Review Mode: You Can’t Fly Solo If You Suck at Parties
If I'm not gonna bring a party buddy for my own sake, then I should do it for the people around me!
Review Mode
Welcome to Review Mode, a biweekly newsletter where writer and comedian Carson Olshansky marks up their social interactions, mining their, like, medical-grade self-monitoring for your reading pleasure.
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Latest posts
Review Mode: Don’t Sing Along If You Don’t Know the Words
Especially not when the song is “Ho Hey,” and it’s while the Lumineers guy is pointing a microphone in your face in front of thousands of people
Review Mode: What’s the Right Amount of Neurotic to Be About This?
Or: when the ever-changing norms of Partiful etiquette intersect with the ever-changing norms of new relationship etiquette
Review Mode: You Blew Your Compliment Load Too Early!
If you’re introduced to a bunch of people you admire all at once, you can’t be too effusive with the first one, or else what’ll you say to the others?
Review Mode: When in Doubt, Go With “Great to See You”
It’s better to be told “Actually, we’ve never met” than “Actually, we’ve met four times.”
Review Mode: Just Leave It at “Congratulations,” Killjoy
If a dear friend is telling you their good news, you REALLY don’t need to tell them about the logistical challenges that accompany that news.
Review Mode: Don’t Reassure Someone About Something They Don’t Feel Bad About Yet
If you’re going to console someone about how they did, first you should probably double-check that that’s what they’re upset about.
Review Mode: Sometimes You're Allowed to Assume Two People Are Fckng
Sure, you can unlearn reductive ideas about romantic vs. platonic expressions of intimacy, but sometimes if two people are all over each other, it might JUST be that they're hooking up.
Review Mode: Should I Not Out You as Having Kissed Me?
When you’ve got any kind of shared history with a friend, what are the baseline assumptions around how much you’re allowed to talk about it?
Review Mode: Try to Avoid Giving Your Acquaintances Panic Attacks
If I didn’t want to alarm anyone, then I probably shouldn’t have used language that was INCREDIBLY ALARMING.