Relationships and Going Places

Joan L. Cannon wrote: An editor no longer can browse the slush pile for something that might be to his or her individual taste and take a flier on it. As for fiction: the formulas for success (read enormous sales) have multiplied. Does the story have a thriller pace? Check. Plenty of sex, preferably explicit and at least somewhat unconventional? Check. Violence? Check. Shocking characters, scenes, plots? Check. Or, perhaps to fit into another category, it may need to be gently bland, without a suggestion of the unpleasant realities of life and certainly no more than a hint of sex, and make every character call regularly and verbally on the Almighty. Even the category romances of my day have become less rather than more convincing. more »

The authors stress that rising temperature and climate change should not be viewed as direct motivations for suicide. Instead, they point out that temperature and climate may increase the risk of suicide by affecting the likelihood that an individual situation leads to an attempt at self-harm. “Hotter temperatures are clearly not the only, nor the most important, risk factor for suicide,” Burke emphasized. “But our findings suggest that warming can have a surprisingly large impact on suicide risk, and this matters for both our understanding of mental health as well as for what we should expect as temperatures continue to warm.” more »

When wives earn more than their husbands do, a puzzling thing can happen: Husbands say they earn more than they are and wives underreport their income. New Census Bureau research shows that the incomes couples report on Census Bureau surveys do not always match their IRS filings. The Census Bureau is working to improve the quality of reported earnings by comparing an individual’s survey response with their reported response from another source.     more »

Rose Madeline Mula writes: Within an hour, a slate of ten contestants on The Proposal is quickly winnowed down to one, who then becomes engaged to a mystery man or woman, who has been hidden behind a pod until the end. Before the climactic engagement, the couple has spent a total of less than five minutes or so talking to each other. What’s next? A program where a marriage of strangers will be consummated, on camera, before the first commercial break?And I really don’t understand apps like Tinder that enable guys and gals to dial up an immediate “hook-up” with an unknown partner as easily as ordering delivery of a pizza. more »