Morning Coffee (7/25/18)

Israel just shot down a Syrian fighter jet

lolol Trump, Now Acknowledging Russian Interference, Claims It's Aimed At Helping Dems

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Russia slams US general, says he 'discredited' Trump

Sure: Trump: “Tariffs are the greatest.” Also farmers need $12 billion in aid because of tariffs.

Of course: Jeff Sessions Laughs and Echoes ‘Lock Her Up’ Chant With Conservative High Schoolers

The Man Booker longlist includes the first graphic novel!

Eleven babies die after Dutch women given Viagra in drug trial

Archaeologists have found the remains of one of Jamestown’s early settlers. Now they have to prove he is who they think he is.

'Supergirl' Casts First Transgender Superhero On Television

First edition of Ada Lovelace's pioneering algorithm sold for £95,000

Morning Coffee (6/2/17)

Time for our traditional happy Friday links!

Aaah, we have a Murder on the Orient Express trailer! It's so gorgeous!

Victoria & Abdul also looks very pretty! JUDI DENCH EVERYWHERE.

Oh good - Hottest Heads of State has addressed Emmanuel Macron.

British GQ has a very cute new picture of Will and Kate and kids, and William is doing a really nice job of speaking out about mental health and his mother's death.

!!! Rainbow Rowell to write Marvel's new Runaways series (I don't have any particular Runaways feelings but yay Rainbow!)

In other exciting superhero news: The Flash and Supergirl to get middle-grade novels

This week in things I wish were relevant to my life right now: The best afternoon teas in London

Take a Long Walk Through the British Countyside With “Slow Radio” on the BBC

Wow: Architects have identified the 10 most beautiful gas stations in the world

! Do You Have What It Takes to Be a Professional Cat Cuddler?

Morning Coffee (10/11/16)

This is terrifying: Trump is reciting disinformation obtained from Russian state news as truth.

Also terrifying: "On Sunday, to an audience of tens of millions of Americans, Trump voiced his contempt for the norms that define and safeguard our democracy with a promise to jail his chief political opponent. This, again, was the most important moment of the debate."

In case you thought he was joking: Donald Trump wants his supporters to know he’s dead serious about putting Hillary Clinton in jail

Paul Ryan won’t defend Donald Trump, but he is still endorsing him

Go Warren Buffett!

Trump interrupted Clinton 18 times. She interrupted him once.

I remember this nonsense from 2008 and of COURSE it would come up again: Trump ally Alex Jones thinks Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are literally demons from hell

Superman appeared on Supergirl last night and I can't stop smiling: "But in its own way, watching a powerful man unquestionably respect the authority of a powerful woman is just as much of a feminist statement as watching a woman stand up to misogyny. ... It’s no small gesture to have arguably the most famous male superhero of all time model feminism in action."

This is so cool: Scientists use 'virtual unwrapping' to read ancient biblical scroll reduced to 'lump of charcoal'

Ha: Actress: ‘7th Heaven’ reunion can happen if they kill Stephen Collins (Pretty sure she means HIS CHARACTER, but still.)

Morning Coffee (9/27/16)

Me elsewhere: I liked Designated Survivor!

Trump directed $2.3 million owed to him to his tax-exempt foundation instead

"What kind of billionaire withdraws the health insurance of an infant [his nephew!] with cerebral palsy in a fit of pique? A person comfortable being cruel to others."

Gunman who wounded 9 was wearing Nazi paraphernalia, sources say

But it's not like our elected officials are encouraging this sort of thing or anything: Rep. Steve King is hanging out with the German far right and tweeting racist buzzwords

Hillary Clinton’s ‘Angry’ Face

Sorry, Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton isn’t just another ex-wife for you to trash

Ned Resnikoff has a good take on Trump, lies, and Russia.

But in case you fear everything is terrible in the world: Nicole Cliffe is recapping Poldark!!

And LOOK AT SUPERMAN, you guys.

Archaeologists Find Ancient Pot With Traces of 3,000-Year-Old Burnt Cheese POOR CHEESE.

Morning Coffee (10/28/15)

Me elsewhere: Thoughts on Supergirl - I liked it! - and my latest Haven recap.

Many of the things below are FAR MORE IMPORTANT to this, but oh my gosh, this Rockapella reunion rendition of the Carmen Sandiego song just made me so freaking happy.

No, Portugal is not having a constitutional crisis. This is the real story.

What Would Jeb Do?

This Is Not a Game: How SXSW Turned GamerGate Abuse Into a Spectator Sport

Here's BuzzFeed's letter about withdrawing.

And an update: Exclusive: After Gamergate Misstep, SXSW Weighing an All-Day Forum on Online Harassment

I liked this Crimson Peak review: "And the thing to understand about a proper British ghost story is that the ghosts are often incidental to the action. Yes, they're there, but they're a way of making the story's psychological subtext into text, the lurching reminders of the past that threaten to uncover long-buried secrets." (That actually suddenly occurred to me a little while after I saw the movie - that yeah, the ghosts were creepy, but the actual bad things in the movie were done by humans and that was scarier.)

Oooh: Skeleton of ancient warrior and hoard of treasure found in 3,500-year-old tomb

Fascinating: Raiders of the Lost Web

"THE LEARNING WOMAN: I will untie your cravats and your secrets
THE BAD MAN: don’t try to understand me
THE LEARNING WOMAN: I think I can understand you"

Morning Coffee (10/27/15)

Paul Ryan as Speaker: A Preview of the Fights He Will Face, in Plain English

I really enjoyed Supergirl - my post on it will be up at The Televixen today - and Alyssa Rosenberg's interview with the creators about the show's feminism is a must-read.

!!!! There's a new app to stream Broadway shows!

Ughhhhh. Ricky Gervais To Return As Golden Globes Host In 2016

Phoebe Tonkin has important things to say about the double standard to which female characters are held: “He killed Tyler’s mom on Christmas Eve!” she said. “And [Hayley] was the bad guy for giving birth to his child. Yet he was drowning people’s moms during the holidays.”

Fascinating: Jem and the Holograms Fails in a Way That I've Never Seen a Movie Fail Before

Belgian Scientologists go on trial for fraud and extortion

How Soviets Got Away with Stealing a Van Gogh

June Thomas has interesting things to say about TV's competence fetish, though I don't entirely agree - in certain types of shows, what I WANT is to watch super smart people being smart.

This is the greatest business idea ever.

Morning Coffee (5/14/15)

Me elsewhere: CBS's fall schedule.

I haven't had a chance to watch most of the new show trailers yet, but I was hearing so many great things about Supergirl that I watched that one, and yep, I'm in.

As a woman who's been working in tech for a while, let me say: yes yes yes. People Can’t Be Trusted To Make Unbiased Hiring Decisions. So This Woman Created A Computer Program.

Yay Vermont! Election Day voter registration!

This piece about the suicide of a college athlete is difficult and powerful, but I think it focuses too much on the "revelation" that people post filtered/edited versions of their lives on Instagram - obviously - and too little on the societal pressure on young women to be "perfect" in general.

Ten Things You Might Not Know About Antimatter

"The author comes to the store in the hope of selling books and becomes some kind of living warning of the dangers of trying to do anything at all."

Heh: Books That Literally All White Men Own: The Definitive List

And the follow-up: My Favourite Deleted Comments From the White Dude Book List