Lessons, lately.

We visited the Good Housekeeping Research Institute (Think: Seal of approval on your best blender) and learned that there's a whole lot of testing and people with PhDs in chemistry that go on behind your dry, flaky back. Does your moisturizer claim to keep you soft for 24 hours? Well it damn well better or it ain't getting a sticker.

And then David Granger (Esquire editor) showed up for lunch at Good Housekeeping (the mags are in the Hearst building together). I imagined Esquire putting its large, awesome, feet up on the table and sipping a neat gin while GH wiped the table of any crumbs and smudges. I liked the contrast of editors.

One thing I'm learning this summer: It doesn't matter what magazine--a good editor shares similar skills with other good editors.

Also, I had a chance to see Michael Hastings (his Rolling Stone article catalyzed the firing of Gen. Stanley McChrystal) speak in a small (think: 12 people) lunch setting. He says journalism isn't dying. He said it. I believe it. I needed to hear that. Thank you. My favorite quote of his: "I didn't destroy his career. President Obama fired him."