What are you up to this weekend? My mom is visiting, and she’s teaching the boys to cook her favorite things: garlic shrimp, sautéed broccoli, buttery pasta. I’m grateful to be the taste tester. And as we remember Martin Luther King, Jr., I would love to hear articles or books you’ve read about race that you’ve appreciated. Hope you have a good one, and here are a few links from around the web…
White people assume niceness is the answer to racism. It’s not. “Most white people continue to conceptualize racism as isolated and individual acts of intentional meanness. This definition is convenient and comforting, in that it exempts so many white people from the system of white supremacy we live in and are shaped by.”
Also, how we talk about racism in America is wrong.
This is what black burnout feels like. “So how does a black woman combat burnout? Black girl magic, right?! I love this phrase. I use and repeat it often. I love the song by Janelle Monáe that repeats this phrase even more. But I can’t stop honing in on that word, ‘magic’ — the idea that black women have had to subsist on their mystical powers to persist. Black women have had to rely on wizardry to make it through this tumultuous life.”
50 conversation starters at family dinner.
This comic made me laugh.
An argument for halloumi cheese.
One way to choose a career path.
Where I’ve lived: Eight homes of a 13-year-old former foster kid.
Have you seen this nutty street photography?
Says Franny: This eye balm is a lifesaver for mornings after staying up too late watching too much Great British Bake Off. It’s cool to the touch and I can feel it working.
“Five magical things I’ve seen in NYC.”
Plus, three reader comments:
Says Petya on parenting reader comments: “I’m an immigrant, and my family lives thousands of miles away. I send photos every morning, so my mom, dad and sister can see my little girl. I give them context: she picked out her clothes today, she insisted on a bow in her hair, she doesn’t like bananas anymore. They oooh and aaah, and my mom always says, ‘…And she is so little!’ It’s her grandmotherly way of expressing pride and amazement, but it has become the one thing I say back to myself when I get flustered in a temporary moment of crazy toddler behavior. Instead of getting mad, I just say to myself…’and she is so little!'”
Says Ginger on sex talk with Erica: “A great resource for all things sex-ed and sex positive is the excellent comic series Oh Joy Sex Toy. There’s so much good information, with representation of ALL types of bodies. I’d recommended it to anyone looking for insight into things we weren’t taught in ninth grade health class.”
Says Clara on learning new things: “Three cheers for hobbies! A year and a half ago, I was inspired to take up the tuba. It’s a forgiving instrument to learn, and I’ve discovered it’s impossible to be in a bad mood while you play it. The tuba is joy, distilled.”
(Foster homes via Kottke. Niceness link via Hither & Thither. Street photography via Emily.)
