A n n a r c h y

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Annecdote: Tea Time

November 15th, 2009 · Comments

It’s alarming to talk with someone on the phone and realize they suspect you are a liar. This past week I received, via FTD, a belated birthday package—a gourmet basket with some of my favorite things. Like tea, biscotti, and dried apricots. There was a warm message on the card accompanying it, wishing me lots [...]

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Tags: Annecdote · Humor

‘What Happened to Your Nose?’

January 31st, 2009 · Comments

It’s usually children and foreigners who ask: those who have no sense of propriety or privacy, or those who consider Westerners too uptight about all the wrong things, and, paradoxically, not uptight enough about others. The waiter at the Indian restaurant sympathetically gestures toward his own, toast-colored nose and inquires in heavily accented English, “Oooh… [...]

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Tags: Family History · Politics & Society · Social Media · Teenagers

Relax and Open Wide: Dentist vs. Doctor

October 30th, 2008 · Comments

Sometimes when I’m bored and have neglected to tote some reading material—like when I’m standing in line at the supermarket, or waiting for a movie to begin—I indulge in a debate I have with myself: Which do I dislike more: a visit to the dentist, or a visit to the gynecologist?
Both require me to [...]

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Tags: Humor · Politics & Society · Women

The Shadow Knows: Watching Superbad with My Son

April 3rd, 2008 · Comments

When I was a kid, in the 70s, I used to swipe my older brother’s Mad magazines. A lot of the humor was over my head, but that only added to the allure: This was a peep show into an unknown world, and I was lusting to grow up.
One Mad feature I did get, however, [...]

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Tags: Children · Dogs · Media · Parenting · Secrets · Teenagers

In-Your-Facebook

February 7th, 2008 · Comments

I got an email from my friend Sharon this morning. She had recently signed up for a Facebook account and had just been “friended” by someone she didn’t know very well. Actually, she didn’t know him at all. She asked something like, “So who is he? Is he a creep? What does he want?” Then, [...]

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Tags: Parenting · Social Media · Technology