"'That's really chill,' is saved for something really good, like new suede sneakers with a double set of laces..."

"... or some sharp clothing, known as 'gear.' But that's only if the shoes or 'kicks' are Pumas or Adidas. For teen-age boys, this summer's sharpest 'gear' is matching nylon BVD T-shirts and shorts, with the elastic waistband showing out of the top of Lee jeans. A 'chill' outfit for a girl is tight Sergio Valente or Tale Lord jeans, black loafers and anklets."

That's from an August 1983 NYT article, "City Teenagers Talking Up a 'Say When' Storm."

I'm reading that article this morning because I got a bit annoyed by the use of "chill" in this NYT headline: "Austin Abrams Is Pretty Chill, Actually." Ugh. When did we start talking like that and why haven't we stopped?

I'm talking about "chill" as an adjective meaning "Free from anxiety or stress; relaxed, calm; easy-going, laid-back" — to quote the definition in the OED.

The OED calls it "North American slang," and, tracing its appearance in print back to 1983, quotes that NYT article and a slightly earlier writing, the March 1983 UNC-CH typescript "Campus Slang": "Try to be chill when the cops ask you why you ran the red light doing 75 mph."

The slang use of "chill" as a verb meaning to "calm down, relax, take it easy" — which I find less annoying — is a few years older. The OED finds it first in a 1979 song lyric (quoted in a 1992 book):

Sunrise.

"People are hungry for real conversation about what’s happening in our democracy and what it will mean for their families.... There will be some discussion, some debate, and hopefully a lot of laughter."

Said Hillary Clinton, quoted in "Hillary Clinton and Kara Swisher to release weekly midterms podcast/The weekly podcast, 'High Stakes,' will aim to dissect the election and its aftermath, Vox Media said" (WaPo).

Weekly... on the topic of the midterms. Starting Wednesday. There are 2 Wednesdays left before election day. But they're covering the "aftermath" too. 

I can't imagine looking to Hillary Clinton to satisfy a hunger for real conversation. I will give this post my "Hillary goes away" tag. Somewhat perversely, but you know what I mean. I am so tired of these midterms! I've never seen midterms get so much attention. But I know they are all that saves me from being plunged into the 2028 presidential race, and I don't know how I will take what will be the 7th presidential race in the history of this blog. 

"A donor, Eric Deters, first told The Wall Street Journal that Ms. Guilfoyle asked him to wire her $100,000 to pay off her American Express card..."

"... just before her Senate confirmation hearing in July 2025. According to messages Mr. Deters provided to The New York Times, Ms. Guilfoyle promised to serve as his 'ride or die in Trump world' if he sent her the money...."

From "Kimberly Guilfoyle Resigns as Ambassador to Greece/Ms. Guilfoyle was asked to quit by the White House after a string of damaging reports, including that she had asked a Republican donor to pay off a credit card" (NYT).

"Julia Warhola was born Julia Zavacky on November 17, 1892, in Mikova, in the former Czechoslovakia."

"Initially, she didn't want to marry Andy's father, the first Andy -- Andrej, born November 28, 1889, also in Mikova. Her father beat her into accepting the proposal; she was further persuaded by candy that Andrej offered. When interviewed by Esquire in the late 1960s, she said, 'My Daddy beat me, beat me to marry him.... I cry. I no know. Andy visit again. He brings me candy. I no have candy. He brings me candy, wonderful candy. And for this candy, I marry him.' Candy, trauma: these were the alpha of Julia's marriage and the omega of her son's art. Julia loved candy, and so did little Andy.... In his fanciful The Philosophy of Andy Warhol (From A to B and Back Again)... he recounts that his mother gave him candy bars as reward for every page completed in a coloring book.... Tom Wolfe reports Andy refusing food at society dinner parties and declaring, 'Oh, I only eat candy'...."

From "Andy Warhol" by Wayne Koestenbaum, a book excerpt published in the NYT on September 16, 2001. 

I ran across that this morning because, eating candy, I was researching the accuracy of a quote I'd long remembered, "I only eat candy."

The 911 calls in the aftermath of the failed execution of Christa Pike.

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See "Calls Show How Confusion Delayed Emergency Response for Christa Pike/The first 911 call from inside the prison was made at 8:40 p.m. It took about 30 minutes to verify its authenticity" (NYT).

"Confusion" is putting it euphemistically. How do I know the prison employees were not deliberately delaying in the hope that Pike would eventually expire?

"The initial 911 call did not come, as it might normally, from the central control at the Tennessee Department of Correction, and the caller did not have the right security verification." So who called? And why didn't someone with clear authority call? The NYT can't answer those questions because the state has secrecy laws that protect its employees who do the work of carrying out the death penalty. 

There was an execution protocol, it didn't kill Pike, and there was no protocol relating to what to do next. But that did not create the authority to kill her in some other — slower — way. 

No one should drink what they don't want to drink. It's not funny to watch someone — even a billionaire — enduring pressure to consume alcohol.

I’m not a huge fan of Guinness (basically liquified pumpernickel), so i get it. But I’d like to think one of the best parts of being worth a quarter trillion dollars is not having to drink stuff you don’t like to be accepted by the bros.

— Jonah Goldberg (@JonahDispatch) October 13, 2026

What was this coercive setup? It's this, the "Cheeky Pint" podcast:

The host of the podcast, John Collison, is Irish, and he seems to have arranged for his guests to join him in what the audience may enjoy believing is the Irishman's natural environment. 

In real life, does Zuckerberg drink at all? He seems like more of a health-focused guy. Look at this, fast year, on Theo Von's podcast:

"Down 0-2 in the National League Championship Series, the Los Angeles Dodgers are going to consider the unfathomable... benching superstar Shohei Ohtani."

"'Yeah, I mean, obviously it hasn’t been good,' manager Dave Roberts told The Athletic on Monday, after the Dodgers’ 7-4 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 2. 'He doesn’t feel great. I think for me, it’s having a conversation with him tomorrow, kind of try to figure out what’s best for him, what’s best for us'..... Ohtani’s at-bats have been unrecognizable. Throughout October, a clearly compromised Ohtani has been getting beat on fastballs, and he’s rarely pulling the ball or hitting it hard.... He has attempted to shorten his swing and slap balls the other way.... In Game 2, Ohtani went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.... A clear sign of how uncomfortable Ohtani is at the plate? Leading off the sixth against Brewers left-handed reliever JoJo Romero, Ohtani showed bunt...."

From "As Shohei Ohtani struggles, Dodgers will discuss benching superstar in Game 3" (NYT).

Top comment at the NYT: "Whole country rooting for the Brewers right now."

Sunrise.

"Is 'changing careers in middle age' a completely different article or a sardonic way to say these children are halfway through with their lives?"

I comment, sarcastically, at a Facebook post put up by my son John:

Tweet found after prompting A.I. with "get me up to speed on the Talarico-had-a-nervous-breakdown craze."

I’ve never even been to Ohio 😂

— James Talarico (@jamestalarico) October 12, 2026

What?! Never been to Ohio? That's got to be disqualifying. How can we have a Senator who's never been to Ohio?

Parody opportunity:

My contribution to the parody contest:

"The color, I think, for many people maybe has been drained out of life..."

"... and when they were to point at it, maybe, if the reality is, yeah, dude, you're distracted all the time, and you scroll easily forgettable largely gray homogenous slop on a daily basis and your body is made out of everything you put in your mouth and your brain is made out of everything that you put into your eyes and ears you think about what that consumption pattern is like you are basically feeding yourself fast food for your amygdala on a daily basis...."

Said Chris Williamson on the new episode of the "Modern Wisdom" podcast, titled "Why Life Feels So Dull All The Time (and how to fix it)."

He's talking with Robert Greene, who has a new book called "The Law of the Sublime" (commission earned). Maybe he's got the answer to our problem of colorlessness. 

Williamson prompts:

"Federal agents search Rep. Ilhan Omar’s home as part of a criminal investigation, AP sources say."

AP reports.

The search was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations agents, said the people... More details about the investigation and its focus were not immediately clear, though Vice President JD Vance last May signaled that the Trump administration would investigate Omar for immigration fraud allegations, which she has denied...  The Justice Department said in a statement Monday that HSI agents executed a judicially authorized search warrant....

"Will you meet me in the middle? Will you meet me in the air?"

Sunrise.

Talk about whatever you like in the comments. For us, it's time to watch the Brewers game.

"I hate travel. Just the slog of it. I like sleeping in my own bed."

Said Grace Coddington, quoted in "At Home: Grace Coddington/Inside the fashion stylist and creative director's ‘very catty’ East Hampton retreat" (NYT).

That's a gift link — like all NYT links — so you can see the very bed where she prefers to sleep and lots of other rooms in the cozy, catty house. The cattiness is in the artworks, not a lot of real cats, though there is one real cat, seen in 2 of the photos. I really like this house, especially with its tiny guest cottage, used as an office.

Speaking of travel — I'm a connoisseur of travel critique — I wanted to show you...