What Fresh Hell is This?

The Mom Weekly Volume 142: April 28, 2026 

You can read this, or any other previous Mom Weeklies, by going to the home page here.

Notes

I don’t have much to say in this “notes” section, so:

Remember how much I love you,

Mom

What Fresh Hell is This?

I remember vividly how the phrase  “What fresh hell is this?” came into my head, unbidden. 

It was fall  2019 when I was in Washington, D.C., for a conference, and stopped at Dunkin for coffee. I was given a paper straw with my iced coffee. A paper straw that almost immediately disintegrated. I had quite the time drinking my iced coffee. Apparently, DC had recently outlawed plastic straws. Oy vey.

I actually took a photo of it, and tracked that photo down, and I’m using it to illustrate this weekly. I still laugh when I think about it.

The person who popularized the term, “What fresh hell is this?” Is Dorothy Parker, the 20th century writer and quipster, who had many a “wicked witticism,” many of which are quite sad and amusing at the same time. She also struggled with a lot in her life.

Anyway, the term “what fresh hell is this?” can be applied to so many things in our current world. I often think “what fresh hell is this?”, truth be told, when a notification pops up on my phone with some bonkers line comes out from a certain world leader whose name rhymes with bump. 

Just like avoiding paper drinking straws, we can avoid as much as possible the “fresh hell” our world, and social media, wants to serve up to us 24/7.  

Dad and I have worked out (well, actually, I have strongly encouraged!) that he can’t tell me about world events or bonkers quotes from people after mid-afternoon, because it is counterproductive. It disturbs any normal person, and there’s nothing to be gained by stirring up my emotions and outrage about things I can do nothing about, especially late in the day.

There’s a concept that you shouldn’t try to solve big problems or talk about tough issues after dinnertime, because typically, people have less emotional bandwidth then. Much better to have specific times that we discuss things, or talk about world events, in a time when you can figure out how you’d like to tackle it, or what you can do about it (give money to a charity, inform yourself, or write about it).

To conclude with something positive about the drinking straw “fresh hell” — I was at Sam’s Club the other day, and the straw wrapper said something like “compostable” or “biodegradable.” I had a minute of worry (and a second of muttering, “what fresh hell …. “ before I opened the straw. Fortunately, the technology has gotten way better since 2019, and the straw was just fine. The straws looked like, and performed like, normal straws. See, things can get better!

Interesting/Notable:

The Nicest “Jeopardy!” Champion Dissects His Losing Game (WSJ Gift Link)

We have so enjoyed watching Jamie Ding win many games over the last few weeks. It was sad to see him lose, but this is a nice article.

How Ben Sasse Is Living Now That He is Dying—NY Times Gift Link

I shared a Ben Sasse interview a couple of months ago. He is the former senator who is dying of pancreatic cancer. He’s still doing a lot of interviews, and here’s one with Ross Douthat. (NY Times Gift Link). He’s also got a podcast called “Not Dead Yet” that he does with a journalist friend. I’ve only listened to part of one episode, but it’s actually pretty funny.