The horoscopes were close to the comics in the Athens Messenger, so I read them growing up, as one of those kids who always had to be reading. Ours were silly and self-conscious, but I’m still fond of horoscopes as a concept, in a “You have to cultivate a few nonsensical beliefs to keep things interesting” kind of way. Madame Clairvoyant at the Toast writes horoscopes I like. “This month is for watching your future open up, strange and golden in front of you,” she writes of March. “The world is full of more goodness than you know yet.”

I really hope so. If all else fails, I can just remember that Neko Case exists, but it’s an uphill battle sometimes.

• This week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced it would start limiting access to pain medications, in an effort to combat opiate abuse — not an imaginary epidemic. However, this bodes ill for chronic pain patients and doctors alike. Author, activist and academic India Valentin took to Twitter shortly after the news broke to lay out the stakes.
• Much as we would like to try, we must not forget Ted Cruz. The New Republic‘s Clancy Martin shared “A Most Hated Man,” which is unnerving not just for its insights into why we like or dislike Cruz, but also for how it complements the “Trump is bad, but Cruz is dangerous” meme.
• Guess I didn’t leave this behind in the Bush years — I’m once again turning to The West Wing for solace. For everyone else in that boat, Joshua Malina (speechwriter &c Will Bailey) is finally dropping his episode-by-episode podcast… soon. I’m optimistic about this one, not only because Malina is consistently entertaining on Twitter, but I love Song Exploder, and his partnering with producer Hrishikesh Hirway spells great things for us all.
• The state fossil of my home state, Ohio, is the trilobite. The state fossil of my second home, Illinois, is having its day in the sun. One, it’s called the Tully Monster, and two, scientists just figured out what it looked like and what it’s related to. Click that link, you need the laugh.
• This is me trying to remember the goodness of the world. In September, BBC Magazine* profiled the last woman who makes sea silk — an ancient art kept alive by one Jewish Sardinian. It’s so poetic; perhaps Madame Clairvoyant isn’t just making it all up.*(Help me, fellow copy editors, the formatting is getting me on this one.)