Weekend Reads #212
Happy Labor Day weekend! I am not sharing anything but links because it's Friday when I'm finishing up this post and I want to enjoy the weekend with my family and I know I'll be going down some YouTube rabbit hole for a music video or a research rabbit hole about what we watched this week. Our town goes all out with a carnival, bingo, live music, parade and much more and it all starts this evening.
I hope you can spend some time away from your devices and outside. You deserve rest, as does your brain. I'll see you all back here Tuesday!
Weekend Reads
What does it mean to have grown up alongside an adolescent internet? (New Statesman)
U.S. life expectancy drops sharply, the second consecutive decline. (STAT News)
Older adults, immunocompromised and the very young are paying the price for the mask-less freedom of many. (The Guardian)
How the next generation of fashion trailblazers is advocating for a size-inclusive future. (Refinery29)
The nonmonoga-moms next door. (Romper)
How the origins of epidemiology are linked to the transatlantic slave trade. (Time)
“Influencer” has become one of the most aspirational jobs for kids and adults. What now? (Vox)
An $18,000 biopsy? Paying cash might have been cheaper than using her insurance. (NPR)
How to say ‘no’ to a warehouse. (Daily Yonder)
The secret sauce at Hot Chicken Takeover: its unique workforce. (Bloomberg)
Adderall is hard to find at some pharmacies following a labor shortage at the largest U.S. supplier. (NBC News)
At what age can I go back to dressing like a lunatic? (The TueNight Social; and my opinion is if you want fuschia hair do it now, whatever age you are)
Chris Evert needs everyone to listen. (New York Times)
They reached out to me to join, and I almost did. Yeah, think I'll just keep my thoughts here… Substack’s promise to be different than a newsroom is getting messy. (The Verge)
Where food sustainability and disability clash. (Salon)
Serena Williams insists audiences see her, not just her stats. (Washington Post)
Men have fewer friends than ever, and it’s harming their health. (Vox)
I can't stand the clickbaity lowest common denominator writing of Buzzfeed pieces like this, but it does share a great example of what a hot mess medical insurance is in this country. (Buzzfeed)
Because our insurance and medical system is such a mess, I often share non-medical options not as a replacement but in addition or if you cannot afford medical care. And this piece about Curable for chronic pain and fatigue intrigued me. (Jumble & Flow)
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I love the Alma Thomas artwork you’ve included. I first saw her work on a visit to the National Gallery in the early ’90s and bought a print of “Red Rose Cantata” and had it mounted and it makes me happy every time I look at it. Later I learned more about her incredible life–she was an art teacher in the DC public school system for 35 years! She was also the first woman to graduate from the Art Department at Howard University in 1924. I recently saw that the house her father bought in Georgetown in 1907, where she grew up and lived until she died, was for sale. If those walls could talk! Anyway–I just find her work incredibly beautiful and compelling, and even more so when I learned more about her life. If anyone is interested, here are a few links to learn more: https://americanart.si.edu/artist/alma-thomas-4778, https://nmwa.org/art/artists/alma-woodsey-thomas/, https://www.artnews.com/feature/alma-thomas-who-is-she-why-is-she-important-1234599867/
Thank you for all you do, Alison. I just love your site and your joie de vivre!
thank you for these, tara!
@Alison, any insight into why the Girlfriend Collective discontinued their wonderful fanny pack made of recycled polyester?? You and I both purchased it. I was interested in getting a different color and they haven’t had any on their site in ages.
Sadly I don’t. I am surprised as it’s a great bag and a relatively size-inclusive one too!
Appreciate your response, Alison!
I did contact TGC via instagram and they told me they’re waiting for more stock. Hopefully, that means they haven’t discontinued the item.
Just one word for me this week – TENNIS! I enjoyed both tennis-adjacent articles so much. I was glued to the US Open for the past few days for Serena, Venus, Chris Evert and the rest of the incredible women commentators for the great farewell. But mostly Serena. I took up tennis at 47 at my local public tennis center after having taken it for PE in college and had never really played much since. For the first time since high school I see myself as an athlete. A size 14 nearly 50 year old athlete. It is the best feeling to hit that ball. I’ll be watching my daughter run cross country this weekend, marveling at her efforts and proud as heck. Thank you Serena and Chris for your inspiration.
I love this, so inspiring! I was thinking how I’d love to try tennis, I haven’t since I was 12!
The Salon piece in sustainability and disability hit home for me. I do grocery delivery and it’s a game changer for me. I only have so much energy and safe mobility a day. By not having to go to the grocery I can use that energy elsewhere. Same for getting precut veggies, etc. I wash my recyclable containers and recycle my plastic bags. But I’m not compromising my health for someone else’s ideas anymore.