Morning Coffee (7/27/18)

Phew. Time for Friday happy links.

Dame Judi Dench and the Duchess of Cornwall ate ice cream together and honestly those pictures did a lot to get me through this week.

Claude Monet’s Glazed Biscuit Kitty Cat Returns to the Artist’s Home

Wills & Kate Gave Us a New Pic of Prince George For His Birthday

WANT: Build your own Hogwarts Castle with LEGO's newest, biggest Harry Potter set

Ooh! Torvill and Dean Ice Skating Drama Greenlit With ‘Game of Thrones’ Star Will Tudor

You probably need more cheese plates on your Instagram.

Maybe VR is good: Visit a Scotch Distillery From the Comfort of Grand Central

20 Things Chris Pine Looks Like in This Photo

This Star Trek vodka boldly goes where blah blah you get it

Obviously I want all of these Harry Potter tote bags.

Morning Coffee (12/6/17)

Time's person of the year: The Silence Breakers

WHOA: Russia Banned From Winter Olympics by I.O.C.

Hm: Trump lawyer denies Deutsche Bank got subpoena on Trump accounts

Tax Bills Could Expand Private School Benefits and Hurt Public Education

... New Book Claims Hope Hicks Steamed Trump’s Suit While He Was Wearing It

To Cut Waste, U.K. Grocery Chain Will Sell Products Past 'Best Before' Dates (This is a good idea! I have recently discovered that my store vastly marks down yogurt about to expire and it's GREAT.)

Heh: Which Doug Jones Is Which? A Handy Guide.

I am not necessarily convinced that what the world needs right now is Quentin Tarantino's Star Trek.

I like this: Instagram will now create a private archive for all of your stories

Huh: James Patterson Signs Three-Book Deal With Albert Einstein Archives

This is gonna be adorable: Adorable Children to Steal Spotlight During Family Wedding

Morning Coffee (9/8/17)

It's Friday, so let's have some lighter links! Back to the miseries of the world tomorrow, I promise.

Prince George started school! SO CUTE.

The Man Who Invented Christmas, with Dan Stevens as Dickens and Christopher Plummer as Scrooge, looks more insane than I'd dreamed and now I'm pretty excited for it!

Ooh, trailer for the new Magic School Bus show! Yes, that's Lin-Manuel Miranda singing, because the man apparently doesn't need sleep.

Perhaps your Friday would be improved by ogling Matt Bomer's Todd Snyder ads. It's A LOT.

I want to go there: China’s Seaside Library Mimics the Rhythms of the Ocean

Whoa: World’s tallest sandcastle rises in Germany

Look at these amazing hotel bathrooms.

12 Cozy Blankets You'll Wanna Snuggle Under All Year Long

These Disney Villain Lip Smackers Will Make You Very Excited For Halloween

Awww: Sophie Turner Basically Just Adopted Her Own Direwolf

Morning Coffee (7/28/17)

I usually avoid political stuff in the Friday happy posts, but OH MY GOD WE WOKE UP TO GOOD POLITICAL NEWS AND I DON'T KNOW HOW TO HANDLE IT. The night John McCain killed the GOP’s health-care fight

Speaking of things I don't know how to handle: THE TOAST CAME BACK FOR ONE DAY. That's a link to one post but there's a whole day of content, go read it.

This was GOING to be the one good news story of the week, but it's still pretty great: Woolly jumpers: rabbits ride on sheep to stay dry in flood

These people are speaking my language: The Best Part of 'Dunkirk' Is the Sweaters

Aw, we've got a new picture of Prince George for his fourth birthday.

!!! Game of Thrones' Hot Pie Opened A New Bakery Called 'You Know Nothing Jon Dough'

I love looking at luggage and the Fug Girls have a nice roundup.

Related: The golden age of luggage labels – in pictures

The Most Enticing-Looking Desserts From Starbucks Locations Around The World Let's go!

Ooh: Over 60,000 Plants Bloom Inside the World’s Largest Orchid Garden

Whoa, look at this glow-in-the-dark library.

Morning Coffee (7/21/17)

Time for a break for some happy Friday links!

Your Friday absolutely needs John Boyega's GQ cover story.

Your Friday may also need adorable royal children. Go Fug Yourself has great coverage of the Cambridges' trip to Poland and Germany - start here.

Need another cute baby pic? Adult Justin Trudeau held his namesake Baby Justin Trudeau.

Ahhhh, I hope this comes somewhere nearby! Christmas in the Wizarding World to bring Harry Potter magic to holiday shopping

I'm so excited about the new books about the history of magic in the Harry Potter world.

I want to go to Disney's space restaurant!

Ooh, this sounds good and I hope they expand it to all locations: Starbucks Just Added A New Vegan Lunch Option

I AGREE: You Should Be Making (and Eating) More Icebox Cakes

Lay's "Do Us A Flavor" Finalists Are Here & They Are Wackier Than Ever (I want to try the everything bagel and cream cheese one, at least.)

Need some escapism? 17 of the Most Over-the-top Hotel Suites in the World

Morning Coffee (9/30/16)

Time for some happy Friday links!

Me elsewhere: I liked The Exorcist more than expected, I guess?

Princess Charlotte & Prince George Play With Bunnies, Pop Bubbles & Melt Hearts in Canada

Mallory Ortberg on making friends on the Internet is wonderful, of course: The Companions of My Heart

This is great: Historic England to relist Oscar Wilde's home and others with gay heritage

I don't agree with all the rankings but Vox's fall TV feature is fun: Every new TV show of fall 2016, ranked

Speaking of, Versailles premieres tomorrow and looks very pretty.

Hee: Famous Illustrators’ Depictions of Knitting Ranked in Order of Competency

I love John Kerry on Rosalind in As You Like It.

How Bake Off led to the rise of Mary Berry, style icon

Oooh: A Journey to Bookland

Let's run away and go on pilgrimage.

Morning Coffee (7/29/16)

It's Friday AND the start of my birthday weekend, so it's time for some happy distracting links!

My friend James Moran (you may know him as a writer for Doctor Who and Torchwood) is making a webseries based on Dracula and it looks nifty. Here's a teaser.

Oprah will be in the A Wrinkle in Time movie and I remain cautiously optimistic about this whole endeavor.

Netflix is getting a bunch of stuff from the slow TV movement in August, including knitting and train rides!

The Cambridges are officially headed to Canada. Will they take the kids with them so they can be adorable with Justin Trudeau???

Speaking of: Prince George Has an Extremely Adorable Way of Ordering Cake

Whoa: WW2 silk escape map dress sold in Harrogate

Important investigative journalism: That 'S' Thing Everyone Drew in School, WHAT IS IT?

Ooh: Vatican library digitises 1,600-year-old edition of Virgil

How the Key to the Bastille Ended Up in George Washington’s Possession

When ‘Arrow’ sings ‘Hamilton,’ we all win

Morning Coffee (7/25/16)

Me elsewhere: The week's TV news.

I woke to news of another nightclub shooting in Florida and I don't even know what to say at this point.

The "most damaging" DNC emails say the DNC was working against Sanders because . . . of course it was? He was trying to bring them down. Why would they be on his side? I find the whole conversation about this very frustrating - it feels like a lot of people think the DNC is part of the government or something, rather than a private organization that is literally only there to try to get actual Democrats elected.

"Johnson said he understood that the American people would expect him to be a substance-free Commander-in-Chief. 'As President, I will not indulge in anything,' Johnson vowed, as if he were J.F.K. promising not to take directions from the Pope."

Milo Yiannopoulos Does Not Deserve Twitter

Michael Caine has officially changed his name to Michael Caine, because apparently airport security got too annoying.

Here's our first look at the U.S.S. Discovery, from the new show Star Trek: Discovery.

Interesting: When Did the Media Turn Against Taylor Swift? (I am Team Taylor Controlling Her Own Narrative; I don't care to what extent it's "real".)

Celine Dion owns and wears a $900 Titanic sweatshirt, which somehow makes me feel better about the world.

A Brief History of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s ‘West Wing’ Obsession

Okay, let's start Monday with Prince George's birthday pictures.

Morning Coffee (7/10/16)

Trump Suggests He Might Quit Immediately After Being Elected ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

"Sanford said Trump's lack of knowledge about how many articles [of the Constitution] exist, gave him 'a little pause.'"

This is an important read in light of the Trump/Jared Kushner stuff.

And Kushner's family isn't happy: "But for the sake of the family name, which may have no meaning to you but still has meaning to others, please don't invoke our grandparents in vain just so you can sleep better at night. It is self serving and disgusting."

Barney Frank on Sanders: “It’s not simply a refusal to compromise. It’s a focus on being almost morally superior to everyone else. Eschewing compromise is part of that.”

Would Elizabeth Warren as vice president really be good for liberals?

Here is the most adorable news story ever: 'Mummy, can I fly a Red Arrow now?': Inside Prince George's first official UK engagement

Keep Norwegian Weird

How could I not click on something with this title? The Indispensable Guide to Early American Murder

Paintings Of The Torture Of Prometheus Where It Actually Looks Like The Eagle Assigned To Tear Out His Liver Is His New Boyfriend

Morning Coffee (6/17/16)

Boy, it's been A WEEK. How about some happy Friday links?

Me elsewhere: We've got a new episode of podcast The Fourth Wall; this time I'm asking Holly about ATX Festival!

Michelle Obama’s Kick-Ass Lady Crew Celebrates ‘The United State Of Women’

How the Cast of Hamilton Made Philanthropy Their Mission

!!!!! Canada launches revolutionary Star Trek coin-based economy

This is amazing: Legoland Threw Queen Elizabeth a Birthday Party Entirely Out of LEGO

Related: Prince George and Princess Charlotte came out for Trooping the Colour and THEY ARE ADORABLE.

The Strange Afterlife of Edgar Allan Poe’s Hair

What Queen Elizabeth’s 90 Years of Royal Portraits Tell Us About the Monarch (I misread this as "about the monarchy" and it's interesting from that perspective too, as far as the ways the presentation and perception of the monarchy has evolved.)

"What Milton lacks, unlike Shakespeare, is fans."

IT ME: how to enjoy a fun summer party when you hate fun and you absolutely loathe going outside.

Perfect: Every Modernist Novel Ever

Morning Coffee (5/14/16)

Me elsewhere: First looks at Time After Time and Still Star-Crossed and your Friday Daily Read.

SAD NEWS: The Toast is closing. I am bereft but also glad that they are making the decision that's right for them.

On Facebook, Trump's Longtime Butler Calls for Obama to Be Killed (As Chris Hayes pointed out on Snapchat, the big thing here is not so much the thing itself as the fact that this guy was glowingly profiled by the Times, like, yesterday.)

Related: Donald Trump's victory proves Republican voters want resentful nationalism, not principled conservatism

Also related: The Myth of the Disappearing Nonwhite Voter

Dahlia Lithwick on covering Merrick Garland is great. Dahlia Lithwick is always great.

Important: Ta-Nehisi Coates On Homecomings

The Unhealthy Truth Behind 'Wellness' and 'Clean Eating'

I'm honestly not that invested in the names of the American wizarding school houses, but this controversy about the software engineer who discovered them (possibly) is fascinating.

Hee: Prince George called Prince Harry out for being on good behaviour when the Obamas came to visit

The First Line Of Every Fan Fiction I Have Started Writing Once I Found Out Emma Watson Was Named In The Panama Papers

Morning Coffee (4/29/16)

(I'm traveling, so this post was written in advance. So if it doesn't seem to take recent news or events into account... that's why.)

Happy Friday! As usual, we'll skip current events for some lighter links today. We're heavy on the Cambridges this week for some reason. Sorry. I don't make the rules. (I do make the rules; you're lucky it's not all royalty all the time around here.)

I mean, how could I not show you the princes' lightsaber battle?

Or the Obamas having a thoroughly adorable visit with the Cambridges (including George!!) and Harry?

Those pictures gave us our first real look at William and Kate's apartment. (Can we ID any of the books in their bookcase??)

Good Housekeeping tracked down those boots Kate has had FOREVER. They call the $675 price tag "whopping," which - a. that doesn't really seem like THAT much for fancy boots? And b. I first saw this article rerun on the Town and Country site and that line is what made me realize it was taken from GH, because Town and Country doesn't recommend anything other than, like, lip balm that costs as little as $675. (Seriously, they had $75 lip balm in the May issue.)

Moving away from royalty gradually (he was at Eton with Prince William, after all): This Tom Hiddleston profile is charming.

Ooh: Explore the Cosmos with This Bonkers Interactive Model

Perhaps your Friday needs 35 photos of Taylor Kitsch.

I have no need for a retro Star Trek playset but I LOVE IT.

Can you imagine finding out the planter in your back yard is actually an ancient Roman coffin?

PERFECT: Resentments I Have Formed Against Characters From “The Face On The Milk Carton” By Caroline B. Cooney

Morning Coffee (4/22/15)

Marooned in an overgrown tea garden

The 2016 election so far, in 6 Onion headlines

Ooh: New mass extinction event identified by geologists

Oh, New Hampshire: Wandering cows herded from Mall of NH back to home property

Elsewhere in weird animal news: Be careful when flying with your wolverine.

And: Wind apparently propels turkey through law firm window

Heh, Google now has Loch Ness Street View.

Adorable: "On being told his daddy was 'in China' he trotted over to the china cabinet, looked inside and pronounced, 'Daddy is not here.'"

Morning Coffee (10/25/13)

Happy Friday!

The palace has released four official portraits taken after Prince George's christening, and they are adorable.

Because I am apparently dedicated to keeping you informed about holiday TV programming: Celtic Woman: Home for Christmas is coming to PBS. It may or may not be less dirge-like than the rest of their stuff.

Ryan Seacrest has signed on to keep hosting Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve. In the absence of Clark himself, I think this is good: like red carpet interviews, this is probably one of those cases in which we don't really think about how good Seacrest is at his job until someone else tries to do it.

A Murder, She Wrote reboot starring Octavia Spencer? Color me intrigued.

This is amazing: Texts from William Blake

I love the BBC.

Oh, here's the counterpart to the girl name link: Map: Six Decades of the Most Popular Names for Boys, State-by-State

Aww: The Time I Was Questioned by Police for Knitting in a Starbucks (I know that doesn't sound like a happy link, but it is.)

Morning Coffee (10/24/13)

Prince George's christening was yesterday. Here's the delightful Guardian live blog.

And a rundown of the godparents and guests.

The official details of the service . . .

And, of course, pictures!

If this is true, it's... icky: Contentious ‘Scandal’ Fan Blogger Exposed as ABC Sales Director

Yes yes yes: Better Without The Bear: How The Cancellation Bear Damages Ratings Culture

The new promos and art for The Following are making me very eager for the show to come back.

Whoa: Meet The Man Who Ran A Marathon While Knitting A Scarf

Morning Coffee (8/30/13)

Happy Friday! And happy long weekend!

Jessica Fletcher earrings!

Skull sugar cubes!

Game of Thrones cookies!

Bacon cars?

Whoa, look at this latte art.

Adorable baby elephant plays in a kiddie pool, makes series British news announcer collapse into giggles.

Which means it's Sesame Street throwback time.

A Russian zoo has named its adorable baby albino hedgehogs George, Alexander, and Louis after the prince.

Therapy llamas! Okay, yeah, we need more Sesame Street. It's that kind of Friday.

Morning Coffee (8/20/13)

Adorable: New pictures of Prince George!

And here are some fun bits from Prince William's first post-baby interview.

Also adorable: Meet Sunny Obama!

There's a fascinating new teaser from Bad Robot, and a fairly compelling case that it's related to the forthcoming novel S.

Mark Ruffalo, of all semi-random people, has a message about abortion rights.

Expecting the Unexpected from Jeff Bezos

Hey, Save Our Show Campaigners: You're Doing It All Wrong

Oh, Jamie Campbell Bower, you're a treasure.