Morning Coffee (3/29/13)

Happy Friday!

Why a Failed Pilot Actually Means Success

Greatest Dad Ever Creates a Calvin & Hobbes Nursery Complete with Tree Fort

History Quiz - Easter Bunnies

Prince William Getting a Reality Show, Sort Of

The cutest quiz ever: Do you know Bo?

A fish merchant amassed an amazing collection of Irish historical artifacts.

The 5 Cheesiest Tips You'll Ever Need

And a lavender cocktail sounds like a nice way to end Friday.

TV Trailer: Da Vinci's Demons

God help me but I am SO EXCITED about this one.

Morning Coffee (3/28/13)

Obituary of the day: Rabbi Who Cried to the Jews of Buchenwald: ‘You Are Free’

This is a fascinating interview about Coronation Street, and now I want to start watching.

These Peeps dioramas are just incredible.

Your dumb publishing article of the day: "With a name like Gone Girl, you’d imagine the novel might only appeal to women. . . ." FFS.

Oooh, Sara Bareilles is releasing an album this summer!

With this week's 'Wolverine' and 'Iron Man 3' trailers, has our spoiler culture reached an event horizon?

Is Sherlock Holmes in the public domain?

This Edwardian Opulence exhibit sounds great. Can't wait to go.

Morning Coffee (3/27/13)

Alert: Bomb Girls season two premieres on Reelz tonight. So excited!

Obama to name Julia Pierson as new Secret Service director. First female in the post!

Mike Bloomberg Not Smiling

I was actually wondering this yesterday: How to pronounce Jeroen Dijsselbloem.

Check out the trailer for AMC's summer crime drama Low Winter Sun.

Confessions of an Extras Casting Director

I love The Onion: Stars Of Canceled Show Terrified Fans Will Raise Money For Movie

Ooh: 3D technology brings medieval books to life

Morning Coffee (3/26/13)

Ben & Jerry's Free Cone Day will be April 9th!

IRS calls 'Star Trek' parody video a mistake

I'm not even that huge an Iron Man fan, but aww, Pepper stuff gets me every time. (That link goes to a still from the new movie. Just mentioning in case anyone is super conscientious about spoilers.)

Seth Gabel is returning to Arrow, and you can see some episode stills now.

Steph Pearl-McPhee contemplates what knitters can be expected to know.

There is no word for this story but "adorable:" Pope Francis calls Buenos Aires kiosk to cancel newspaper subscription

Presented without comment: Essex school bans triangular flapjacks after injury

Ooh, Grigory Chkhartishvili (a.k.a. Boris Akunin) is writing a history of Russia.

Morning Coffee (3/25/13)

NPR reports on the important science: Cookies really taste better when dipped in tea.

I don't agree with this 100%, but it's an interesting read: The Case Against Fans

Fascinating: The Hoax Exposer

Whoa: Listen to the young Beatles sing "Besame Mucho."

Let's bring back the Ploughman's Lunch.

How air-traffic control can use television signals to plot aircraft

The American Who Shocked Victorian England by Picking the World’s Strongest Lock

Johnnie won’t walk out: Why Scotch-whisky makers want to stay in the European Union

Bo Obama Hunts Easter Eggs

Awwww.

Morning Coffee (3/22/13)

Happy/fun/positive links for Friday!

To a very specific demographic, this will be the BEST THING EVER: Anne of Cleves Gables

New dinosaur species named after its five-year-old discoverer

Aww, adorable new baby pictures of the universe!

Castle fans, here are some photos from the milestone 100th episode.

I usually love Texas Monthly for its crime features, but they just hired a BARBECUE EDITOR and I find that delightful.

Nancy Pelosi's granddaughter would like you to know that only leaders of the free world have the authority to send her to bed.

Here's an adorable royal Tube appearance.

And here's a delightful interview with my boss, Maureen Johnson, about her books, Jack the Ripper, why mint chocolate chip is the best, and more.

Morning Coffee (3/21/13)

Oh dear: Easter strike at the BBC?

Sometimes The Onion is perfect: Find The Thing You're Most Passionate About, Then Do It On Nights And Weekends For The Rest Of Your Life

Interesting: A chart of how much people in different countries spend on food.

Is it time for home rule for Orkney, Shetland, and the Western Isles?

Which airline extras are worth it?

Oooh: Birds with four wings?

"To the shopper, Amazon, with its records of browsing and buying, is not a store nor a website, but more like a ghost limb, for grabbing whatever is needed or wanted."

The father of all men is 340,000 years old

Morning Coffee (3/20/13)

Crabtree & Evelyn now has nail polish. You're welcome/I'm sorry.

The House Across From Westboro Baptist Is Getting a Rainbow Pride Paint Job Right Now

A Pete's Dragon remake? Sigh.

Useful infographic: The Shelf Life of Food

The Washington Post is trying a paywall. I hope they don't take away my Wonkblog.

Interesting read on a hijab ban in a region of Russia.

Awesome nuns support themselves via cheesecake

Ted Kennedy Jr. Is (Finally) Ready for the Family Business

Morning Coffee (3/19/13)

Whoa: Suspect in Daniel Pearl Killing Is Arrested in Pakistan

And another whoa: FBI says it has identified the thieves in Gardner Museum heist

In case you, too, were wondering exactly what was going on: Your Complete Guide To The SimCity Disaster

I'm always up for some good Stonehenge speculation.

38 Maps You Never Knew You Needed

Pope cookies!

Making musical instruments in Germany

Don't buy gluten-free just for fun if you don't have a related health issue, folks, because you're wasting money.

Morning Coffee (3/18/13)

Oh, Monday. Again.

Fascinating: ‘Iliad’ publication date revealed by geneticists

Brother of boy whose identity was stolen by police spies demands apology

I wouldn't want to spend the money on it personally, but I can see why dinner kits are tempting - especially when it comes to getting tiny quantities of rare ingredients for specific recipes.

Cult Beer Alters Town, but Not the Monks Who Make It

I love Cornwall.

Against adjoinages.

Ooh: Self-portraits by famous authors

The Secret Plot to Rescue Napoleon by Submarine

Morning Coffee (3/15/13)

Happy Friday! Let's try for a Friday of positive/cute/funny links . . .

The Archbishop of Philadelphia has ruled that an 11-year-old girl is indeed allowed to play football even though she's female.

Ooh, here's the Women's Prize for Fiction Longlist. (Formerly known as the Orange Prize.) I have read . . . one of these books. No, wait, two!

Digg may come to our rescue: They're building an RSS reader.

Finally: CBS has a full episode streaming app.

Chris Hayes is moving to 8 p.m. every weekday on MSNBC. Yay Chris!

Ooh: Google brings Bletchley Park to its Cultural Institute

Is there a homicidal maniac in your book club? (No, it's funny, I swear.)

I love this sort of thing: Kids and their toys from around the world

Morning Coffee (3/14/13)

Google Reader is going away. Yes, now is the time to panic. So far, the best replacement I've found is The Old Reader, but I'll keep you updated. Read about migration and their future plans here.

And we have a new pope! Here's a profile of the man who would become Pope Francis.

Today in shows you should be watching: The Killing season two is now on Netflix, and previous seasons of The Good Wife have made it to Amazon Prime and will be on Hulu Plus in the fall.

Clear your calendars, Comcast customers: TV Catch-Up Week is coming.

Polaroid and Instagram are teaming up.

This piece about Bob Woodward's John Belushi book is fascinating.

A dark, live-action Beauty and the Beast? Yes, please.

Big Breaks for Blowjobs: The Dark Underbelly of the Miss USA Pageant

Morning Coffee (3/13/13)

Stolen Rembrandt recovered!

Whoa: Check out this amazing Lego Hogwarts.

This piece about treating children with severe food allergies was fascinating.

Ooh! Kingsmead Quarry dig unearths Neolithic settlement

A Midwife for Harrowing Memoirs

Do not want: A tablet simple enough for women

On the other hand: Vintage Infographics: Where Women Worked in 1920

Maybe you're gonna be the one that saves me

Morning Coffee (3/12/13)

Sweden's Princess Lilian has died, and her story is fascinating.

I miss Legends of the Hidden Temple.

The very best responses to Safe Haven's batsh*t ending

Interesting: Frankenfoods reduce global warming

The Romanov Legacy Finds New Life

Believe it or not, Mark Sanford is making a comeback.

How the Boy Scouts Became the Heroes of the 1913 Parade for Women's Suffrage

Distant Cheeses, Local Farmers: Cheddar Across Continents

Morning Coffee (3/11/13)

Happy Monday? Blergh. I hate DST, because yesterday just felt weird and then this morning my alarm clock went off and WHY WAS IT THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT?

Not to start the week on a down note, but I'm still so sad that this third season of The Hour isn't happening.

For International Women's Day (belatedly): Women's political rights around the world

And here's the annual look at whether women's books are being reviewed.

Inside Adam Levine's $35 Million-Plus a Year Empire

Fascinating and heartbreaking and hopeful: Nora Ephron's Final Act

Belgium is making their stamps taste like chocolate.

Have you seen Lady Clementina Hawarden's photographs? You should.

Wow: The Professor, the Bikini Model, and the Suitcase Full of Trouble

Morning Coffee (3/8/13)

People seemed to like the all-positive/funny/cute links last Friday, so I'm going to keep that up on a weekly basis for a while. Happy weekend!

Prince Harry in a Paddington Bear apron

Adorable rabbit wears life jacket, receives hydrotherapy.

The funniest thing I've read all week: How to eat: baked potatoes

A food writer discovers her roots in Sicily.

So true: Pretty Cute Watching Boston Residents Play Daily Game Of ‘Big City’

Cutest police witness statement ever: "I chase him. I bite him. Bad man. He tasty. Good boy. Good boy Peach."

Choose your own mitten adventure!

Check out some March royal brides of the last 150 years.

Morning Coffee (3/7/13)

You should read my friend Hannah on Mattel's ridiculous "women don't know how to play with toy cars" thing.

Fear of a Black Pundit: Ta-Nehisi Coates raises his voice in American media

Whoa: Trouble at the Bolshoi Ballet. To put it mildly.

Don't Blame the Victim, or the Photographer

This piece about figuring out which portraits are actually Mozart is fascinating.

Inside the Demise of NBC's Once-Promising Comedy Up All Night

How the Mango Became the Fruit of Mao

Treasures in the Wall

Morning Coffee (3/6/13)

The Duchess of Cambridge may have hinted that she's having a girl. Maybe.

I am so excited about this Agatha Christie movie in the works.

On the other hand, this news has made me much less interested in The American Baking Competition.

Andrew Preston's Sword of the Spirit, Shield of Faith has won Canada's Charles Taylor Prize. I actually heard a long interview with Preston on the CBC's As It Happens over the weekend, and it was fascinating and I recommend it.

9 Houses Built Just for Spite. Shockingly, a full third of them are in Massachusetts.

English whisky? Sure, I'd try it.

The American Government's Advice for Yeti Hunters, 1959

I'm sure you will be shocked to learn that Coke uses complicated algorithms to make its orange juice.

Movie Trailer: Renoir

Ooooh. Theoretically this will be in limited release in the U.S. at the end of the month.

Morning Coffee (3/5/13)

Wow: Escort says Menendez prostitution claims were made up

Whose Line Is It Anyway? is coming back!

Eddie Redmayne modeled for a knitting book. I actually remember that book from when it came out, but I don't think I have it.

Oh, New Hampshire: N.H. Republican Lawmakers Allege Missing Constitutional Amendment Was Purposely Deleted in 1871

Amy's, the company that makes surprisingly edible vegetarian frozen food, is starting a fast food chain. WANT.

Ha: Peanut Butter and Jelly as Interviewed by Esquire Magazine

The True-Life Horror That Inspired Moby-Dick

Soup: older than we thought.

Morning Coffee (3/4/13)

The Oxford Dictionaries' baby name generator is amazing.

This makes a pretty compelling case that New Hampshire isn't a real place.

The Ghost Writes Back

How “Golden Eagle Snatches Kid” Ruled The Internet

The New and Improved Leading Man

America's Hardest-Working Know-It-All

Is Oklahoma the Right Model for Universal Pre-K?

How Crazy Is Too Crazy to Be Executed?

Morning Coffee (3/1/13)

HAPPY FRIDAY. And YAY, IT'S MARCH. I promised you a whole post of happy/fun links to make up for yesterday, so here we go.

Depressed Wombat Cured by Hugs

We Found Our Son in the Subway

Cory Booker Helps Newarker Pop the Question

Check out the beautiful new covers for Stephanie Perkins's books.

'I Urge You to Drop E67-02': Course Syllabi by Famous Authors

See Every Single Outfit Olivia Pope Has Worn on Scandal This Season

Book cakes!

And a fun toy: Pulp-O-Mizer