I like clothes, all right? I’m not going to apologize for that, or turn in my feminist or intellectual credentials. In fact, I’ve been so inspired by some of the excellent style bloggers out there that I’ve decided to devote my Friday post — weekly? biweekly? monthly? haven’t decided — to style blogging, both of my own outfits and Boston/Cambridge street fashion. Pictures will go under the jump, for those who aren’t interested in such things.

Unfortunately, on Friday, making pictures go under the jump was about the most I could manage, technically. There’s a lot I need to figure out about photography and lighting, and also about blog-picture layout.

Then, this weekend, I realized: this is a blog. This is a dress rehearsal. If my pictures aren’t that good, maybe you can tell me how to make them better.

If y’all don’t like my outfits, though, you’re wack. I dress great. See you after the jump!

… is online here.

Hey, friends. Please don’t be concerned about the relative lack of blogging around here. I’m doing fine — I’m just enjoying summer, and taking things easy for a change. (Almost the entire past year was spent either coping with my illness or various work emergencies, so normal life seems pretty sweet.) Keep me on your RSS feed, I’ll be posting here and there. Got some plans to update the site, and I’m planning to start style blogging fairly soon as soon as I can figure out a few things about my camera.

If there’s more or less of anything that you’d like to see on the blog, let me know. I’ve been thinking I should start blogging more about findings in the social sciences, pop culture, and possibly current events. I’ll continue to use my Twitter (robinabrahams, or you can keep up with the feed on the right-hand column) to link to articles that I think would be of interest to people who read my writing.

And, of course, there should always be room on all blogs for the occasional cute dog picture.

… is online here.

I’ll be doing a live chat today from noon-1 Eastern time on boston.com/missconduct. Come by! Chats are always fun and generally useful.

Last week, on my usual appearance on WCAP (980 FM, every Tuesday from 1:15-2pm!), Dean Johnson e-mailed me a link to this advice column for a discussion topic. Baby-touching (and pregnant-belly-touching) is a topic I’ve addressed before, but I really liked the columnist “Advice Mama,” particularly this quote:

Decide what’s right for you and your baby, and put your parenting instincts before your desire for approval. Not everyone will agree with you, but that’s pretty much par for the course along the parenting road.

So true. As I put it in my book, “You get to act, they get to judge.” And judge they will.

Advice Mama’s take also made me think of one of Aesop’s fables — the one about the old man, his son, and the donkey. Remember that one? It’s a good one to keep in mind.

… is online here.

I’m going to be participating in the opening of Petco’s new boutique store, “Unleashed,” next Thursday (June 17) from 6-8 pm at the new Wellesley store at 165 Linden Street. Here’s what the press release has to say:

Unleashed by PETCO, a community pet store iintroduced by leading pet specialty retailer PETCO, invites Boston dogs and their owners to join the Animal Rescue League of Boston for a special benefit and celebration of the human animal bond kicking off June 17, 6 – 8 pm at the Wellesley, MA store. Complete with a green carpet and “pawparrazi”, the VIP event for pets will launch a four-day fundraiser and adoption event …

Open to all Boston-area pet owners, pets will receive star treatment during the June 17 fundraiser launch event with “pawparazzi” photos of dogs strutting the green carpet, pet swag bags, bartenders serving treat bar snacks, a pet-friendly ice cream social, and giveaways. Pet owners will also be treated to hors d’oeuvres and refreshments, such as the “Cat’s Meow” and “Hair of the Dog” fizzes. In addition, the Animal Rescue League of Boston will bring over 30 adoptable pets via the Mobile Animal Transport (MAT) to meet with potential new parents and will host adoption and education events at select Boston-area locations throughout the weekend.

I’ll be doing a brief reading from the pets chapter of Mind over Manners, answering your questions on “petiquette,” and introducing some of those adorable dogs up for adoption. And yes, Mr. Improbable is really, really hoping I don’t come home with one.

I hope to see some of my fellow dog-loving readers there! (You won’t get to meet Milo, alas. He is not quite ready for prime time.)

Last week, I was immensely sad to read that Jorge Garcia’s dog Nunu died: “as we were preparing to all go to the airport Nunu was struck by a car as she crossed the street. She died in my arms,” Mr. Garcia wrote.

Poor Jorge! He loved that dog. His life must feel so strange now, with “Lost” over, living back on the mainland, with Nunu dead. This is one of the pains of the death of a pet — not only the loss of a companion, but the end of an era. We often get pets at times of transition in our lives, and when those pets die, that chapter in our life feels even more definitively closed. Mr. Garcia has shut down his “Dispatches from the Island” blog and started a new blog, for this new phase of his life. The Nunu years are over. Have you ever had a pet whose lifetime coincided with a particular phase of your life, whose passing seemed to be the end of one chapter of your story?

Before we all leave the island for good, I suppose I should reassess my earlier criticism of how Hurley’s alternative universe was played out. Since the alternaverses were only mental constructs, or purgatory, or a bardo, or some damned thing or other, the emphasis on Hurley’s weight in his alternate-universe story reflected his own insecurity, not the writers’ fat prejudice. I think there’s still room for criticism — was Hurley’s primary reason for insecurity really his weight? He seemed to not trust himself because of his earlier bouts with mental illness and his lack of education and acknowledged leadership capabilities — but I think a lot of character development got sloppy toward the end there, so I don’t feel Hurley got a particularly raw deal.

I remain impressed by the quality of the quotations on Good Earth herbal teabags. (As well as its sweet and spicy flavor.) Today’s was “Nothing is a waste of time if you use the experience wisely,” by Auguste Rodin.

I like that rather a lot. I spent a summer working as a housecleaner one year in college, which might not seemed to have had much to do with my main interests — theater and sociology — at all. But you can tell a lot about people by the inside of their houses. I decided to look on that summer as an experiential tutorial in set design and the sociology of class and taste, and I think I learned rather a lot.