In the meantime I’ve been trying to straighten out a number of issues with this blog, many of them caused by the site being hacked and others caused by some problems I have been having with the WordPress installation. If things look a bit strange here over the next few days there is repair work in progress.

More soon.

A Rugged Plant for Men, from Better Homes & Gardens.

In 1959, Better Homes and Gardens published a book titled “House Plants.” I didn’t discover this book until this afternoon. I don’t know how I made it this far without it. I had previously underestimated the influence of proper houseplant selection on proving one’s own masculinity. Luckily, I read the page titled “Hardy beauties for a man’s office” today and learned that all I need to do is get a nice Fiddleleaf fig (pictured above), place it next to a wood-paneled wall and sit down for a satisfying smoke on my davenport (or sofa). I can almost taste the Scotch now (which inevitably would have been procured for me by an adoring female, who can’t resist the manly charms of my houseplants).

It also helps to put philodendrons next to eagle-themed paperweights.