I am ensconced at a self-imposed writing retreat in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan along the shores of Lake Superior in these last resplendent days of fall. I spot a few lonely ducks on the lake. I’d like to shoo them along on their southward journey. A doe pauses and stops at the…
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I frequently drive between Marquette, Michigan, and Chicago, relying on a mix of podcasts to stay awake, most prominently NPR’s Fresh Air. On this last trip, I was treated to a trial subscription to Sirius Radio, where I found The Beatles channel. I enjoyed seven joyous and uninterrupted hours of Beatles music. One segment…
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The author Malcolm Gladwell defines an outlier as “something that is situated away from or classed differently from a main or related body.” See my previous post on Gladwell’s tipping point here. In his bestselling book of essays on the topic, he focuses on the secrets of success for outliers. Based on his vignettes, Gladwell…
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This essay is part of a series applying the principles outlined in Malcolm Gladwell’s essay collection, The Tipping Point, which examines the mysterious emergence of “social epidemics,” ranging from crime waves to fashion trends. As noted in the introduction, “Ideas and products and messages and behaviors spread just like viruses do.” The following discussion applies…
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Juggling seemed like an achievable parlor trick as part of my YouTube skills week. I have reveled in the success of my other trick, a loud, piercing whistle with my thumb and index finger placed on my tongue, enough to call a cab or find my husband, who has vanished into the depths of…
Read MoreCake decorating seemed like an easy choice in my quest to sample a new skill each day. My goal was not anything as elaborate as a wedding cake, rather a simple cake that didn’t feature my signature sloping, delaminated layers and disjointed frosting that looked more like road rash than a sleek and smooth layer. …
Read MoreThis fanagram is the second in a series about “YouTube Skills Week,” where I attempt to learn a new skill each day based on a YouTube video. The first focused on taxidermy. —————— You Tube Skills Week: Bread Making The second item on my You Tube Skills week, following taxidermy, is baking bread, which…
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An unexpected change in summer vacation plans left me with a solo week of unstructured time. Although I have become quite skilled in puttering and frittering, I didn’t want to fall into the abyss of bad TV, cheap novels, and cookie dough. I committed myself to a week of purpose and accomplishment. YouTube tutorials would…
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Fifty years of solving the NY Times Crossword puzzles have blessed me with a peculiar vocabulary, but I also revel in their creative themes and clues. I settle in for Sunday breakfast, open the Times magazine, and wonder how long it will take me to unlock the theme, obliquely hinted at by the title. Prefer…
Read MoreI grew up in a gender-neutral household, the only daughter with five brothers. You might have thought my mother would have doted on her only daughter, but she never singled me out with any advice on what it meant to be feminine. She never said to me, “Oh, you look so cute in that dress,…
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