Weekly roundup of things that are 🔥🔥🔥

From smartphone bans to brunch boxes to the Black Fairy Godmother

The Washington Post just published an op-ed, “Schools should ban smartphones. Parents should help,” saying: “In educational settings, smartphones have an almost entirely negative impact: Educators and students alike note they can fuel cyberbullying and stifle meaningful in-person interaction. A study found the mere presence of a mobile phone nearby was enough to distract students from learning. It can take up to 20 minutes for students to refocus.”

In England, not only are smartphones banned in schools, but the government is considering limiting social media for anyone under 16. I posted about this on Instagram and nearly half of all commenters said they won’t support banning phones until America bans assault weapons. What do you think?

Want to make a difference for families in need? Help knock out these Christmas gift lists for The Black Fairy Godmother. The Black Fairy Godmother Foundation, founded by Simone Gordon, is a non-profit organization created to help Black and Brown marginalized families.

Sargent Claude Johnson’s Singing Saints (1967) will be part of the late artist’s first exhibition in 25 years at The Huntington in San Marino, California. The exhibition of 41 works draws from The Huntington’s collection as well as loans from institutional and private collections, some not seen publicly in decades. Johnson’s works—masks, portrait busts, and figural sculptures created in the 1920s and 1930s—have become emblems of the Harlem Renaissance.

I just completed a longterm search for the most comfortable and most affordable sheets — I even asked for advice on Twitter — and the verdict is in: these sheets from Wayfair are ONLY $17 and they’re insanely comfortable.

Sadly, The Crown is over — I loved the series in its totality, but I thought the last episode jumped the shark. It’s too bad there won’t be a season capturing the recent drama among Diana’s kids. In honor of the Princess of Wales, attaching a photo of a time period when everyone had their hair cut to look like Lady Di.

Speaking of queens, I highly recommend “The Queen of Dirt Island” by Donal Ryan. It’s about generations of women in a family in County Tipperary, Ireland, who’ve survived famine, death, poverty, gun-runners … and men: “I sat at my desk and thought, ‘I don’t have an idea for a book. I looked up through the skylights and it felt as though a voice came from heaven and said, ‘What about a house full of women?’” It’s a great read for those of us with ADHD - each chapter is exactly 500 words, representing the daily revolutions of the earth.

“The Queen of Dirt Island” by Donal Ryan

I spent a ridiculous amount of time looking for winter dress boots this year and tried on dozens of pairs — from ridiculously expensive to super cheap. I settled on these and these from Reformation because they’re cute, affordable (relatively speaking) and very comfortable.

If, like me, you’re an introvert who abhors crowds, as well as a procrastinator still in need of stocking stuffers and gifts, I highly recommend DELIVERY. Instacart is your friend. I’m also having gift wine delivered to friends using Doordash. Another thing I’m having delivered is food to feed my visiting adult kids (one of whom is 6’8), like this brunch box from Noah’s Bagels. And then, when it’s all over, this delivery service will pick up your returns. Christmas without having to leave home!

Finally, this clip really impacted me: as part of its “Having Constructive Conversations on Campus,” Columbia University hosted a discussion between Columbia Dean Karen Yarhi-Milo, who grew up in Israel, and Princeton Dean Amaney Jamal, a Palestinian-American and Muslim, about the toxic zero-sum discourse surrounding the war in Gaza. You can watch the whole conversation here.