The Outline

The Saddening

I recently discovered two things: a term from fabric dyeing about how to drain things of their vibrancy, and an old family letter. They are somewhat related.

Unfair trade

An open letter to my dog, who won’t come out from under the couch

There was always a way to pay for the programs we need

The Future Apr 02

“We just intuit what they need”: A zookeeper describes caring for animals during the coronavirus outbreak

Hanging on the telephone

The Australian scientist who got magnets stuck up his nose should inspire us all

Very online

Well, at least there’s golf

A Good Place: The alternate history of the C-SPAN archives

We have already reached alarming levels of bad quarantine content

Here are some happy websites to go to if you’re sick of reading articles about coronavirus

The outside world is scary enough right now. The internet doesn’t have to be scary, too.

RuPaul is fracking at the end of the world

Coronavirus is causing some real code-red graphic design

Must

10 recipes for non-bakers with flour and time on their hands

Bada bing, bada boo: Everyone should rewatch ‘The Sopranos’ as horror

My dad, the Joe Biden voter

America doesn’t have a health care system

How much would you spend to save your pet’s life?

Reads

The Future

It shouldn’t take a pandemic for everyone to be less disgusting

Wash your hands!!

Culture

Now is not the time for talk of your protest vote

Voting for someone you don’t want is like getting your flu shot — you do it for everyone else.

Power

We are all quite literally becoming more myopic

‘First Cow’ is a beautiful movie about how we all get milked by the system

Did Canada really abolish solitary confinement?

I don’t feel positive about my body

One nation under God, even if you don’t want to be

Culture

We will never find dignity in air travel

When you’re the alleged architect of the CIA’s alleged torture program but you also non-allegedly love dogs

Dear God, do I really game that much?

gimme a break

“Toad sings Chandelier” is the most memorable song of the year

Power

Canada is fake

What Americans think of as their friendly neighbor to the north, if they think of it at all, is a scam.

Good advice

AAFU: Should I end things with my much-younger partner?

AAFU: Am I over my ex?

AAFU: How can I stay friends with someone who rejected me?

AAFU: I just found out my boyfriend is pro-life

AAFU: I can’t tell if my wife is depressed or just lazy

AAFU: I slept with my best friend’s boyfriend

Culture

I would love to date a man who can’t read

Some of us are still trying to have some fun before we die and, I’m sorry, clever men are very rarely fun.

Culture

How a small-town Canadian museum became a shrine to Justin Bieber

Culture

We should all read more Jenny Diski

Culture

I watched too many videos about cute pigs and now I want to stop eating them

Power

Who is the world’s No. 1 bad guy?

Power

How to be wrong

Culture

Working in the restaurant industry will haunt your dreams

The Future

If you could go to the moon for free, would you do it

The Future

I am beginning to suspect that having a massive following on YouTube does not make people happy

Power

“Queer” as in… what, exactly?

The Future

The 5G revolution that isn't

Culture

The building blocks of my sanity come from phone Tetris

Power

The history of Catholic teaching on abortion isn’t as clear cut as you think

Culture

This emperor has no clothes

The Future

For whom the ratio trolls