I spent eight months picking out the wallpaper for my kitchen. I taped samples on the wall. I grilled my family, my neighbors and poor, innocent, befuddled dinner guests. I sat for hours, staring at the different options, trying to pick the one square of printed, decorative paper that said "me!"
Trying to express ourselves through chosen objects—be they wallpaper, raincoats, or living room couches—can be exhausting, and yet we all seem to love ultimately finding things that let both the world and us know who we are.
Which is why I thoroughly enjoyed the silly yet oddly satisfying quiz/game/10-minute time suck that Firefox has developed called Webify Me. In a nutshell, you answer a series of questions about yourself and your use of new technology, and—presto!—the gizmo comes up with a desk filled with items that represent you, from compasses and magazines to seashells, crayons and action figures.
The bonus? As you scroll over each item, pop-ups appear explaining why and how it relates to you, usually with a flattering comment, such as "You use many different tools to communicate your vision, Traveler, " or "You're a class act, even when you let loose." A little senseless yet very specific flattery from an algorithm can do wonders for your morning.
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Men! What are they thinking? We can't always answer that, but we'll be posting our favorite glimpses into their world in this space every Thursday.
* Did young Ernest Hemingway give a porcupine a "wack with an ax?" Vanity Fair shares a treasure trove of the writer’s delightful early correspondence with his parents and childhood friends. (Vanity Fair)
* Watch this: Louis C.K.'s affectionate remembrance of George Carlin, the man who inspired him to become a comedian. (The Daily What/NYPL.org, language NSFW)
* For boys who like bikes, the Barbour Steve McQueen collection. (Barbour)
* Need a place to stay in L.A.? Rent Conan O’Brian’s studio for a night (and it’s cheap, too). (Airbnb)
* "Studies have shown that men who can easily lift heavy objects make better listeners." Over at McSweeney's, "Jenna, Take Me Back, I'm Newly Muscular" is good for a laugh. (McSweeney's)
* "But the power people take from others is nothing next to the power that comes with simple self-acceptance, with being comfortable in your (changing) skin. It’s not just Survival of the Fit-ins. There’s room for something new."—Joss Whedon's advice to teenagers starting high school. (Rookie)
| Photo: The Pennsylvania State University Library |
* Did young Ernest Hemingway give a porcupine a "wack with an ax?" Vanity Fair shares a treasure trove of the writer’s delightful early correspondence with his parents and childhood friends. (Vanity Fair)
* Watch this: Louis C.K.'s affectionate remembrance of George Carlin, the man who inspired him to become a comedian. (The Daily What/NYPL.org, language NSFW)
* For boys who like bikes, the Barbour Steve McQueen collection. (Barbour)
* Need a place to stay in L.A.? Rent Conan O’Brian’s studio for a night (and it’s cheap, too). (Airbnb)
* "Studies have shown that men who can easily lift heavy objects make better listeners." Over at McSweeney's, "Jenna, Take Me Back, I'm Newly Muscular" is good for a laugh. (McSweeney's)
* "But the power people take from others is nothing next to the power that comes with simple self-acceptance, with being comfortable in your (changing) skin. It’s not just Survival of the Fit-ins. There’s room for something new."—Joss Whedon's advice to teenagers starting high school. (Rookie)
When it comes to gardening, Classie Parker is the fairy grandmother who we all long for—except that she doesn't turn pumpkins into coaches or mice into footmen. Instead she does something much more powerful and true-to-life. This spunky, funny, vegetable grower visits different communities in New York, "teaching people how to put the love in their food" by instructing them in the forgotten art of canning. Along the way, she inspires all who listen to her about passing along the lessons of our "mommas..grandmommas...and great-grandmommas..." as you'll see in this video that Etsy put together.
The takeaway: Whether or not you grow peppers and cucumbers in your backyard, whether or not you can those veggies with garlic or don't can them with garlic or don't can them at all, it's worth remembering that what we eat and how we share it is, as Classie says, "what brings people together."
Try out Classie's recipe for red pepper relish in the full article on Etsy.
| Photo: Thinkstock |
Which is exactly why Kayli Stollak, 24, turned to her Granny Gail, 75, when she decided to jump into the online dating scene in New York City—especially since Granny (who lives over 1500 miles away in South Florida) is playing the digital dating game herself. As Stollak says, "She's a 24-hour cocktail party full of jokes, gossip, and advice." To record their triumphs (and low points), which they discuss almost daily over the phone, Stollak started a blog "Granny Is My Wingman."
Next: Find out more about this unexpected tag team and get their best advice for finding love online.
Men! What are they thinking? We can't always answer that, but we'll be posting our favorite glimpses into their world in this space every Thursday.
* Catching up with the Reader-in-Chief: Newsweek presents every book the president has read while in office in handy illustrated form. (The Daily Beast)
* Comedian Andy Samberg channels McEnroe, Borg, Agassi and other tennis greats for The New York Times Magazine this weekend, and this behind-the-scenes video shows how he got into character. (NYTimes.com)
* "So frustrating because, if [you were outed], there was no ability to assume that your record stood for itself. All of a sudden there was this mystical discovery that made your record go into the trash." As Don't Ask Don't Tell comes to an end, GQ's Chris Heath interviews gay service members, and the results are fascinating and heartbreaking. (GQ)
* Are you ready to meet the perfect groom? This guy surprised his girlfriend with a proposal and her dream wedding on the same day. (Glamour.com)
* "My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world."—Jack Layton, a Canadian politician who died of cancer this week at the age of 61, in a letter to his country. (CBC)
| Photo: New York Times Magazine |
* Comedian Andy Samberg channels McEnroe, Borg, Agassi and other tennis greats for The New York Times Magazine this weekend, and this behind-the-scenes video shows how he got into character. (NYTimes.com)
* "So frustrating because, if [you were outed], there was no ability to assume that your record stood for itself. All of a sudden there was this mystical discovery that made your record go into the trash." As Don't Ask Don't Tell comes to an end, GQ's Chris Heath interviews gay service members, and the results are fascinating and heartbreaking. (GQ)
* Are you ready to meet the perfect groom? This guy surprised his girlfriend with a proposal and her dream wedding on the same day. (Glamour.com)
* "My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world."—Jack Layton, a Canadian politician who died of cancer this week at the age of 61, in a letter to his country. (CBC)
| Photo: Thinkstock |
It's hard enough to keep a sense of humor on regular Monday, when say, you're late for work, your computer freezes, your dog needs some kind of inner ear surgery which isn't covered by pet insurance (does pet insurance cover anything?), and..drumroll...you reach over in the bathroom to wash your hands and get soaked by the puddle that someone left on the counter, making it appear as if you had an accident in your already rumpled pants.
But imagine you're in Afghanistan—now at month 106, the longest war in U.S. history. The members of 7 Commando battery, 29 Commando found a way to laugh at their day by creating their own version of Glee's Don't Stop Believing, which includes singing into radio microphones, singing while doing chin-ups, and singing while in the shower Not only is the show lovable, but it comes with added bonus that almost every one of these young, goofy yet incredibly buff guys has failed to put on a shirt.
Today's rule for life: If people thousands of miles from home, fighting a war, can laugh about their conditions (note the outhouse in the video), so can we.
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5 things happy people doThe Happiness Test
Imagine a world where four courageous yet completely ornery older people—Granny, Frank the Fixer, Madge the Merciless, and Emile the Organizer—take on the evils of today's society, battling nefarious financial planners and knocking out health insurance company representatives. This is the inspired, much-needed idea behind Coot Avengers, a comic book now being funded on Kickstarter. (Technically, the project has already reached its $2,500 goal, but we advise donating anyway—just for the free-with-donation gift comic entitled Everything I Know About Wall Street, I Learned From My Cat.)
The geniuses behind the mature, laugh-lined superheroes are Kay Wood (age 60), Michael Silverstein (age 70) and Doris Lane Grey (age 72) who got together one afternoon for pastries, only to begin discussing getting older and dealing with various bureaucratic agencies. Silverstein in particular was in the middle of a nasty battle with an insurance agent over who was going to pay for a colonoscopy. "People our age are in a daily fight with government agencies, city hall, and even private employers who don't want to hire anybody over 50," says Wood.
Soon the three had pooled their artistic resources to try something new for all of them—a comic, populated with characters who are "feisty, wise, and when circumstances demand, intimidating."
"The project has been so enlightening," says Silverstein, "to be able to have a medium that allow you to focus attention on these issues—not beat people over the head with them—but present them in a really poignant, fun way." His particular comic alter-ego, he claims, is Frank the Fixer: "a tall, slender, gawky guy who doesn't like to take a lot of guff from people."
The fact that originators of the Coot Avengers are seemingly as feisty and wise are their characters is not that much of a surprise, but one tidbit on their website did wow us: Some 44 million Baby Boomers will be eligible for Social Security between now and 2029. With those kind of numbers, you have to wonder if that particular group needs a superhero—given that the last time they stood up for something, it was for the end of the Vietnam War.
Men! What are they thinking? We can't always answer that, but we'll be posting our favorite glimpses into their world in this space every Thursday.
* Earlier this month, an 89-year-old barber named Aaron Biber, found the
shop he'd owned for 41 years destroyed by London's rioters. Last
Wednesday, a group of advertising interns set up a website to help him
repair the shop. Within a week, visitors to the site had contributed nearly $60,000—enough to keep Aaron cutting. The kindness of strangers really never gets old. (Keep Aaron Cutting)
* Put this On, a web fashion series for men, visits the corduroy appreciation club and checks in with Gay Talese, one of the few dandies so dandy he has his own style of lapel. (Put this On)
* Relive the crushes of your youth in this slideshow of '80s athletes with their girlfriends and wives. For every Mike Tyson and Robin Givens, there's a couple that reminds us true love can span several decades—and survive the worst of mullets. (Sports Illustrated)
* Male superheroes get Wonder Woman-ized. (Bleeding Cool)
* "Fear only has as much power as we give it space."—Bright's Passage author Josh Ritter tells us what he knows for sure. (Oprah.com)
| Aaron Biber Photo: Oli Scarff/Getty Images |
* Put this On, a web fashion series for men, visits the corduroy appreciation club and checks in with Gay Talese, one of the few dandies so dandy he has his own style of lapel. (Put this On)
* Relive the crushes of your youth in this slideshow of '80s athletes with their girlfriends and wives. For every Mike Tyson and Robin Givens, there's a couple that reminds us true love can span several decades—and survive the worst of mullets. (Sports Illustrated)
* Male superheroes get Wonder Woman-ized. (Bleeding Cool)
* "Fear only has as much power as we give it space."—Bright's Passage author Josh Ritter tells us what he knows for sure. (Oprah.com)
Everyone struggles with the big questions: how to discover what you were really meant to do (not what your family, circumstance or fear directed you to do), how to forgive and be forgiven, how to live your best life, no matter how your life changes.
Today, Oprah announced her return to television this fall, with a very personal project: Oprah's Lifeclass. Each episode will focus on a specific lesson that matters the most to her, using clips from The Oprah Show’s 25-year history. She'll explain what she was really thinking back then--and what she knows now.
The first one million people to sign up for the class will receive a limited-edition journal and can enter a sweepstakes for a chance to win a trip to Atlanta to meet Oprah in person.
The first one million people to sign up for the class will receive a limited-edition journal and can enter a sweepstakes for a chance to win a trip to Atlanta to meet Oprah in person.
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