Afternoon Tea (6/3/19)

Memories of Massacres Were Long Suppressed Here. Tourists Now Retrace the Atrocities.

A NatGeo TV Drama Is 'Inspired' By A 1989 Ebola Crisis In The U.S. How Accurate Is It?

This is so cool: Martin Parr's Soviet space dog collection – in pictures

Bradley Whitford Will Save Us From the Monsters

38 of the Best YAs of June

Morning Coffee (5/11/18)

I have some personal/family stuff going on and so didn't manage to do anything but link posts this week. I'm sorry. I'll try to get you a few extra posts later in the month. But for now - Friday happy links.

Yay: Chelsea Clinton to publish children's book for young activists, Start Now!

Oh: Cristiano Ronaldo's next goal: a Space Jam-style football cartoon

This is all adorable: Stars on Ice Tessa and Scott on meeting Drake, the Queen and what's next for the Olympic medalists

And here's a great Sports Illustrated photo series of US Stars on Ice.

I love this interview with Alison Green of Ask a Manager.

The Emotional Journey of Queen Elizabeth at a Horse Show

Are We Done Hating Brunch?

Ha: STUDY: Bradley Whitford Can Still Come And Get It Any Time He Wants

Huh: H&M Has Released A Collection Of Affordable Dresses Inspired By Custom Gowns At The 2018 Met Gala

Sherry 101: An Introduction to the Hippest Old-Person Drink Around

Morning Coffee (6/16/16)

ICYMI: I updated my Emmy nomination explainer.

As a Connecticut native, I'm very proud of Sen. Chris Murphy's filibuster. Obviously much more work is needed, but this was the first glimmer of hope in quite a while that people might be taking gun control seriously.

WHAT: "Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn on Tuesday went a step further than McConnell, telling POLITICO he will no longer talk about Trump until after Nov. 8."

Among the many reasons we should not just write off Gawker: This Looks Like the DNC's Hacked Trump Oppo File

Good for him: Prince William Becomes the First Royal to Pose for a Gay-Magazine Cover

INCREDIBLE lineup: Broadway Stars Join to Record "What the World Needs Now Is Love" as Orlando Charity Single

!!! Bradley Whitford, Courtney B. Vance Board TNT Drama Pilot 'Civil' (And Toby Jones and Brian D'Arcy James! In a political show! Amazing.)

Ooh, Walgreens terminated its deal with Theranos. I hope some sort of juicy tell-all comes out of this whole thing.

Huh: Does Rodarte actually exist? The vaporous business plan of a fashion industry darling.

Fascinating and relevant: Citizen Khan

Oh well: Sunken Lost City? Not Really

Morning Coffee (5/6/16)

Happy Friday! You know what that means: Taking a break from current events for some lighter links.

Me elsewhere: Kacey Rohl talks Wayward Pines and your Thursday Daily Read.

Well, this may not be happy, depending on your point of view, but Alden Ehrenreich is your new Young Han Solo. For what it's worth, I thought he did a good job with a vaguely similar laconic-with-hidden-depths role in Beautiful Creatures. I am at most a casual Star Wars fan, however, and I'm sure many of you have many more feelings about this than I do.

Taylor Swift and Tom Hiddleston danced at the Met Gala and I WOULD READ THIS FANFIC. (Okay, I probably wouldn't; I think shipping real people is creepy. But YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN.)

Will and Kate recently celebrated their fifth anniversary, and the Fug Girls really came through with this annotated slideshow of 125 pictures of them, which may be just the thing your Friday needs.

Speaking of: This gallery of 100 years of wedding trends would also make a good Friday distraction.

I am reading Massie's Nicholas and Alexandra right now so this was RIGHT UP MY ALLEY: Quiz: Which Romanov Daughter Are You? (Tatiana, obviously.)

Hey West Wing fans: Allison Janney and Bradley Whitford appeared on The Late Late Show together and the show's YouTube channel has a bunch of delightful videos; start here.

5 Books You Must Read to Truly Get This Season of Penny Dreadful I love when my TV comes with homework! (...no, really, I do.)

PRETTY STATIONERY AND DESK ACCESSORIES

I just love this headline: Silicon Valley CEO Debuts Her Trophy Boyfriend

Let's go to Northern Ireland. Or watch Game of Thrones. One of those goals is probably more attainable than the other.

Texts from Samuel Coleridge

Morning Coffee (3/14/14)

I saw the Veronica Mars movie last night. Here is my one-sentence review. It is only spoilery in that if you know what I wanted from the movie (in general, not any one area), my reaction basically tells you whether the movie provided what I wanted.

This is fascinating and completely non-spoilery, if you need something to pass the time before watching the movie: 'Veronica Mars' Costume Designer Salvador Perez Reveals Style Secrets From Original Series

Also, these imagined Veronica Mars book covers are amazing.

I'm sorry, I promise the rest of these are NOT about Veronica Mars.

Memories From the Set: Bradley Whitford Talks Stints on West Wing, ER, Frasier and More

The Exquisite Wistfulness of 19th-Century Vegetarian Personal Ads

Report: Only 20 Minutes Until Introverted Man Gets To Leave Party

Dirtbag Romeo and Juliet

Which Gilmore Girls Guy Is Your Soulmate? (I got Logan. I'll allow it.)

Morning Coffee (1/27/14)

The White House is doing a real (online) Big Block of Cheese Day, and they got Bradley Whitford and Josh Malina for the video.

Ezra Klein, Matt Yglesias, Dylan Matthews, and Melissa Bell are founding a new publication at Vox.

This quick video interview with Sleepy Hollow's Tom Mison is basically the most charming thing I've ever seen.

Ooh, they made an arrest in that Goodfellas Lufthansa robbery.

Oh, Blackberry. Pentagon says 'absolutely no new orders have been placed' for BlackBerry phones.

Heh: FiOS customer discovers the limits of “unlimited” data: 77TB a month

Utah is Ending Homelessness by Giving People Homes

I second all of this about Fangirl.

Morning Coffee (11/22/13)

Happy Friday! This was a very long week, for some reason.

I bet your Friday needs Sesame Street's "The Hungry Games - Catching Fur."

It probably also needs 18 Times That Thor's Tom Hiddleston Was Almost Too Cute To Handle.

In Defense of Adam Levine

I've been wanting a Jane Austen computer game for years. I should try this out.

The Onion: Siblings Gather Around PowerPoint To Hash Out Off-Limits Topics For Thanksgiving

Good to see Bradley Whitford, like the rest of us, is aware that Josh and Donna are married with kids.

11 Indispensable Life Lessons Every Woman Can Learn From 'Anne Of Green Gables'

Oh, Canada. Canadians save shark from choking to death on moose

Morning Coffee (9/4/13)

Huh: Nicaragua may try to reclaim 20% of Costa Rica in court

Big publishing news: Kindle MatchBook, in which Amazon will offer free or deeply discounted ebooks with paper book purchases. This is a fabulous idea.

Whoa. Guess how much money Candy Crush brings in.

The Young Adult Library Services Association has released this year's Best Fiction for Young Adults nominations.

Another, again, still: Alabama senator calls for removal of Toni Morrison novel aligned with Common Core

Bradley Whitford fans, you can now watch the Trophy Wife pilot for free online.

I can't believe this entire history of the coffee cup sleeve doesn't mention Patrick Dempsey or Made of Honor even once.

New Yorkers aren't rude. You are.

Morning Coffee (12/20/12)

Yesterday President Obama was named Time Person of the Year, and you absolutely must take a look at this profile of his photographer, Pete Souza, and accompanying slideshow.

!!!! Bradley Whitford is guest starring on Go On, which of course stars his Studio 60 costar Matt Perry. !!!!

Check out the Fug Girls' 25 Best Red Carpet Moments of the year.

You must read Sarah Rees Brennan's parody of The Hobbit.

BBC America has picked up a whole season of the Nerdist TV show. Whee!

Literary gingerbread houses!

That Indiana Jones package mystery was solved.

They're making an Irish-language version of Cheers. Awesome.

Incredible West Wing Reunion Video

I'm feeling pretty clever, because when word of the West Wing cast getting together to film a PSA leaked a while ago, my immediate response was "I bet it's for Mary McCormack's sister!" And yup! It's an incredible ad for remembering to vote in non-partisan races in general and for Bridget Mary McCormack in particular.


I somehow kept a straight face until "Is this apocalypse now?" and "Read the message boards."

Morning Coffee (4/20/12)

Busy busy busy. Wait, I said that yesterday, huh? This week is really busy!

I'm so glad this news is finally public, because it's been so hard not to blurt it out everywhere: Holly Black and Cassie Clare are co-writing a middle grade series. WHEEEE.

The one thing you need to know about the Magic Mike trailer is that it has an appalling lack of Matt Bomer. But you should also read Linda Holmes's take.

Leo DiCaprio! Dennis Lehane! Prohibition! It's like we're playing "Movies Kate Likes" Bingo. Does it also involve spies? Or the mob? That would make it perfect.

If FOX puts both Bradley Whitford and Richard Schiff back on my TV regularly and picks up Kevin Williamson's new show, they may be back in the running for "favorite network."

You must read Sarah Rees Brennan on Miss Marple.

Bradley Whitford on Parks & Recreation Tonight

Hey, West Wing fans: Bradley Whitford is guest starring on Parks and Recreation tonight (NBC, 9:30/8:30c), and the episode title, "Live Ammo," should sound familiar. And here's a clip in which he walks and talks! Whee.

Bradley Whitford on Live! with Kelly This Morning

Here it is! Bradley Whitford being interviewed about Cabin in the Woods and other stuff on Live! with Kelly on April 12, 2012. Delightfully featuring guest host Joel McHale!

Morning Coffee (4/12/12)

Attention, West Wing fans! Bradley Whitford will be on Live! with Kelly on ABC sometime next hour (9-10 Eastern). I'll try to get the clip posted here tonight.

Speaking of, here's a fun Whitford interview. Yes, Cabin in the Woods comes out tomorrow. Before I remembered that, I was a little confused about why all this was happening.

And while we're on the interview subject, here's a great Q&A with Alison Brie and Gillian Jacobs of Community.

Beautiful Creatures update: Ethan Wate has been recast for scheduling reasons.

Trying to figure out the current ebook legal stuff? Maureen Johnson explains all.

Morning Coffee (4/3/12)

Good morning! In case you missed it last night, I wrote something of a spoiler manifesto.

Wildly exciting for, um, a few of us: The first pictures of Bradley Whitford on the set of his new pilot.

Sexist creep of the day: Lee Aronsohn

Copper sounds like it will be really good. I hope.

The Ten Most Sorkin Things in the Trailer for The Newsroom

Parents are getting their kids' writing self-published. Maureen Johnson responds.

A Hunger Games-themed wedding? Um. Romantic?

Morning Coffee (3/14/12)

This weather! It's so exciting! We had a thunderstorm last night! Whee!

Look! The beautiful cover of Sarah Rees Brennan's Unspoken!

Jeremy Irons is playing Uncle Macon in Beautiful Creatures. The casting of this movie has been incredible so far.

This article about fake chicken is surprisingly interesting, but I have to admit that realistic fake chicken freaks me out.

Some of these spin-off ideas are quite fun, especially Some Like It Hot.

Dear Smash, no means no.

Why have Oreos stayed so popular for 100 years? Because they're awesome. Or, you know, all this.

Drew Goddard's SXSW diary is fun, especially the bit about Bradley Whitford kissing Goddard's mom.

New Trailer: The Cabin in the Woods

We have a new trailer, and we still don't see Bradley Whitford's face, but we definitely hear his voice, and maybe see his hand and/or some of his back. Progress?



I have to go see this movie - Joss Whedon and Bradley Whitford! - but it's going to scare me so much.

Morning Coffee (2/25/12)

Happy Oscar weekend! I have a sore throat so I'm actually drinking tea with honey rather than coffee, but close enough. Let's ignore the fact that I still think I can see another five movies this weekend and move on to some links . . .

Wildly exciting news: Bradley Whitford was cast in a FOX pilot as a CIA Station Chief. Oh please oh please let this make it to TV.

How To Watch the Oscars. Ha. This is hilarious. And on a more serious note: The Insanity of Oscars Fashion Expectations.

Princess cake! I love Sweden.

Lupo, Dog of Cambridge, is pretty cute.

I have to admit I'm pretty excited about this new Anna Karenina. And I should really read the book, huh?

And here are your first pictures of Benedict Cumberbatch in Star Trek.

Vampire dinosaur! No, really.

It looks like Downton Abbey may be moving to the drama series category (rather than miniseries) for the Emmys. Interesting.

Morning Coffee (2/23/12)

Good morning! I have a sore throat and a cough. Blech. So far my major decision of the morning has been to send Bridesmaids back to Netflix, since I know I will not actually convince myself to watch it any time soon.

Ooh! Castle ebooks!

Here's a thoroughly delightful story: Mark Feuerstein is filming a movie. In New Hampshire. Written by Joss Whedon.

Kathryn Bigelow's Bin Laden movie now has Lizzie Bennet and Coach Taylor. That's a team that could do pretty much anything, I think.

Downton Abbey trading cards!

The Weirdest Unsolved Mysteries of World War II

Today in "Writers I Can't Stop Reading Even Though Their Books Infuriate Me Are Now Writing YA, A Continuing Series:" Philippa Gregory.

Interesting reads on the Rihanna/Chris Brown situation: Vulture and Ta-Nehisi Coates.

They keep releasing photos from The Cabin in the Woods that don't have Bradley Whitford in them. Priorities, people!

West Wing Reunion & Other Movie Links

Richard Schiff and Bradley Whitford are going to be in a movie together.

Yes, There Are Black People in Your Hunger Games

A Where's Waldo movie? Huh. Okay.

The 10 Most God-Awful Movies About Greek Mythology

Another fascinating obituary of a famous person's daughter.

Jane Austen in space? Sure.