Harold's magazines definitely lose out to mine in the War of the Nightstand Space
by Laura
You may not be aware of a growing addiction within our household. Some people get their kicks from drugs & booze; I, on the other hand, find guilty pleasure in magazines – the trashier the better. Case in point – I used to read People, until a friend pointed out that Us Weekly has a lot less text to get in the way of the celebrity photographs.
We currently subscribe to The New Yorker, Time Out NY (yes, we are aware that we have moved), Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Real Simple, Martha Stewart Living, Dwell, The Atlantic, Mental Floss, Elle, Us Weekly, Afar, Body & Soul, and the Harvard Business Review, to name a few. Rather, I should say that I subscribe to all of these publications, and Harold subscribes to just one – you’ll be shocked to hear that it’s Sports Illustrated.
Here’s the best of my latest bedtime reading:
#1 – Glamour’s New Year’s cleanse/eating plan
Most cleanses encourage you to put every vegetable you can think of in a blender and drink a “delicious smoothie” for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. One friend described to me boiling things like radishes in broth, and then only getting to drink the broth. Blech. This plan, however, basically consists of the same advice you’d get from any legit nutritionist. You’re encouraged to strictly avoid processed foods and amp up things like veggies and whole grains (recipes provided). After consuming a disgusting amount on our cruise, going back to 3 sensible meals a day is probably essential to our desire to continue living.
#2: The Atlantic’s assessment of quality teaching
This article is practically a Teach for America propaganda piece, but it’s getting a lot of play within the education world – and it typifies much of the current attitude towards teacher quality. Were you interested and intrigued by the previous sentence? If so, you are probably a fellow PhD student, but regardless, call me anytime! We’ll hang out and bore those around us together.
#3 – The New Yorker’s guide to mixed-faith holiday celebrations
I thought this was funny, Harold did not. Hmmm. But c’mon – you can’t lose with tips like, “When a Jewish friend compliments your Christmas tree, modestly reply, ‘Oh, but it’s not as nice as your couch.’”
#4 – The Harvard Business Review’s dissection of innovation
Fairly interesting look into the lives of creative CEO’s. Typical executives have succeeded by focused, driven effort in one particular area, but this piece highlights experimenter types. Also of note? Only one of the entrepreneurs listed as an example of study participants is female. Hardly surprising, though, along with insights like Michael Dell’s admission that he likes putting people on the spot with impossible questions. Translation: most of these people are still giant corporate douchebags, but they do wacky things like thinking!
I would also like to give special mention to Us Weekly’s three-part series on the Tiger Woods scandal. ”Elin’s Revenge” was both insightful and informative – and now that I’m caught up to speed on the pressing issues of the day, I might actually consider going outside and exploring the Triangle again. Stay tuned for upcoming off-the-couch action, especially if the weather remembers that we’re in the South, and agrees that scraping ice off our car is highly unacceptable.
Laura
Harold
