1a. It’s been a big week for the social scientists among us. Two of our favorites, Elliot Aronson and Carol Tavris, had a hit article over at the Atlantic this week. We’ve been following the duo since 2011, when they published Mistakes Were Made (But Not By Me). The authors are experts in describing how […]
Another Week Ends: UK Football, Mental Health, Passionate Rituals, Fundamentalist Politics, the Pure History Myth, and Jesus Working from Home
1. This week’s first link comes from the Athletic. As a young player, UK footballer Michael Johnson was a natural talent who appeared to be “in supreme control of his destiny.” He played professionally for only a few years before announcing his retirement in January 2013, when he was just 24, saying “he wished to […]
Another Week Ends: Aretha Franklin, Robot Lovers, Instagram Repetitions, Submarine Parents, Forever 37, and Forgiving Spouses
1. This weekender would have been done so much sooner had I not gotten completely entranced by Aretha Franklin YouTube videos, which I’ll smatter throughout this post. While the Queen of Soul has a litany of songs you have heard for decades, there are so many live performances (and so many stories) (and so many […]
Genesis, Instagram, and Eden and Afterward: A Mockingbird Guide to Genesis
I started following a legit “Lifestyle Blogger” on Instagram a couple of weeks ago. This is my first significant foray into this social media genre and I’m fascinated. This woman is young and beautiful and spunky and I want to be her friend. I’ve fallen into her trap—I even ordered some protein powder she featured […]
The Promethean Appeal of #Vanlife
If you created a spectrum, and put freewheeling adventurers on one side, I, sadly, would fall on the opposite end. Still, even my cautious heart stirred a bit when I read a recent New Yorker article by Rachel Monroe about a hashtag called #vanlife. The article focused on a couple – Emily King and Corey Smith […]
Sending Lady Gaga to Her Room
Circa 2009, around the time of The Fame Monster, there were very few American high schoolers cool enough to talk down about Lady Gaga. For both girls and guys, she was edgy enough (and inevitable enough, releasing single after single after single) to leave everyone feeling at the very least a distant admiration. She did however […]
Brand New Me: Instagrammed Lives and the Promise of the Cross – Ethan Richardson
Alrighty, here’s the one that left us all in tears (and stitches) a few weekends ago – so, so good. The documentary Sean Davis Ethan references/shows is the incredible ESPN 30 for 30, Unguarded, which is available to stream on Netflix:
Brand New Me: Instagram Lives and the Promise of the Cross – Ethan Richardson from Mockingbird on Vimeo.