Morning Coffee (5/24/19)

There are a million things going on but it's time for Friday happy links, darn it!

Aaah, Star Trek: Picard teaser!

And Downton Abbey movie trailer!

Send Your Name to Mars with the 2020 Rover

This sounds great: Exclusive: Captain Marvel Becomes a Bodega Avenger in a New Series from IDW

Oh interesting: First look: Patricia Cornwell on launching a new thriller series with Quantum

Exclusive: Nora Roberts on her J.D. Robb In Death series getting its 50th book

I love this cover and the book sounds interesting: Exclusive Cover Reveal: Belle Révolte by Linsey Miller

I really need to try these Cold Stone Reese's Ice Cream Cups.

Baby-Sitters Little Sister Books to Get Graphic Novel Treatment

Freeform To Launch Christmas Wrapping Competition Reality Series ‘Wrap Battle’

Morning Coffee (9/22/18)

(I'm traveling so this was mostly written in advance.)

Rod Rosenstein Suggested Secretly Recording Trump and Discussed 25th Amendment

Senate Judiciary chairman says he’ll give Kavanaugh accuser more time to decide whether to testify before committee

U.S. approach to Yemen is challenged as country splinters and government vanishes

Midterms 2018: the battle for state legislatures

This is awful: Pennsylvania to end prison book donations, forcing inmates onto pricey eBook platform

Two Murders in Iowa

Luigi Cavalli-Sforza, 96, Who Tracked Genes Through History, Dies

‘Downton Abbey’ Movie Sets Fall 2019 Opening

Likely birthplace of Henry VII found in Pembroke Castle

Oregon Launches First Statewide Refillable Bottle System In U.S.

Morning Coffee (10/20/17)

Let's have some happy Friday links to get us through to the weekend!

This is so great: New York City’s Libraries Will Forgive All Children’s Fines

!! LEGO celebrates female scientists with 'Women of NASA' set

OMG TINY HEDGEHOG GOES CAMPING

Amazing: College kid makes life better by rigging a door to play the Seinfeld theme when opened

The Hogwarts Express Is Real, and It Rescues Children

This is the kind of hard-hitting journalism we need today: An Ode to Royals Playing With Dogs

Really speaking my language here: How to Organize Your Giant Tote Bag

I feel like today might be the kind of day when you need some easy one-bowl brownies.

Ooh, let's go to Downton Abbey: The Exhibition.

42 Halloween-Inspired Nail Looks That Are Cute AF

Morning Coffee (5/5/17)

I think we all need some happy Friday links this week.

Good news!!! Hillary Clinton to launch political group as soon as next week

Also! You can now buy a new story by Rainbow Rowell and help the ACLU!

This is a fun interview (by Andrew Rannells!) and your Friday could probably be improved by looking at his face: Matt Bomer: The King of Summer TV

What the world needs now: Dorie Greenspan Gets a New York Times Magazine Column and It’s All About Dessert

I assume you want to see Justin Trudeau dressed as a firefighter (kinda).

In Praise of Agatha Christie's Accidental Sleuths

This is GREAT for those of us who like poring over genealogical tables in history books: Royally Connected

Speaking of, Princess Charlotte had her birthday this week and she's very cute.

The Most Ridiculous Jeans Styles of the Year, Ranked

Let's go! New 'Downton Abbey' Exhibit Lets You Walk Through Mrs. Patmore's Kitchen and More

Morning Coffee (6/23/15)

Sad news: Composer James Horner has died.

Impressive: Taylor Swift used her platform to write a letter to Apple about paying artists for their work...

...and Apple immediately reversed course.

My friend Amy wrote a lovely piece about becoming a foster parent.

The line between protecting girls and isolating them

JoAnn Dean Killingsworth, Disneyland’s First Snow White, Dies at 91

Awesome: Orange County Declares July 31 "Geek Day" As Thousands Of Self-Proclaimed Geeks Get Ready For Annual GeekyCon

Downton Abbey on stage? Sure, why not.

Morning Coffee (5/15/15)

Happy Friday!

Me elsewhere: Our final network fall schedule: The CW.

I'll continue recommending Todd's schedule analysis: CBS, ABC, FOX.

And here's his How The CW went from near extinction to surprising success

Eee, look at the trailer for The Magicians!

Anne Helen Petersen's celebrity features are always worth reading: Anna Kendrick vs. the Hollywood Type Machine

Find Out What Your Name Would Be If You Were Born Today is fun . . .

. . . but finding out what presidential candidates' names would be is better.

In case you also missed it: Downton Wars. And the fact that Rob James-Collier owns evilbutler.com is my new favorite thing.

I haven't had a chance to play yet, but this Where Is Your Gun Now, Mr. Chekov? game looks nifty.

Signs That Agatha Christie Is About to Murder You

Morning Coffee (1/13/15)

I'm running late but SO MUCH EXCITEMENT today. Okay.

First: New Avengers trailer!

Second: Holly Black's The Darkest Part of the Forest is out today and it's incredible and you should go read it immediately.

Third: Robin Wasserman's first adult book is coming out next year and I am already beside myself with excitement.

Fourth: Get your Converse ready to win a copy of Susan Adrian's awesome debut novel Tunnel Vision next Tuesday!

Fifth: Colbert's Late Show will premiere on September 8th!

Sixth: New Kelly Clarkson song!

Seventh: Arthur is doing Downton Abbey!!

Eighth: Don't forget to save Alice!!!

Morning Coffee (1/9/14)

Would you like to hear Jamie Bamber narrate The Bane Chronicles? Of course you would.

Department 56 (the Christmas village company) is making Downton Abbey!!!

The Bridge (the original one) is finally coming to Hulu and I am so excited.

Salem continues to look ridiculous and I can't wait.

Fascinating: Remote Control: Tonya Harding, Nancy Kerrigan, and the Spectacles of Female Power and Pain

Written Off: Jennifer Weiner's Quest for Literary Respect

Some of the Earliest Maps of Stonehenge, Made by a Druid-Obsessed English Vicar

Permission to Play Devil's Advocate Denied

Morning Coffee (12/10/13)

Heartbreaking and important: Invisible Child

Eleanor Parker, who played the Baroness in The Sound of Music, has died at 91.

Women Writers on Reading Literature's "Midcentury Misogynists"

If you're in New York, make sure you check out the Downton Abbey tea truck.

As someone who can barely tolerate needles over size six, arm knitting sounds nightmarish to me. But, um, I hope they have fun?

Period piece showdown: Mr. Collins vs. Mr. Collins

Whoa: Watch a Lego re-creation of The Blues Brothers’ mall chase scene

As always, Go Fug Yourself's gift guide is delightful.

Morning Coffee (4/5/13)

If your DVR cut off the end of The Americans this week, you can watch it online here.

Discovering Your “Brand” of Fantasy

Discovery and its sister channels have unveiled their new programming slate, including the delightfully named Penguins: Spy in the Huddle.

Here is Elizabeth Taylor with a kitten in her pocket.

This parody of Taylor Swift's "22" is great.

Heartwarming Friendship Between a Girl and Her Cat

This makes me want to watch The Name of the Rose.

Downton Abbey jigsaw!

Morning Coffee (2/27/13)

My friend Beck wrote a lovely riff on the controversy over Ben Affleck's "marriage as work" thing.

Downton Abbey as Super Nintendo game! Amazing.

Fascinating: From Women's Page to Style Section

Bill Cunningham's Big Gay Heart

Hee: Pixar Star Trek

Can Knitting Give You a Runner's High?

I did not really know anything about Oscar Wilde's marriage.

Love in Amish Country

Morning Coffee (2/18/13)

Feministing has the one thing you must read about the case of Reeva Steenkamp and Oscar Pistorious.

An important read: Women Writers and Bad Interviews

Copy-Editing the Culture: Star Trek Into Darkness

Ooh: C-SPAN is launching a series about the First Ladies.

And Lifetime is developing a Cleopatra miniseries.

The Dead Have Oscar Campaigns, Too

A novel about Downton Abbey fans? . . . yeah, of course that's happening.

Morning Coffee (2/14/13)

Sorry so late - I seem to have gotten myself a stomach bug for Valentine's Day. Hope everyone else's day is going better!

NPR Valentines!

And some fun geeky valentines from Figment. I especially like the Mr. Darcy one.

Here's some good background info on what actually happens when a pope resigns.

And speaking of, who speaks Latin these days?

The Disney Prince Hotness Ranking

In retrospect, I can't believe there wasn't ALREADY a Tamagotchi app.

Oooh, a Dunkirk movie!

I love these Downton Facebook recaps.

Sesame Street Does Downton

Well, this is delightful.

Morning Coffee (2/12/13)

Huh: Wrestling has been dropped from the Olympics.

If you missed the news late last night: North Korea conducted a nuclear test.

Why is the state of the union always "strong"?

Whoa, they're exhuming Neruda!

Downton Abbey fans must read June Thomas's take on the Thomas storyline and whether it's historically accurate.

Do introverts need to be "fixed" or do maybe we need to stop making things worse by telling introverted kids there's something wrong with them? Ugh.

Morning Coffee (1/25/13)

Well, this is horrific: GOP Lawmaker Wants to Charge Rape Victims Who Have Abortions with ‘Evidence Tampering’

. . . huh. Is this really a 300 million-year-old machine gear?

Hillary Clinton Finally Has Permission to Be a Bitch

Fascinating: The Accidental Activist

If Downton Abbey were on Facebook...

This story about an NYPL branch circulating an American Girl doll is awesome.

Morning Coffee (10/1/12)

October! How did that happen?

Over the weekend at TheTelevixen: my Made in Jersey pilot review, Castle premiere recap, and weekly TV news roundup.

Downton. Abbey. Prequel.

I love this sort of thing: Chinese families pose with their possessions.

3000-year-old jigsaw skeletons? Huh.

Interesting: Taxes Threaten an Island Culture in Georgia

Why was this poor dolphin stranded in Queens?

No, Bill Clinton couldn't be President of France.

Buddhist statue discovered by Nazis is made of meteorite

Morning Coffee (9/11/12)

Hey look, the Booker shortlist.

Libraries in pay phones?

There is a Sarah Lund jumper pattern coming. I would totally buy a book of patterns based on the American The Killing, too.

Aww: Mars rover captures self-portrait

Ralph Lauren is making Downton Abbey ads.

Mayim Bialik liveblogs her Emmy dress fitting

Laptop designer William Moggridge has died.

Morning Coffee (3/12/12)

Ah, Monday. I couldn't fall asleep, and then I overslept. Because of the springing forward? Maybe. Hm. But it's supposed to be warm all week and I have my windows open already, so that's exciting.

New music from Beach House. It . . . sounds like Beach House.

Amazing: Downton Abbey-themed Magic cards.

Mark Wahlberg is making a reality show about a union? Awesome.

Best use of Pinterest ever: The official CW account has a board called The Shirtless Guys of the CW.

I am all in favor of more cable-sized short series on the networks.

Morning Coffee (3/9/12)

HAPPY FRIDAY. This week actually went pretty quickly, except then yesterday was awful for basically everyone I know. So I think we're all ready for a weekend.

First, a word on "freedom of speech," since I've seen this come up in several places recently: It's about the government not restricting speech. The Constitution ABSOLUTELY DOES NOT CARE about your supposed right to say nasty things with immunity on someone else's privately-owned Web site. "Freedom of speech" ALSO doesn't mean that you can say whatever you want but no one else is allowed to say that what you said was dumb or mean or wrong. Thank you. Carry on.

The Muppets + The Hunger Games = AWESOME

You must read David Plotz on Mo Willems.

I love when shows make it easy to figure out what music they've used. Cougar Town fans, here you go.

I don't usually post about fanvids, but it's Friday and I've got nothing, so I'm going to suggest you watch this nicely-done Downton Abbey video set to Taylor Swift's "Safe and Sound."