PicoBlog

The saga of the profoundly twisted and extravagantly crude Butthole Surfers, who debuted at Duke’s Royal Coach Inn (formerly Vulcan Gas Company) in 1981, has often smacked of historical hyperventilation. This was a band that huffed and puffed weirdness from the dives to concert halls to Lollapalooza to MTV without any concessions to common decency. But in 1996, it was the deep breath of relief that defined the mood of Austin’s musical Manson Family.

I recently started a new podcast project with the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Trade. When we were planning and discussing the concept, DG Trade’s Communication Unit were clear about what they wanted to do - an authentic look behind the scenes of how trade policy is made. They wanted to tell stories, meet people and understand the thinking that goes into how EU trade policy. But authenticity in communication can be hard to achieve, particularly for a large institution or a public figure.

From the time I was 10, I’ve been obsessed with what it means to grow older. I’m curious about what it means to others, of all ages, and so I invite them to take “The Oldster Magazine Questionnaire.”Here, psychoanalyst and author Griffin Hansbury responds. -Sari BottonP.S. A reminder that in my book, everyone who is alive and aging is considered an Oldster, and that every contributor to this magazine is the oldest they have ever been, which is interesting new territory for them—and interesting to me, the 58-year-old who publishes this.

‘It felt like we were contagious Jamie. Like the other parents were nervous about catching what Cooper had.’ As Cooper neared three, we were back to square one, no closer to knowing what was going on with our son, except one big thing had changed. I had found my voice. I realized that in order to get help, and to have my concerns taken seriously, I was going to have to push back.

This piece was originally published to Medium on March 27, 2022. Autistic Advice is a semi-regular column where I respond to anonymous questions about neurodiversity, Autism acceptance, disability justice, and self-advocacy. Today’s question comes from an Autistic woman who’d like to know how to flirt with guys — and whether she should follow neurotypical advice telling her to “play dumb” so guys will help her. How as an autistic woman do I flirt?

Browsing social media over the last few weeks, you could be forgiven that the season was Halloween rather than autumn. Apart from a bit of autumnal excitement early on, so much social media content from mid-September onwards is based on Halloween. ‘Spooky season’ is a common theme that seems to have been running for weeks and I guess will continue to do so until 1st November at which point we will suddenly, seamlessly morph into festive stuff.

Extra Muros continues the serialization of Pardon My French, a light-hearted look at some of the French expressions that have taken up residence in the Anglosphere. In the days before desktop publishing, French printers used the term avant la lettre (“before the letter”) and après la lettre (“after the letter”) to describe the relationship between an engraving and its caption. Before long, the first expression migrated into English, where it took on the meaning of “before there was a name for it.

Appa, no! Appa :( Thanks for tuning in to my thirty-sixth of 61 daily reviews of Avatar: The Last Airbender! Yesterday, we watched S2E15: The Tales of Ba Sing Se. I’ve both yearned for and dreaded the day I’d have to review this heartbreaking masterpiece of an episode. Yesterday in The Tale of Momo, which foreshadows this story, I wrote that most shows wouldn’t craft a narrative from the perspective of a speechless animal.

I work with technology companies, and in general, everyone in the company outside of sales finds selling uncomfortable - particularly founders. I wondered why that might be, so I asked a handful of founders I work with. The reply was pretty consistent - they just don’t want to be seen as “that guy.” You know the guy I’m talking about. The used car salesman. The archetypal fast-talking, lying, cheating, greedy, selfish dude who is single-mindedly focused on moving the cash out of your pocket into his pocket.