Jennifer Howard

I have been wishing, lately, that there was a way to social-network without other people—or, perhaps more accurately, without drowning in their pet peeves, predilections, passions, and punch lines. Online, they have become inescapable. No man is an island on Facebook. That’s the point, right? You never have to be alone again. Blogging begins to seem like a solitary activity. What began for me as a sort of professional ADD—got to check this site, read that listserv—has metastasized into something more pervasive. Have I checked my Twitter feed this morning? My Facebook page? My LinkedIn profile? How much time will… Read more...

You might want to think twice before you drink it. Jeffrey Moussaief Masson explains why in his new book, The Face on Your Plate, which I reviewed this week for Book World (or what’s left of it, although anecdotal evidence suggests that individual reviews do get more readers in Outlook, where much of the Post’s book coverage now runs, than they did in the late lamented stand-alone section): Masson, a vegetarian turned vegan (no dairy, no eggs), wants us to call a chicken a chicken, not just chicken. Don’t fool yourself into thinking that it’s OK to eat because said… Read more...