Jessica Zafra's Blog, page 38

A real-life monster tale: The Beast of Gevaudan

The beast was known for killing mostly women and children, who would’ve been easier targets. (Musée Fantastique de la Bête du Gévaudan) The monster’s first victim was Jeanne Boulet, a 14-year-old girl watching her sheep. Her death was followed by others, almost exclusively women and children. Throughout 1764, the brutal attacks—victims with their throats torn […]

A list of movie and TV heroines who kicked ass in the dark ages before Wonder Woman

Action Women Movie Montage from ClaraDarko on Vimeo. Lali sent me this. Okay, lots of people haven’t seen Aliens, Buffy or Xena. Maybe they’re too young to have seen them and they didn’t grow up in pop culture-mad households. But surely they’ve seen Marvel movies, and Black Widow isn’t exactly bupkiss, even if they haven’t […]

How to get your children to read

Read How to Raise a Reader. This tip worked in my case. My mother used to read fairy tales to me. Then I would repeat them to my stuffed animals. Eventually I got tired of telling the same stories so I looked at the books myself. Read out loud, every day. Any book. You can […]

Sensible breakfasts for people with zero cooking skills (who are rushing somewhere)

I can boil water, nuke things in the microwave, and operate complicated espresso machines. That is the full range of my kitchen skills, unless you count calling food delivery services and being called “Sir” by the operators. Since I do not cook, the two basic food groups in my house are coffee and oatmeal. I […]

Proof that no one can drive safely while texting

So there you are, driving to school or work or whatever when your phone buzzes. “I’ll just look at my phone for one second,” you think. “It will only be a second and I should be fine—right?” Wrong. Let’s say you are traveling at some speed v and you take just one second to glance […]

Our next Writing Boot Camp is on July 22 and 29, 2017 so book a place now!

You’ve always wanted to write, but you don’t know how to get started. You used to write, but you haven’t done it in a while and you feel rusty. You’re sort of interested in writing, but you’re afraid to even admit it. You’ve started many stories, but you ran out of steam. You think you […]

Here’s a lucrative new industry: Mistress-dispelling, or as we would call it, Querida-banishing.

An escalating divorce rate shows the depth of gender inequality in Chinese society. Illustration by Malika Favre China’s Mistress-Dispellers How the economic boom and deep gender inequality have created a new industry by Jiayang Fan Yu, a gentle-looking man in his early forties, with the placid demeanor of a yoga instructor, works as a mistress […]

Albert Einstein on our mightiest weapon

In a long life I have devoted all my faculties to reach a somewhat deeper insight into the structure of physical reality. Never have I made any systematic effort to ameliorate the lot of men, to fight injustice and suppression, and to improve the traditional forms of human relations. The only thing I did was […]

We’re celebrating my cat Saffy’s 17th birthday! Today she is The Oracle (and temporary shrink).

Saffron Sassafras Saoirse Schmitz Zafra Safin-Sprungli Happy Birthday, Saffy! Saffy is our very clever cat who specializes in the planning and execution of revenge plots. She is cranky, possessive, and the master of the side-eye. Her favorite activities are sitting on my notebook as I’m writing, sitting on the keyboard as I’m typing, and sharpening […]

Is your pet lonely? Take this quiz.

Drogon Targaryen-Targaryen explains the ways of the household to the new cat, Jacob Totoro Howlett. Take the Lonely Pets Quiz. Additional question: When you’re at the computer: – The cat sits on the keyboard, preventing you from typing. – The cat immediately goes to her favorite websites. – The cat ignores you to play with […]