Morning Coffee (5/18/18)

Whew, time for a break for some happy Friday links.

Awesome: GLAAD to Publish LGBTQ Children’s Book Series, Starting With ‘Prince & Knight’

Whoa: While out for a jog, she discovered a baby buried alive. Twenty years later, they reunite

She's amazing: Katie Ledecky broke her own 1500m world record by 5 SECONDS like it was nothing

Scholastic to publish original Riverdale fiction and companion books

What . . . year is it? Backstreet Boys say fans 'might get two albums this year'

THIS IS SO CUTE (but I hope she still got her couch): How Two Writers Fell in Love on the 2007 Writers Strike Picket Line

Jasmine Guillory wrote a royal wedding-inspire short story.

And here's a very cute map of the royal wedding procession.

This is fun every year: Find Out What Your Name Would Be if You Were Born Today

Storybook Cosmetics Is Launching Star Wars Makeup Brushes That Look Like Little Lightsabers

Morning Coffee (9/15/17)

As usual, we're going to put current events mostly on hold and find some happy links to celebrate Friday!

Me elsewhere: Holly and I recorded an episode of The Fourth Wall about Fall TV and the Emmys. Come listen to us have opinions on TV we haven't seen!

Oooh, here's the National Book Award Nonfiction longlist. Some interesting stuff on there I want to read!

This was a complete delight and I don't even particularly care about Harrison Ford: Harrison Ford on Star Wars, Blade Runner, and Punching Ryan Gosling in the Face

LOOK AT PBTEEN'S NEW HARRY POTTER COLLECTION. I guess I don't ACTUALLY want a themed bedroom, but it's tempting.

Oh, I love this list every year! Top 5 Baby Names By State For Births In 2016

Amazing: Danielle Steel’s Desk Is Unlike Anything You’ve Ever Seen

Cool! Uno is finally getting a colorblind-friendly edition

Here’s the World’s Best Honey Cake, According to Science

Beauty and the Beast Le Creuset is totally the kind of thing I would buy if I had lots of extra money lying around.

!! 16 Gifts Every Cheese Lover Will Obsess Over

Morning Coffee (5/16/17)

Me elsewhere: Lots of TV news this week.

Trump revealed highly classified information to Russian foreign minister and ambassador

And BuzzFeed has corroboration: Trump Revealed Highly Classified Information To Russians During White House Visit

Uh: When President Trump’s bodyguard revealed Jim Mattis’s private cellphone number

How Trump Gets His Fake News

This is wild and SO VERMONTY: FBI: Theft from [Cabot] cheese company for maple biz

Ooh, 2016 baby name data is out!

Aw, this is why this kind of thing actually matters: Rise in Veterans Seeking Help After Prince Harry’s Mental Health Confession

Well, this is quite a statement of Kelly Clarkson's feelings on the return of American Idol.

Ooh: Christie's to auction the Rockefeller emerald: a potentially record-breaking stone with a prestigious provenance

Morning Coffee (3/26/17)

As French Election Nears, Le Pen Targets Voters Her Party Once Repelled

9 bonkers things Donald Trump said in his new exclusive interview with Time

Again, doesn't matter now, but Dylan Matthews was right about this: A modest proposal for solving Republicans' Obamacare impasse

Same here, actually: Why would Democrats ever let Neil Gorsuch be confirmed?

This is... sort of good? Hill Republicans say they're growing frustrated with Mattis

Rex Tillerson Doesn’t Exactly Sound Like Someone Who Wants to Be Secretary of State

The World According to Bannon

"The theft, and then recovery, of Brady’s jersey was like a tale of Trumpian fan fiction."

There are now 3 rivers that legally have the same rights as humans

Interesting: Chinese maths textbooks to be translated for UK schools

How Scarlett Got Its Groove Back: The Link Between Pop-Culture Properties and Baby Names

A trove of anti-Soviet jokes recently declassified by the CIA offers a glimpse of Cold War humor

Morning Coffee (12/13/16)

Syrian forces push Aleppo rebels to brink as city nears ‘total collapse’

C.I.A. Judgment on Russia Built on Swell of Evidence

Uh: Trump adviser suggests election hacks were ‘false flag’ operation by the Obama administration

WHAT A SHOCK: Trump postpones press conference on business conflicts until after Electoral College meets

This is fine: Trump to inherit state-run TV network with expanded reach

Fine! Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson, Trump's Pick For Secretary of State, Got a Special Friendship Medal From Putin

"But as a pattern, a government dominated by recently retired generals is a very negative development."

Hmm: Detroit’s voting irregularities spur state audit

The Internet Archive is building a Canadian copy to protect itself from Trump

Stop naming children after trendy people! You will probably regret it!

Ooh: Watch a Destroyed 17th Century Map Get Painstakingly Restored

Lear turns us all to fools and madmen

Morning Coffee (10/14/16)

How about some happy Friday links? I THINK WE ALL NEED A BREAK.

I'm reading Tana French's new novel right now, and Laura Miller's piece about her books in the New Yorker is just a delight.

Aw: This Guy Took A Road Trip With 29 Dogs, 8 Puppies, And A Cat (To get them to new homes!)

Unseen documents revealed on new website dedicated to TS Eliot

Whoa: Jacques Cousteau's Grandson Is 3D Printing Coral Reefs

Fun: How many movies feature a character with your first name?

The Man Who Invented Bookselling As We Know It

Inside the New York Public Library's Last, Secret Apartments

Ooh, Catherine the Great's Bow Necklace is up for auction again.

Petula Clark reflects on the making of "Downtown," which was semi-inexplicably my favorite song for a while as a little kid.

Channel Childhoods Gone By With This Digital Archive of Victorian Children’s Books

Mysterious Chinese skeletons in ancient London cemetery shed new light on Roman Empire

Morning Coffee (8/28/16)

Media False Equivalence Is Trump’s Best Friend in the Debate Over Racism

How the “Hipster Nazis” of the Alt Right Got Big Enough for Hillary Clinton to Denounce Them

Astronomers just found a new planet that could potentially support life — and it's really, really close

Leavenworth's Spygate

What Barack Obama Thinks of Donald Trump

Alyssa Rosenberg makes a lot of good points here: Academy Award voters have an obligation to see ‘The Birth of a Nation’

Fascinating: Prestel: The British Internet That Never Was?

Aaah, some pictures from the live-action Beauty and the Beast!

Jamie Oliver's new child's name is not quite what I thought before, but still terrible.

I don't actually want there to be bunnies in my grocery store but this is very cute.

Morning Coffee (7/1/16)

HOW IS IT JULY? (I typed "6" in the title there and then glanced down at the date and realized.) There is A LOT GOING ON but as usual we will take a break for happy links today and return to the horrors of the world tomorrow.

Serial fans: Adnan is getting a new trial!!!

This Atlas Obscura piece made me realize I went to school near Ilvermorny! Am I magic??

!!! Crystal Pepsi Is Coming Back to Stores Nationwide AND there's an Oregon Trail-ish game, you guys!!

What a world: Hamilton Co-Stars Cover Arthur Theme

Garth Williams, Illustrator of American Childhood

From Arya to Zayn: The Rise and Fall of 100 Hollywood-Inspired Baby Names

What a delight: Adorable Midcentury Posters Teaching Kids How to Use the Library

I love reading about rich people in the summer.

This write-up is hilarious: Prince Harry Peruses Discounted Frozen Meals on His Latest Grocery Shopping Trip

Browse Nearly 1,000 Photo Postcards of Late-19th-Century Stage Productions of Shakespeare

Today is the last day of The Toast and I am bereft. Luckily for you, I have a few more things from them bookmarked to share over the next week two. Here's Things Lucy Maud Montgomery Lied To Me About

Morning Coffee (3/18/16)

Happy Friday! Time for our weekly break from current events. Here are some links that (I hope) won't make you want to cry.

Josh Malina is doing a West Wing podcast!

The new Florence Foster Jenkins movie looks like tons of fun, but it's also interesting that we're making this into a brave story of following your dreams rather than "rich lady buys the reality she wants."

This review of And Then There Were None (which is worth a watch) made some very interesting points and made me curious to read the book.

TRUE: Tagalongs, the Most Underrated Girl Scout Cookie, Deserve Better

Neat: The Real-World Locations of 14 Sci-Fi Dystopias

Marijane Meaker: The Most Important Lesbian Writer You've Never Heard Of

I always love interviews with Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan (of Go Fug Yourself and The Royal We).

Speaking of, let's talk Breton shirts.

I'm glad someone is finally looking into The Vast Bay Leaf Conspiracy.

Heh: Scenes From Iconic Films Hastily Rewritten So That They Pass the Bechdel Test

Oh, Scotland. Some of these are not names at all.

Perfect: Great House Therapy: Mistress Mary’s Melancholic Manor and Secret Outdoor Space

Morning Coffee (8/24/15)

Me elsewhere: TV news!

Dixville Notch and the midnight vote will not die without a fight

Carly Fiorina out of step with Silicon Valley

Not the Onion: Jonathan Franzen 'considered adopting Iraqi orphan to figure out young people'

Oh! First wolf pack found in California in nearly a century

Add me to the "How has it been 20 years???" chorus.

I really think names should need APPROVAL. Sigh.

Ooh: One of the World's Only Globe-Making Studios Celebrates the Ancient Art of Handcrafted Globes

Heh: Board Game

Morning Coffee (5/15/15)

Happy Friday!

Me elsewhere: Our final network fall schedule: The CW.

I'll continue recommending Todd's schedule analysis: CBS, ABC, FOX.

And here's his How The CW went from near extinction to surprising success

Eee, look at the trailer for The Magicians!

Anne Helen Petersen's celebrity features are always worth reading: Anna Kendrick vs. the Hollywood Type Machine

Find Out What Your Name Would Be If You Were Born Today is fun . . .

. . . but finding out what presidential candidates' names would be is better.

In case you also missed it: Downton Wars. And the fact that Rob James-Collier owns evilbutler.com is my new favorite thing.

I haven't had a chance to play yet, but this Where Is Your Gun Now, Mr. Chekov? game looks nifty.

Signs That Agatha Christie Is About to Murder You

Morning Coffee (3/23/15)

Me elsewhere: Here's your TV news for the week!

Google doodles are on a role recently. Today: Emmy Noether.

Oh, New Hampshire.

Fascinating: The History Of Europe Lies In British People’s DNA

How Harlequin Became the Most Famous Name in Romance

Over 100 Years of Popular Girls Names in One Bubbling Visualization

I want all these candles.

Multiple-Choice Reading Quiz Answers Actually Selected by Students in Classes I Taught as a T.A.

Morning Coffee (3/19/15)

Let's bring back "Pecksniffian."

Hysteria and Teenage Girls

Fascinating: Hunting for Random: The Quest to Find Numbers That Keep Your Data Safe

This Is What It Looks Like When 152 Black Cats Audition for a Movie

There were a lot of waffles on Gossip Girl.

15 Once-Popular Baby Names On The Verge Of Extinction

9 Historical Mysteries Solved By Astronomy

Too Many Men

Morning Coffee (12/9/14)

Here's President Obama on The Colbert Report.

Hasidic Enclave Keeps Its Secrets Amid Elusive Rebbe's Tight Control

I need to get reading: I've read none of the Times's 100 notable books of the year and only two of the notable children's books.

Emails Where Shit Got Real

The Comprehensive Guide to Dating a Book Nerd

These statistics about common names are interesting but I'd like to see it with different spellings of the same name combined, as well.

How Well Do You Know “You’ve Got Mail?” (I got two wrong and I'm so ashamed.)

Heee: Local Woman Asked to Leave Friend Group Due to ‘Weak Personal Brand’

Morning Coffee (7/18/14)

There are all sorts of terrible things going on in the world right now, but I am no expert, so I'm going to point you to the always-wonderful Guardian liveblogs and then continue with our normal happy Friday links in case you need a distraction.

If you only read one article about the German sausage cartel scandal, make it this one.

The kind of protest I can really get behind: borrowing hundreds of library books.

Yeah, I'll totally try the cappuccino chips if I come across them.

Ooh, Edith Cavell is getting a £5 coin!

I know these are fighting words, but: Here's Why Mr. Knightley Is WAY Better Than Mr. Darcy

Every Wedding You Will Ever Attend: A Field Guide

Fun: Are More Junes Born in June?

I would subscribe: Inside Magazine

Morning Coffee (5/12/14)

Check out the Google Doodle for Dorothy Hodgkin's birthday.

Eee, look, the first two chapters of Stephanie Perkins's forthcoming Isla and the Happily Ever After!

I was wondering when this sort of thing would start happening . . . Japanese man arrested for possessing handguns made by 3D printer.

Ugh. Tastykakes are made by the most Republican company.

Penny Dreadful creator John Logan has some interesting things to say about how his sexuality shaped the show and his writing interests.

New Yorkers Don’t Call Their Babies Brooklyn

Famous Authors’ Most Dramatic Breakups

William Carlos Williams In The Dorm’s Communal Kitchen

Morning Coffee (5/2/14)

Happy Friday! Finally!

This Isn’t Just About Star Wars: The 5 Dumbest Arguments Against Gender Diversity

I only care about the NFL schedule to the extent that it affects The Good Wife, and yet this piece on how the schedule was made was completely fascinating.

How TV networks REALLY pick which pilots become series

Nifty: 22 Books You Should Read Now, Based On Your Childhood Favorites

I don't watch much reality TV but I will absolutely watch Lifetime's new convent show.

Go Emma Stone!

A People’s Most Beautiful list you don’t have to feel awful about

The French used to love taking baby names from US TV shows

The Onion: Woman A Leading Authority On What Shouldn’t Be In Poor People’s Grocery Carts

How Much Do You Hate People? (Spoiler: a lot. I hate people a lot.)

Morning Coffee (1/6/14)

Sad news: Phil Everly (of the Brothers) has died.

As has Alicia Rhett, who played India Wilkes in Gone with the Wind.

This awesome kids is petitioning American Girl for a disabled doll.

Here's last week's big snowstorm as seen from space.

I also love the snowstorm New Yorker cover.

Japanese royals pose for rare family photo for New Year

Oh, England: Boris Johnson must apologise over Beatles claim, says Liverpool mayor

17 Struggles of Having a Common Name

Morning Coffee (12/16/13)

Happy Monday! Christmas is somehow suddenly NEXT WEEK. How did that happen?

Peter O'Toole and Joan Fontaine have died. Time for viewings of The Lion in Winter and Rebecca, I think. At least one of them is seasonal.

Colin Donnell - a.k.a Tommy from Arrow - and Patti Murin recorded a thoroughly delightful cover of "All I Want for Christmas."

In case anyone other than me and my brother still cares, here's some information on season four of The Killing.

A Ten-Month-Old's Letter to Santa

Oops: Pupils' Christmas 'ruined' by vicar's Santa Claus origins story

This piece on How to Name a Baby has some fascinating naming statistics and would probably also be useful for writers naming characters.

Dallas fans, this holiday greeting from the Ewings is great.

The Onion: 30-Year-Old Has Earned $11 More Than He Would Have Without College Education

Morning Coffee (12/4/13)

Well, this is shocking: The MBTA is trying out late-night weekend service next year.

The year's top baby names: Sophia and Jackson.

Some serious things: You should read Jamelle Bouie on that GOP Rosa Parks tweet and how racism is still a big problem.

And relatedly, my friend Hannah on Zwarte Piet.

Why the "Rape Girls" Are Speaking Out

And the DC Metro's ad aimed at women: "Can't we just talk about shoes?"

Linda Holmes has good things to say about Internet hoaxes.

Okay, something fun to reward you for getting through all that: bookish wedding cakes!