Afternoon Tea (12/14/18)

Oh happy day! Queens of Infamy: Zenobia

ALWAYS MY FAVORITE: The 2018 GFY Holiday Gift Guide Is Here!

This exhibit sounds amazing: Armpit Pads, Petticoats, and Porcelain: How Stylish Dolls Taught Girls to Be Victorian Women

This story is WILD: How one man's quest to spread Christmas cheer led to a miserable four-year war with his neighborhood

Eight Dazzling Toy Train Displays to Get You in the Holiday Spirit

Morning Coffee (12/8/17)

Time for happy Friday links!

This is a GREAT news story: Service dog causes chaos at ‘Cats’ performance

!! Watch Astronauts Make Pizza in Zero Gravity

Let's ogle the Windsor Castle Christmas decorations.

Rachel Hawkins Shares an Excerpt From Her New Book Royals

Ooh: Boozy Balls Are the Season's Classy Answer to the Jell-O Shot

If that's not enough: 21 Winter Cocktails to Help You Survive the Cold

Okay, this Dolce & Gabbana pasta box is PRETTY.

You Can Now Buy Pink Prosecco Cheese

15 Pretty Nail Polish Colors Practically Made For Christmas

Totally Bookish: 20 Tote Bags for Every Bookworm

Afternoon Tea (12/1/17)

Oooh, the Go Fug Yourself annual gift guide is here!

I am A WORRIER and this was genuinely useful: How to Worry Better

Anne of Green Gables: Patron Saint of Girls Who Ask Too Many Questions (by J. Courtney Sullivan, whose book I loved this year!)

!!! New York City Has Genetically Distinct ‘Uptown’ and ‘Downtown’ Rats

How Black Markets Preserved Spain’s Artisanal Cheeses

Afternoon Tea (11/20/17)

I'm traveling and compiled and scheduled this post in advance, so WHO KNOWS what's actually going on in the world by now. Back on Tuesday!

I'm often skeptical of celebrity authors but I'm excited to read this book: Krysten Ritter Spins Her Own Mystery in Her Debut Novel, ‘Bonfire’

It's almost Advent calendar time and Smart Bitches has a roundup of some great ones.

These are DELIGHTFUL: Celebrities at the Airport in the 1970s: The Photos

The Complicated Political Lives of Medieval Manuscripts

This Week I Wanna Dress Like: Maude From ‘Harold and Maude’ (I mean, who doesn't?)

Morning Coffee (12/16/16)

Time for some happy Friday links!

My friend Beck reviews Oprah's gift guide every year and I look forward to it SO MUCH.

I have Rainbow Rowell's Carry On in hardcover but LOOK AT THE PAPERBACK. I may need that too.

This is COMPLETELY DELIGHTFUL: Michael Caine Loves The Muppet Christmas Carol as Much as You Do

Attention: WORLD'S LARGEST GINGERBREAD VILLAGE

Playbill made a Broadway baking playlist! Perfect for all your cookie baking this time of year.

Aw: Mom Didn’t Sell Any Knitted Goods At A Fair, So Twitter Bought It All

Oh fun: New York City's Holiday Vintage Subway Trains Are Back

Why Hershey's Kisses Have Been Part of the Cultural Fabric of the Holidays Since 1907

Bookish snowmen!

Happy 200th Birthday, The Nutcracker!

Holiday Ornaments for Book Lovers

The 15 Most Beautiful College Libraries in America

Morning Coffee (12/9/16)

Time for our traditional Friday break for some links on the lighter side!

I'll admit I found this useful: A Non-Judgmental Guide to All the Questions You Might Have About Rogue One

I love Williams-Sonoma, and yet I look forward to this every year: The 2016 Hater’s Guide To The Williams-Sonoma Catalog

Yay, the Go Fug Yourself gift guide is here!

And here's the one from Forever Young Adult!

Whoa: The best thing since sliced bread: This baker paints pictures inside her loaves

I LOVE THIS MOVIE: 21 Lessons From ‘The Holiday’ That Warm Our Hearts 10 Years Later

Here Comes the Waxworks Royal Family in Christmas Sweaters to Steal Your Soul (Make sure you scroll down!)

17 Hot Cocktail Recipes for Cold Winter Nights

Taylor Swift Songs That Are Actually About Jane Austen Heroines

A Brief History of the Cheese Curl, Junk Food’s Happiest Accident

This Harry Potter Christmas Tree Will Make You Believe in Magic!

Morning Coffee (11/25/16)

Time for some happy Friday links. And pie for breakfast. Don't forget the pie for breakfast.

A US college student who grew up with few books returned to her native Afghanistan to build a library

Whoa: Harvard Researchers Print World’s First Heart-on-a-Chip

50 Years Ago, Truman Capote Hosted the Best Party Ever

Hedgehog-Based Authentication Is the Only Way to Be Truly Secure

I love holiday gift guides. Here's Vox's, which is always a treat.

I still wish Legends of the Hidden Temple was coming back as a game show, but this clip of the movie made me feel all warm and fuzzy.

NBC’s The Good Place knows nothing's as simple as good vs. evil. It’s perfect for 2016.

15 of the world’s most beautiful train stations

Lipstick shaped like wine bottles!

Mysterious Items Found in 2000-Year-Old Cooking Pot

Morning Coffee (12/4/15)

Happy Friday!

Prince Harry went to a charity surfing event and shook hands with a dog named Jasper. I am not making any of that up.

Connecticut man drives seven hours to Ottawa to see one very large cheese (It's a great headline but also a very sweet story.)

Random, Helpful Brit Drives Public Enemy To Show In His Ford Focus

The Times's 10 Best Books of 2015 are out. I want to read all of them! (My top 10 is currently a top 12, so maybe that's what you'll get? I don't know.)

Someone please get their pet this Astronaut-Inspired Backpack for Christmas.

Speaking of, I love gift guides, and the annual Fug Girls Gift Guide is my FAVORITE.

Here's the Jane and Michael Stern profile you've been wanting for years! (Or I have, anyway.)

CURLING CONTROVERSY

This piece on the history of weather in literature is fascinating, and the ten best weather events in fiction made me want to read/reread all those books.

Tumblr of the day: FUCK YEAH HISTORY CRUSHES

Morning Coffee (11/23/15)

Me elsewhere: TV news!

This (and many similar things) are not getting enough attention: Polish Anti-Refugee Demonstrators Burn Jew in Effigy

Claire McCaskill is a TREASURE.

Hackathons Have a Gender Problem

I love Richard Scarry, and this on how he updated his books to be more progressive is great.

Anonymous sexism in paleoanthropology

"This is for everyone reading: You can spend holidays with whomever you like, including just yourself, if that’s how you want to roll. Family members will have feelings about it, and that’s understandable, but their feelings don’t automatically trump your own."

Ha: The Bible Written In New York City Blog Voice

This piece on D&D mostly made me want to read an actually good bio of Gygax.

Tinder: not good at dealing with harassment.

I love gift guides. Here's Vox's.

Perfect: Alternatives to Writing Your Thesis

Morning Coffee (11/13/15)

Happy Friday! FINALLY.

It's the most wonderful post of the year! My friend Beck has posted her annual review of Oprah's gift guide.

Awesome: A Judge Used Taylor Swift Lyrics To Dismiss The $42 Million Lawsuit Against “Shake It Off”

Ooh! A Lost Story by Edith Wharton Has Been Discovered in Yale's Library

Look at this 3D printed violin!! (I think the objections that it doesn't sound that great are nonsense; no one's saying it should be used by professionals, but it would be GREAT for making music learning more accessible for kids.)

This is old, but a friend shared it recently and it was too delightful not to pass along: Computing the optimal search strategy for finding Waldo

How the British Royal Family Became a Global Brand

!!! Whisky Advent Calendar!!!

The Funky Little Football Phone That Sold a Million Magazines

Treebooks Vs. Ebooks: Just Read.

"TRACY: I will say this, though: I appreciate that you are the only man in this entire movie who has not described me as a frigid bitch-goddess or a human statue.
MIKE: That is something, isn’t it? I said you were a girl, and that I liked your fire, and your self-sufficiency.
TRACY: It was, quite literally, the nicest thing any man has ever said to me, including my father and former husband.
MIKE: My God, that’s awful."

Morning Coffee (12/19/14)

Why Sony Was Wrong to Pull The Interview

Probably a LOT of us could benefit from taking a break and reading this right now: The Holiday Hellidays Stress Test Shit Show: Starring You!

Someone Invited a Vegetarian for Dinner? DON'T PANIC

I'm so excited about the new Judy Blume book.

Moving wind forecast puts beautiful weather in your browser

A New British Show Will Feature a Space Ark Piloted by an Android Bear

Oooh, book socks.

How to Tell If You Are in a Baby-Sitters Club Book

Morning Coffee (12/18/14)

Sony won't release The Interview Christmas Day after all

Why we're reporting on Sony's leaked info

The Doomed Sandy Hook Lawsuit

The Trouble with Teaching Rape Law

Church of England Names Libby Lane as First Female Bishop

Questions were raised about The Toast's contract terms earlier this week, and I'm impressed with how they're handling it.

Funny but also useful: Your Quick & Easy Guide To The 5 New Instagram Filters (And What To Use Them For)

Instacart and Di Bruno: Because Sometimes You Just REALLY Need Your Cheese Delivered to You in an Hour (My cousin works for them in Philadelphia and obvious I am very impressed with her work. CHEESE DELIVERY.)

Amazing: A Spinster’s Holiday Gift Guide: What To Buy For The Woman Who Loves Solitude

Morning Coffee (12/16/14)

Check out today's Kandinsky Google doodle.

17 Cosy Reading Nooks To Get You Through The Winter I WANT ONE.

The New Cosmopolitan & the Slow Climb Out of Lipstick-and-Lasagna Land

Go Fug Yourself's Holiday Gift Guide is always a delight.

There's another great book-related gift guide at Novel Novice.

This is mesmerizing: What Colour Is It?

I kind of want to make these Anna and Elsa stockings just for MYSELF.

Doctors Performing Surgery For The First Time In Western Art History

Morning Coffee (12/15/14)

Me elsewhere: TV news for the week!

I love Vox's list of Books to Read to Understand the World.

So, Northeastern's radio station has been playing Oasis 'Don't Look Back In Anger' on a loop for hours

"Soon we'll have a peppermint bark origin story. Very dark. Very gritty. I worry about franchise dilution. It used to be about the BARK, man."

Quiz: Which Disney Heroine Are You? (Belle, of course.)

Here are some fun book-related gift ideas.

The Whole Foods Holiday Help site is pretty great.

Whoa: Tiny Flip Books Create A Miniature World In Your Hands

Signs You May Be At Risk For “Space Madness”

Morning Coffee (11/17/14)

Me elsewhere: TV news, Haven recap, Bones review.

Every year, my friend Beck writes a hilarious review of the Oprah's gift guide. Here's this year's.

This potential New Yorker documentary series sounds interesting.

Jude Law as an Arthurian villain? Yes please.

So, on New Year's Eve, Ryan Seacrest's show will have Taylor Swift in New York and now Harry Styles in Hollywood. Hee. I hope she plays "Style."

Huh. Greg Berlanti is writing the Oscars.

Fascinating: Some Guy Scooped The Baseball Media On The Biggest MLB Contract Ever

This cannot actually be efficient: Westminster gardener ordered to remove autumn leaves one by one

you guys didnt have to do this!
i honestly would have been fine with just like half a dozen putti
and three or four handmaidens
like a dozen handmaidens max would have been FINE honestly

Morning Coffee (12/10/13)

Heartbreaking and important: Invisible Child

Eleanor Parker, who played the Baroness in The Sound of Music, has died at 91.

Women Writers on Reading Literature's "Midcentury Misogynists"

If you're in New York, make sure you check out the Downton Abbey tea truck.

As someone who can barely tolerate needles over size six, arm knitting sounds nightmarish to me. But, um, I hope they have fun?

Period piece showdown: Mr. Collins vs. Mr. Collins

Whoa: Watch a Lego re-creation of The Blues Brothers’ mall chase scene

As always, Go Fug Yourself's gift guide is delightful.

Morning Coffee (12/2/13)

Make sure you check out today's Maria Callas Google doodle.

How the U.S. Media Would Cover Thanksgiving If It Were in Another Country

The BBC is making a Borgen radio spinoff!!!

Prince William sang with Bon Jovi and Taylor Swift. Heeee.

Here are the Times's 100 Notable Books of 2013. I've read . . . one so far. Oops. I do have another three on my Christmas list already . . .

To go along with the reverse one a few days ago: Americans Try to Place European Countries on a Map

Are You My Mother?

2013 Gift Guide for TV Lovers

Morning Coffee (11/26/13)

Happy Tuesday! It's snowing!

The Maltese Falcon figurine sold for over $4 million.

Major Crimes returned last night, and June Thomas has a great interview with star Mary McDonnell.

I don't watch much reality TV, but I am looking forward to The Great Christmas Light Fight.

Did you know that Ridley Scott made a short film about the Coca-Cola polar bears? I did not, but here you go.

This list of the supposed 25 most powerful female TV characters is less terrible than I expected! (Clearly my expectations are very high.)

Warning: You may not make it through this without choking up: 38 Pictures That Prove Cats Have Hearts of Gold

Some fun stuff here: Kim France's Holiday Gift Guide for Fug Nation

Awesome: Explore a museum's collection by color.

Morning Coffee (11/14/13)

It's the most wonderful post of the year! My friend Beck has finished her annual review of Oprah's gift guide.

If you've ever yelled at an author (or TV writer, etc.) because a plot didn't turn out the way you wanted, you should read what Gayle Forman has to say.

Ta-Nehisi Coates is wonderful, as always, in his Richard Cohen takedown.

I've only read a few of these supposedly incredibly tough books, and I didn't find any of them particularly tough, so . . . I don't know. I do like the line "Don't worry, the Ulysses is implied," though.

I agree with these recipe pet peeves.

Amazing: The Rise and Fall of Fox Civilization in Disney Films

Apparently "hey" is taking the place of "hi."

How 17th Century Fraud Gave Rise To Bright Orange Cheese

Morning Coffee (10/31/13)

Happy Halloween!

A Very Public (Radio) Halloween

Text Messages from a Jack-O-Lantern

Ooh, promo for Fox's new Cosmos.

Why We Need to Stop Calling Jane Austen a Feminist

All I know of Danish TV is Borgen, so I am slightly appalled to discover they also have a hit show on which complete strangers have legal marriages arranged by the show.

Do you want to read about a 22-year-old Norwegian chess champion? Sure, why not?

A Nod to Ned Ludd

Whoa. Lots of cheese-related gifts.