An open letter to my students: Are you a dog or a wolf? Dear Students, One cold, windy night, a hungry wolf prowled the outskirts of a farm, searching for its next meal. In the fenced-in yard, it spotted a dog—plump, well-fed, lounging without a care in the world. The
I’ve been tracking the Solo shift. Who will see it next? In their recent cover story, “The Great Relationship Recession: The Rise of Singlehood is Reshaping the World,” (link but paywalled at the moment). The Economist takes note of the precursors of what I call the Solo Economy: a striking
Yesterday, I published this article about how Singles’ Day is coming to America. On November 11, billions will be spent on Singles’ Day — the world’s largest shopping event, dwarfing Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined. What began as a playful celebration of singledom among Chinese undergraduates has been transformed by Alibaba into
This post was originally published at The Conversation. On Nov. 11 each year, a curious holiday takes over China. What began among Nanjing University students in the 1990s as a tongue-in-cheek counter to Valentine’s Day has exploded into the world’s largest shopping event: Singles’ Day. The date, 11/11, was chosen
An Open Letter to My (Tenured) Colleagues: What Will You Do With Your Freedom? Dear Colleagues, I’ve been invited to serve as a panelist at the Association for Consumer Research’s Mid-Career Workshop—a gathering to help newly tenured scholars figure out “now what?” I’ve been asking the same question myself. Tenured.
Back in Condesa (rematch) Same hotel. Same room. Same bed. Last time, I cracked. Mushrooms. Midnight. Mirror. Screaming, swinging at myself. You coward. I won, but didn’t feel it. Braced for war at 4:07, searching for threats that weren’t there. You should be sleeping like a motherfucking tiger— full belly,
Retreat (fighting fragility) Muay Thai. Kickboxing. Jujitsu. All new. My partner is a hammer, I am the nail. Heat is a teacher. I—the melting pupil. Breath screaming, shirt soaked to skin. Who says yes to this? Then, I move him. Takedown. A violent reversal. A hard bed never so soft.
The Double Act (jab / cross) one-two. skip the fancy shit. clean. tight. true. in the ring— not to fight but to vanish. hit the bag? no. hit the voice: the planner, the pleaser, the worrier masquerading as warrior. the desire: feet that whisper. jab, a matchstrike. hips that coil.
Whether you call it a Third Act, third season, or second life, one thing’s clear: middle-age and beyond isn’t the end. It’s a redesign.
Welcome to the final episode of I’M NOT JOKING. Comedian JD Lopez returns from Episode 1 to debrief and reflect on Peter’s experience building
