Diane Ackerman 
For too long, vegetarians have been an afterthought at the Christmas table. Usually I’m the only non-meat eater at mine, and I’ve got used to just eating the sides. But in recent years I’ve made more effort to mark the occasion with a special centrepiece that I can eat, too; here are two such things. … Read more
A novelty waffle make that can create Tetris block-shaped waffles is being recalled because it does not comply with Australian electrical standards. The William Valentine Tetris Tetrimino waffle maker was sold between August and November 2023 online and in-stores including Typo, Catch and Kogan. Product Safety Australia warned customers who purchased the product to stop … Read more
The Iron Claw follows the Von Erich family and is based on a true story about four brothers from Texas who lived to wrestle and made history doing so under the direction and coaching of a relentless father. Tragically, Kevin Von Erich (Efron) loses all three of his brothers to differing traumatic circumstances but is … Read more
How much about the chocolates was in the Wonka script? I had the title and description—for instance, the Silver Lining was filled with condensed thunderclouds and liquid sunlight. And the action it does—it makes you go, “Huh!” At the start, that was all I had. At that point, I didn’t know about any other production … Read more
“Skin streaming,” or cutting down your skin care routine to just the essentials, is having a moment on TikTok. It harkens back to the days of the “three-step routine,” something original Proactiv users will recognize from the cleanser, toner and moisturizer approach of the early 2000s. Streamlining also feels like a backlash against the 10-step … Read more
One problem about Christmas shopping starting in October, as it does nowadays, is that well-laid plans gang aft agley, as Robert Burns would have it. In wine terms, that often means that you or, more likely, your adult children will have already ploughed through your stocks, leaving only the smarter bottles that you’ve cleverly hidden … Read more
The parents of a little boy who died in his sleep a day after Christmas have described the moment their “world fell apart”. Darren Midgley and Cheryl Szulhan’s son Jack, aged just 16 months, died on Boxing Day in 2022 at their home in Yorkshire, in northern England. Jack’s father described Christmas as “wonderful”, saying … Read more
How do you thank someone who has unknowingly spent a good chunk of the year assuring you that it’s totally OK — adorable, even — to not fuss over your hair or fight its natural texture? Specifically, I’m talking about Katie Holmes, to whom I’d love to send a gift card to her favorite coffee … Read more
You’ve just come from London, where you did a performance with Marina Abramović involving famous scenes from Maria Callas’s career. How was that? That was completely different, with a very different public. It was a mix of visual art and classical singing. We were a soundtrack to the visual art, which didn’t bother me. I … Read more
We fantasize about the future, whether it’s about getting that promotion when our supervisor retires in a few years, saving up enough to buy a house in our favorite neighborhood, or planning a monthlong European getaway for our next major birthday. But actually growing older? That’s a part of our future that many of us … Read more
