I’ve been fortunate to see a few wonderful dance performances this summer. The first was a performance of Glass Pieces in May, which I wrote about the following Sunday. In the past two weeks, I’ve seen productions of Romeo & Juliet and Like Water for Chocolate. Three very different kinds of dance performances, spanning the distance from classic to contemporary. Each one of them was exhilarating. I’ve always loved going to the ballet, but I didn’t use to prioritize it as much as…

I had a chat this week with someone who studies the sensation of difference, or otherness. He described a cohort of people who don’t assimilate into their peer groups seamlessly at the stage of early development when such integration is to be expected. According to him, feeling like an outsider is a way of being that can work for and against people. On the one hand, perceived otherness might create shame or secrecy. It might cause people to hide their true selves, to…

I’ve been on a summer vacation in Portugal for the last week. As is the case with most trips, the time has flown, and I can’t believe I’ll be home soon. It usually takes me a little while to find my bearings when I travel. I also have a track record of planning holidays that involve a few destinations and revising my plans in real time; in the case of this trip, I traded the beach time I’d planned on for more city…