The Syllabus #4

It has been a week.  I thought it was Wednesday when it was only Tuesday, and by the end of Wednesday, it me:

Here's what I've been consuming, or abstaining from, depending on your perspective:

On so-called Millennials giving up alcohol, or at least scaling back dramatically - is it a totally unremarkable natural progression, or do we deserve participation trophies for showing up at practice for Team Moderation?


I love Rick Steves and I'm not ashamed to admit it.  He's invited to my hypothetical celebrity dinner party and he can sit between Terry Gross and Oprah.  I want to sit on Terry's other side, across from Oprah because I feel like Terry is better at conversations that don't require face-to-face positioning, but the full impact of an Oprah experience requires eye contact.  Between me and Oprah, there's a seat for David Sedaris.  Katie, party of 5, your table is ready.

If you think Rick Steves is just another milquetoast white dude of the PBS pantheon, perhaps these quotes from the article will hint at why he's such a treasure:

“I’m unapologetically proud to be an American,” he writes in the introduction to his book “Travel as a Political Act.” “The happiest day of any trip is the day I come home. ... But other nations have some pretty good ideas too.” That’s when he hits his audience with legal prostitution, high tax rates and universal health care...

Today, he is a board member of Norml, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, and a regular speaker at Hempfest. In his headquarters you will find a poster of the Mona Lisa holding a gargantuan spliff. 

Ahem.  You're welcome for me not stressing you out.

I've been reading I'll Be Gone in the Dark and it's stressing me out.  If you read a lot of true crime, do you get desensitized eventually?   I can't stop reading this book, but I also like not having night terrors.  Life is a balancing act, I guess.