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Weekend Butler: How to succeed: “handle hard better.” Paul McCartney’s “perfect love song.” Elizabeth Strout’s “ideal reader.” For better health: “Pick up the pace. ” Roasted carrot ginger soup. And more.
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Published: Oct 12, 2022
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Weekend
HANDLE HARD BETTER
A few weeks ago, Weekend Butler included a video by Kara Lawson, the head coach of the Duke University women’s basketball team. Before Duke, she made history as the first woman on the Boston Celtics coaching staff. She coached the US women’s team to gold in in the 2020 Summer Olympics, won a gold medal as a player at the 2008 Olympics, and was on the Sacramento Monarchs team that won the 2005 WNBA championship.
It’s fair to say she has the right to describe reality to her Duke team.
In her short talk, she bluntly says that it never gets easier. As a coach, when she sees her players master a challenge, she sets a higher, harder to achieve target. Because, she says, that’s life: it only gets harder. There is no secret to success in life, but there is a path: handle hard better.
There’s an election on the horizon, and it’s no stretch to say we all sense what’s at stake. We’re anxious about the outcome and will be more anxious as we count the days down to November 8. I have no crystal ball. My only wisdom is to be kind to everyone who’s in my life, even those with bit parts, on the assumption that everybody’s on the edge, or nearing it. And walking and jogging further each morning, just to have a measurable metric of achievement — and to handle hard better.
Want a shot of courage? Watch Kara Lawson’s short video.
HOW MANY LIVES DID THE COVID VACCINE SAVE?
from The Lancet:
A group of researchers from Imperial College London used mathematical models to determine that COVID vaccines prevented between 14.4 million and 19.8 million deaths in their first year of availability alone.
THE VERDICT ON ENGLAND’S NEW PRIME MINISTER
from The Economist
Liz Truss has already secured a place in history. However long she now lasts in office, she is set to be remembered as the prime minister whose grip on power was the shortest in British political history. Ms. Truss entered Downing Street on September 6th. She blew up her own government with a package of unfunded tax cuts and energy-price guarantees on September 23rd. Take away the ten days of mourning after the death of the queen, and she had seven days in control. That is the shelf-life of a lettuce.
WHO IS ELIZABETH STROUT’S IDEAL READER?
from The Washington Post
“I think about my readers all the time. I love my readers. So I have an ideal reader. If I can make up a character, I can make up a reader. My reader has no gender but is right in front of me when I write. The presence of the reader is very visible to me. I’m never, ever, ever writing for myself.”
IN 1986, FRANK ZAPPA SAW THE FUTURE. THE PANELISTS LAUGHED.
Does Zappa back down? What do you think? Watch 80 seconds of prophesy.
YOUR BODY, YOUR HEALTH: PICK UP THE PACE
from The New York Times:
In a new study, which looks at activity tracker data from 78,500 people, walking at a brisk pace for about 30 minutes a day led to a reduced risk of heart disease, cancer, dementia and death, compared with walking a similar number of steps but at a slower pace.
Researchers found that every 2,000 additional steps a day lowered the risk of premature death, heart disease and cancer by about 10 percent, up to about 10,000 steps per day. When it came to developing dementia, 9,800 steps per day was associated with a 50 percent reduced risk, with a risk reduction of 25 percent starting at about 3,800 steps per day. Above 10,000 steps a day, there just weren’t enough participants with that level of activity to determine whether there were additional benefits.
But then the researchers of this study did something new. When they looked at the step rate, per minute, of the highest 30 minutes of activity a day, they found that participants whose average highest pace was a brisk walk (between 80 and 100 steps per minute) had better health outcomes compared with those who walked a similar amount each day but at a slower pace.
Brisk walkers had a 35 percent lower risk of dying, a 25 percent lower chance of developing heart disease or cancer and a 30 percent lower risk of developing dementia, compared with those whose average pace was slower.
To put these numbers into perspective, a person whose total daily steps include 2,400 to 3,000 that are brisk walking could see a sharp reduction in the risk for developing heart disease, cancer and dementia, even without taking many additional steps beyond the total daily number.
PAUL McCARTNEY CALLS THIS “A PERFECT LOVE BALLAD”
The Beach Boys, “God Only Knows.”
Viewer comment: “I could be having the best time of my life and 40 seconds into this song my eyes well up with tears.”
Watch.
THE WEEKEND RECIPE
from Ten: All the Foods We Love and 10 Perfect Recipes for Each
ROASTED CARROT GINGER SOUP
Serves 10
1 and 1/2 pounds carrots, peeled and halved lengthwise
1 pound parsnips, peeled and quartered lengthwise
1 large onion, sliced
1 piece (3 inches) fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
3 tablespoons (packed) dark brown sugar
8 cups chicken broth
Salt, to taste
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1/4 cup crème fraîche, for garnish
Snipped fresh chives, for garnish
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Combine the carrots, parsnips, onion, and ginger in a shallow roasting pan. Dot with the butter and sprinkle with the brown sugar.
Pour 2 cups of the broth into the pan, cover tightly with aluminum foil, and bake until the vegetables are very tender, 2 hours.
Transfer the vegetables and broth to a large soup pot, and add the remaining 6 cups of broth. Season to taste with salt and cayenne pepper, and bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat and simmer, partially covered, for 10 minutes.
Puree the soup, in batches, in a blender or food processor until smooth, adding more broth if needed. Return the soup to the pot, adjust the seasonings if necessary, and heat through. Serve each portion dolloped with a teaspoon of crème fraîche and sprinkled with chives.
