martini Glasses—the Nick and Nora Is the Best Vessel for Cocktails
artnet - The Most Reprinted ‘New Yorker’ Cartoon Fetches $175,000 at Auction—the Highest Price Ever Paid for a Single Comic

vogue - How Many Clothes Should We Own, Exactly?
"The researchers found that a “sufficient” wardrobe consists of 74 garments and 20 outfits in total. As an example, they’ve suggested six outfits for work, three outfits for home wear, three outfits for sports, two outfits for festive occasions, plus four outdoor jackets and trousers or skirts. “It’s a very generous allocation that we’ve given in our estimate,” Akenji explains. An average French wardrobe during the 1960s consisted of around 40 pieces, although times have admittedly moved on since then."

npr - Why children of married parents do better, but America is moving the other way
"Almost half of all babies born in the U.S. were born to unmarried women in 2019, a dramatic increase since 1960, when only 5% of births were to unmarried mothers. And it's not because of divorce; today's unpartnered mothers are also more likely to have never been married."
"One of the biggest issues is that women seem to be giving up on men, particularly those without college degrees. The economics hasn't been kind to this demographic: Since the 1980s, those men have seen their earnings stagnate and employment rates fall."
"Their book suggests that many women don't marry the father of their child not because they reject the concept of marriage, but because they do not see him as a reliable source of economic security or stability. They appear to have a higher bar for a potential spouse than their partners, or the fathers of their children, have met."

October 2023

managed a bit of reading during my trip with the girls to Tennessee, but not much more.

vivrium [2019], arrival [2016], don't worry darling [2022], up in the air [2009],  adjustment bureau [2011]

 

the atlantic - Airlines Are Just Banks Now
bbc future - A pizza topping that divides the world

the hustle - The big business of bachelorette party buses

atlas obscura - Why Are There So Many Female Ghosts?

bbc future - How orange juice took over the breakfast table 

epicurious - Why Are So Many Cakes Named After Fabric? 
teen vogue - The Problematic History of the Word "Hispanic"

IFL science - Our Sense Of Smell Changes How We See Color

nyt - What Happens When the Boss Invites You to Bible Study?

taste - The Joys and Extreme Risks of Selling Food on Facebook

mit technology review - What happened to the microfinance organization Kiva?

the atlantic - The Coming Attack on an Essential Element of Women’s Freedom

la-ist - Why LA Makes A Great Stand-In For So Many Other Cities In TV And Film

npr - Fed-up consumers are increasingly going after food companies for misleading claims

the conversation - We gave $7,500 to people experiencing homelessness — here’s what happened next 

 

quartz - How Non-English Speakers Learn This Crazy Grammar Rule You Know But Never Heard Of

"I before E except after C.” It’s used to help people remember how to spell words like “piece,” but, Forsyth says, there are only 44 words that follow the rule, and 923 that don’t."

 

time - why don't more women propose?

"About one in a hundred marriages in the U.S. are between people of the same sex. An unknown but growing fraction of them, including the former Mayor of New York City's, are openly nonmonogamous. But plenty of things about the process of getting married have remained stubbornly unchanged. Men still buy women expensive engagement rings, even when a couple already shares expenses. American women married to men continue to take their husband's last names, at a rate of 80:20. After a lull during the pandemic, the wedding industry is back in the black or, um, white. And the overwhelming number of proposals are still made by men."

"The latest figures from the U.S. Census Bureau say that there are only 90 unmarried men for every 100 unmarried women."

september 2023

less reading this month. spent more than a full week's worth of nights planning out our girls' trip to tennessee

the longest third date, they cloned tyrone

the verge - Inside one of the world’s first human composting facilities
vox - How the anti-aging industry turns you into a customer for life"
npr - Whatever happened to the 'No Sex for Fish' women after the flood? Hint: It's 'amazing'
thrillist - Once a Hotbed for Disappearances, the Bermuda Triangle Has Itself Gone Missing

outside -  Why You Should Stop Using Laundry Pods Right Now

thrillist - The Irish Pub Is Not a Bar, It’s a Global Phenomenon
“In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Irish people, motivated by famine, spread out around the world, and they brought their drinking culture with them,” explains T. Cole Newton, drinks expert and owner of Twelve Mile Limit and The Domino in New Orleans. “The trend didn’t really accelerate until Mel McNally founded the Irish Pub Company, which sold ‘kits' to anyone interested in opening an authentic Irish pub.”

august 2023

barbie!!!, poisoned: the dirty truth about your food, Oppenheimer

bit more reading this month. :)

nyt - ‘We’re All Water-Bottle Freaks’
failed architecture - A Cage by Another Name
bbc - The lifelong effects of 'the favourite child'
wired - The Incredible Shrinking Car Dealership
epicurious - Why Do Recipes Call for Unsalted Butter?
bbc - Netflix: How did it know I was bi before I did?
gq - What Really Happens to the Clothes You Donate
allure - The History of the Big, Bright American Smile
the atlantic - The Truth About Slushies Must Come Out
the hustle - The strange business of hole-in-one insurance
cnn business - Why America stopped building public pools
gq - What Really Happens to the Clothes You Donate
nyt - How a Vast Demographic Shift Will Shape the World
the hustle - Why the world’s best vanilla is so easy to steal
vox - What would it mean to treat guns the way we treat cars?
bbc future - Garbology: How to spot patterns in people's waste
huffpost - The 'Barbie' Movie Is Ending Relationships Left And Right
cnn business - Why people hated shopping carts when they first came out
cnn style - The controversial history of Barbie’s classic stiletto mule heels
vogue - Why One Trans Woman Wants to Discuss Sex After Surgery
npr - From Nebraska Lab To McDonald's Tray: The McRib's Strange Journey
taste - The Multimillion-Dollar Junkets That Introduced Americans to Olive Oil
npr - The story behind Asian Pacific American Heritage, and why it's celebrated in May
eater - Beyond Dining in the Dark: What It’s Actually Like to Eat Out When You’re Blind
thrillist - Why Can I Eat Endless Bread and Gelato in Europe and Never Feel Bloated?
vox - A study gave cash and therapy to men at risk of criminal behavior. 10 years later, the results are in.

the 19th -  Polyamorous families now have legal protections in this Massachusetts city
"An estimated 4 to 5 percent of Americans are polyamorous, and 21 percent reported engaging in some form of consensual non-monogamy at some point in their lives, according to a 2016 study in the Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy."

july 2023

less reading this month. parents' house renovation and db.

asteroid city, young victoria (2009)

atlas obscura - This Family Gave the World the Snow Globe
the guardian - The big idea: why colour is in the eye of the beholder
bbc future - 'I can't say my own name': The pain of language loss in families
the atlantic - The First Social-Media Babies Are Growing Up—And They’re Horrified
the 19th - A Black Texas couple chose their midwife’s care over a hospital. Now their newborn is in foster care.
daily paws - The Story of 'Cheese Tax,' the Ultra-Relatable Dog Song on TikTok That's Permanently Stuck in My Head

june 2023

sleeping with other people (2015), hiding in the walls (2022), the divide (2015), sorry we missed you (2019), Santa Sangre (1989), all quiet on the western front (2022)

the atlantic - Shoppers Are Stuck in a Dupe Loop
teenvogue - Where Did All The Tween Fashion Go?
BBC - Glass or plastic: which is better for the environment?
polygon - The men who created Tetris reflect on their bromance
vox - The Republican push to weaken child labor laws, explained
NYT magazine - Inside the Delirious Rise of ‘Superfake’ Handbags
the atlantic - A Tragically American Approach to the Child-Care Crisis
time - How to Steal a Masterpiece: Advice from the World’s Greatest Art Thief
NPR - A Utah school district has removed the Bible from some schools' shelves
discover - Uncovering the Mystery of Why Dogs Might Look Like Their Owners
the guardian - Why Are so Many Young Americans Adopting Fake British Accents?
NPR - Arizona Republicans try and fail to expel Democratic lawmaker over Bible prank
USA today - Nearly one-third of nation's homeless population lives in California, new research shows

may 2023

guardians of the galaxy vol 3, stalker (1979)

vox - The baby name boom
the walrus - Our Tote Bags, Ourselves
NYT - Say Goodbye to Daily Hotel Room Cleaning
the cut - The Ubiquity of the ‘Pumpkin Spice of Dogs’
timeout - Why did we give up on the reusable coffee cup?
vice - The Taste of Water, Explained by Water Sommeliers
nature - World’s first house made with nappy-blended concrete
aeon - What Know-It-Alls Don’t Know, or the Illusion of Competence
fast company - The first map of America’s food supply chain is mind-boggling
today - Starbucks is rolling out a new type of ice and some fans aren’t cool with it
the atlantic - The Puzzling Gap Between How Old You Are and How Old You Think You Are
LA times - How two friends sparked L.A.’s sushi obsession — and changed the way America eats
the guardian - ‘It felt like a job application’: the people weeding out first dates with questionnaires
slate - The Strange Reason Nearly Every Film Ends by Saying It’s Fiction (You Guessed It: Rasputin!)
the cut - In the Pursuit of Hotness: How one sub-Reddit community is defining our beauty standards — and then striving for them at all costs.
the cut - A World Without Men: The women of South Korea’s 4B movement aren’t fighting the patriarchy — they’re leaving it behind entirely.
insider - A woman with an ethnically Chinese name called out 'name discrimination' and shared all the ways she was treated differently after going by an Anglo name

april 2023

sleepless in seattle (1993)

vox - Fashion is just TikTok now
medium - AI and the American Smile
the atlantic - my daughter's white doll
eater - We’re Using Big Spoons Wrong
asterisk mag - America Doesn’t Know Tofu
the new yorker - the myth of the alpha wolf
BBC - Should we be eating three meals a day?
cnn - What it’s like to be a theme park designer|
wired - The People Who Still Love Renting DVDs From Netflix
npr - Fear of pregnancy: One teen's story in post-Roe America
vox - Prices at the supermarket keep rising. So do corporate profits.
she sight mag - In China, marriage rates are down, and bride prices are up
the conversation - Why more and more Americans are painting their lawns
eater - How an Exiled Mexican President Accidentally Invented Chewing Gum
the guardian - Americans' plastic recycling is dumped in landfills, investigation shows
vanity fair - How the right's "open borders" myth might be fueling the migration crisis
npr - Cities may be debating reparations, but here's why most Americans oppose the idea
npr - Women now dominate the book business. Why there and not other creative industries?
the guardian - Mayor says Louisville shooter’s rifle ‘will be back on the streets’ under state law
grist - American cities want to recycle their plastic trash in Mexico. Critics call it ‘waste colonialism.’

fivethirtyeight - Way More Americans May Be Atheists Than We Thought
i have serious doubts that "roughly one-quarter (26 percent) of Americans likely do not believe in God." and beyond that, i feel like some percentage of people might believe in like some "supreme being" or "creator" type thing. altho, i guess i'm curious what types of atheism there are.

March 2023

okay, set a time limit on instagram, but it hasn't made me read more, lol. mostly, i made it more of a priority this month to read. j and i also finished watching dark on netflix, and the last of us is on break so we're watching less tv and reading more in the evenings. 

Sex(ed): the movie (2014), loving (2016), Donnie darko (2001), the lost daughter (2021)

fortune - Working from home saves employees 2 hours a week in commute time, and they’re spending it in ways CEOs don’t expect [lol, commuting to work takes me about 2.5 hours a DAY]

pro publica - Machine Bias
insider - Gen Z's dating revolution
medium - Gen Z Hates The ‘Full Stop’
nyt - The End of the Office Dress Code
the atlantic - The Most Contentious Meal of the Day
nyt - Evolution Is Happening Faster Than We Thought
nyt - Britain Signals Intent to Revert to the Imperial System
wordtips - How Dogs Bark and Cats Meow in Every Country
vox - Our bodies don’t need meat. So why can’t we give it up?
nyt - Old and on the Street: The Graying of America’s Homeless
the atlantic - Junk Food Is Bad for You. Is It Bad for Raccoons?
new york magazine - How Exercise Shapes You, Far Beyond the Gym
vox - Living in a poor neighborhood changes everything about your life
undark - Your ‘Recycled’ Grocery Bag Might Not Have Been Recycled
buzzfeed - The Rise Of The Appuccino: How TikTok Is Changing Starbucks
quartz - The challenges women face in corporate America are curbing their ambitions
npr - Killer whale moms are still supporting their adult sons — and it's costing them
nbc news - Borgs are taking over college parties, and TikTok. What exactly are they?
mental floss - The Time the Allies Tried to Disarm Hitler With Female Sex Hormones
the guardian - Florida Republican sends welcome grenades to fellow Congress members
the new yorker - The Swiss Vote on Guaranteed Income Is About Rich People’s Problems
vox - How love and marriage are changing, according to 63,000 New York Times wedding announcements
kqed - 'An Untapped Pool of Talent': Why Isn't California Hiring More Formerly Incarcerated Firefighters?
cbs - Pablo Escobar's "cocaine hippos" won't stop multiplying. Colombia wants to move dozens of them out of the country.

la times - No, my Japanese American parents were not ‘interned’ during WWII. They were incarcerated

"Instead, The Times will generally use ‘incarceration,’ ‘imprisonment,’ ‘detention’ or their derivatives to describe this government action that shattered so many innocent lives."

I think this is great, but i also think it doesn't goes far enough. the japanese weren't just imprisoned, they were imprisoned in concentrations camps. FDR called it concentration camps then, and that is still what they are. the jewish (and others!) during ww2 were also imprisoned in concentration camps, though many were also sent to extermination camps, which is exactly as horrific as it sounds and we should more often acknowledge the difference between the two.

another article about this proper use of words, as well as a "comparison" of the american and nazi concentration camps:
npr - Euphemisms, Concentration Camps And The Japanese Internment

lastly: wikipedia definition of extermination camp (also called death camp) vs nazi concentration camps

february 2023

basically no reading or movies this month. we went to mexico city for about a week, then i was sick coming home, then we had my birthday weekend away, which also took some planning.

honestly, i've also been spending way too much time on instagram. i need to set a daily limit on it. actually really glad they have that feature built into the app. but back to the too much time on instagram. it's funny cause i never even finished posting out italy pictures. oh well, lol.

january 2023

the banshees of inisherin (2022), trumbo (2015), be hur, ottolenghi and the cakes of Versailles (2020), sorry to bother you (2018)

always a treat - A Candy Cane Story

the takeout - The History of the American Shopping Cart

the atlantic - America Is Growing Apart, Possibly for Good

the smithsonian - U.S. Faces Bomb-Sniffing Dog Shortage

bon appetit - They’re Vegetarian, But Only When They’re Home

the smithsonian - Ten Surprising Facts About Everyday Household Objects

vox - A no-beef diet is great — but only if you don’t replace it with chicken

washington post - The turtle moms that ‘talk’ to their eggs before they hatch

la list - Dear LAist: Why Does LA Have So Many Roads With The Same Name?

washington post - Great Salt Lake on track to disappear in five years, scientists warn

wired - What's Up With That: Building Bigger Roads Actually Makes Traffic Worse

the economist - Nasty chemicals abound in what was thought an untouched environment
cosmopolitan - So, it turns out Carole Baskin's 'dead' husband has been found alive and well...

NPR - Judge Scraps 'Conscience' Rule Protecting Doctors Who Deny Care For Religious Reasons

abc news - COVID was the leading cause of law enforcement deaths in 2022 for 3rd year in a row: Report

insider - How the 'Romeo and Juliet' lawsuit could force Hollywood to reckon with its history of child abuse