Idk, it's a slow news week and I thought this was cute:

In German, Kevinismus ("Kevinism") is the negative preconception German people have of Germans with trendy, exotic-sounding first names considered to be an indicator of a low social class.[1] The prototypical example is Kevin, which like most such names came to Germany from Anglo-American culture. Specifically, the 1990 comedy Home Alone, the German title of which Kevin - Allein zu Haus includes the hero's name, is credited with making Kevin to be the most popular boys' name chosen in Germany in 1991.[2] Kevin Costner's 1990 film Dances with Wolves is often cited as an additional factor.[3] Both films were released in Germany in 1991 and were the two most successful films there in that year.[4]

Sometimes Chantalismus ("Chantalism") is used as a female equivalent, from the French name Chantal.[5]

Way cuter than that French rape trial! (Which is so unbelievably horrible. This is the least of anyone's concerns, but I'm sort of curious about what their marriage was like for the first 40 years. Based on Wikipedia, it sounds like it had its ups and downs, and then took a hard right turn when they retired to Mazan. Like, was he mostly-not a monster until age 60, and then cracked? Or are there years of him raping people outside the family prior to then? Wikipedia just says that he got caught taking upskirt photos in 2010.)

Greetings from Santa Fe! (We leave today and head on to Colorado.)

1. I have one incredibly depressing link:

Texas is putting up dozens of billboards in Mexico and Central American countries warning migrants of the dangers of trying to come to the U.S., Gov. Greg Abbott said Thursday.

The billboards will offer bleak messages in multiple languages. "Many girls who try to migrate to Texas are kidnapped," one will say. "Your wife and daughter will pay for their trip with their bodies," will read another. A third will ask, "How much did you pay to have your daughter raped?"

2. To balance that out, I have a vague musing from one of the podcasts we listened to yesterday. The two hosts were saying that they are both bad at being by themselves. They both said they had to busy themselves and maybe put the TV on. This is so foreign to me!

But it's not just because my house is too crazy - they both have had full households as well. (When I was single, I was sometimes deeply lonely, but I didn't necessarily want company. The loneliness was a bit more existential.)

Are you bad at being by yourself? I'm guessing this might be a divide between who chooses to be a chatty podcast host, and who chooses to be a chatty internet commenter.

I thought this article on the vagus nerve was interesting!

The [vagus nerve stimulation] VNS device currently used for epilepsy, which delivers a pulse every few minutes, is a direct descendant of Zabara's invention. A pivotal study demonstrated that it cut the frequency of seizures by 45 percent on average after a year. It is believed to work mainly by stimulating the afferent fibers, the ones leading up to the brain.

The treatment had a remarkable side effect: over time it made people happier. Their mood lightened even if they still had frequent seizures. According to Tracey, when doctors told these patients they could remove the implant, many of them replied, "No, leave it in. It makes me feel good." This anecdotal evidence prompted the device maker to begin marketing its vagus nerve stimulator as an innovative treatment for depression.

The article is full of caveats and cautions not to read too much into it, which is how you know it's real.