Morning Coffee (7/22/19)

Me elsewhere: TV news for the week.

What Americans Do Now Will Define Us Forever

Puerto Rico’s week of massive protests, explained

Ocasio-Cortez calls for an independent investigation into child separation policies

Extradition and independence: What’s behind the continued protests in Hong Kong

Chinese Money in the U.S. Dries Up as Trade War Drags On

Elizabeth Warren’s latest Wall Street enemy: private equity

!!! New Kinks Music is Underway After More Than Two Decades Apart, Dave Davies Confirms

Into this: Natalie Portman will take up Thor’s hammer in Thor: Love and Thunder

What: Paul McCartney Has Been Secretly Writing an ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ Musical

Picard's dog's name in 'Star Trek' spin-off is confirmed, and it's perfect

Morning Coffee (7/15/19)

Me elsewhere: TV news for the week.

Border Patrol Agents Are Passing Around A Commemorative Coin Mocking Care for Migrant Kids

This affects a lot of important research (including climate change) as well as the obvious education aspect: Political chaos roils Alaska as universities face devastating cuts

Uh, I'm pretty sure we've all read this book: Amazon, Microsoft wage war over the Pentagon’s ‘war cloud’

Agriculture Department suspends data collection for honeybees after Trump budget cuts (WEIRDLY ENOUGH this came right after they got rid of a rule banning pesticides that hurt bees!)

Sanders and Warren voters have astonishingly little in common

WOW, this is awful: ‘Big Little Lies’ Season 2 Turmoil: Inside Andrea Arnold’s Loss of Creative Control

The Milky Way Has Battle Scars from Colliding With a Ghostly Galaxy

AWW: Paul McCartney Brings Ringo Starr to the Stage for End-of-Tour Surprise

Unesco Recognizes Heritage Sites, Ancient to Modern, Around the World

Good! Essex drops library closure plans following sustained public protests

Afternoon Tea (6/28/19)

The way he talks about both Linda and John just kills me: Paul McCartney on Linda’s best photos: ‘Seeing the joy between me and John really helped me’

Ooh there are some GREAT choices in this list: 21 YA eBooks on Sale for Under $3 for Pride Month!

How to Cut Cheese Like a Pro

The Best Ice Cream Shop in Every State

Fancy a Mystery-Inspired Board Game?

Morning Coffee (3/8/19)

FRIDAY HAPPY LINKS.

THE BEST STORY OF THE WEEK: The story of the Iditarod-hopeful dog who got loose and followed teams for 30 miles

Wait, this one is also great: A student brought his baby to class because he didn’t have child care. His professor lent a hand.

Come for the feel-good library story, stay for the Beatles puns: Good Day Sunshine: 1968 Beatles 'Life' Magazine Finally Returned To Library

THIS BOOK IS SO GREAT: Amy Spalding's New Book 'We Used To Be Friends' Takes An Unexpected Look At Friend Breakups — Start Reading Now

And I'm so excited for this one: Exclusive Cover Reveal: Dahlia Adler's Poe-Inspired Anthology, His Hideous Heart

There's fanfic at The Met and it's all because of the Tale of Genji

Dev Patel to Star in David Lowery’s Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Film

Well! Hear Arcade Fire's rendition of 'Baby Mine' in new Dumbo teaser

Opera Quiz: How Much Do You Know About Women Composers & Their Operas?

I'm relieved that this sorted me correctly: Choose Some Pasta And We'll Put You In Your True Hogwarts House

Morning Coffee (2/1/19)

Time for Friday happy links!

Step into Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge with New Books, Comics, and Fables

Peter Jackson to Direct Documentary About The Beatles' 'Let It Be' Recording Sessions

AMC theaters to show ‘Black Panther’ for free to celebrate Black History Month

!! Centuries lost ‘Bristol Merlin’ uncovered at city’s Central Library

Oooh, the Criterion Collection is starting a streaming service.

Hahahahaha: All right stop… and listen to Chris Pine rap Vanilla Ice's 'Ice, Ice Baby' for Jimmy Kimmel

Always delightful: The Fug Girls on the U.S. Figure Skating Championships.

Dr Seuss's thank-you letter to man who saved his first book

Books to read with your favorite cup of tea

Heh: Hot chocolate is wasted on children

Morning Coffee (12/24/18)

Happy Christmas Eve!

Me elsewhere: TV news for the week.

How Trump Is Stripping Immigrants of Their Citizenship

Ringo Starr and Ronnie Wood Join Paul McCartney Onstage in London

Houseplant with added rabbit DNA could reduce air pollution, study shows

An Eye-Opening Look at the Feast of the Seven Fishes

How Hallmark takes over your TV every Christmas

Christmas Mysteries: A Tradition Revived

I . . . love this song: How “Coventry Carol,” a lullaby about killing babies, became a Christmas song

How Dutch Edam Became a Christmas Tradition in the Philippines

10 Thrillers You Forgot Take Place During Christmas

Morning Coffee (10/4/18)

A running list of everyone the FBI has interviewed in the Kavanaugh investigation so far (and, you know, HASN'T)

And a late related addition: The F.B.I. Probe Ignored Testimonies from Former Classmates of Kavanaugh

Seriously, we need to see Donald Trump’s tax returns

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Trump administration working to weaken EPA radiation regulations

Shinzo Abe reshuffle leaves just one woman in Japanese cabinet

Beatles Engineer Geoff Emerick Has Died at 72

!! Dwarf planet 'The Goblin' discovery redefining solar system

Veteran CBS Producer Brad Kern Fired Amid Abuse Claims

Amazon is raising its minimum wage to $15 for US workers

Riddle of a Scandalous French Painting Is Solved, Researcher Says

Cardiff University's new X-ray method reveals ancient scroll

Morning Coffee (10/1/18)

Me elsewhere: TV news for the week.

80,000 Americans died of the flu last winter. Get your flu shot.

The details here are even more horrifying than the headline sounds: Hundreds of Migrant Children Quietly Moved to a Tent Camp on the Texas Border

I... E.P.A. to Eliminate Office That Advises Agency Chief on Science

...of course: Trump anti-discrimination official once called most hate crimes hoaxes

The Ford-Kavanaugh Hearing Will Be Remembered as a Grotesque Display of Patriarchal Resentment

Christine Blasey Ford’s family has been nearly silent amid outpouring of support

Of course he has: Kavanaugh Has Become a Hero to the Incel Community

School athletic director on leave after telling students 'girls ruin everything'

Aw: Paul McCartney announces picture book, Hey Grandude

In World War II, Bombs Sent Shockwaves All the Way Up Into the Atmosphere

Afternoon Tea (8/14/18)

This whole thing is fascinating: How a Notorious Gangster Was Exposed by His Own Sister

A Songwriting Mystery Solved: Math Proves John Lennon Wrote 'In My Life'

An Ancient River in Syria Sections Off a Modern War

TV's writers' rooms have a mother of a problem

1921 · 1946 · 1984 · 2018 A Genealogy of the Totalitarian Novel

Afternoon Tea (7/12/18)

Taylor Swift in conversation with Pattie Boyd is everything I've always wanted.

Fascinating: The Obsessive Search for the Tasmanian Tiger

Madeleine Albright: ‘The things that are happening are genuinely, seriously bad’

Borderlands Noir

Struggle for a Lighthouse: The Raids to Destroy the Boston Light

Morning Coffee (5/25/18)

There is SO MUCH NEWS but it is Friday and so we have happy links, darn it.

Perhaps your Friday needs the Fug Girls' royal wedding coverage: Happily Ever After: A One-Stop Guide to Our Coverage of Meghan & Harry’s Royal Wedding

Whoa: USPS Is Issuing Its First Scratch-and-Sniff Stamps This Summer

Are rom-coms coming back? Please say rom-coms are coming back: Keanu Reeves and Winona Ryder are adorably awkward in Destination Wedding trailer

! Idris Elba to Tackle 'Hunchback of Notre Dame' for Netflix

!! 'The Baby-Sitters Club' Series Being Shopped for TV Adaptation

The Beatles get onboard in exclusive trailer for Yellow Submarine graphic novel

Hee: Scientists to lead DNA hunt for Loch Ness monster

Haunting Timelapse Shows Hawaii’s Glowing Kilauea Volcano From Above

Huh: Jennifer Beals-Inspired YA Novel Set for 2019

I don't swim enough to justify buying this, but it's cool: These Cargo ‘Swimmables’ Matte Liquid Lipsticks Will Hold Up To A Dip In The Pool

Morning Coffee (4/6/18)

Time for some Friday happy links!

The Beatles’ ‘Yellow Submarine’ Film Returns To Theaters In Honor Of Its 50th Anniversary

Sarah Rees Brennan's amazing In Other Lands is a finalist for Best Young Adult Book at the Hugo awards and in celebration she wrote a parody of The Last Jedi I think you'll enjoy.

This is quite the cast: Josh Charles To Make Broadway Debut In ‘Straight White Men’ With Armie Hammer

!!! NASA Plans to Put Robot Bees on Mars

Whoa: Europe's Highest Escape Room Will Lock You in a Cable Car Thousands of Feet in the Air

Ooh: 23,500 items to be put online to show Prince Albert’s influence on the Victorian Age

11 Cheese Shops You Have to Follow on Instagram

More Reasons to Drink Water: Pretty Glassware

This is a great idea: 6 Supermarket Chocolate Bars for Better Baking

The New Neon Nail Colors

Afternoon Tea (1/18/18)

This is WILD: From Nazi Germany to Australia: The Incredible True Story of History’s Longest Kayak Journey

Maureen Johnson talks ‘Truly Devious,’ Agatha Christie, and more

On Riverdale: "The characters aren’t mourning the loss of a place; they’re mourning the loss of placelessness, because with placelessness comes unaccountability. When a town can be anything the characters want, they are free to engage in corruption, classism, or any number of moral evils without fear of retribution."

The New York Times food section has a whole issue about Canada and it's very interesting, and now I need to make some butter tarts IMMEDIATELY.

I've always rolled my eyes at this whole episode, but the story IS interesting: Rebuilding on the Beatles, an Ashram in India Hopes for Revival

Morning Coffee (12/25/17)

Merry Christmas!

The Drone Under Your Tree Can't Fly High Until Registered With The FAA

An Airbus Drew a Giant Christmas Tree Over Germany

Can you complete Thomas Eaton’s fiendishly difficult Christmas quiz?

The Beatles’ Christmas Records: A Feat of Fan Appreciation and Devotion

In World War II America, Female Santas Took the Reins

My family calls these butterballs! Smør Bullar: The Classic Danish Christmas Cookie No One Has Heard Of

Listen to the First Computer-Generated Christmas Carols, From Alan Turing’s Lab

When good TV goes bad: the day the Queen’s Speech stuttered

Aaah, look at the Smithsonian dolls' house Christmas.

12 Facts about 'The 12 Days of Christmas' (which start TODAY, not twelve days ago!!)

Morning Coffee (11/29/17)

Whoa, this just broke as I was writing this: NBC Fires Matt Lauer Over Misconduct Allegations

And this broke as I was waking up: Praljak trial: Bosnian Croat war criminal 'takes poison' in court

New NSA leak exposes Red Disk, the Army's failed intelligence system

The Damage to Children's Health Insurance Is Already Being Done

Of course: Trump Paid $1 Million–Plus Settlement to Undocumented Immigrant Workers on Trump Tower Project

How Bots Broke the FCC's Public Comment System

Okay, back to good news for a moment: Prince Harry to marry Meghan Markle at Windsor Castle in May

Aaah, the Love, Simon trailer looks so good!

Also excited about Cassie Clare's book announcement.

Whoa! 100 Stolen John Lennon Items Found in Berlin

Morning Coffee (9/7/17)

ICYMI, I'm spotlighting some of my new Patreon rewards and goals, and yesterday's post was on new group hangouts! Join now and vote for when we should all hang out in September!

United Nations accuses Syrian government of April sarin attack

Indian journalist critical of Hindu extremists is shot dead in Bangalore

Some interesting timing here: Russian firm tied to pro-Kremlin propaganda advertised on Facebook during election

The looming fight over “tax reform,” explained

This is what Obamacare sabotage looks like

I give up: Trump voting commission allegedly uses personal email for government business

Go Peggy! Astronaut Peggy Whitson has returned to Earth, a couple more NASA records in hand

Aah! Harry Potter: A Journey Through a History of Magic release date announced

Eleanor Rigby's grave deeds to be auctioned with Beatles song score

Can we rely on NOTHING? Nintendo confirms that Mario is no longer a plumber

Morning Coffee (8/25/17)

Time for Friday happy links! Make sure you come back this afternoon for TWO posts, including the return of Friday afternoon links. I've got a doozy for you.

NEW TAYLOR SWIFT SINGLE. I love it.

Eee, trailer for Strike, new show based on J.K. Rowling's mystery novels!

Whoa: Antares: astronomers capture best ever image of a star’s surface and atmosphere

I'm always so relieved when an author I like doesn't say anything terrible in her By the Book interview, and Louise Penny's is great.

Look at my friend Holly's elf ears in the New York Times!

Penguins Filmed Their Own Videos of Antarctica, and the Footage Is Incredible

YES I DO: 15 Next-Level Ice Cream Sandwiches You Need in Your Life

Netflix’s Latest Hit Series Is a Boring, Soothing Japanese Reality Show. I'm in.

Beatles Monuments in Unexpected Places

I have read bachelorette party instruction letters that sound JUST LIKE THIS: Tips for Emily’s Low-Key Destination Bachelorette! PLEASE READ

Morning Coffee (2/22/17)

ICYMI, yesterday I posted a review of Stacy Schiff's Cleopatra.

This is heartbreaking and extremely important: Europe's Child-Refugee Crisis

Also: 6 Weeks With the Pregnant Refugees of Piraeus, Greece

The government just put out the blueprint for President Trump’s immigration crackdown

How to lose a constitutional democracy

Presidential Historians And Journalists: Trump’s “Chaotic” And “Bizarre” First Month Is Unprecedented

The Great Government Breakdown Has Begun

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

!!! Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr collaborating on new music

Has the Art Market Become an Unwitting Partner in Crime?

Ooh: Lost Dark Age Kingdom Uncovered in Scotland

This romance novel cover model is VERY INTO IT.

Morning Coffee (1/22/17)

This was quite the first day: "President Trump used his first full day in office on Saturday to unleash a remarkably bitter attack on the news media, falsely accusing journalists of both inventing a rift between him and intelligence agencies and deliberately understating the size of his inauguration crowd."

Related: Headlines Matter When Your President Lies All the Time

More than two million people are in the streets resisting Trump

Anita Hill: Trump’s election is disappointing for feminism. But it’s not the final word.

Just... Trump’s inaugural cake was commissioned to look exactly like Obama’s, baker says

Targeting the arts is the laziest, stupidest way to pretend to cut the budget

The campaign to impeach President Trump has begun

Palestine: The End of the Bedouins?

Ooh: Paul McCartney Sues Sony to Regain Rights to Beatles Songs

A 17th-Century Child Mummy Just Rewrote the History of Smallpox

The World's 12 Most Amazing Rail Journeys

I need to read more Dickens.

Morning Coffee (8/9/16)

Wait, Ukraine did WHAT? (I haven't seen ANY gymnastics yet this year. It's very sad.)

Good for Susan Collins: "But the unpleasant reality that I have had to accept is that there will be no 'new' Donald Trump, just the same candidate who will slash and burn and trample anything and anyone he perceives as being in his way or an easy scapegoat."

Also: 50 G.O.P. Officials Warn Donald Trump Would Put Nation’s Security ‘at Risk’

Meanwhile, SIGH: About A Third Of Bernie Sanders’s Supporters Still Aren’t Backing Hillary Clinton

The Beauty of Joe Biden and Barack Obama’s Bromance

Whoa: From a Dacha Wall, a Clue to Raoul Wallenberg’s Cold War Fate

This piece was fascinating: The Beatles’ ‘Revolver’ Turns 50: A Psychedelic Masterpiece That Rewrote the Rules of Rock

Aw: Adam Peaty's grandmother is the cutest Olympic supporter

Interesting: 80 Years Ago: the Berlin Olympics in Words and Pictures

Nicole Cliffe, always a delight: "As you can imagine, I had a lot of feelings about this, and sometimes the best thing to do with too many feelings is to embark on an extremely grueling six-day-a-week workout regimen and refuse to eat any carbs that aren't sweet potatoes, a starch I personally loathe in all its forms."