Thursday roundup

Drone-inspired poetry.

Who knew that Eurovision would be a proxy for geopolitical squabbles.


This explains Russians' embrace of superstition (this being, people embrace it when times are tough).

God forbid women feel any real, complicated feelings about raising children.


Oh, this so reminds me of mom:

And so he fixes on anything new to him, and complains about it to shift the blame for his unease somewhere else.

If it helps, think of the people you’d expect to complain about too-yellow eggs and desserts that aren’t bland and predictable enough: little kids. They’re unnerved by a world that feels too big for them to manage, and want both the comfort of the familiar and the relief of making their fear someone else’s problem.

A very cool, comprehensive explanation of the science of baking soda (and powder).

I'm not a fan of the Katy Waldman; I still click on her stuff sometimes, and almost always find it silly. Case in point: this piece about dieting. She's just wrong. I don't feel the need to post pictures of myself eating food, but I like to talk about food because, and I feel the need to talk about food--and what I eat--because at the least annoying people ask me where I get my protein and at the most annoying imply or say that I don't eat, don't need to eat, etc. So here it is: I inhaled half a vegan pizza on Monday, and I still have a thigh gap. Telling people that they have to restrict their eating to stay healthy is not just wrong, but also harmful.