It’s Thursday night and I’m sitting here in front of the computer, trying to think of what to write. I got home this afternoon from a work trip and while I did get a bit of a nap, it’s been pretty much non-stop since I got home. I had to catch up on work email and finalize a presentation for business leadership tomorrow morning; we’re nearly at the finish line for a major project which has been causing me a lot of stress. And the work travel was to formally launch another major project–one which is an incredible career opportunity and which is also terrifying because the success of the company is dependent upon the team getting this (mostly) right.

But one of the major highlights of my trip was being able to spend a few hours with one of my oldest and dearest friends. We hadn’t seen each other for ten years and we’ve been friends for nearly 30. He’s one of those friends you can just pick right up where you left off. It’s funny, neither of us thought we’d be where we are today; back when we were teenagers, we had completely different plans for our lives. One of the things my friend said near the end of our time together has really been resonating for me: the older he gets, the more he cherishes his friends.

Anyhow. It is late–nearly midnight–and I am tired, I still haven’t unpacked, and I have to go to work early tomorrow. Have a great weekend.

• A Poverty Expert Explains How We Make It a Crime to Be Poor This is basically the definition of a vicious circle.
• Ghostsplaining: Men Explain Ghosts To Me Man: Hi, I have an opinion and must share it with you even though you’re the expert. Woman: [tries to set him on fire with her brain while smiling and nodding]
• ‘Our minds can be hijacked’: the tech insiders who fear a smartphone dystopia I thought this was interesting, and I know that unless I really make a conscious decision to leave my phone alone, I will fiddle with it endlessly.
• I Really Can’t With These Pinterest “Farmhouse” Ideas Cosigned.
• Tom Petty’s America Is The One We Want To Believe In
• To Complain Is to Truly Be Alive Samantha Irby gets me.
• How Essential Oils Became the Cure for Our Age of Anxiety They often smell nice? I don’t think they actually do anything other than that, this is almost as ridiculous as homeopathy; homeopathic essential oil therapy would be the most ridiculous.
• The War To Sell You A Mattress Is An Internet Nightmare I had no idea that the online mattress niche was so cutthroat or that it would be possible to make a six figure income from sleeping and then writing about it.
• Reading Vox Day So You Don’t Have To…Again Oh dear. Bb, I hope you have either a good therapist or a fully stocked liquor cabinet–or both.
• The New Midlife Crisis for Women This really hit home for me.
• Now Hiring: Human Woman Beep boop.
• Female homicide rate dropped after Craigslist launched its erotic services platform
• What I’ve Learned as the Daughter of a Father
• When I was nineteen years old, Elie Wiesel grabbed my ass. Awesome. Wow.
• Selma Blair and Rachel McAdams Share Their Stories of James Toback’s Sexual Harassment
• Why Do We Let “Genius” Directors Get Away With Abusive Behavior? Or more broadly: why does every industry let white men who have been deemed “geniuses” get away with abusing those with less power and standing?
• Ending on a less serious and more awesome note: The 15 Blackest Things About the New Trailer for Black Panther I am so here for this movie. It looks like it’s going to be INCREDIBLE.

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