THE SHARING ECONOMY
“Smart/funny/pretty,” tweeted New York Times media columnist David Carr about TIME’s Feb. 9 cover on the rise of companies, like Uber and Airbnb, that enable people to rent out their cars, clothes, homes and more. Joel Stein “skillfully brought together” the way such companies have changed our behavior, added John Hamann of River Falls, Wis. But J. Dobosz, an occupational therapist from New York City, was critical of remarks by Katherine Lugar, head of the American Hotel & Lodging Association, who told Stein that one of Airbnb’s advantages was not having to pay for renovations to accommodate customers with disabilities: “We’re all human and deserve access to our community.”
ADVICE FOR COLLEGE-BOUND WOMEN
Susanna Schrobsdorff’s widely shared essay on advice to her college-bound teen daughter spurred strong reactions from readers, mostly positive. “Who is this writer who is making me tear up?” wrote Joseph Belmont of Frankfort, N.Y. “Who is this completely aware parent who is bringing wonderful but scary images back to me?” But Marilyn Adams of McLean, Va., objected to Schrobsdorff’s saying she would defend her child’s right to “wear what you want and have just-for-fun sex if you want” despite hoping she’d make different choices: “The era of impulsive ‘fun’ sex is long gone, and what a girl wears does matter.” Claudia Allen of Emmaus, Pa., advocated teaching boys about their responsibilities as sexual partners–the “one huge hole in all this talk.”
BORIS JOHNSON
In an exclusive interview with Catherine Mayer, London’s mayor revealed that he was a social liberal and that it would not be “disastrous” if the U.K. left the European Union–remarks that quickly drew media attention. Some readers, however, were more focused on Johnson’s famously unruly hair. “The probable future Prime Minister may have much to his name,” wrote Frank Tolone of Phoenix, “but he surely is in desperate need of a comb.”
LIGHTBOX
Before directing Fifty Shades of Grey (see story on page 38), Sam Taylor-Johnson was known for her personal and at times jarring art photography–as in Self Portrait Suspended, above. She says that’s part of what drew her to Fifty Shades, which she calls “a fairy tale that was very dark and very adult. I hadn’t seen anything cinematic like this before, so it felt like it was new territory.” To see more of her work, visit lightbox.time.com.
NOW ON TIME.COM
How do laughing and knuckle cracking affect your health? Our health team provides answers to these and other questions (samples below) in the new series “You Asked.” Got a question? Send it to health@time.com or on Twitter to @timehealth with hashtag #youasked. And read the answers at time.com/you-asked.
BONUS TIME
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Is it bad to eat the same thing every day?
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Your hands and feet dominate your feeling of overall thermal comfort, so stock up on the gloves and boot liners.
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