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.


* In the above video, renowned Australian chef Ben Shewry passes his father's wisdom about the sea down to his son. (Vimeo)

* And for a slightly less solemn take on parenting, read this hysterical John Jeremiah Sullivan essay about allowing the TV show One Tree Hill to film in his house—and then not allowing it anymore: "And so, for primarily petty and neurotic reasons, I made a decision that negatively impacted our financial future. It's called being a good father." (GQ)

* The many faces of Darth Vader. (Wired)

* How Sal Khan is educating the world, one video at a time. (O Magazine)

* And finally, real men are kind to animals: This gorgeous National Geographic photo of orphan elephants with their caretakers is a guaranteed smile. "It's not for the wages," explains one veteran keeper. "The more you're with them, the more you satisfy yourself. You just love them." (National Geographic)

Every Monday, we're rounding up the things, small and big, that make us stop and think. Today, we're inspired by...“He had faith in us, and that is why he belongs on this Mall: Because he saw what we might become."
–President Obama, at the dedication of the Martin Luther King, Jr memorial.

“My grandmother gave me a bird book, and I got to like their colors. I said, ‘Jesus, a little blackbird with red wings’...In a way, that little bird seems to be responsible for all of my paintings.”
–Painter Ellsworth Kelly, in conversation with Gwyneth Paltrow.

“Then, just a few years ago, I realized that everyone feels secretly fraudulent. It’s the feeling of being an adult.”
–Miranda July, in the New Yorker.

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.”
–Steve Jobs

Every Monday, we're rounding up the things, small and big, that make us stop and think. Today, we're inspired by...

"I can only say that these computers coaxed out of me an expansiveness the typewriter never did."
-Novelist Gish Jen, on the impact Apple computers had on her writing life

"Because at the end of the day, your kids don’t care about the square footage of your home, the size of your stock portfolio, or the brand of your car. They just want unconditional love--and happy parents."
-New York City parenting coach Natalie Nevares

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.

Image: Jonathan Mak

* Thank you, Steve Jobs, for your innovation and your wisdom: "Death is very likely the single best invention of life. It’s life's change agent; it clears out the old to make way for the new ... Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life." (Wired)

* Over at The Man's Guide to Love, Glass the Tramp has some hilarious and true dating advice. (The Man's Guide to Love)

* Need a gift for the brainy sports fan in your life? This collaboration between McSweeney's and Grantland not only contains essays about Hoosiers, the World Series of Poker, and fathers, but the cover looks and feels like a basketball. (McSweeney's)

* Surprising scientific discovery of the day: Women make men eat more. (NPR)

* "I spent the majority of my life in daycare, after school programs, summer school programs. Having gone through what I had gone through as a child...there were no real male role models in any of these places. There were never any dudes."—Jon Hamm, on why he used to work at a daycare center (because you needed another reason to like him). (E Online)

Every Monday, we're rounding up the things, small and big, that make us stop and think. Today, we're inspired by...

“I think I’m one of those people that makes a much better adult than I did a teenager or child.”

–Actress, former child star, and neurology PhD Mayim Bialik

“Early in our careers, we all have people who are kind and considerate to us, and I learned to treasure them for two reasons: They’re rare, and their actions inspire you to pay that grace forward.”
–Kent Matlock, chairman and chief executive of Matlock Advertising and Public Relations

"You know you're getting older when you throw out your back while buttering scones."

-Conan O'Brien, via Twitter.

“People like to say that women are civilizing force on men. I think equality is a civilizing force on us all.”

–Writer Ta-Nehisi Coates on how his beliefs changed when he went to college

"The fear is this: That this is the one question, so large and so deep, which so overshadows everything else that I think and that I do and that I want and fear and love that unless I can put something around it – some kind of resolution – that I will never be free of it."

-Mary-Kim Arnold on her choice to search for her biological mother

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.

Photo: Courtesy of Men of the Stacks

* A group of rather studly male librarians (like Mario, left) has assembled a pinup calendar to bust stereotypes about their profession. (The Men of the Stacks; mildly NSFW)

*In case that doesn't satisfy your Thursday handsome man craving, perhaps you would be interested in this gallery of George Clooney and Ryan Gosling goofing off on the red carpet? (BuzzFeed)

* Did you watch last night's baseball insanity? Bill Simmons, a.k.a. The Sports Guy kept a running diary while watching his beloved Boston Red Sox epically lose to the Baltimore Orioles. (Grantland)

* "The problem was, as with most things in my life, I turned something that should have been a sweet memory into yet another self-generated humiliation."—Paul Feig, director of Bridesmaids and creator of Freaks and Geeks, remembers his first kiss in the delightful essay, "A Super-Classy Gentleman’s Guide to Being a Classy Fellow." (Rookie)

Every Monday, we're rounding up the things, small and big, that make us stop and think. Today, we're inspired by...

"We all know about [balancing] diet and exercise, but I think the third piece is emotional stuff, and that's the piece I had never tackled before. I did a lot of emotional housecleaning, and then everything fell into place."
— Six-time triathlon competitor Jody Orfield, who got inspired to get in shape after her 25th high school reunion

"Then you finish writing the book, and it is both the chronicle and final proof of your escape."
— Novelist Colson Whitehead, via Twitter

"Releasing us is a good gesture, and no positive step should go unnoticed."
— Josh Fattal, one of the three hikers freed last week after two years in an Iranian prison

"I'd rather be in the writers' room complaining about how overworked I am than in the Bahamas, where I'm like, What am I doing here?"
— The Office writer and cast member Mindy Kaling

"And I also know that you don't have to make dinner every night to live a lovely life. "
-— Pink of Perfection blogger Sarah McColl

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.

Illustration: Thinkstock

* A man goes inside the world of women's fashion and finds that for many women, their wardrobe is "a pastime, a passion, a shared language, a form of self-definition and a temporary escape from the opposite sex, all rolled into one deeply satisfying whole." (Intelligent Life)

* Sir Michael Caine shows off some of his British charm and wit in this thoughtful interview: "I don't get the girl; I get the part." (The Talks)

* Can't wait for Parks and Recreation to come back? Maybe the Ron Swanson Test of Manliness will tide you over. (NBC)

* "I'm not a gay Gandhi. But I hope I've shown that the Internet is a powerful tool. You can use it for porn or you can use it for good." — Dan Savage on his It Gets Better Project (O, The Oprah Magazine)

If you heard that it was National Single and Unmarried Americans week, and the first thing you thought of was a lonely woman crying The Notebook-induced tears into the Ben and Jerry's container she ate her dinner out of (and it probably is, even for the single among us), then the answer might be yes. In a terrific article in The New York Times, Tara Parker-Pope, who wrote about the science behind a good marriage (and how hers turned out not to be one of them) for O, examines new research about the unmarried and finds that—surprise!—there are a lot of misperceptions out there. So even if a week-long single-palooza is not the perfect way to recognize the women (and men) who pay more for health insurance and are just as connected to the community at large as their married friends, maybe we can celebrate this made-up holiday by easing up on the spinster stereotypes—for good.

"In a Married World, Singles Struggle for Attention" (NYTimes.com)

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Photo: Albert Watson for RollingStone.com

Here's one of my biggest pet peeves: You're arguing with your friend—or your partner or your mother or your boss—and you get your feelings hurt. When your friend realizes she's gone too far, instead of apologizing, she says, "I was just joking." LOL?

Actually, no. Jokes should not be cheap Groucho Marx glasses you use to disguise heat-of-the-moment insults. Humor, when deployed correctly, doesn't just lighten the mood; It can change the whole tenor of a conversation for the better. Real jokes offer an opportunity to say something you believe in a new way or to see something someone else believes in a new light.

This is something Jon Stewart understands. In an excellent cover story in this week's Rolling Stone, he explains how he and his team keep The Daily Show, which won its ninth Emmy on Sunday, from becoming too preachy, and in the process he also explains why so many of us admire him: "The key is not to contrive it—don't bring the same level of indignation to things you don't feel. As long as you keep it as honest as you can to your own feeling, then you hope it doesn't become a pure parlor trick."

At the risk of sounding overly preachy myself, shouldn't we all aspire to stay as honest as we can to our own feelings whenever we communicate? Stewart doesn't insert levity into a conversation because he doesn't take it seriously, he does it because it's a way to express serious things clearly. Or, as Oprah put it when she interviewed Stewart in 2005, "You say what everybody else is thinking but can't articulate, in a way that makes people laugh. That's a gift."