More good stuff from Times columnist Nicholas Kristof, The Best Kids’ Books Ever. Here’s his final selection:
13. “Lad, a Dog” is simply the best book ever about a
pet, a collie. This is to “Lassie” what Shakespeare is to
CliffsNotes. The book was published 90 years ago, and
readers are still visiting Lad’s real grave in New Jersey
— plus, this is a book so full of SAT words it could put
Stanley Kaplan out of business.
I’ll have to give this a read, perhaps. And for the vets in the audience, you might enjoy it as well.
While taking a shower this morning, I was reading the fabric content of our wedding-gift washcloths. 70% cotton. 30% bamboo. Bamboo? Interesting. According to Wikipedia, bamboo fabric is:
Naturally antibacterial
Capable of absorbing 50% more water than cotton
Doesn’t build up a static charge
I haven’t been able to find any primary literature backing up these claims, but the washcloths sure are nice.
Outside, her husband, Allahdita, was grieving but
philosophical. “It is God’s will,” he said, shrugging.
“There is nothing we can do.”
That’s incorrect. If men
had uteruses, “paternity wards” would get resources,
ambulances would transport pregnant men to hospitals free
of charge, deliveries would be free, and the Group of 8
industrialized nations would make paternal mortality a
top priority. One of the most lethal forms of sex
discrimination is this systematic inattention to
reproductive health care, from family planning to
childbirth — so long as those who die are impoverished,
voiceless women.
For our wedding, we received an air freshener called “Clean Linen” by White Barn Candle Company. Mykala plugged it in today, and I realized that 5 years ago, someone (Dan McKeown?) in the dorms at St. Thomas had an air freshener that had the exact same scent.
So, according to my limited memory from my neuroscience course (ha, irony!), olfactory (scent) memories are quite intense, due to the proximity of olfactory neurons to the emotionally-intense limbic system. Soo, this scent is dredging up these fond, weirdly conflicted college dorm transition memories while I am simultaneously feeling these newly wed making-a-house-a-home transition feelings.
