On occasional Fridays, I point you towards some recommended reading around the blogosphere:

1. Check out Wonkette’s hilarious take-down of Harvard Historian Niall Ferguson after he declared John Maynard Keynes to be gay.

2. Slate’s Farhad Manjoo explains exactly why I hate dogs.

3. On a much more serious note, if you’ve ever been depressed or known someone who has struggled with depression, Hyperbole and a Half gives an honest and vivid account of this disease.

4. And if you’re an alcoholic – or know one – you should definitely read Andrea Clement Santiago’s post about recovery on Big Little Wolf’s Daily Plate of Crazy.

5. Finally, to lighten the mood a bit, do peruse 60 thoughts about turning 60 at The Guardian. My faves? #35, 45 and 46.

Have a great weekend!

“Do you think it’s OK if I wear my bike clothes to the swearing in ceremony?” my husband asked, on our way out the door.

I thought about it for a second. “Um…no?”

We were on our way to the local Town Hall to obtain our British citizenship. Though I don’t usually stand on ceremony, something told me that showing up to pledge your loyalty to Her Majesty the Queen in neon cycling attire might not cut it in our adopted country.

I was right.

I have no idea how they do citizenship ceremonies in the United States, but in the United Kingdom, it’s a big deal. You process into this grandiose chamber that looks like a mini House of Commons – replete with a horseshoe of ornate green chairs centered round a main dais – and then stand – in unison – as the Mayor of your Borough (county) is announced and marches in.

I don’t say “marches” lightly. She was dressed in a bright red cloak with fur lining. Around her shoulders was a Chain of Office covered in silver shields.  The gentleman escorting her into the chamber was carrying an enormous, four-foot long golden mace which he set on a table in front of the Mayor. This over-sized scepter had the curiously menacing effect, as if none of us would-be citizens should dare speak out of turn whilst it was laid before us. A large photo of Queen Elizabeth II sat to the right.

Read the rest of this post over at The Broad Side (“Real Women. Real Opinions.”) where I’m now a contributor…

Image: http://www.metro.us/philadelphia/news/2013/05/07/quietly-queen-elizabeth-ii-prepares-for-the-end/

Every Friday I point you towards some recommended reading around the blogosphere:

1. This is a really lovely tribute to Roger Ebert by Slate film critic Dana Stevens, written during her recent visit to Ebertfest.

2. I’m obsessed with how people talk at work, so I really enjoyed The Guardian’s 10 worst examples of management-speak. (My own fave of late is “direction of travel” as in “What’s the direction of travel on this project?”)

3. And speaking of writing, Alex Beam’s “Confessions of a Word Snob” is laugh-out-loud funny.

4. Fiction writers will also love this workshop-to-English dictionary over at Beyond the Margins.

5. Finally, are you an introvert or an extrovert? And are you really sure? Take this quiz over at Susan Cain’s blog, Quiet: The Power of Introverts.

Have a great weekend!

On occasional Fridays, I point you towards some recommended reading around the blogsphere:

1. I  begin this week with two moving tributes  in the aftermath of this week’s tragedy at the Boston Marathon. Here is Lisa Belkin of The Huffington Post talking about how we collectively deal with these sorts of terrorist attacks.

2. And here is Cecilia of the Only You blog talking about what the city of Boston means to her.

3. If, like me, you loved Roger Ebert, then you’ll love this obituary by Gene Weingarten in The Washington Post.

4. The fantabulous David Sedaris weighs in on what it’s like to buy a stuffed owl in London.

5. If you need a laugh this week – and honestly, who doesn’t? – kindly check out this hilarious set of responses to “Can someone photoshop the sun between my fingers?”

6. Finally, for those who crave that “coffee house” atmosphere when we work, check out Coffitivity.

Have a great weekend!

On occasional Fridays, I point you towards some recommended reading around the blogosphere:

1. Please read Jacob Bernstein’s absolutely beautiful tribute to his mother, the writer Nora Ephron.

2. And speaking of writing, you gotta love that bastion of cultural taste-setting – The New Yorker – rejecting its own story. (Hat tip: Practicing Writing.)

3. Please don’t ever ask this guy to write for free. (Hat tip: Lisa Romeo Writes)

4. Finally, for a little fun in your life, check out the *real* Harlem Shake.

Have a great weekend everybody!

Sometimes, all you need is an Internet hoax to generate a “teachable moment.”

I refer here to the photo of two “plus-sized” mannequins — allegedly from an H&M store in Sweden, but actually lifted from a photo of a different Swedish department chain in 2010 — that went viral earlier this week when a blogger at Women’s Right’s News posted them on Facebook to an overwhelming response. Last I checked, the page had 57,000 likes and17,000 shares.

H&M has subsequently denied using these fuller-bodied, scantily clad mannequins at any of their stores, in Sweden or anywhere else. But that doesn’t really matter. Because, authentic or not, the visual representation of “zoftig” models in the fashion industry — even fake ones — has clearly struck a chord.

Let’s face it. Part of the mannequins’ viral appeal was no doubt the illusion that they came from Sweden, that Nordic bastion of pushing-the-envelope cultural fare that brought us the likes of Ikea and “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.” We all secretly want to take our lifestyle cues from Sweden. (Okay, maybe that’s just me.)

But the excitement and interest generated by the mannequins run much deeper than that. “Call it a hunch, but I think we could have quite a discussion here,” wrote the popular syndicated columnist Connie Schultz on her Facebook page, where I first viewed the image. Which is clearly what Women’s Right’s News was after in posting the photos: “Store mannequins in Sweden. They look like real women. The US should invest in some of these,” read the caption.

Read the rest of this post at The Washington Post’s She The People blog…

Image: By Becka.nu at  http://www.becka.nu/2010/10/23/tummen-upp-for-ahlens-skyltdocka/

On occasional Fridays, I point you towards some recommended reading around the blogosphere:

1. Amid all the controversy over Sheryl Sandberg’s new feminist manifesto for the workplace, Lean In, here are two must-read responses: Erin Callan’s “Is there life after work?” and Mary Louise Kelly’s on what happens when you get that fateful phone call…and you’re in Baghdad.

2. Absolutely loved this essay by Jeremy Shatan in the New York Times about what it’s like to live after your child dies, aptly titled “A High-Functioning Bereaved Parent.”

3. One of my favorite new (to me) blogs is The Monkey Cage, a blog about politics that does that rare thing: creates a space  where journalists, wonks and political scientists can meet. Here’s a great post on the relationship between gender equality and growth.

4. As usual, Joan Wickersham nails it in a post on grammar and why it matters. Been there, done that, got the tee-shirt.

5. Downton Abbey fans will love the Downton Abbey Facebook recap on Happy Place.

6. You don’t need to be a Billy Joel fan to appreciate this video. (But yes, I’ll own up to it!)

7. Finally, something that’s guaranteed to make you smile: the Pony Dance Party over on Strangling My Muse. Love it!

Have a great weekend everybody!

I have no doubt that as I write this column, someone, somewhere in America, is busily stitching together her very own Marissa Mayer voodoo doll. But despite all the furor that has raged since the Yahoo CEO ordered her employees to cease working from hometo improve productivity, that debate has barely caused a ripple on this side of the Atlantic.

Don’t worry. I’m not going to get all sanctimonious on you and remind you of how far the United States lags behind most of the rest of the world in providing workers and their families with supports or protections. Nor am I going to point to the growing body of work suggesting that telecommuting may actually be more efficient for many work-related tasks and help keep employees around.

I’ve got nothing against offices. At heart, I’m actually that annoyingly over-zealous co-worker who rushes to Bagel Fridays and can’t wait to perform at the annual office karaoke night.

But I do think that this entire debate has largely missed the point. To my mind, the problem facing American workers isn’t where they work, it’s how.

Read the rest of this post at The Washington Post’s She The People blog…

Image: How to Work From Home by pwenzel via Flickr under a Creative Commons license

On occasional Fridays, I point you towards some recommended reading around the blogosphere:

1. If you do one thing this week, please listen to this amazing radio documentary on gang violence in American high schools on Chicago Public Radio’s This American Life. (Hat tip: Lisa Belkin)

2. And speaking of violence, my daughter pointed to me to this video by a couple of young girls called Letter to Lil Wayne.

3. I loved Cecilia’s honest and refreshing take on Valentine’s Day over on her fabulous Only You blog.

4. My husband – along with millions of other people – is currently obsessed with Susan Cain’s best-selling Quiet: The Power of Introverts. Here’s a recent interview Susan did about the book in the famous Politics and Prose bookstore in Washington, D.C.

5. Over on Bookish, check out Elizabeth Gilbert’s dissenting take on Philip Roth’s view of why the writing life isn’t worth it. (Hat tip: Lisa Romeo Writes)

6. Tech Page One gives some useful (and hilarious) advice for those of us trying to decide whether to text, email or just send smoke signals.

7. Finally, just because: the world’s largest library of natural sounds. Oh, c’mon. Admit it. You’ve always wanted to know what  a Wilson’s snipe sounds like… (Hat tip: Brainiac)

Have a great weekend, folks!

On occasional Fridays, I point you towards some recommended reading around the blogosphere:

1. Love my She The People colleague Melinda Henneberger’s take on why Americans love Downton Abbey.

2. And speaking of our abiding Anglophilia, be sure to take The Guardian’s quiz on Pride and Prejudice in honor of the novel’s 200th anniversary. For someone who has seen the film about 6,000 times and read the book at least twice, I was quite disappointed with my score!

3. I thought Latoya Peterson’s take on Washington, DC in the New York Times Townies column was spot on.

4. Thinking of moving to Britain? Not so fast. Following a rumor that certain government ministers were planning a campaign to limit the number of immigrants, readers of the Guardian came up with mock posters to discourage wanna-be Brits from moving to Blighty. Hilarious!

5. Frank Santo’s account in The Daily News of sexting with a older, married woman is both funny and moving.

6. Justin Peter’s posthumous tribute in Slate to computer whiz kid Aaron Swartz is wonderful.

7. Finally, if you’re looking for inspiration, check out this “landfill harmonic” orchestra composed of instruments made entirely from…garbage. (Hat tip: Strangling My Muse)

Enjoy your weekend!