Sick of Politics? Try These Great Reads

http://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/21/nytnow/sick-of-politics-try-these-great-reads.html

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Welcome to Our Picks, a guide to the best stuff to read, watch and listen to from around the internet. Check this space for the must-read long-form article, the next great podcast for your commute, the news-making tweetstorm. And yes, we’re also tooting our own horn here. We’ll share can’t-miss Times stories from the week and reveal some gems you might have overlooked.

We want to hear from you! Send us feedback about our selections to ourpicks@nytimes.com.

• Do most people know the difference among the terms “Sell By,” “Use By,” and “Best If Used By”? Expiration labels are so darn confusing, and people end up throwing away a lot of food. The grocery industry is looking to change both with a new set of standardized product labels to clear up confusion. [The Washington Post]

• “As a 28-year-old, I find myself drawn into the same capitalistic pitfall that many young professionals are drawn into — a need to prove my adulthood with midcentury furniture.” Thus begins a wonderful little essay about profound disappointment with one very specific West Elm sofa. [The Awl]

• A cool history of the Rorschach test reveals how the ubiquitous inkblots went from psychological assessment tool to cultural meme. [The New Republic]

• If you’re in the mood for an uplifting story, read this account of how a “miracle” face transplant gave one young man a new lease on life. [AP via STAT]

• Last week, a lengthy note in The Yale Law Journal argued that Amazon should draw the attentions of antitrust regulators. If you’d like to know more, but feel intimidated by the legalese, you can check out the New York Observer’s slightly more accessible explanation of this “epic analysis.” [The Yale Law Journal and New York Observer]

• After sustaining multiple concussions that took him out of the racing scene in 2016, Dale Earnhardt Jr. is returning to Nascar. Even if you’re not a fan of the sport, you’ll enjoy this in-depth profile on the athlete and his new perspective. [ESPN Magazine]

• “I’m not at that camp because I’m bad at math. I’m there because I’m good at math.”

This New York City camp is trying to inspire a new generation of black and Latino math whizzes.

• Are you a Blanche, a Dorothy, a Rose or a Sophia? Fans of “Golden Girls,” that enduring electric blanket of American television, are flocking to a new restaurant dedicated to Rue McClanahan. Yes, there is cheesecake.

• “Many of us have more love inside than we know what to do with but are too bottled up. Which is where dogs can come in.”

Amy Sutherland wrote a moving Modern Love column last week about matchmaking at an animal shelter; you may remember her widely emailed 2006 Modern Love column, “What Shamu Taught Me About a Happy Marriage.”

• The Oscars are on Sunday, so there’s still time to stream the nominated movies and fill in a winning ballot. (Your prize: bragging rights.)

• The Sunday wedding announcements in The Times have long been a fertile hunting ground for writers of parodies and other forms of snark. But we don’t mind. Much.

• Bruce Springsteen invited one lucky teenager onstage with him during a recent concert in Australia’s Brisbane Entertainment center. The song they performed? “Growin’ Up,” of course. [Variety]

• If you haven’t watched “Planet Earth II” by now, drop everything and do that. Then, watch this video on the behind-the-scenes magic of the BBC production. [Vox]

• We’re biased, but we find this GIF mesmerizing:

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