The year is ending for me on an unexpectedly somber note. I got a call late yesterday afternoon to let me know that a college friend had killed himself the day before. It was more sad than surprising news, as he had spent many years fighting the legacy of a childhood and adolescence marred by deeply neglectful parents and a terrible stint in foster care and then coping with a diagnosis in adulthood of bipolar disorder, but it is such a loss. In adulthood it is often too late to remedy this sort of damage, and I think the only takeaway is that if you know a child or teenager in need of help, reach out and give whatever help you can! Spent the evening at a sort of unofficial wake at a mutual friend's apartment in Brooklyn; combination of emotional distress and alcohol consumption have now exacerbated my cold, which has moved from lungs to sinuses and which clearly mandates another day of no exercise...
Some links, in no particular order:
Language Log on the twitter hashtag.
Wage slavery in its natural habitat.
George Pringle's new blog.
Greg Zinman on Bravo's Work of Art.
It seems likely that I will post again between now and the official end of 2011, but just in case not, I hope that you all have a very happy and healthy New Year!
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So sorry to read this, Jenny. It is so tough being a teenager. I hope you manage to have a happy new year, despite the sad news.
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