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<\/a><\/div>\nWhat are you up to this weekend? Tonight I\u2019m excited to see Oh, Mary!<\/a>, the dark-comedy play about Mary Todd Lincoln. It\u2019s supposed to be hilarious, and I can\u2019t wait to see Cole Escola perform in real life. Also, here\u2019s our Cup of Jo Holiday Gift Guide<\/a> so far, as well as our Big Salad Gift Guide<\/a> featuring three friends. Hope you have a good one, and here are a few links from around the web\u2026<\/p>\n Would you attend a Jeremy Allen-White lookalike contest<\/a>?<\/p>\n Love the cable detail on this sweater<\/a> \u2014 and oooooh this skirt<\/a>!<\/p>\n A very vegetarian Thanksgiving<\/a>. (NYTimes gift link)<\/p>\n How the Irish came to rule pop culture<\/a>. Columnist S\u00e9amas O\u2019Reilly says that Ireland benefits from being \u201ceveryone\u2019s second-favorite country.\u201d Writer R\u00f3is\u00edn Lanigan says shows and books often depict \u201ca certain type of Irish. On the whole, it seems to be, \u2018They\u2019re hot and sad.’\u201d (NYMag)<\/p>\n 20 cookie-swap recipes<\/a>.<\/p>\n Would you make a tater tot quiche<\/a>?<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I was a teenager, I took the train to go to the record store to find rare stuff,\u201d says filmmaker Don Hertzfeldt<\/a>. \u201cSpotify is way more convenient, but that wasn\u2019t the point. The point was to get out and to feel like you\u2019re hunting.\u201d I feel this way about Netflix vs Blockbuster Video \u2014\u00a0I mean, driving with all your cousins and siblings to Blockbuster on December 26th to duke it out over what movie you were going to rent and watch with the entire family? Now that was LIVING!<\/p>\n This book is really fun<\/a>.<\/p>\n What a killer Tony Soprano impression<\/a>.<\/p>\n Cold swimming under ice<\/a> looks extremely claustrophobic.<\/p>\n John Krasinski was named People\u2019s sexiest man alive, and Hunter Harris<\/a> has thoughts: \u201cHe could be the sexiest man at an airport Panera. He could very well be the sexiest man on the campus of a small midwestern private university. He could be the sexiest man at a Pottery Barn outlet, getting a great deal on a big lamp. No, John Krasinski was not the sexiest man alive in 2024. He was not even the sexiest man in The Office!<\/em> (That was David Wallace.) John Krasinski is not even the sexiest man in his own family. That\u2019d be his brother-in-law, Stanley Tucci.\u201d<\/p>\n Hahahaha<\/a>.<\/p>\n Plus, three reader comments:<\/p>\n Says Emily on what stage of parenting are you in<\/a>: \u201cI saw something so sweet the other day \u2013 reframing the \u2018Empty Nest\u2019 phase as the \u2018Open Door\u2019 phase, and orienting your parenting for that to be the end goal. Your home has an open door for your grown kids to come and go, through texts, calls, and in-person visits.\u201d<\/p>\n Says Kara on what\u2019s your low-key wish for humanity<\/a>: \u201cI wasn\u2019t diagnosed with my autism until I was 34. When a grocery cart is empty, it\u2019s SO MUCH LOUDER, and it bounces around a lot more. I always struggled to return the cart because pushing it across blacktop felt like nails in my hands and ears. I didn\u2019t know not everyone experienced this; I just assumed I was lazy human garbage. After I got my diagnosis, I started noticing all the things I had been white-knuckling through. When I was checking out at the grocery store, and the clerk asked, \u2018Do you need help out?\u2019 it suddenly occurred to me that I DID. I said, \u2018Yeah, uh, I have autism, and the cart is pretty rattle-y; could somebody push it for me while I plug my ears?\u2019 And she said, \u2018Yep! Of course!\u2019 When I got to my car, and the person took the cart away, I got in the front seat and sobbed. This was the first time I hadn\u2019t had to return the cart myself and set my nervous system on fire. It wasn\u2019t a big deal for them to help me, but it was a HUGE DEAL for me to know to ask. Here\u2019s the TL;DR: If you ever find yourself asking, \u2018Why can\u2019t you just \u2014\u2019 STOP. Do not finish that sentence. The world is incredibly difficult, and you don\u2019t always know what someone\u2019s struggle may be. So, if you are able, yes, totally return the cart. But assuming something negative about a person because they aren\u2019t doing something *you* find easy, actually makes the world a harsher place.\u201d<\/p>\n Says Cyndi on what\u2019s your low-key wish for humanity<\/a>: \u201cI\u2019m reminded of the sage advice given by our dear Catherine Newman<\/a> in an NPR interview<\/a>: \u2018[Being an etiquette columnist] has influenced every single aspect of my life. If you write an etiquette column for 10 years, you see that it\u2019s really hard to deal with the fact of other people\u2019s otherness. Every etiquette question could be reduced to that. You don\u2019t like somebody\u2019s wind chimes. Someone puts lipstick on at the table. Do you invite your gay cousin-in-law to your wedding? The thrust of every question is, people are different from me, and I can\u2019t stand it. And then the thing that you have to say to everybody is, you have to stand it. That\u2019s the human condition. You have to approach it with as much grace as is humanly possible, which is more grace than you\u2019re currently mustering.\u2019 I find myself referring to this advice all the time, especially while navigating life with twin toddlers.\u201d <\/p>\n (Photo by J. Anthony\/Stocksy.)<\/p>\n Note: If you buy something through our links, we may earn an affiliate commission or have a sponsored relationship with the brand, at no cost to you. We recommend only products we genuinely like. Thank you so much.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n