First there was LOL (“laugh out loud”), an acronym that first appeared in the 1980s and became the reigning shorthand online for what people found funny. Then came ROFL (“rolling on the floor laughing”), LMAO (“laughing my ass off”) and even nonverbal cues like smiling emojis. Still, most type these terms straight-faced, relegating them to…
Details
Taiwan is a self-ruling island of 24 million people that is officially known as the Republic of China. About only a dozen countries recognize it as a nation because China claims it as one of its provinces. Taiwan is called “Chinese Taipei” by international organizations and at the Olympic Games. The ambiguity of Taiwan’s nationhood…
Details
This newsletter is designed to make you the smartest person in the room on any given internet topic, whether it’s a meme, a TikTok star or very specific Eurodance parody. Today, in a special edition, we’re going to help you understand this Mad Lib: A mega-famous Twitch streamer promised millions of fans that he would…
Details
Mary MacCarthy and her 10-year-old daughter, Moira, had just deplaned at Denver International Airport when two Denver police officers met them at the gate, calling them by name and notifying them that they had been reported for suspicious behavior. The mother and daughter had flown a Southwest Airlines flight to Denver for a funeral. Ms.…
Details
Rhoda Karpatkin, who pressed for painstaking product testing for safety and quality while promoting comparison shopping for value during more than four decades at Consumers Union as counsel, executive director and president, died on Friday at her home in Manhattan. She was 93. The cause was brain cancer, her daughter, Deborah Karpatkin, said. Ms. Karpatkin,…
Details
What makes a perfect spiedie? It depends on whom you ask. The sandwich, pronounced SPEE-dee, consists of cubed meat — commonly chicken or pork, sometimes beef and originally lamb — that is marinated in a salad dressing of sorts (a blend of oil, vinegar, lemon juice, garlic, herbs and spices), grilled and then stuffed inside…
Details
As farm stands overflow with just-picked ears tasseled with silk, dedicated plates for serving corn are a joy to welcome to the summer table, like that turkey platter for you-know-when. John Derian, a designer known for his table wares and decorative accessories done with decoupage under glass, makes oval serving platters decorated with ears of…
Details
But it’s not only eggplant season right now, it’s corn season, too! I celebrate its summery abundance with my sheet-pan chicken thighs with spicy corn. After testing the recipe the first time, I ended up doubling the corn, because, while the chicken is golden and juicy, the starring role has to go to the supremely…
Details
First, avoid the long entrance lines by booking your tickets online (20 euros, or about $22, for a single-entry adult ticket). Another booking option, the Athena’s Combined Ticket (adults, €30), provides access to six more sites in Athens, including the nearby Agora. Start your day here, before 11 a.m., when most tourists are at the…
Details
Over an $8.50 pint of craft beer from Aspen Brewing Company, which is comparable to what I pay at home in Chicago, I realized that Aspen, Colo., is not expensive by big-city standards. It’s expensive by small-town standards. The Economic Research Institute, which compiles financial data for public and private organizations, pegs the cost of…
Details