Morning Coffee (5/14/14)

My cousin wrote this Open Letter to Anti-Vaxxers from the perspective of an autistic adult and it's amazing and you should read it.

What's So Scary About Smart Girls?

Teen Girl Ejected From Prom Because Horny Dads Can't Stop Staring

The New York Times's new cooking site is very pretty.

The Origins of "Privilege"

This West Wing oral history is fascinating.

America's real racism problem doesn't look like Donald Sterling

Powerful Modern Curses

Morning Coffee (5/13/14)

Oh no: Casey Kasem is missing.

Has the Santa Maria been found?

Castle fans, if you're reeling after last night's finale, here's a postmortem with Andrew Marlowe.

Broadchurch and/or David Tennant fans, here's the trailer for Gracepoint. Unpopular opinion: I'm fascinated to see how they start from the same place and wind up somewhere different.

Hieroglyph seems like this year's Sleepy Hollow, as in "FOX concept that sounds bizarre and terrible but might end up being awesome."

Why are people freaking out about Satanism at Harvard?

On Grief and Eating

The Onion: Stone-Hearted Ice Witch Forgoes Exclamation Point

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 (5/9/14)

Happy Friday!

The crazy musical from Orphan Black is real.

Pinocchio dinosaur!

Amazing: Paul Rudd and Jon Hamm Competed in Trivial Pursuit to Win Over a Girl

If "Tahmoh Penikett is a very lost, buff wizard" doesn't make you click, then Jed, I don't even want to know you.

Two Medieval Monks Invent Some More Art

This Orphaned Kitten Was Rejected By Its Mother. Guess Who Adopted Him?

These library barcode iPhone cases are nifty.

Wildly Inappropriate Internal Responses I Have Had To Perfectly Innocuous Statements

Whoa, the Air France luxury suite is . . . luxurious.

Morning Coffee (5/8/14)

The drug cocktail used in Clayton Lockett's execution last week? Banned for use on animals in some places because it's inhumane.

Sotomayor Finds Her Voice Among Justices

Interesting: Even as U.S. Hispanics Lift Catholicism, Many Are Leaving the Church Behind

A reality check from Linda Holmes: Once More Into The Jaws Of The TV Dinosaur Known As Upfrontasaurus

16th century 'vampire' grave unearthed in Poland

"In that way, Hillsong is a lot like the BuzzFeed of Christianity."

Fake Geek Guys: A Message to Men About Sexual Harassment

I loved Reza Aslan's Zealot, and this interview with him is great.

Why I Stopped Speaking to My Daughter in Hebrew

Morning Coffee (5/7/14)

Update: New Kidnapping Reported in Nigeria as U.S. Offers Help

Shocker: It's like universal health care helps people's health.

I have to figure out how to work an evening podcast into my routine, but I'm excited about Mike Pesca's new The Gist at Slate.

Well, this is awesome: The College of Arms has published rules for The Arms of Individuals in Same-Sex Marriages.

Huh: Monica Lewinsky is doing a Vanity Fair exclusive.

John Green in Cosmo: Can You Get Too Old for YA Novels? (No.)

Terrible news: One in five beers sold in America is a Bud Light

If You Knew Anne of the Island IRL

Morning Coffee (5/6/14)

Chasing Death Camp Guards With New Tools

Most of What You Think You Know About Sex Trafficking Isn’t True

Huh. Pemberley Digital's next project: Frankenstein M.D.

The Bechdel test is fine just the way it is

Is It Fair To Call A Band A Sellout? (Hint: No.)

I am also so over book guilt.

10 Great Authors Who Disowned Their Own Books

5 Well-Intentioned Phrases That Have Been Ruined by Assholes

Morning Coffee (5/5/14)

I periodically forget that the Free State Project people are still around, being annoying and terrible.

Important: Changed Life of the Poor: Better Off, but Far Behind

Why Has the Pentagon Turned Into a Robot When Asked to Explain Its Trans Ban?

Think what you may of "Blurred Lines" in general, but this video of Hugh Jackman, Michael Fassbender, and James McAvoy dancing to it is PURE MAGIC.

I don't understand these people who want to stay in New Hampshire and leave Connecticut.

Will fear of TV cancellations become a thing of the past?

Beyond net neutrality: The new battle for the future of the internet

Hee: PEI to bolster tourism with 300 ft Anne of Green Gables Roller Coaster (Warning: satire.)

Truth: Cider Is Fucking Awesome. End of Story.

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 (5/1/14)

How is it May? I don't understand.

Local note: Tonight is the Hippo's annual charity taco tour in Manchester.

If you missed this as it broke last night, there are more Rob Ford recordings and he's taking a leave of absence.

This New Yorker piece on the kidnapped Nigerian girls is a good overview, and make sure you read this update too.

How Fox News Shoved Shepard Smith Back Into The Closet

Oh, Joyce Carol Oates, no.

How Donald Sterling Violated The NBA's Unspoken Social Contract

"If you kill a person, you're a murderer. If you steal, no one would hesitate to call you a thief. But in America, when you force yourself on someone sexually, some people will jump through flaming hoops not to call you a rapist."

Why the gender gap in children’s allowances matters

"But an internal military document that a Navy official inadvertently e-mailed to a Washington Post editor . . ."