Morning Coffee (2/22/19)

Time for Friday happy links! Back to all the terrible stuff tomorrow, I promise.

VERY EXCITED FOR THIS NUREYEV MOVIE.

OOH: Stieg Larsson's investigation of Swedish PM's assassination revealed in new book

!!! Mary H. K. Choi is back with another lovely, social-media tinged YA romance: Exclusive preview

This is exciting but it's weird that they don't mention they've already... done a bunch of movies? ‘American Girl’ Live-Action Movie in the Works With Mattel and MGM

Interesting: CBS Turns to Artificial Intelligence to Glean Viewers’ Emotional Responses to TV Shows

Ooh, NPR has a new history podcast!

Whoa: French Designer Uses The Spines Of Books To Create Extraordinary Dresses

Excited for this: Camryn Garrett’s Full Disclosure: Take an Exclusive First Look at the Book Cover

A bunch of my favorites are up for these YA Oscars! Go vote, YA readers!

I got 8/10: Can You Guess the Oscar Film From the IMDb Parents Guide Content Warning?

Afternoon Tea (6/22/18)

YEP: The 'Ocean's 8' lack of conflict is the most important part of its fantasy

The Great American Girl Doll Cook-Off

How Soccer Players’ Hair Became So Influential

Romance Novels for Nerds

A Brief History of Drinking Cocktails From Coconuts

Morning Coffee (4/16/18)

Me elsewhere: TV news for the week.

Check your eggs! 200 million eggs recalled after nearly two dozen were sickened with salmonella, officials say

James Comey’s Interview on ABC’s ‘20/20’: Annotated Excerpts

Here we go again: Eyeing 2020, Trump Fund-Raisers Return to Familiar Well: Small Donors

How Often Do People Use Guns In Self-Defense?

You don't say: Researchers Conclude Google's Play Store Is Likely Chock Full of Apps That Improperly Track Children

Hmm: Gmail is getting a redesign that includes a 'Confidential Mode'

...what. Dire Straits’s Rock Hall Induction Was a Weirdly Beautiful Mess

Harry Potter books unveil seven new 20th anniversary covers

Oooh: American Girl to Launch Live Musical Production This Fall

Lin-Manuel Miranda Makes His Debut as Gizmoduck in Disney's 'DuckTales'

Afternoon Tea (3/30/18)

This is a great interview: 'Failing Up' With Leslie Odom, Jr.

This soundtrack is GREAT: Jack Antonoff on the Love, Simon soundtrack: 'I wanted to go all-in'

The American Girl Doll Magazine Made Me a Feminist

The Trailblazing Woman Who Dreamed of Cheese

Fascinating: Some Anglo-Saxon Easter Customs

Afternoon Tea (1/16/18)

Tonya Harding Would Like Her Apology Now

I want to read this: Balzac’s Novel of Female Friendship

A fun piece about working at American Girl Place: Not Safe for Work

Across Indonesia’s Capital, a Legacy of Soviet-Inspired Design

A Search for a Lost Hammer Led to the Largest Cache of Roman Treasure Ever Found in Britain

Morning Coffee (8/11/17)

Finally! Time for some happy Friday links!

Ooh: Get Free Eclipse Glasses at Your Local Library

Lisa Frank pajamas!!! (At Target!)

American Girl's new Create-Your-Own tool is SO MUCH FUN.

This sounds like something your Friday might need: Watch This Adorable Video of Prince William Getting Beaten by a Little Girl at Soccer

! Japanese Scientists Discover the Secret to Un-Meltable Ice Cream

Let's go: The ‘World’s Largest Bounce House’ Is Touring America

Bookish umbrellas!

Nancy Drew Etsy stuff!!

Let's run off to the Greek islands.

Whoa: This Pocket-packed Tote Bag Is a Traveler’s Dream

Morning Coffee (2/20/17)

Me elsewhere: The week's TV news.

Benjamin Netanyahu's Art of Avoidance

I don't know why I'm bothering to be surprised by anything at this point but: Report: Trump transition ordered government economists to cook up rosy growth forecasts

President Trump’s combative, freewheeling, “fake news” press conference, explained

And this was clearly the worst part.

The first 25 days of Trump have been a zoetrope of galloping despair

Can't imagine why: Americans just experienced their biggest spike in stress in a decade

Trump, the Russian Ship and Suspicious Minds

HERO: Breitbart still hasn’t launched in France, and an activist has bought its URLs

Today in things I wish were surprising: Female Alumni of Top Colleges Still Make Less Money Than Men From Non-Selective Schools

I love this take on the boy American Girl doll.

Oh hey, it's Presidents' Day, and this is cool: This Interactive Maps Out the Lives of Former Presidents

Morning Coffee (2/16/17)

Russians in the White House? Blackmail, Disinformation, and Michael Flynn

An Important New Sign That the White House Doesn’t Want a Trade War With China

Trump holds court at Mar-a-Lago, and his rich customers get what they paid for

This is an important point: Trump doesn’t have to do something unprecedented for it to be a really bad idea

It Is Not Normal For a First Lady and Daughter to Try to Sell You Stuff

Corey Lewandowski’s Potential Clients Say He’s Bragging About Access To Trump’s Twitter Account

The president just elevated a dangerous anti-vaxxer talking point

Go away, BernieBros: New Liberal PAC Targets Democrats for Primaries

!!! Thieves steal £2m of rare books by abseiling into warehouse

Ooh, Robin Wasserman and Miranda Beverly-Whittemore talk books and rage and intense girl friendships.

The First Observations of Sea Ice Came From 8th-Century Irish Monks in Iceland

Quiz: New American Girl Doll or Your Ex-Boyfriend?

Morning Coffee (1/1/17)

Happy New Year! Thanks so much for reading.

NEWS: If you'd like to hear more from me about the books I'm reading, come subscribe to my newsletter! It's basically a little diary I'm sending out a few times a week about reading and life.

How to survive 2017: believe in protest, barricade your uterus and tax yourself

Of course they did: Mar-a-Lago sold tickets to New Year’s Eve party with Trump

Oh yay, the American Girl doll of the year is an African-American girl named Gabriela, the first non-white Girl of the Year in several years.

How Russians Pay to Play in Other Countries

I think this gets a lot right about the discussion around Milo Yiannopolous's book deal.

A Majority Agreed She Was Raped by a Stanford Football Player. That Wasn’t Enough.

The most dangerous thing about fake news sites is not what they say, but how they say it

I contributed to this roundup of the Best Female Performances on TV in 2016

What Happened To This Cult Leader's Lost Treasure?

Huh: Scottish spirits are soaring (but it’s gin, not whisky)

I'm going to join the Book Riot 2017 Read Harder Challenge. Join me!

Morning Coffee (10/10/16)

Me elsewhere: Your TV news for the week.

Trump, companies accused of mistreating women in at least 20 lawsuits

Her love of research is one of my favorite things about her: Hillary Clinton Already Knows The Bad Thing You Said

From before the debate, but still: Inside Trump Tower, an Increasingly Upset and Alone Donald Trump

Charting Boko Haram's Rapid Decline

Hillary Clinton and the Resurrection of Old-School Hysteria

That Seventh-Grade Bully Is Running for President

The Definitive Map of America’s Creepy Clown Epidemic

Huh: Amazon Prime Now Offers Magazines

This piece about the creation of Addy Walker (the first black American Girl doll) is fascinating.

George Washington's 'racy' letter about a donkey goes on sale

Morning Coffee (1/12/16)

Thanks to my newest Patreon patron, Jack! That puts me over halfway to my first goal. (I realized Patreon only shows the next goal, not the whole list; maybe I'll put them in a post here so you guys can see what I've set up?)

It's Charles Perrault's birthday and the fairy tale Google doodles are ADORABLE.

Sean Penn interviewed El Chapo. Which one of them got played?

This is a great, juicy overview: One year, two races: Inside the Republican Party’s bizarre, tumultuous 2015

The Nation He Built is a readable, comprehensive overview of President Obama's domestic policy achievements.

I have this scar! (The "This is something they'll live with for the rest of their lives" quote is interesting because that's CLEARLY TRUE and yet it's sort of surprising how little I think about it at this point. Though wait, I DID describe it to a friend last week, so maybe it comes up more than I think it does.)

What Goes Through Your Mind: On Nice Parties and Casual Racism

Insane read of the day: The Celebrity Surgeon Who Used Love, Money, and the Pope to Scam an NBC News Producer

As someone who spent the first few seasons of Gossip Girl telling anyone who would listen about the COMPLEX LITERARY PARALLELS but was disappointed in it by the end, I really enjoyed this: Gossip Girl went from being in on the joke to being the punchline (And as I read it I was astonished at how many of their crazy plotlines I had blocked out of my brain. Remember the Hilary Duff threesome???)

I appreciate that this piece on mail-order brides mentions Sarah, Plain and Tall.

Men Who Have Finally ‘Found Their Sound’ In Western Art History

Morning Coffee (11/11/15)

Me elsewhere: Agent X was fun!

The Veterans Day Google Doodle is quite nice.

Important: Here's a good overview of the threats - and, just now, arrest - at the University of Missouri.

Here's John Dickerson on last night's debate.

Vox has a very thorough explainer on the Starbucks red cup controversy that makes some interesting points about social media fame and outrage in general.

"Under the rascality test, 'the objectionable conduct must attain a level rascality that would raise an eyebrow of someone inured to the rough and tumble of the world of commerce,'" says Bissetti. Oh, New Hampshire.

Ugh: American Girl Magazine Faces Criticism for Photo of Adopted Daughter and Two Dads

Humans of New York and the Cavalier Consumption of Others

Why it's time to leave old-school SEO behind. Amen.

Sex, Drugs, And V-Neck Tees: Inside The Cult Of American Apparel

"Because there are skulls, I shouldn’t waste my time reading books or looking at flutes or having an expensive pocket-watch? You’re going to have to do a better job of persuading me that the pursuit of all interests is dust and vanity if you can’t even draw a withered laurel wreath."

Morning Coffee (10/2/15)

First: Let me say that my thoughts are, of course, with everyone affected by the terrible killings in Oregon; my dad has worked at a community college my whole life so this one hit close to home, emotionally. But I don't have anything interesting or unique to say about it, so I'll just say that I'm proud of my President and I hope, though I don't necessarily expect, that laws will change.

And now I'm going to proceed with my usual happy Friday links. Please take this in the spirit in which it is intended: a positive distraction for anyone who might need it, rather than a sign of disrespect.

Me elsewhere: Code Black was kind of boring.

ICYMI, I pulled out some of the best lines from Choire Sicha's Ina Garten profile.

This is amazing: the linguistics of shipper portmanteaux.

I loved this celebration of Goodfellas. Why am I not watching Goodfellas RIGHT NOW?

If you, like me, were confused about Kareem Abdul-Jabbar writing a Mycroft Holmes novel, I recommend this profile.

Food Network is doing a Cake Wars: Christmas series this year, because they love us and want us to be happy.

The shots of old catalogs in this piece on American Girl dolls made me so nostalgic I almost cried.

I want an Alice Roosevelt YA novel: Global Diplomacy Was in Theodore Roosevelt's Hands, But His Daughter Stole the Show

Would also read a novel about this lady: Way to go: the woman who invented Britain’s road signs

Whoaaaa, look at this map of literature. (I have some nitpicks with it, but it's GORGEOUS.)

I am very excited about the prospect of a Game of Thrones coloring book.

Look at these gorgeous illustrations from a 16th century book on herbal medicine.

A Style Guide for the Dystopia

Morning Coffee (8/11/15)

I'm back! Maybe. Let's give this a try, anyway. (Some of these links are old but I LIKED THEM.)

Shea-Porter is officially running again.

I'm so glad Target is doing away with unnecessary gender-based signs, and the comments on their blog post are pretty incredible.

Have you seen Coming Out Cards? They're pretty funny.

Why we should keep reading ‘Gone With The Wind’

This is pretty perfect: "Should you press on, the Spinster will be forced to deploy her arsenal’s biggest guns: exact recollections of anything you’ve ever said or done in front of her."

All Dolled Up: The Enduring Triumph of American Girl

The Onion: Study: U.S. Wastes 2 Million Hours Annually Figuring Out Where Tape Roll Starts

A List of Modern Relationships

Morning Coffee (6/2/15)

For the next few weeks - and, honestly, most of the summer - I've got a bunch of travel and other stuff going on, so links will probably not appear every day for a while. I'll try to post a few times a week! Thanks for understanding.

Me elsewhere: This week's TV news.

Joe Biden: “By focusing on my sons, I found my redemption”

Aww: Bethlehem senior class gives trip money to principal battling cancer

Addy Walker, American Girl

I'm not particularly into Mailer or Buckley, but this review of a book about their friendship was SO GOOD.

"While the Bergen Dispatch reviews its options we have confirmed that Bergen County does currently remain part of the State of New Jersey and that currently New Jersey is still part of the Union of states that is governed by the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights."

Interesting read on baby name regret.

If you laugh at this map, it means you're a huge map nerd

Under the Spell of the Gods: 11 Tales for Fans of Classical Mythology

Morning Coffee (2/18/14)

I'm so excited for Meryl Davis and Charlie White. Ice Network has a great gallery celebrating them.

And Willa Paskin is correct: Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir are doing a great job as figure skating announcers.

Great news: There's a national clown shortage. (I'm being sincere. I hate clowns.)

J.K. Rowling's sequel to The Cuckoo's Calling is coming in June!

Important American Girl news: They're bringing back Samantha!

And horrifying toy news: 50 Shades of Bear

The One Literary Reference You Must Know to Appreciate ​True Detective

What State Do You Actually Belong In? (I got Maine. Hmm.)

Morning Coffee (1/6/14)

Sad news: Phil Everly (of the Brothers) has died.

As has Alicia Rhett, who played India Wilkes in Gone with the Wind.

This awesome kids is petitioning American Girl for a disabled doll.

Here's last week's big snowstorm as seen from space.

I also love the snowstorm New Yorker cover.

Japanese royals pose for rare family photo for New Year

Oh, England: Boris Johnson must apologise over Beatles claim, says Liverpool mayor

17 Struggles of Having a Common Name

Morning Coffee (10/2/13)

Elsewhere: I wrote about this week's episodes of Bones and Sleepy Hollow at Read the Screen.

Okay, this I'll watch: ABC is doing a Christmas decorating reality competition show.

Was Neville Chamberlain right?

Ooh! Iron Age fort and Bronze Age burial mounds uncovered in New Forest

American Girl fashion

Love this sort of thing: King's Cross then and now

15 Things You Need to Know About Whiskey

Fascinating: Mapping a Lost City

Art, Science, and Butterfly Metamorphosis: How a 17th-Century Woman Laid the Foundations of Modern Entomology

Morning Coffee (7/31/13)

Today is my birthday and I would like someone to make me this. Or this. Wow.

Alert: Barney Frank is now on Twitter.

Would you like to see the playlist David Cameron made for the other G8 leaders? Sure you would.

10 American Girl Doll Catalogs from Your Past. OMG. I vividly remember these all through 1998, which is when I went to college and the catalogs still went to my parents' house. And even then, I remember some of them.

Speaking of American Girl, they're now doing picture books!

The Never-Ending Story: Why They're Not Getting Out From Under That Dome

Candidate Vastly Less Interesting After Correction

Queen Maureen Johnson has a new site!

Morning Coffee (4/24/13)

The Following fans, make sure you don't miss this amazing season finale trailer.

NBC now seems to be racing the CW to see who can make a real-life Hunger Games first. (Note: This is not a compliment.)

Yesterday, the Associated Press's Twitter account was hacked and tweeted out a false report of explosions at the White House. This is what the stock market did.

Today in NH state reps being idiotic and insane: NH State Rep. Suggests Boston Bombing Was ‘False Flag’ Conspiracy

This devolution has been so sad to watch: American Girls Aren't Radical Anymore

Leading Men Age, But Their Love Interests Don't

I don't necessarily agree with everything in this piece about romance novels and feminism, but it makes some good points. And one of the books mentioned, A Lady Awakened, is incredible. I tend to recommend it by saying "It's amazing! It's all about bad sex and land management theories!" Maybe I need to work on that. (But really!) I'm disappointed there was no mention of Nora Roberts, who keeps up a shockingly huge output of novels that are both feminist and reliably high-quality.

I don't watch Duck Dynasty, but Alan Sepinwall is considering some interesting ideas about the blurring boundaries between scripted and "reality" TV.