Morning Coffee (12/20/16)

Russian Ambassador to Turkey Is Assassinated in Ankara

Related: How the rivalry between Russians and Turks shaped the world

A very powerful piece about Syrian refugees: A Woman Alone

All This Talk of Voter Fraud? Across U.S., Officials Found Next to None

Uh, not good: Under political pressure, Kuwait cancels major event at Four Seasons, switches to Trump’s D.C. hotel

Trump private security force ‘playing with fire’

White nationalists target Jews in small Montana town

Shocker: Trump’s Labor Secretary Pick Has a Long, Slimy History With Anti-Abortion Schemes

It amazes me that major corporations come up with things so obviously tone-deaf and no one catches it along the way: Bud Light sorry for ‘removing no from your vocabulary for the night’ label

Cotton Mather, the Salem Witch Trials, and Our Miserable Present

This is a good read on the importance of black sci-fi authors.

Reddit Is Tearing Itself Apart

Morning Coffee (12/19/16)

Me elsewhere: Your TV news roundup for the week.

This is a big deal: Obama's UN Envoy Refers To Armenian Genocide

An American “redemption”? Trumpism fits a pattern of backlash against social progress.

Reporter's Notebook: What It Was Like As A Muslim To Cover The Election

Civil Rights Déjà Vu, Only Worse

Indians, Slaves, and Mass Murder: The Hidden History

Asking Ma about life in Shanghai during the Cultural Revolution.

A super white Christmas: The Hallmark Channel gives us TV’s most homogeneous view of the holiday

Wreath Witherspoon. WREATH WITHERSPOON. Amazing.

Inside Quebec’s Great, Multi-Million-Dollar Maple-Syrup Heist

The Czech Pastry That Took Texas By Storm, And Keeps Gaining Strength

On Swift

Morning Coffee (12/18/16)

A leading white nationalist says it plainly: Trump’s victory was about white identity

The Indian caste where prostitution is hereditary

'Jackie,' 'The Crown' and what we expect from women in power

This is wild: How to Hide $400 Million

The conservative group behind efforts to intimidate professors

“How are we to help you prevent war?” Virginia Woolf’s feminist pacifism

Oh for the love of - Andrew Lloyd Webber Claims He Discovered Rihanna

Cult of One: Self-Creation As an Act of Faith

Interesting: More Is More: The Rise of the Modest Fashion Movement

Fascinating Charts Reveal What Foods Americans Have Been Googling

I will click on every story about the Voynich Manuscript.

Heh: Woman Calls Police To Report Man Who Won’t Stop Whistling Semisonic’s ‘Closing Time’

Morning Coffee (12/17/16)

"Prevent Tragedy Before It's Too Late": Read the Statement 1,200 Scholars Just Released About Trump

Ivanka Trump Will Not Fix "Women's Issues"—She Will Distract From Them

ICYMI, here's the Vanity Fair piece that had Trump tweeting against them, because obviously that's something very important for him to be spending his time on. (Spoiler: it's a restaurant review.)

Of course: West Virginia Official Fired for Calling FLOTUS 'Ape in Heels' Is Reinstated

"Feminists’ critique of male power has long been caricatured as hatred of men. But it is feminists whose fight is motivated by the belief that men can be better, if we can make clear that they, too, benefit from a safer, more equal and more just world."

"Trump is taking advantage of a well-established media norm— if the president-elect says something, it’s news."

Good for him: Dan Snow crowdfunds £160,000 to back pro-EU political candidates

I have so many questions about this, starting with - is it REAL? REALLY? Siberian Reality Survival Series ‘Game2: Winter’ To Allow Rape, Murder & More

The Private Heisenberg and the Absent Bomb

William Trevor's Quiet Explosions

This new study may explain why peer review in science often fails

I kept putting this off in favor of more IMPORTANT links but I really want you to see it: A Canadian town is threatening drunk drivers with Nickelback torture

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 (12/15/16)

Aleppo battle: Raids on Syria city 'probably war crime' UN says

Philippines President Duterte admits killing suspects

U.S. Officials: Putin Personally Involved in U.S. Election Hack

Democratic House Candidates Were Also Targets of Russian Hacking

Trump’s national security adviser shared secrets without permission, files show

Trump Must Give Up Hotel Before Inauguration, Agency Tells Lawmakers

Is this real life? Trump reportedly bumped Twitter from tech meeting for rejecting his emoji

..... Trump says it’s OK if he skips intelligence briefings because he’s ‘a smart person’

This is an interesting perspective: Donald Trump And The End Of “Time”

"If Pizzagate is surprising, it’s because memories of Gamergate have been locked away in a 'pink ghetto,' marginalized as a women’s issue that can be safely ignored."

Libraries Become Unexpected Sites of Hate Crimes I wouldn't exactly call this... unexpected.

Dunkirk trailer! Can't wait.

Morning Coffee (12/14/16)

The Battle for Aleppo Has Entered Its Bloody End Stage

This investigation is quite something: The Perfect Weapon: How Russian Cyberpower Invaded the U.S.

Is there still hope for Turkish democracy?

Donald Trump confirms he will violate Constitution his first day in office

A Guide to Donald Trump's Huge Debts—and the Conflicts They Present

Center for Reproductive Rights Sues Texas Over Fetal Burial Requirement

Good: Energy Dept. rejects Trump’s request to name climate-change workers, who remain worried

FINALLY!!! BBC and ITV to launch BritBox on-demand service in US

Heh: Why, Kanye? Why? (This story was better before the update was added.)

I love that they're still finding lost cities in Greece.

Fascinating: A Navajo Chef Looks to History in His Homage to Native Cuisine

Would You Like Book Recs from Margaret Atwood on Your Phone? WHO WOULDN'T?

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 (12/12/16)

Me elsewhere: TV news for the week.

The Widows of Duterte's Drug War

Fake News: How a Partying Macedonian Teen Earns Thousands Publishing Lies

This is what happens when Donald Trump attacks a private citizen on Twitter

Interesting: Military-Trained Police May Be Less Hasty To Shoot, But That Got This Vet Fired

A user’s guide to Teen Vogue, which is quietly doing very good journalism (I do think this is worth noting and celebrating, but let's stop the SHOCK at TEEN GIRLS being interested in SERIOUS THINGS, everybody.)

Republicans allowed voter paranoia to flourish. They got a president-elect who embraces it.

Ivanka Trump’s Terrible Book Helps Explain the Trump-Family Ethos

This piece about Bannon's obsession with Titus Andronicus is fascinating.

Trying to figure out how to navigate the Trump years? Be Eleanor Roosevelt.

Whoa: Solving a Mystery Behind the Deadly ‘Tsunami of Molasses’ of 1919

Aw, the Queen's getting another great-grandchild.

Morning Coffee (12/11/16)

Some good news! Senate approves Murphy mental health bill

Obama orders review of Russian hacking during presidential campaign

All of Donald Trump’s known conflicts of interest in one place

This has some interesting information but I feel the need to point out that the specific thing it says is like Game of Thrones is the complete opposite of Game of Thrones: Trump’s Transition Team ‘Is Like Game of Thrones’

“I like beautiful women eating burgers in bikinis. I think it’s very American.”

"But banning access to public land for protesters days after the inauguration is 'extremely unique'..."

This is SO well-deserved: The Washington Post honors David Fahrenthold with inaugural Ben Bradlee Prize

Jamelle Bouie is always worth reading: Keep Hope Alive

I'm going to miss them so much: An Inside Look at Michelle Obama’s Final White House Holiday Decorations

I started watching this the night before this article came out so I feel VERY ON TOP OF THINGS: Will ‘Skam,’ a Norwegian Hit, Translate?

WHAT EVEN: Hatchimals scheme 'ruins' novelist Sara Gruen and angers Christmas shoppers

Heh: Scottish politician says Brexit changed Toblerone and government should fix it