I didn't want to talk, and I didn't think dogs could solve my problems. But they were so uncritical and un-judgmental. Sometimes when you're really blue, you don't want to talk, but you want that sense of companionship. I certainly enjoy that with my beasts.

Oversized houses, like oversized cars, seem to be a particularly American fixation.

Human relationships used to be easy: you had friends, boy- or girlfriends, parents, children, and landlords. Now, thanks to social media, it's all gone sideways.

One of the very best reasons for having children is to be reminded of the incomparable joys of a snow day.

I love writing traditional magazine pieces, and especially their breadth of reporting and the deliberateness of the writing.

When I heard about the Microsoft Kinect, though, I felt an urgency rising in me. A game you played without touching any machinery? A chance to wave your hands around, Minority-Report style, and move things around on a screen? This sounded like almost too much fun, with gadget-y pizzazz that sounded astonishing.

I love Japanese design and fabrics. I also love people who make clothes for mass consumption but do it well and cleverly.