"Carbohydrates are big this time of year. Also lotions, because everybody is itchy and tired and irritable."

An annual reminder that #PunxsutawneyPhil has it so much better today. To quote Jennie Latson "The first Groundhog Day celebration wasn’t such a picnic for Punxsutawney Phil’s progenitors... in 1887... the rodent was also on the menu." #GroundhogDay time.com/3685895/ground…

Lots of surprising choices in this story, including the description of DKG as "the Pulitzer Prize winner with the Peppermint Patty hairdo."

It seemed like Apple News used to have copy editors. Now might be a good time for them to make a triuphant return!

I hadn't seen “The Last of Us” when I reviewed Emily Monosson’s “Blight,” about the dangers of fungal pathogens, for Boston Globe Books. Major oversight on my part, but I think I got the gist. The book has no zombies but *will* keep you up at night. bostonglobe.com/2023/07/20/art…

The front page of tomorrow's The Daily Tar Heel – I shed many tears while typing up these heart-wrenching text messages sent and received by UNC students yesterday. Our campus was on lockdown for more than three hours. Beyond proud of this cover and the team behind it.

This TIME essay from Jennie Latson is a good example of a thoughtful engagement with those interconnected layers to the worst & best of Sanger: time.com/4081760/margar…

Inbox striking just the right holiday balance

Just had a sudden flashback to a periwinkle blue twinset I bought from Contempo Casuals my freshman year of college, which I thought looked amazing, but then a cool kid told me I looked like a substitute teacher in it. My best outfit. The sickest burn. It still stings.

Yes, these are challenges for sure! In fact, I suspect they could be what's behind all these power outages. Seems like what we need now are people who can repair this kind of damage... I wonder if CenterPoint knows anyone like that? They should call them if so!!

The state also "has power grid issues," the analysis noted.

For the past six months, Charlie was running with a gang of feral cats outside a Houston warehouse, but he clearly didn’t belong there. He's super sweet, loves people, and takes a pet like no problem. And you can adopt him! petfinder.com/cat/charlie-mr…

I had a great conversation about vulnerability, ambush hugging, and the formula for effective small talk with Nate Meikle on his podcast, Meikles & Dimes: open.spotify.com/episode/4PlIiE…

I love that her name is Burbie. khou.com/article/news/l…

Obituary: Jay Pistono, who died at age 67, helped ensure that Teton Pass, one of the nation’s premier destinations for backcountry recreation, remained open to the public on.wsj.com/3WKqkRq

Everyone must read The Ten Year Affair by Erin Somers. She is the John Updike of our generation, except funnier and less misogynistic. Not misogynistic at all, in fact! simonandschuster.com/books/The-Ten-…

Why is my whole inbox yelling?

These sea lions are the size of a TOYOTA Corolla?? I don’t think they’re supposed to be that big.