Friday morning roundup

Patriarch Kirill I defends the opposition, but some believe he's just playing the regime's good cop.

Our daughters deserve better than what the toy industry thinks is girly.

I've lived outside of Boston for almost a decade, but I still appreciate the sense of loss over Filene's' demise. Mom and Jay were even discussing it over dinner the other night.

Mark Bittman remains my hero:

But most of us do need to eat “better.” If defining this betterness has become increasingly more difficult (half the diet books that spilled over my desk in December focused on going gluten-free), the core of the answer is known to everyone: eat more plants.