My husband and I grew up in a religion that only allows active members to enter its places of worship. I recently stopped practicing the religion — a decision that is still very sensitive with my husband and our families. My sister-in-law is getting married, and I will not be allowed to attend the ceremony.…
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MARGARET RIVER, Australia — On a warm, sunny day in February, Will Berliner, the proprietor of Cloudburst, crouched and scuttled under the bird netting that had been draped over the vines in his small vineyard just two miles from the Indian Ocean here in Western Australia. I followed, ignoring my aching muscles and sore feet.…
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Do abortions make you less fertile? — Grace, Santa Cruz, Calif. Short Take No, there is no link between safe abortion and the ability to get pregnant in the future. [Have a question about women’s health? Ask Dr. Gunter yourself.] Tell Me More The data tells us there is no link between abortion and future…
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Frankie Collective If you really want to know about me, the bookmark section of my Instagram—aka my Wish List—will tell you all you need to know. Like my brain, my saved collection is a hodgepodge of DIY skincare videos and tips, at-home workout routines I’ll never do, and astrological roasts that remind me (a Virgo)…
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Surfacing Before cellphones, Turkish “bird language” allowed farmers to communicate across long distances in the Pontic Mountains. Video Muazzez Kocek, 46, is considered one of the best whistlers in Kuşköy, a village tucked away in the picturesque Pontic Mountains in Turkey’s northern Giresun province. Her whistle can be heard over the area’s vast tea fields…
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A few years ago, my husband, Chris, who survived four deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, was killed by an avalanche in Colorado. I am an Army veteran who was deployed to combat zones twice, in 2005 and 2008, without any serious lingering psychological ramifications. But I thought my husband’s death, that New Year’s Eve day,…
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Could you tie a series of square knots around the neck of a teaspoon without, even slightly, moving the teaspoon? How about using tweezers to extract a grape from inside a roll of toilet paper, without piercing the grape’s skin or touching the sides of the roll? Aspiring surgeons should have the dexterity to accomplish…
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Decades of experience have taught me that many people have trouble remembering names — at least, the names of people they’ve met just once or twice. Acquaintances. With me, that’s just the beginning. My memory is so flawed that I forget not just the names of acquaintances and friends but also people I know really…
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This week Lady Gaga, last seen winning the game of entrances at the Met Gala, will re-emerge in Las Vegas to continue the series of “Enigma” shows she began last December at the Park MGM. On its own that may be exciting news for anyone feeling “Shallow” nostalgia, but this time around she is also…
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There is a lot of bad behavior in Elizabeth Gilbert’s new book, “City of Girls,” a lively period novel about a tribe of women — theater folk! — set primarily during World War II. They have sex with multiple strangers and each other; they drink to excess for weeks on end; and they make bone-headed…
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