Dựa theo lời kể của ông Trịnh Văn Sỹ, nhà thơ Nguyễn Quang Thiều viết lại những ký ức về gia đình, nhất là người mẹ và người chị của ông Sỹ. Mẹ ông mồ côi cha mẹ từ nhỏ. Đến khi lấy chồng, bà trở thành vợ lẽ thứ ba. Sau khi bỏ chồng ra đi (vì không sinh cho ông được đứa con nào) và sau khi biết chồng mất, bà lấy chồng thứ hai nhưng lại làm vợ thứ ba. Sau khi chồng chết, bà ở vậy nuôi hai đứa con và mẹ chồng. Cuộc đời bà khổ sở từ lúc mười lăm tuổi. Đến khi bà mất, hai chị em vẫn còn nhỏ. Người chị thay thế mẹ vất vả nuôi em đi học. Những câu chuyện trong ngôi nhà của mẹ giản dị và chân thật. Tuy những ngày tháng sống khó khăn vì thiếu thốn nhưng rất tình nghĩa. Cách viết của ông Thiều cảm động nhưng không não nề. Tuy nhiên quyển sách hơi dài.

Rod Rosenstein will be on campus next week for an interview and Q&A with Judge Douglas H. Ginsburg. I was asked to design the email invitation. I have no idea what they will be talking about, but I have signed up to be there.

Since Rosenstein approved the F.B.I. raid on Michael Cohen, Trump is enraged and wanting to fire him. I hope Rosenstein will still be the Deputy Attorney General next week.

Trump is still raging about the F.B.I. raid. He tweeted, “Attorney–client privilege is dead!” For someone who always bragged that he is above the law, Trump is now implying that the law should protect him. He must be scared and paranoid. He is going down. Sadly we will go down with him.

Stormy Stormy Stormy (uh-huh) can’t you see (uh)
Sometimes your work just hippotize me (hippotize)
And I just love your flashy ways (uh-huh)
Guess that’s why they broke (the law), and you’re so paid (hah)

I put T-R-U-M-P showering in my pee pee (uh-huh)
Rolled up a M-A-G and smacked him up his booty (that’s right)
You’re fucking with a porn star (c’mon)
Get your dumbass lawyer to pay me $130,000 (hah!)
Now who’s the real dookie, meanin’ who’s really the shit
Them GOPs ride dicks, Stormy Daniels pushes the sticks.

Trump is pissed. In response to the F.B.I raid, he said, “It’s an attack on our country, in a true sense. It’s an attack on what we all stand for.” This is not an attack on our country. It’s a defense of our democracy. This is not an attack on what we all stand for. We stand up against fascism. We cannot allow our country to turn into an authoritative ruling. Trump is not above the law. If he fires Robert Mueller, his ass is done. He should just hand over his presidency now before Stormy Daniels takes him down.

Matt Apuzzo breaks the news:

The F.B.I. on Monday raided the office of President Trump’s longtime personal lawyer, Michael D. Cohen, seizing records related to several topics including payments to a pornographic-film actress.

Shit is about to go down.

Andrea Cheng writes “Why So Many Asian-American Women Are Bleaching Their Hair Blond” in The New York Times:

While it’s easy to write this off as a beauty trend, this growing community points to stirrings of change on a much larger scale, like the shaping of a new Asian-American identity.

I still prefer black natural hair.

After the kids went to bed last night, I logged onto Netflix to watch David Letterman interviewed Jay Z. The last conversation, in which the two men opened up about their infidelity, struck a chord with me—not because they cheated on their wives, but because they did not give up on their marriage.

I can proudly say that I have not cheated on my wife and never will as long as we stay together. I also will not give up on our marriage no matter how difficult the circumstance will be. Living with someone for ten years is a long time. Of course, we have conflicts and challenges, but I will always love her. Loving another person is hard, especially when you don’t feel the reciprocation. I don’t blame her.

Ten years in our relationship seem to wear her down. Seeing her miserable and taciturn made me wonder why she still stuck with me all these years. The obvious reason has to be the kids. Without the boys, I don’t know if she would still be here with me.

Next month will mark our 10^th anniversary. It is one of my proudest and greatest accomplishments in life. I could not have asked for a better partner. She is the love of my life. If it is up to me, I will be with her for the rest of my life; however, I cannot make that commitment by myself. I don’t know if things will ever change; therefore, I am grateful for every single day that she is still with me. I am not hoping for the next 10, 20, or 30 years together. I just want to wake up the next day knowing I still have a wonderful family. As long as we stayed committed, I will never give up.

Karin Jones writes about sleeping with married men in The New York Times:

Physical intimacy with other human beings is essential to our health and well-being. So how do we deny such a need to the one we care about most? If our primary relationship nourishes and stabilizes us but lacks intimacy, we shouldn’t have to destroy our marriage to get that intimacy somewhere else. Should we?

Good question.

Austin Frakt:

Many of us are busy at work, but even at home, there is a lot of work to do. Meal preparation, cleaning, yard work, home maintenance and child care consume considerable time for the typical American.

Much of it isn’t fun, contributing to friction in relationships and taking time away from more pleasant activities that increase happiness. Instead of bickering over who will do the vacuuming, would family life be better if we just outsourced the job?

One survey found that 25 percent of people who were divorced named “disagreements about housework” as the top reason for getting a divorce.

We argue over chores, but they won’t break us up. It’s something else and let’s not get into that. As for chores, I don’t mind paying for them. I just feel bad that other people have to do the shit that I don’t want to do myself.