Afternoon Tea (10/8/18)

There's some VERY interesting stuff in this interview: Catherine Hardwicke Broke Records With ‘Twilight.’ Then Hollywood Labeled Her ‘Difficult.’

#Girlboss notebooks and “Feminist AF” pencils: the case against “empowering” office supplies

The fantasy world of pre-wedding photos: inside China's billion-dollar industry

The Boy Romantic

Immigration Narratives in Crime Fiction

Morning Coffee (8/24/18)

Phew, we definitely need a break for Friday happy links.

Remember having a president who liked books? Here's Obama's latest reading list.

Eee, Outlaw King trailer!

I have never related so much to Rihanna: Here's Bridesmaid Rihanna Ducking Her Best Friend's Wedding Bouquet Toss

AMAZING: Natalie Portman To Direct And Star In Dual Roles In ‘Dear Abby/Ann Landers’ Biopic

This sounds neat: Yo-Yo Ma Celebrates Bach in Amazon Alexa Series

I'm listening: New Aldi Advent Calendars Have 24 Days of Wine and Cheese

I'm unsure about the new version of The Great British Baking Show, but at least now we know Netflix will carry it in the U.S.

Hmm: ColourPop Cosmetics Is Launching A Sister Skincare Brand, Fourth Ray Beauty

!! Twilight Is Coming Back To Theaters For Its 10th Anniversary And We Have Exclusive New Artwork

QUIZ: Which Of This Summer’s Rom Com Leading Ladies Are You?

Morning Coffee (7/31/17)

Today's my birthday, so after I post this I'm giving myself the rest of the day off. Afternoon links will return tomorrow!

Me elsewhere: Lots of TV news!

'Women will die': Trump leaves Ugandan women in jeopardy

Why Autocrats Fear LGBT Rights

Why Democrats are feeling optimistic about a local win in New Hampshire

Bleh: TSA Rolls Out New Electronics Rules for All U.S. Passengers

Heee: Napoleon’s Extracurricular Activities (A Comprehensive List)

Lovely and important: Magic Can Be Normal

This headline made my day: Robert Pattinson Says He Was Almost Fired From ‘Twilight’ for Not Smiling Enough

I'm excited to read The Force: ‘Information is Always Currency’: An Interview with Don Winslow

Unraveling the Mystery of the “Armenian Stonehenge”

Morning Coffee (4/2/15)

Everyone survive yesterday? Yes, that Classic Alice thing was a joke and here I remember the last April Fools thing I participated in. Cats were involved.

The Goodreads dating app was ALSO a joke but I WISH it were real.

And the Post has a roundup of the various online and corporate pranks.

Sad news: Cynthia Lennon has died.

Yulin Kuang - who did the great I Ship It, webseries Kissing in the Rain, and more - is one of the directors of the new Twilight shorts. Congratulations!

Someone who grew up at the Algonquin wrote a book about it and that is absolutely a book I would read.

Hugh Jackman is doing Apostle Paul because . . . sure?

David Duchovny is releasing an album because of course he is.

The Two Medieval Monks are back! "you know more about goats than you give yourself credit for"

Morning Coffee (10/1/14)

Happy October!

Me elsewhere: The Karen Gillan/John Cho vehicle Selfie could be good if it ditches its entire premise; a review of this week's Sleepy Hollow.

Whoa: FCC will consider punishing broadcasters for saying 'Redskins'

Sigh: NFL penalizes Muslim player for praying; league says it was wrong

The Toast is hiring Roxane Gay to head up a sister site, The Butter!

‘Twilight’ Will Be Revived via Short Films on Facebook - but perhaps most importantly, they'll be made by aspiring female directors. I know a lot of people are scoffing at more Twilight, but I think it's wonderful that Stephenie Meyer is using her power and platform to help other women in a male-dominated industry.

Sports journalism doesn’t need a girl’s league

Some possibly good publishing news: Someone bought Angry Robot and says he will keep it publishing, save everyone's jobs, etc.

Someone stole an uninsured Degas in Cyprus.

My lawyer friend Christine nitpicks How to Get Away with Murder for you.

Remember the kid who wanted his cat in his yearbook picture? Now his principal (and her dog) are in on it.

Morning Coffee (1/15/13)

Your actually important read of the day: Transphobia Is a Goddamn Embarrassment to Us All

How to Choose a Bottle of Wine

To promote their new show The Following, FOX released clips from a fake true crime show about the case. This is an awesome idea and I really can't wait for the show now.

Presented without comment (mostly because I haven't had time to finish reading them yet): The Beyonce and Lindsay Lohan stories everyone's talking about.

Another terrible-sounding Twilight AU fanfic has a big book deal. Commence hand-wringing as needed.

Lance Reddick and J.H. Wyman Remember Their First Days on Fringe

Danish/Swedish show Bron, which has a U.S./Mexican version in the works at FX, now has a British/French version coming too. I'm fascinated by how the different relationships between these sets of countries will affect the shows.

Morning Coffee (1/4/13)

Adam Levine will host Saturday Night Live on January 26, if you want to plan your month accordingly.

Don't miss Pete Souza's Year in White House Photographs.

Literary Feuds of 2012

Sad but not surprising: Marriage accelerates tenure for male history professors, slows it down for women

How Star Trek: Deep Space 9 Helped to Invent Everything You Love

I hadn't thought about it, but this was the year Kellan Lutz became hilarious.

Single Women and the Sitcom

They're making a LEGO HOTEL. Alas, it is not entirely made out of Lego.

Morning Coffee (11/27/12)

Intrigue! Maine news anchors quit on air, together.

Which new Christmas album is right for you? My result was the new Olivia Newton-John/John Travolta one, which . . . yep, sounds about right.

Michael Fassbender + Formula One? Sure!

Hmm: The Audience Effect explains how fans can screw up a franchise

This is pretty great: Was Team Jacob Just a Big Scam All Along?

The Hard Life of an N.F.L. Long Shot

Need something to read? Check out some great New Yorker profiles.

'Also, the Drink Helps': Famous Writers' Daily Writing Routines

These 19th-century diagrams were one man’s attempt to illustrate human consciousness

Morning Coffee (2/28/12)

It feels like it should be much later in the week than Tuesday by now. Doesn't it?

This Gary Oldman profile - and its publication story - are completely fascinating.

The Biggest Triumph of the 2012 Academy Awards (Seriously, see A Separation. It's incredible.)

Things Mitt Romney Loves

If you want to see a whole bunch of Dracula adaptations, this is your time.

Sad news: Jan Berenstain has died.

Novelist (and my boss) Maureen Johnson talks J.K. Rowling's new book and why the people who doubt she can write for adults should just hush.

Princess Estelle is adorable, and wearing handknits in her first pictures!

Aaaaaah! Twilight-themed engagement pictures. Terrifying.

TVLine's May Sweeps Scorecard is here!

Breaking Dawn Thoughts & Links

I saw Breaking Dawn last night, and it was . . . better than I expected, actually! I mean, the subject matter is intrinsically ridiculous, but they did a reasonable job with it. It was awful in an entertaining way, rather than awful in a dull way. It was, to use one of my favorite new words, hilarrible - simultaneously horrible and hilarious.

My feelings on Twilight in general are moderate in a way that's pretty boring but that I don't really hear people mention much, so to put it out there: It's, you know, okay. I've read all the books and seen all the movies. They're not my favorites. I don't love them. But they're far from the worst books I've read or the worst movies I've seen. (Breaking Dawn isn't even the worst movie I've seen in the past month.) I think they're only such a Thing because of external factors, and the books themselves are just . . . enh. Not good. But not the worst thing in the world.

I've heard a lot of people say things like "I loved those books until I realized Bella's behavior was wrong," or "because she's a doormat" or "because she's not a good role model," and that totally rubs me the wrong way. It often sounds like it really means either "I loved those books until people told me I shouldn't" or "I secretly still love those books but think I shouldn't admit it." And . . . but why? Since when does liking something mean agreeing with decisions made by the characters? I rarely hear anyone saying "I used to like Rebecca but Mrs. de Winter is such a doormat that she literally lets her husband get away with murder." or "Those people in Wuthering Heights are all such bad role models!" or "I watch Dexter but don't worry! I know people shouldn't actually be serial killers!" So the fact that people - many people - say this sort of thing about Twilight smacks of what Sarah Rees Brennan talks about here about an assumption that young girls don't understand the concept of fiction and therefore YA books should always have good role models. And really, people like things for all kinds of reasons, and I would never assume that because someone liked a book or a character, they agreed with or wanted to emulate that character's actions.

Some more interesting Breaking Dawn-related links:

How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the RPatz

Robert Pattinson Says Stuff Sometimes

Twilight, Fetish, and Protecting Girls from Themselves

The Harsh Bigotry of Twilight-Haters

When Is It Okay for You to Hate Twilight? Here's a Guide.