Afternoon Tea (7/24/19)

This is long but really worth your time: How America Got to ‘Zero Tolerance’ on Immigration: The Inside Story

Stop Demanding People of Color to Show ‘Gratitude’

How the moon landing shaped early video games

The first Iranian newspaper: Mirza Salih Shirazi’s Kaghaz-i akhbar

What It Is To Wake Up

Morning Coffee (9/19/18)

Kabul braces for attacks during Shiite holiday as rising violence convulses Afghanistan

Christine Blasey Ford Is A Goddamned American Hero

Anita Hill: How to Get the Kavanaugh Hearings Right

The Trump GOP Will Do Horrible Things For Brett Kavanaugh

Of course: Trump Officials Urge End of Time Limits on Detaining Migrant Children

Jian Ghomeshi, John Hockenberry, and the Laws of Patriarchal Physics

Why Nintendo’s Toad is in the news, and why he doesn’t deserve this

Amazing: Bills' Vontae Davis shocks team, quits NFL at halftime vs. Chargers

Captain Marvel's Triumphant First Trailer Shoots for the Stars

Spectacular ice age wolf pup and caribou dug up in Canada

Morning Coffee (9/16/18)

‘Never give an inch’: Trump keeps touting perceived failures as successes

This full story is actually much worse than this headline makes it sound! Somehow! Texas board votes to eliminate Hillary Clinton, Helen Keller from history curriculum

White people make up largest proportion of British terror arrests

This has been updated to seem... maybe less bad than it initially did... but still: State Department Changes Passport Website Language for Transgender People

Anne Thériault: What Women Want From Jian Ghomeshi

Nearly 40% of female suicides occur in India

Here's the National Book Award fiction longlist!

Pretty much the least surprising thing: The Other Side of the Spider-Man Proposal Story

This honestly doesn't seem like the worst idea? Maybe. Depends on how it was implemented. Corporate Sponsors for NASA? Agency to Study Making Space for Brands

Oldest Known Drawing by Human Hands Discovered in South African Cave

Morning Coffee (4/24/18)

SOME GOOD NEWS: Meet Prince Baby Noodlemuffin!

Back to bad news; this is horrifying: Toronto Van Driver Kills at Least 10 People in ‘Pure Carnage’

It's almost like Democrats should not actually let any hopes rest on Rand Paul: Senate panel narrowly endorses Mike Pompeo for secretary of state after Trump intervenes with key Republican

What Happened to the Plan to Put Harriet Tubman on the $20 Bill? I for one am shocked that the Trump administration is not prioritizing this!

This is very interesting: How Natalie Portman became the latest Israel-Palestine flashpoint

Ooh: Nate Silver’s FiveThirtyEight Moving From ESPN To ABC News

Aaah, Crazy Rich Asians trailer! I'm so excited.

How Unions Can Help End Academia’s Gender Inequalities

DRAMA: Tests on Captain Cook's sweet potato fuel row over how crop reached Polynesia

‘Dungeons & Dragons’ Co-Creator’s Unpublished Works to Become Video Games

Morning Coffee (12/13/17)

I did not expect this! Once a Long Shot, Democrat Doug Jones Wins Alabama Senate Race

Exclusive: Grassley urges Trump to reconsider controversial judicial picks

There's finally a conviction in the Irene Garza case!!!

Janet Yellen Didn’t Set Out to Be a Feminist Hero

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Year is feminism.

This Year's Christmas Tree Shortage Has Roots In The Recession

This is an important study but SIGH: Diversity on Magazine Covers Saw a Slight Decline in 2017

Olympic Athletes From Russia, and the Politics of What They’ll Wear

Memoirs of an Emperor: Hirohito’s Account of World War II Sells for $275,000

!!! Harry Potter Mobile Game Will Turn Users into Hogwarts Students

Afternoon Tea (11/28/17)

This is heartbreaking and important: Every Parent Wants to Protect Their Child. I Never Got the Chance.

Interesting: Cocktails Only a Local Could Love

Inside The Brothels Of Final Fantasy XIV

The Original Hermione

Don’t lose a finger: The 200-year evolution of the can opener

Afternoon Tea (10/19/17)

This new bio sounds interesting: Hating on Herbert Hoover

What did neolithic man eat after a hard day at Stonehenge? Sweet pork and rich cheese

How Eleanor Roosevelt and Henrietta Nesbitt Transformed the White House Kitchen

In Defence of Celebrity Gossip

I kinda want to try this: Why are games like Stardew Valley so darn satisfying?

Afternoon Tea (10/13/17)

This is very important work: The Presidents of the United States: In Order of Best Eyebrows

EVERYTHING IS A LIE: There Never Were 57 Varieties of Heinz Ketchup

Fascinating: The Sadness of Saturn

Is Your D&D Character Rare?

The Little-Known Friendships of Iconic Women Writers

Afternoon Tea (9/15/17)

This Patrick J. Adams profile is really interesting. Come for what he says about Meghan Markle, stay for the ruminations on Suits in the age of Trump!

Dream Daddy, the game of the summer, was an ode to evolving queer narratives

A Lexicographer’s Memoir of Merriam-Webster in the Internet Age

This is fun: The Worst Shows Critics Ever Reviewed — IndieWire Survey

A Case for Studying the Humanities in a Time of Neo-Fascism

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

Afternoon Tea (8/31/17)

A good piece on last week's YA drama: A first-time author unwittingly exposed the house of cards beneath “bestseller” books

Ruby Ridge, 1992: the day the American militia movement was born

The Holy Grail of Video Game History Is Probably an Office Memo

Interesting: One Scientist May Have Finally Figured Out the Mystery of Why a Civil War Submarine Sank

Shabbat in Zimbabwe

Afternoon Tea (6/28/17)

This is fascinating: Supertasters among the dreaming spires

Dungeons & Dragons Wouldn’t Be What It Is Today Without These Women

The Weird, Mystic Pull of Southwest England

How the Lacoste Polo Shirt Modernized Tennis and Helped Shape Fashion

Heh: Even in the 1700s, Book Clubs Were Really About Drinking and Socializing

Morning Coffee (12/26/16)

(I'm traveling, so this post was written in advance and does not take into account whatever additional horrors have recently been unleashed upon the world.)

Out With The Old, In With The New: Meet The Dems Who Will Defend Obamacare

Russia, NATO, Trump: The Shadow World

Important: After a Crime, the Price of a Second Chance

This is completely fascinating: The Most Politically Dangerous Book You’ve Never Heard Of

“In my defense,” he said, “I thought you were 13.”

The story behind The New York Times’ largest and most ambitious crossword puzzle

Kathleen Kennedy doesn’t think women are ready to direct ‘Star Wars.’ She can fix that.

Dungeons & Dragons’ Gradual Shift Away From Monster Boobs

Whoa: Found: A Roman Tombstone Buried in the New York City Suburbs

Deliver Me from Disneyland

Wow: Mahler's second symphony manuscript sells for record £4.5m

Feathered baby dinosaur tail found trapped in amber

Morning Coffee (8/26/16)

Let's take a break for some happy Friday links!

Important international military news: Penguin Sir Nils Olav III promoted to Brigadier in Royal Norwegian Guard

This is not THAT kind of Penguin, but: Penguin-branded bookstore opens in Toronto

Vulture's Fall Entertainment Generator is nifty.

!!! BBC Greenlights Seven New Agatha Christie Adaptations

The Best Desk Décor: From Belgian Stationery to Japanese Scissors

The Fug Girls understand me on a deep level: A Summer of Celebrities in Stripes

And then: Translating the Trends for Fall 2016: Plaid/Tartan

Whoa: Insane D&D Diorama

Prince Alexander is very cute.

This mansion is perfect if you like being emotionless in the desert (I... I might? Because part of me LOVES THAT.)

Morning Coffee (8/23/16)

Manafort's man in Kiev

Very interesting, from Max Read: Did I Kill Gawker?

Update from Brian Beutler: I Started the “Economic Anxiety” Joke about Trump—and It’s Gone Too Far Now

Your compelling longread for today: Dee Dee Wanted Her Daughter To Be Sick, Gypsy Wanted Her Mom To Be Murdered

Wow: China staff fined for not liking boss's Weibo posts

"I am sorry, Gandalf doesn’t do weddings." Amazing.

This is so cool: My 20-Year Quest To Find Carmen Sandiego

Huh: Do You Eat Like a Republican or a Democrat?

Some people should not be allowed to name children.

How Czech Wine Got Its Terroir Back

Morning Coffee (8/20/16)

This is huge: Justice Department says it will end use of private prisons

And huge in another way: Gawker.com to End Operations Next Week (Gawker certainly always had its problems, but I can barely imagine the Internet without it.)

Wired's endorsement of Hillary Clinton is probably the best I've read, especially but not only if you're into tech stuff.

Paul Manafort's resignation shows Trump's problem is Trump

Jared Kushner's Second Act

YOU GUYS THERE IS A WALDEN VIDEO GAME. "As the writer, you’ll be able to take your laundry home to your mother and go put your feet up at Emerson’s house." Hahahahaha.

This essay by Sara Benincasa in response to an anonymous stranger asking why she'd gained weight is important and wonderfully written.

Jürgen Klopp Has Found His Tackling, Ball-Hunting, Overwhelming Secret Weapon

Aw: Runners Help Each Other After Fall: ‘Get Up. We Have to Finish This.’

The Forgotten History of Female Athletes Who Organized Their Own Olympics

Morning Coffee (7/26/16)

Michelle Obama's speech at the DNC last night was really, really great. Here's the transcript.

I am generally not a huge Sarah Silverman fan - her humor is just not to my personal taste - but this was good.

Mallory Ortberg is in Philadelphia, THANK GOODNESS: When Will The Gates Of Atlantis Open And Welcome Us Back Into The Sea: Day One Of The DNC

Donald Trump’s long history of clashes with Native Americans

Wow: The very nonpolitical Michael Jordan is speaking out about recent shootings (and donating lots of money).

Oops. Try not to accidentally cross international borders while playing Pokemon.

The Vaccination Double Standard

Sad news: Marni Nixon has died.

The complete guide to Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump’s favorite autocrat

Now that I think about it, Star Trek: Beyond's Jaylah being based on Jennifer Lawrence in Winter's Bone makes perfect sense.

Morning Coffee (7/20/16)

Wow: Twitter permanently banned Milo Yiannopoulos. For targeted abuse and harassment, not for conservatism, as that headline sort of implies.

The Racial Motivation for Putting Hillary in Prison

The States That Delivered Huge, Huge Numbers For Trump Got Tremendous Convention Seats

Melania's Fan Club (Hint: If you're calling Michelle Obama "inelegant," that's a pretty good sign that you're racist.)

It sure looks like Melania Trump plagiarized a Michelle Obama speech from 2008

This play-by-play at the Times really reinforces the fact that Trump and his people cannot be trusted to run anything, much less a country.

All The Different Excuses The Trump Campaign Made For Melania Trump’s Plagiarized Speech

Which Countries’ Terrorist Attacks Are Ignored By The U.S. Media?

Oh: New Hampshire police use Pokémon Go to lure fugitives to headquarters

Oooh: Huge Ancient Ship Graveyard Found Off Greek Islands

Morning Coffee (7/16/16)

One of those bodies found by Pokemon Go players? In my city.

Dahlia Lithwick has an interesting take on Ruth Bader Ginsburg's attacks on Trump.

Our Political Culture Doesn’t Know What to Do With Trump’s Explicit Prejudice

Donald Trump’s run for president is baffling — until you read The Art of the Deal

The Clintons and the press are caught in a pointless, toxic cycle of scandal

This piece on Iceland's new historian president is a great read.

If ‘Ghostbusters’ is a feminist victory, feminist pop culture is doomed

This seems like the time to look at vice presidents in order of hotness.

Ooh: Battle of Hastings memorial stone moved to reflect new research

British Soccer Teams Brace for the Impact of ‘Brexit’

Morning Coffee (7/14/16)

This is important: An Open Letter on Identity Politics, to and from the Left

Oh: CNN’s Corey Lewandowski Is Still Being Paid By Donald Trump

I enjoy any piece that starts "How Max Weber explains..." Here, the election.

Sigh: This Is Not a Joke: Deflategate Could Actually Go to the Supreme Court

This would be a fun headline to show someone in the 90s: Senator Al Franken demands Pokémon Go release privacy information

Theranos’ Downfall Isn’t Just Elizabeth Holmes’ Fault

ABC is relaunching their streaming service with some originals but also a whole bunch of older shows, like Sports Night and Brothers and Sisters.

"The Boxcar Children" and the Spirit of Capitalism

I love this headline: The Scottish Scoundrel Who Changed How We See Data (Seriously, this piece has EVERYTHING.)

How To Tell If You Are In A J.R.R. Tolkien Book