The Week: April 26, 2013

I just got back to Seattle yesterday, after spending a week in Los Angeles with family – including my 9-month-old nephew. I have now have a suitcase full of clothes smeared with baby food and drool, and I’m completely exhausted. After a week. A friggin week.

But people who become parents do this sort of thing FOR THE REST OF THEIR LIVES.

I don’t how they do it, but I salute them. Without their efforts, none of us would be here. They deserve cupcakes and backrubs and looong vacations.

For those of you (parents or not) who have enough time to browse through them, I give you the week’s links. Enjoy.

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Photographer Haley Morris-Cafiero takes photos of people who mock her for her weight and appearance. Read her explanation of her work, and you’ll be infuriated by how cruel people can be, and awed at her courage and sense of self.

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In the wake of the Boston bombings, The Atlantic explains why there are so few Chechens in the United States.

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Find out what happens when two monkeys get unequal pay for equal work. Sigh. If only we could all stand up for ourselves like that.

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I can barely look: photographer Tom Ryaboi takes his work to dizzying heights.

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Whoo-hoo! Seattle edges out Portland and is named the country’s most-liked city. (Of course, that doesn’t mean I don’t love PDX, but a girl has gotta stick by her hometown.)

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Damn. This 1938 rejection letter from Disney makes it clear that a women’s place was not in the Inking and Painting department.

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In this brilliant piece for The New Yorker, Ian Crouch asks if it’s okay for Boston and New York fans to hate each other again.

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Aaaand a little more photography (because I left my camera at home during my L.A. trip, I think I’m having some sort of withdrawal): check out Cerise Doucede’s work, which bring daydreams to life via floating balloons, apples, shoes, and more.

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You’ve no doubt seen it by now, but this list of folks who are really nailing this whole parenting thing is pretty darn enjoyable (even if you don’t exactly agree with everything they’re doing).

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Ever wonder why public toilet seats are U-shaped? Slate has the answer.

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I’m now off to bake some cookies, because that’s how I’ve decided to spend my sunny afternoon (don’t you judge me).