The Happiest Hour – 3/13/20

Can we be honest with each other?

Right now, this doesn’t feel like the happiest hour. With every news alert and email from that yoga studio you went to once saying they’re cancelling classes, it feels like we’re sitting inside a countdown clock, waiting for it to hit zero. Last week, The Drinking Club was conversing about embarrassing bodily functions while demolishing several bottles of red. Today, my relative calm was eaten away as I scrolled through my news app while working from home. The isolation stoked whatever anxiety I had–until I went out to the grocery store for WFH supplies. The sun was shining, the air was warm. There was a bird chirping somewhere (it was probably lost).

This is to say: we all need to take a breath. We need to be smart and cautious, and we need to take care of ourselves and our communities. I’m toasting tonight to all of us getting through these next weeks and doing what we need to stay healthy and calm. In these challenging times, remember: there’s nothing a good book can’t fix.

There’s also not enough wine to make you forget the sight of your coworker in his pajamas on the conference call.

Here’s what you missed this week:

 

Cheers,

EV

The Happiest Hour – 10/18/19

We had a Drinking Club meeting last night, and we may have found the first bar in New York City that we are not allowed back to. More on that in the next recap.

Here’s what you missed this week:

  • Can looking at literature tell us how happy we were at a given point in time? It’s got about the same credibility as a Magic 8 ball. (Vox)
  • Someone decided to investigate why so many books have “wife” in the title, and the result is maybe one of the best sentences written: “we did leave in titles that made puns because puns make life worth living.” (BookNet Canada)
  • We’ve shared some pieces about archaic slang before, but now you can test your knowledge (or become totally perplexed, as I was). (Mental Floss)

Cheers,

EV