Priscilla Rattazzi sealed her reputation as a fashion photographer in the 1980s. By the end of that decade, Ms. Rattazzi, a Roman living in New York, had turned from fashion to portraiture, capturing the likenesses of Diana Vreeland, Loulou de la Falaise, Gianni Agnelli (her uncle), and other contemporaries with an unexpected combination of astringency…
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More than three years after they met, Sean Christian Casey finally asked Elaine Gabrielle Joseph on a first date. The pair had been friends since they met during a Cotton Bowl watch party featuring Texas A&M and the University of Oklahoma in 2013. It was Ms. Joseph’s first night in town after moving to Washington.…
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At my house, dinner is not a three-course meal every night. More likely, it’s a main course and a green salad. Sometimes, it is a one-pot main course, though not always. (I find that even when cooking a simple meal, at least two pots and pans are often involved.) And, quite frequently, dinner is meatless.…
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Hello and welcome to Five Weeknight Dishes. If you ever cook to meet your mood, then next week could be quite a ride in the kitchen — a time for drink mixing and nacho making? Maybe you embrace noodles in uneasy times, or pasta, or stew? Are you an anxiety baker? When I sat down…
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The huge cardboard box had been in my mother’s basement for decades until she said, “When are you going to move that crap to your house?” The box sat in my basement for a few more decades, until my wife said, “When are you going to clean out that crap?” Such language, but I got…
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A few weeks ago, as the temperature decreased and my pandemic fatigue increased, I did something I hadn’t done in years: I simmered up a homey beef stew. I’d forgotten all about beef stew, seduced by the likes of wine-braised short ribs and fancy Bourguignon. But while braises and Bourguignons may be more impressively company-worthy…
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David Rhoades skipped a lot of school in the mid-2000s as a student at Sturgis Brown High School in Sturgis, S.D. Not much held his attention, besides a girl a year younger who was good at painting and drawing. “Nikki and I had known each other since eighth grade, but in high school we really…
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Send questions about the office, money, careers and work-life balance to workfriend@nytimes.com. Include your name and location, or a request to remain anonymous. Letters may be edited. Norma Rae on the River Before the pandemic, I worked in the outdoor adventure industry as a multiday river guide. For many, it’s a dream job — living…
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Three years ago, Janet Burns felt herself sliding into depression, a too-familiar state. Ms. Burns, a retired federal worker living in Rockville, Md., grew up in a home she described as abusive, with an alcoholic father. Sometimes, she said, “I get into a slump and can’t get out.” Several times, psychotherapy had helped her regain…
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A double-blinded randomized trial of electroacupuncture found it may result in a modest improvement in daily functioning for those with chronic back pain, though it provided little pain relief. Electroacupuncture uses a small electric current passed between needles, a practice some believe provides additional pain relief compared with regular acupuncture. Researchers tested the procedure by…
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