I guess this is sort of a brou-ha-ha, but I only learned about it recently. During Britney Griner's incarceration in Russia, there were many people who were horrible about her predicament, said it was her fault that she got arrested, that she took a knee during the National Anthem and then expected her country to rescue her, that she got out but Paul Whelan (a marine) didn't, on and on. I only learned about this because people posted similar comments on a NY Times Magazine article about her. I couldn't believe how nasty the comments were, how lacking in empathy. In response, I bought her new book COMING HOME and have already read it. Her honesty and kindness and generally loving nature are such an antidote to all the haters out there. Sometimes the simple ideas are the best: If you don't have something nice to say, then don't say anything, especially if it's about a 6'9" Black lesbian who's been unfairly arrested and imprisoned in Russia, becoming a pawn between two superpowers that are, sort of, at war. Thanks for coming to my TED talk. #WeAreBG.
I felt the exact same way. I couldn’t believe how petty and mean those people were. It was really ugly. Excellent TED talk, and thanks for recommending her book!
I'm Jersey-raised, so when I moved to Chicago years back and got an admin job, imagine my shock and horror when the pizzas I had ordered for a work event arrived party-style. I thought I made some horrible mistake with the order, but watching everyone else eagerly grab for the edge pieces made me realize it must be some odd midwest custom. Now I'm back on the east coast and miss that style of pizza so much!
You are such a antidote to all the ugliness, Mari. Midwestern pizza, dog athletics, bear truths AND A FAR SIDE CARTOON? What to do with all this wealth??
Speaking of grid pizza... Can we talk about banana peppers? As a native Californian who has lived in several states & now Italy, I'm completely baffled by banana peppers and why they only seem exist in the Midwest. I mean I have friends in LA who (are perfectly nice aside from this) told me their kid's favorite food was dragon fruit for Pete's sake (had to look it up 🤷🏼♀️), but while my cousins from Ohio always want banana peppers on their pizza, the LA folks have never heard of them. What gives? (Also, I think we need an all-pizza post. I apparently have a lot of thoughts 😂)
Your comment is making me hungry! I recently had a slice of pizza that had sliced jalapeños, and it was a revelation! I like your idea that we should have an all-pizza post!
I never understood the rice-washing thing. I eat a lot of rice and, unless I'm making sushi rice (which I wash to make it sticky), I don't care much. When I've tried washing it, my wife objects. She likes it kind of glutinous. Different strokes...
I honestly don’t think it makes much of a difference. I wash the rice out of habit (and for the zen ritual aspect, I guess), but afaik there is no difference in taste.
Greetings from Roma! I'm not aware of any particlular brouhaha that's trending, but back when I was using fb more often I used to occasionally see dustups over politics. People just talked past each other. No one was ever persuaded. Nowadays, I use Quora a good bit, because there is so much good info there about certain niche things (for me, that would be anything to do with songwriting and music performances of certain genres).
Once in awhile, amid the useful commentary on Quora there will be some rude snipery over some qualitative measure (who was the best at something, which is the best instrument, etc.). Very disdainful tone, killing the otherwise informative and curious vibe.
And this phenomenon reminds me of how the written word is such an inadequate medium for argument or conflict resolution. I see this in the workplace—people hiding behind the screen to asynchronously complain, accuse, vent, and criticize when they really need to be having a real-time "meatspace" conversation with someone.
So I think there is a connection here: writing as a sort of passive-aggressive performance. It's an easier, safer, less unpredictable way to deal with some problem. But it's actually very destructive. Sorry to say I see this being done by peers (fellow oldsters) but also by students, who have grown up in a world where face-to-face communication can often be avoided.
My principle: never argue online (social media, email, texting) and try to leaven all of life's problematic moments with humor, grace, and respectfulness.
An excellent, eminently sensible principle! And you make an excellent point that written arguments tend to devolve into hostility because they allow us to ignore the humanity of the other person.
I guess this is sort of a brou-ha-ha, but I only learned about it recently. During Britney Griner's incarceration in Russia, there were many people who were horrible about her predicament, said it was her fault that she got arrested, that she took a knee during the National Anthem and then expected her country to rescue her, that she got out but Paul Whelan (a marine) didn't, on and on. I only learned about this because people posted similar comments on a NY Times Magazine article about her. I couldn't believe how nasty the comments were, how lacking in empathy. In response, I bought her new book COMING HOME and have already read it. Her honesty and kindness and generally loving nature are such an antidote to all the haters out there. Sometimes the simple ideas are the best: If you don't have something nice to say, then don't say anything, especially if it's about a 6'9" Black lesbian who's been unfairly arrested and imprisoned in Russia, becoming a pawn between two superpowers that are, sort of, at war. Thanks for coming to my TED talk. #WeAreBG.
I felt the exact same way. I couldn’t believe how petty and mean those people were. It was really ugly. Excellent TED talk, and thanks for recommending her book!
I'm Jersey-raised, so when I moved to Chicago years back and got an admin job, imagine my shock and horror when the pizzas I had ordered for a work event arrived party-style. I thought I made some horrible mistake with the order, but watching everyone else eagerly grab for the edge pieces made me realize it must be some odd midwest custom. Now I'm back on the east coast and miss that style of pizza so much!
Me too! Tavern-style pizza is not a thing in Europe either, alas (although the pizza they do have is pretty terrific!).
Dear Mari, great contribution as always. If you are talking about bears, you must add this commercial (for KitKat from 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gNT0SWf3Ls
I had never seen that commercial before! Oh dear! Thanks for the laugh!
You are such a antidote to all the ugliness, Mari. Midwestern pizza, dog athletics, bear truths AND A FAR SIDE CARTOON? What to do with all this wealth??
Speaking of grid pizza... Can we talk about banana peppers? As a native Californian who has lived in several states & now Italy, I'm completely baffled by banana peppers and why they only seem exist in the Midwest. I mean I have friends in LA who (are perfectly nice aside from this) told me their kid's favorite food was dragon fruit for Pete's sake (had to look it up 🤷🏼♀️), but while my cousins from Ohio always want banana peppers on their pizza, the LA folks have never heard of them. What gives? (Also, I think we need an all-pizza post. I apparently have a lot of thoughts 😂)
Your comment is making me hungry! I recently had a slice of pizza that had sliced jalapeños, and it was a revelation! I like your idea that we should have an all-pizza post!
I never understood the rice-washing thing. I eat a lot of rice and, unless I'm making sushi rice (which I wash to make it sticky), I don't care much. When I've tried washing it, my wife objects. She likes it kind of glutinous. Different strokes...
I honestly don’t think it makes much of a difference. I wash the rice out of habit (and for the zen ritual aspect, I guess), but afaik there is no difference in taste.
I really enjoyed that dog agility video. Thanks! His little jump into his owners arms at the end!
So adorable! I love how proud of herself Nimble is, and how much joy she obviously takes in running the course as fast as she can.
Greetings from Roma! I'm not aware of any particlular brouhaha that's trending, but back when I was using fb more often I used to occasionally see dustups over politics. People just talked past each other. No one was ever persuaded. Nowadays, I use Quora a good bit, because there is so much good info there about certain niche things (for me, that would be anything to do with songwriting and music performances of certain genres).
Once in awhile, amid the useful commentary on Quora there will be some rude snipery over some qualitative measure (who was the best at something, which is the best instrument, etc.). Very disdainful tone, killing the otherwise informative and curious vibe.
And this phenomenon reminds me of how the written word is such an inadequate medium for argument or conflict resolution. I see this in the workplace—people hiding behind the screen to asynchronously complain, accuse, vent, and criticize when they really need to be having a real-time "meatspace" conversation with someone.
So I think there is a connection here: writing as a sort of passive-aggressive performance. It's an easier, safer, less unpredictable way to deal with some problem. But it's actually very destructive. Sorry to say I see this being done by peers (fellow oldsters) but also by students, who have grown up in a world where face-to-face communication can often be avoided.
My principle: never argue online (social media, email, texting) and try to leaven all of life's problematic moments with humor, grace, and respectfulness.
An excellent, eminently sensible principle! And you make an excellent point that written arguments tend to devolve into hostility because they allow us to ignore the humanity of the other person.