PicoBlog

TGIF, everyone! It’s a great day for those of you with kids under 5 who have been waiting for Covid vaccines for eight million years. The vaccines should be available next week!!! In The New York Times’ Well newsletter this morning, I answered a lot of the questions you sent me via my Instagram about these vaccines. (I ask for a lot of input on IG regarding what to cover, so if you don’t follow me there yet, please do!

Dear Is My Kid the Asshole?, My daughter regularly spouts vitriol at me. When it’s not “I hate you,” it’s “you’re horrible” or “you’re the meanest mommy ever!!!” I know she doesn’t really mean it, but I’m never sure how to respond. Do I ignore it? Tell her she’s hurting my feelings? Help! Sincerely, Despised Dear Despised, I remember when my daughter first said she hated me, and how hard I tried to get past the sting of the words so I could figure out what to do.

On the Criterion Channel this month, Greta Gerwig gives an interview for “Adventures In Moviegoing,” an ongoing feature where filmmakers are invited to select some favorite films and talk about them in a length video discussion. (Gerwig’s selections are all unimpeachable: Brief Encounter, The Red Shoes, Yojimbo, Amarcord, Where is the Friend’s House, Na… ncG1vNJzZmismJq%2FpsLEmqNnq6WXwLWtwqRlnKedZL1wu8%2BepWappZrAtbXOp2SwoJWjwG7Ax55km52jqXq1tcye

If you’ve ever searched for a Father’s Day gift, you’ve likely come across t-shirts or mugs with a very specific kind of slogan splashed across them:  Princess Protection Agency I have a daughter. I also have a gun, a shovel, and an alibi. Husband, Daddy, Protector, Hero In the two years since Roe’s demise, I’ve thought often about the men who wear these kinds of t-shirts—the fathers who joke about beating up their daughter’s dates, the husbands who declare they’d never let anyone disrespect their wives.

Happy Friday Searchers,  This’ll be a skinny letter. I’m writing it on the way to Zipolite, Mexico (the beach of the dead, I have belatedly learned). I’m taking a few days off work. If you have recommendations for me while I travel: songs, podcast episodes, great TV shows, or fiction, please drop in the comments. I am a captive audience.  We’ve got a new one for you, a story from two reporters whose work I really admire, The Atlantic’s Hanna Rosin and Dan Engber.

This week’s question comes from a reader – let’s call him David (because that’s his name – also, he’s my father-in-law). David wonders: I just caught one of the largest ground hogs I've ever caught or killed. She's the 4th one in two weeks.  25 pounds plus.  Gigantic. Question: Where does the tunnel dirt go? How does their GPS work underground? There is no traffic signal at the ends of the burrow – is there a passing zone?

When other writers and I get together, we sometimes mourn the state of music writing. Not its quality—the music section of any good indie bookstore offers proof of its vigor—but what seems like the reduced number of publications running longer music stories. In the United States, music coverage now often comes in the form of “20 songs you need right now.” Websites offer features that masquerade as listicles detailing “10 reasons you should listen to so-and-so” or brief posts built around new singles, new videos, artistic feuds, and trending memes.

We’ve hosted thousands of food tours over the last decade, and one of the most common questions we hear from our guests is this: “Who has the best French onion soup?” I used to cringe every time someone asked this - not because it’s a dumb question, but because it actually used to be hard to find soupe à l'oignon gratinée in Paris. ncG1vNJzZmiokae2tK7YpqaurJhjwLau0q2YnKNemLyue89onaudnpi1brvNoqanZaOkwrF51qGcq51dqbxussinm2ahpA%3D%3D

So you can go work remote now… the ultimate question remains; Where Should You Live? If you could live anywhere in the United States how would you choose? Is proximity to family the primary factor? What about public school systems for your kids? Sure you will factor in housing costs, state income taxes, and you wouldn’t forget property taxes right? What about vaccination rates? The politics of the city? We also wouldn’t forget the most important factor at all, the weather (even if people tend to mentally overestimate its impact on satisfaction).