Going to split this in two sections because I know some people are avoiding reading Newtown stuff when they're not specifically looking for it. That will be at the end.
Here's a good profile of Tim Scott, just appointed to Sen. DeMint's seat by Gov. Haley.
Sen. Dan Inouye passed away yesterday. Read about his experiences in World War II.
Check out the Fox Holiday Card Maker.
HitFix's First Annual Television Critics' Poll is pretty fascinating.
Coming Soon: Nielsen Twitter TV Rating. That . . . that kind of scares me.
Norah Gaughan has some suggestions for TV knitting.
The Beatles, live in Hamburg.
Newtown-related:
JetBlue Delivers Cousin's Goodbye Letter to Newtown Child's Funeral
That Woman Is Not Adam Lanza’s Mother, and She’s Distracting Us From the Real Issue
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Monday, December 17, 2012
New Taylor Swift Video - I Knew You Were Trouble
Okay, sure, it's ridiculous and overwrought and randomly post-apocalyptic, but that's what things feel like sometimes. And I kind of love it.
Morning Coffee (12/17/12)
Today's links will all have some relation to the shooting in Newtown. I grew up about fifteen miles from there, and spent the weekend in my hometown, and with every connection, the tragedy became more heartbreaking and closer to home. My brother's friend teaches at the school; he managed to keep himself and his students safe, thank God. There were other, more ancillary connections, because these towns are small, but I did not personally know anyone who was lost. My thoughts are with those who did, and with the whole town.
I'm sure you all know where to find the latest news on the investigation. Here are a few other related links I found interesting or important.
How The Newtown Bee is covering Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting
My mother, a pediatrician, recommends these resources to help parents, teachers, and students cope.
Aurora survivor Stephen Barton: How Much Worse Does It Have To Get?
Gail Collins: "Every country has a sizable contingent of mentally ill citizens. We’re the one that gives them the technological power to play god."
Coincidentally, Friday was the twentieth anniversary of a deadly shooting at my alma mater. The father of one of the victims wrote this after Newtown: "Children will continue to pay for a freedom their elders enjoy."
And here's another good read about the aftermath of the shooting at Simon's Rock.
Programming note: One of the scheduled posts I pulled down on Friday will go up this afternoon. Normal posting will resume tomorrow.
I'm sure you all know where to find the latest news on the investigation. Here are a few other related links I found interesting or important.
How The Newtown Bee is covering Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting
My mother, a pediatrician, recommends these resources to help parents, teachers, and students cope.
Aurora survivor Stephen Barton: How Much Worse Does It Have To Get?
Gail Collins: "Every country has a sizable contingent of mentally ill citizens. We’re the one that gives them the technological power to play god."
Coincidentally, Friday was the twentieth anniversary of a deadly shooting at my alma mater. The father of one of the victims wrote this after Newtown: "Children will continue to pay for a freedom their elders enjoy."
And here's another good read about the aftermath of the shooting at Simon's Rock.
Programming note: One of the scheduled posts I pulled down on Friday will go up this afternoon. Normal posting will resume tomorrow.
Friday, December 14, 2012
Friday Music Break: The Monkees do "Riu Riu Chiu"
I promise what you didn't even know your Friday afternoon needed was the Monkees singing Renaissance Spanish a cappella harmonies in front of a Christmas tree. This is great.
The CW's Game of Thrones?
Ever wonder what Game of Thrones would look like if it were a CW show? THIS. Ha ha ha. I will never stop laughing.
Morning Coffee (12/14/12)
Hey, it's my dad's birthday. Happy birthday, Dad!
Here are the Golden Globe nominees.
Have you preordered your copy of The Madness Underneath yet? It comes with nifty gifts! You should go do that.
The 7 Most Ridiculous Things About Calling Out Fake Fangirls
A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector is one of my favorite Christmas albums, and this is a nice appreciation of it.
For the first time, a video game soundtrack was nominated for a Grammy.
Wow. Bone-encrusted churches are fascinating.
It's Friday. You probably need the President being adorable with adorable children.
Here are the Golden Globe nominees.
Have you preordered your copy of The Madness Underneath yet? It comes with nifty gifts! You should go do that.
The 7 Most Ridiculous Things About Calling Out Fake Fangirls
A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector is one of my favorite Christmas albums, and this is a nice appreciation of it.
For the first time, a video game soundtrack was nominated for a Grammy.
Wow. Bone-encrusted churches are fascinating.
It's Friday. You probably need the President being adorable with adorable children.
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Avril Lavigne Covers "How You Remind Me"
This is . . . surprisingly interesting. And it makes me want musicians covering their significant others' songs to be a Thing. Can we make that happen?
(via Marisa)
(via Marisa)
How to Shop for Your Favorite Knitter
Every year, the superlative Yarn Harlot writes a series through December giving ideas for holiday gifts for non-knitters to buy for the knitters in their lives. This year's starts right here, and you should definitely check it out. (Continue to click through all the posts for the month.) But this combined with a few conversations I've had recently made me want to say a bit about buying knitting-related gifts in general.
First, let me say that wanting to buy your knitter yarn or other knitting implements is a VERY NICE impulse, and they will be delighted that you thought of it and wanted to get them something so specific to their interests. But here's the thing: All knitting stuff is not created equal. Even if you get really nice knitting stuff... well, your knitter certainly has preferences, and loving yarn doesn't mean loving (or wanting to work with) all yarn. It's like if you know someone likes music, and you go pick out a CD with a really pretty cover, but it turns out that it's classical and they like rock. Both are good! But it's just not necessarily what they want!
So what you should do? A few ideas:
1) If you can pay a lot of attention to what your knitter knits - it helps if you live with them - you might be able to pick something out. It helps if your knitter has predictable taste. For example, if you know they like to knit socks (and know they're not allergic to wool), you could go to a yarn shop and say "I want some really nice sock yarn for my knitter" and they'd totally be able to hook you up.
2) Ask your knitter's friends! They'd be delighted to help make sure another knitter gets awesome presents, I promise. They could probably point you in the right direction, or give a yes/no on a particular idea you have. Or if your knitter is going to a shop or fiber festival or something with friends, you could sneakily ask a friend to report back if there's anything your knitter clearly wanted but didn't buy. OR you could say that if there's anything in that category up to however much you want to spend, the friend should go ahead and buy it and you'll pay them back. (It helps to arrange this in advance so you're not, say, texting to arrange it DURING the shopping trip. Not that I've had that happen recently or anything.)
3) If your knitter has a favorite local yarn store, get a gift certificate! I know it might not seem like as much "fun" to open, but I promise, every knitter has a mental (or actual) list of things they want to buy at the yarn store but haven't because it's too expensive or decadent or whatever. The "permission" to spend money on whatever they want is AMAZING.
4) If you don't know of a good local store, go for online. I have personally ordered from these three companies and can vouch that they're decent:
The Loopy Ewe - Lots of smaller and international yarn companies as well as some of the big ones.
Knitpicks - Great solid, dependable basics.
WEBS - HUGE selection, everything from basics to fancy stuff. And they have discounts when you order at least $60, so your knitter could potentially get more for their money.
Hope this helps! Any questions? Let me know!
First, let me say that wanting to buy your knitter yarn or other knitting implements is a VERY NICE impulse, and they will be delighted that you thought of it and wanted to get them something so specific to their interests. But here's the thing: All knitting stuff is not created equal. Even if you get really nice knitting stuff... well, your knitter certainly has preferences, and loving yarn doesn't mean loving (or wanting to work with) all yarn. It's like if you know someone likes music, and you go pick out a CD with a really pretty cover, but it turns out that it's classical and they like rock. Both are good! But it's just not necessarily what they want!
So what you should do? A few ideas:
1) If you can pay a lot of attention to what your knitter knits - it helps if you live with them - you might be able to pick something out. It helps if your knitter has predictable taste. For example, if you know they like to knit socks (and know they're not allergic to wool), you could go to a yarn shop and say "I want some really nice sock yarn for my knitter" and they'd totally be able to hook you up.
2) Ask your knitter's friends! They'd be delighted to help make sure another knitter gets awesome presents, I promise. They could probably point you in the right direction, or give a yes/no on a particular idea you have. Or if your knitter is going to a shop or fiber festival or something with friends, you could sneakily ask a friend to report back if there's anything your knitter clearly wanted but didn't buy. OR you could say that if there's anything in that category up to however much you want to spend, the friend should go ahead and buy it and you'll pay them back. (It helps to arrange this in advance so you're not, say, texting to arrange it DURING the shopping trip. Not that I've had that happen recently or anything.)
3) If your knitter has a favorite local yarn store, get a gift certificate! I know it might not seem like as much "fun" to open, but I promise, every knitter has a mental (or actual) list of things they want to buy at the yarn store but haven't because it's too expensive or decadent or whatever. The "permission" to spend money on whatever they want is AMAZING.
4) If you don't know of a good local store, go for online. I have personally ordered from these three companies and can vouch that they're decent:
The Loopy Ewe - Lots of smaller and international yarn companies as well as some of the big ones.
Knitpicks - Great solid, dependable basics.
WEBS - HUGE selection, everything from basics to fancy stuff. And they have discounts when you order at least $60, so your knitter could potentially get more for their money.
Hope this helps! Any questions? Let me know!
Morning Coffee (12/13/12)
Guess who's behind the @SergeantBrody parody Twitter account? Aziz Ansari. Amazing.
Hey, have some SAG nominations!
Well, this is horrible: Kansas City Star Tells Two Reporters to Decide Which One Gets Laid Off
No. These are not awesome gifts for librarians. Every librarian I've heard from on this says: Please no.
A manifesto I can get behind: Fuck You, Slow Walkers
I was ranting about my issues with red velvet cake yesterday, and a friend sent me this secret history. Interesting! But I still think it's basically gross and unnecessary.
If you're interested in writing or in learning more about your favorite authors' writing processes, you must read Holly Black's post on how she wrote The Coldest Girl in Coldtown.
This Star Trek history book looks awesome.
Hey, have some SAG nominations!
Well, this is horrible: Kansas City Star Tells Two Reporters to Decide Which One Gets Laid Off
No. These are not awesome gifts for librarians. Every librarian I've heard from on this says: Please no.
A manifesto I can get behind: Fuck You, Slow Walkers
I was ranting about my issues with red velvet cake yesterday, and a friend sent me this secret history. Interesting! But I still think it's basically gross and unnecessary.
If you're interested in writing or in learning more about your favorite authors' writing processes, you must read Holly Black's post on how she wrote The Coldest Girl in Coldtown.
This Star Trek history book looks awesome.
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Christmas Cookie Recipe: Butterballs!
This is an old family recipe (only slightly adapted) that I make every year; I made it for a cookie swap last weekend and posted this picture, and a few people on Twitter/Facebook/Instagram asked for the recipe. So here you go!
Butterballs
1/2 cup confectioners sugar, plus more for coating
1 cup butter*
2 cups flour
1 cup pecans, finely chopped**
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla
1. Cream the butter and sugar.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.
3. Form the dough into a ball and refrigerate for at least an hour.
4. Preheat oven to 350.
5. Roll the cookies into one-inch balls.
6. Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for 10-12 minutes or until slightly golden.
7. While the cookies are still hot, roll each one in confectioners sugar to coat.
Makes about four dozen.
* I know the default for baking is unsalted butter. But I also know that my mom has always used salted, so that's what I use for this recipe.
** Okay, I no longer actually chop the pecans, because I don't have one of those nifty nut chopper things like my mom does. I now grind them instead, into something somewhere between a meal and a paste, and my brother and I actually like them better this way - the pecan flavor is more infused throughout the cookie. I've done this with both a food processor and a stick blender; both work but the food processor works better.
Butterballs
1/2 cup confectioners sugar, plus more for coating
1 cup butter*
2 cups flour
1 cup pecans, finely chopped**
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla
1. Cream the butter and sugar.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.
3. Form the dough into a ball and refrigerate for at least an hour.
4. Preheat oven to 350.
5. Roll the cookies into one-inch balls.
6. Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for 10-12 minutes or until slightly golden.
7. While the cookies are still hot, roll each one in confectioners sugar to coat.
Makes about four dozen.
* I know the default for baking is unsalted butter. But I also know that my mom has always used salted, so that's what I use for this recipe.
** Okay, I no longer actually chop the pecans, because I don't have one of those nifty nut chopper things like my mom does. I now grind them instead, into something somewhere between a meal and a paste, and my brother and I actually like them better this way - the pecan flavor is more infused throughout the cookie. I've done this with both a food processor and a stick blender; both work but the food processor works better.
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