This article is part of a series on resilience in troubled times — what we can learn about it from history and personal experiences. About 13 years ago I made a mistake in a column written for this newspaper. In the hierarchy of errors, it wasn’t a major one, but it was embarrassing. I said…
One of the hardest techniques for an impatient person to master is frying tofu until it’s golden and very crisp. Poke it and prod it too much, and it splits into a grainy mess. Try to turn the pieces too early, and the crust will glue itself to the pan in protest. But if you…
In the Before Times, mothers who were struggling to breastfeed didn’t have to look very far to get hands-on support. There were baby cafes and new-mom groups; visits from friends and family; and lactation consultants who made house calls. But during the pandemic, those resources and services have mostly shifted online. “Some of the mothers…
There’s a special place in hell for the authors of those trend stories that concern New Yorkers discovering things for the first time as though they are new. This is absolutely one of those trends, and its author, one of its subjects. Why hell? By the logic of these trend stories, nothing is truly discovered…
Courtesy As a proud owner of butterfly-shaped sunglasses, I can safely say that I’ve worn them exactly one time. Owning a massive collection of styles that range from skinny to oversized to straight up weird usually means one thing: I get overwhelmed and reach for the same boring pair on the daily. And there’s no…
The week that George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police officers, the Charleston, S.C., Convention & Visitors Bureau introduced a campaign to assure tourists that despite the coronavirus pandemic, Charleston — a city that has topped must-go travel lists for years — was ready to welcome them back. The program asked hotels and restaurants to…
Since last year, Amay Sheth, a 26-year-old start-up founder in Greenwich Village, Manhattan, has been scheming to shave time off his visits to his parents in Westchester County — and going less often. The reason: He can’t wait to get home to his Tonal, a $2,995 smart strength-training device that packs a weight room’s worth…
Good morning. My friend Michael Gentile used to make these soft-shell crab sandwiches, the crabs fried in butter with a dusting of flour and Old Bay seasoning, on white bread with mayonnaise and really ripe summer tomatoes, and I got it into my head that I had to have one of those this August, preferably…
On the last day of his life, Frederick Douglass attended a meeting of the National Women’s Council. The prodigious orator and abolitionist came home to Cedar Hill, his hilltop house in the Anacostia neighborhood of Washington, D.C.; spoke with his wife at the time, Helen Pitts Douglass, about the events and future plans; clasped his…
Three Bedrooms Inside a Converted Industrial Space $1.95 MILLION (1.495 MILLION BRITISH POUNDS) This three-bedroom home, converted over the past two years from an auto mechanic’s garage, is just down the street from Mile End Park in East London. The modern design incorporates below-ground and staggered levels to maximize the house’s 1,600 square feet of…