Word: kinds
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...there is a ritual, in a sense, to the way conversations play out. You identify stages that conversations go through. When people meet each other for the first or second time, there is a sort of architecture in their talk. People are tentative at first. There's a certain kind of greeting formula that takes place as things develop. People become aware of things in common. Sometimes it's meaningless, like they both spent a week in the Ukraine, or neither of them has ever seen a football game. But it establishes, even speciously, common ground. And then after that...
...conversation a conversation? What we do when we sit down and talk, I think, is very ancient and essential. And that's why I restrict my definition of conversation to in-person exchanges. Obviously, what we're doing right now is a conversation, but it's of a certain kind. You don't get to see what I look like or what my body language is or what my facial expressions are, so it's missing some important components of that primate ritual. (Watch a video about recession etiquette...
...time in bars. Part of the rationale was that other than drinking or maybe playing pool, all you do at a bar is talk to people, many of whom you don't actually know. Is this a valid strategy? The problem is, it depends on what kind of person you are. If you like that kind of slightly alcohol-fueled intimacy or quick sharing, it's fine. But if you're a little standoffish or a little reserved, it's a bit harder. A lot of people will tell you that volunteering is the best way to start conversations. There...
...diamond-studded tennis bracelet? No: inner peace and the means to cope with the impermanence of all things, including herself. This kind of crisis--regarded as a luxurious problem by many--is not an uncommon malaise in the well-heeled, 40-something mom set. Not coincidentally, they tend to purchase a lot of books...
...newcomers also understand that the health care status quo is unsustainable. They seek a middle way on abortion and gay rights. They want to protect the environment. And they eschew the inflammatory rhetoric of the tea parties and town halls. We don't even have a name for this kind of Republican. In the 1980s, we called them Gypsy Moths, after a pest prevalent in the Northeast. But this new strain is not found only in the Northeast, and it is not a pest. It represents the best home for a center-right politics of the future. (See pictures...