How is it the last day of June already??
An important read: My Wife’s Abortion v. Your Free Speech
Re-reading feminist author Marion Zimmer Bradley in the wake of sexual assault allegations
Awesome: See the Text Messages That Led to Indiana's First Gay Marriage
How a Book Becomes the Book of the Summer
Sigh: Let’s Face It, There Probably Won’t Be Any "Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" Sequels
The Limited is doing a Scandal clothing line. Yes, that apparently means that The Limited still exists.
What’s your personal pop culture hell? (I agree with several things on this list.)
This Matisse cut-outs show sounds great.
Monday, June 30, 2014
Friday, June 27, 2014
Morning Coffee (6/27/14)
Happy Friday!
My friend Holly started an extremely important new Tumblr: Hiatus Beards
Okay, not exactly happy, but adorable: Prince Harry Recalls Princess Diana's Death, Cries in Brazil While Meeting With Local Kids
Eee, it's real! Here's the first still from the new season of The Killing.
Here's the promo for Hallmark Channel's Christmas in July week, which is pretty much proof that God loves us.
19 Dilemmas Every Book Lover Has Faced at Least Once
How to Tell If You're in a Dorothy Parker Story
The Onion, perfect as usual: Conversations Pretty Limited When Friend Not In Midst Of Crisis
27 Joys And Struggles Of Growing Up In An Italian-American Family
Women Listening To Men In Western Art History
My friend Holly started an extremely important new Tumblr: Hiatus Beards
Okay, not exactly happy, but adorable: Prince Harry Recalls Princess Diana's Death, Cries in Brazil While Meeting With Local Kids
Eee, it's real! Here's the first still from the new season of The Killing.
Here's the promo for Hallmark Channel's Christmas in July week, which is pretty much proof that God loves us.
19 Dilemmas Every Book Lover Has Faced at Least Once
How to Tell If You're in a Dorothy Parker Story
The Onion, perfect as usual: Conversations Pretty Limited When Friend Not In Midst Of Crisis
27 Joys And Struggles Of Growing Up In An Italian-American Family
Women Listening To Men In Western Art History
Thursday, June 26, 2014
Morning Coffee (6/26/14)
Will Maine have the first openly Gay Governor elected in the US?
Major Ruling Shields Privacy of Cellphones
There's a new Judy Blume novel coming next year!
Would you like to see pictures of the Queen visiting the Game of Thrones set? Of course.
Too true: 30 Things Only Antisocial People Understand
Awesome: Daniel Radcliffe sorts celebrities.
Every French Novel Ever
What Composer Is Your Soulmate? (My answer was Bach, which should surprise no one.)
Major Ruling Shields Privacy of Cellphones
There's a new Judy Blume novel coming next year!
Would you like to see pictures of the Queen visiting the Game of Thrones set? Of course.
Too true: 30 Things Only Antisocial People Understand
Awesome: Daniel Radcliffe sorts celebrities.
Every French Novel Ever
What Composer Is Your Soulmate? (My answer was Bach, which should surprise no one.)
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
Morning Coffee (6/25/14)
Oh, no, Eli Wallach has died. (Have we talked about how much I love The Holiday? Now I will tear up even more at his scenes, I'm sure.)
Joe Dorsey’s Big Fight: How An Unknown Boxer Knocked Out Segregation In Louisiana
The Kiss That Changed Video Games
Did you see that viral tweet about someone's mother asking to be addressed as "Doctor" in a deposition? Here's the story behind it, and it makes it even better.
Ooh: Box containing Christmas gifts from Royal Family to World War One soldiers discovered
People keep buying Emily Schultz's novel Joyland thinking it's Stephen King's. Here's what she's doing with the money. Awesome.
Why Nicholas Sparks Matters Now
The Onion, but, you know, basically true: Study: Average American Tries Getting Out Of 10,000 Things Each Year
Joe Dorsey’s Big Fight: How An Unknown Boxer Knocked Out Segregation In Louisiana
The Kiss That Changed Video Games
Did you see that viral tweet about someone's mother asking to be addressed as "Doctor" in a deposition? Here's the story behind it, and it makes it even better.
Ooh: Box containing Christmas gifts from Royal Family to World War One soldiers discovered
People keep buying Emily Schultz's novel Joyland thinking it's Stephen King's. Here's what she's doing with the money. Awesome.
Why Nicholas Sparks Matters Now
The Onion, but, you know, basically true: Study: Average American Tries Getting Out Of 10,000 Things Each Year
Tuesday, June 24, 2014
Book Recommendation: Landline
Landline by Rainbow Rowell(Goodreads, Amazon)
TV writer Georgie's marriage is in trouble - and then she accidentally happens upon a way to communicate with her husband in the past. Can she fix things? Should she fix things? Will she somehow mess up the timeline? I've loved all of Rainbow's books, but this one just might be my favorite so far. The characters - both Georgie and Neal as well as the supporting cast - immediately captured my interest and my heart, and I'm in awe of the way that Rainbow gets them to a satisfying ending without sacrificing any of the very real pain they (and the readers) feel along the way or implying that everything has magically turned to sunshine and rainbows. (Er, no pun intended.) And the writing is such that I kept having to put the book down - even as I wanted to race through it - to absorb certain perfect sentences. If you like stories about relationships or family or friends or self-discovery or writing or TV or Christmas, read this book.
Landline comes out two weeks from today, on July 8th, so preorder or put yourself on your library's hold list now!
(Disclaimer: I know Rainbow, but I would not lie to you - I loved this book.)
Morning Coffee (6/24/14)
John Green was on The Colbert Report and it was great.
Awesome: "One of the nice perks about being president is that anybody will hand you their baby. I get this baby fix 2 or 3 times a week."
Update: Into the Woods changes possibly less terrible than previously reported.
Oh good: Judge Upholds Policy Barring Unvaccinated Students During Illnesses
The Supreme Court doesn't understand software, and that's a problem
"David Glowacki, a theoretical chemist, was forcibly ejected from a performance of Handel’s Messiah last week when he attempted to crowd surf."
Heh, this is perfect: The Convoluted Calculus of Rating Books
There's a quidditch documentary coming!
Discarded Descriptions of Women from My Contemporary Hard-Boiled Detective Novel
Awesome: "One of the nice perks about being president is that anybody will hand you their baby. I get this baby fix 2 or 3 times a week."
Update: Into the Woods changes possibly less terrible than previously reported.
Oh good: Judge Upholds Policy Barring Unvaccinated Students During Illnesses
The Supreme Court doesn't understand software, and that's a problem
"David Glowacki, a theoretical chemist, was forcibly ejected from a performance of Handel’s Messiah last week when he attempted to crowd surf."
Heh, this is perfect: The Convoluted Calculus of Rating Books
There's a quidditch documentary coming!
Discarded Descriptions of Women from My Contemporary Hard-Boiled Detective Novel
Monday, June 23, 2014
Morning Coffee (6/23/14)
Still breathlessly following the Whole Foods news: Locals look to get their products into new Whole Foods store in Nashua
My friend Alissa is starting a little free library in her neighborhood.
Ooh, they found some unknown Neruda poems!
The Queen is visiting the Game of Thrones studios. Awesome.
And the Duchess of Cambridge visited Bletchley Park, where her grandmother worked.
Whoa, there's a The Killing prequel novel coming out.
This Diagon Alley ice cream sounds amazing.
My Prestigious Literary Novel
My friend Alissa is starting a little free library in her neighborhood.
Ooh, they found some unknown Neruda poems!
The Queen is visiting the Game of Thrones studios. Awesome.
And the Duchess of Cambridge visited Bletchley Park, where her grandmother worked.
Whoa, there's a The Killing prequel novel coming out.
This Diagon Alley ice cream sounds amazing.
My Prestigious Literary Novel
Friday, June 20, 2014
Morning Coffee (6/20/14)
Happy Friday!
My friend Todd VanDerWerff is the new culture editor at Vox, and I can't wait to see what he does there.
Speaking of Todd, his news item on Taylor Swift's new kitten is delightful.
This is the funniest thing I have ever read. Just trust me.
Felipe VI is now King of Spain. Would you like to see some pictures? Of course you would.
James McAvoy for Prada is my happy place.
I am constantly trying to recapture this feeling: Why You Should Read Like a Teen Again
This slideshow of posh British actors is full of delightful information: Eddie Redmayne and Prince William were prefects at Eton together! Kit Harington is a descendant of Charles II!
I never met a Breton stripe I didn't covet.
Look, it's a 12-foot portrait of Prince William and Prince George made from Toblerone. The world is a magical place.
18 Things Only People Who Hate Camping Understand
I love everything about this: Flannery O'Connor on Ayn Rand: "She makes Mickey Spillane look like Dostoevsky."
My friend Todd VanDerWerff is the new culture editor at Vox, and I can't wait to see what he does there.
Speaking of Todd, his news item on Taylor Swift's new kitten is delightful.
This is the funniest thing I have ever read. Just trust me.
Felipe VI is now King of Spain. Would you like to see some pictures? Of course you would.
James McAvoy for Prada is my happy place.
I am constantly trying to recapture this feeling: Why You Should Read Like a Teen Again
This slideshow of posh British actors is full of delightful information: Eddie Redmayne and Prince William were prefects at Eton together! Kit Harington is a descendant of Charles II!
I never met a Breton stripe I didn't covet.
Look, it's a 12-foot portrait of Prince William and Prince George made from Toblerone. The world is a magical place.
18 Things Only People Who Hate Camping Understand
I love everything about this: Flannery O'Connor on Ayn Rand: "She makes Mickey Spillane look like Dostoevsky."
Thursday, June 19, 2014
Book Recommendations: Just One Day
Just One Day by Gayle Forman(Goodreads, Amazon)
I'll say up front that Forman's Just One Day didn't quite recapture the magic of her previous duology, If I Stay and Where She Went. And that it took me a little while to get into this one. But it hooked me eventually - and perhaps weirdly, the part of the book that took place after the "one day" in Paris was much more interesting to me than the iconic day itself. The main character, Allyson, could be frustrating at times, but it was in a realistic way and wound up adding to the story overall. I like stories about kids who have trouble adapting to college (see also: Fangirl), and her struggles with trying to separate her own needs and desires from others' expectations of her felt very true (and familiar). I bought into her personal evolution more than the romance itself, but I think that was the point. Willem, the love interest, was fine, I guess - the next book tells his story, so hopefully I'll like him better then. Here, though, I found Allyson's friend Dee way more interesting. Also: this book DEFINITELY made me want to go back to Europe.
Morning Coffee (6/19/14)
(I feel like Thursday is "everything is terrible" day because I'm always worried about having enough happy links for Happy Friday. Oops!)
Isis breach of Iraq-Syria border merges two wars into one 'nightmarish reality'
Oh, but this is good: In Landmark Decision, U.S. Patent Office Cancels Trademark For Redskins Football Team
A difficult but important read: This Is How A Domestic Violence Victim Falls Through The Cracks “The question you’re asking me is what’s wrong with the courts,” [the sheriff] said. “I’m asking you, what’s wrong with the women?” Yeah.
I knew very little about this: The Most Discriminatory Law in the Land
"Could your Strong Female Character be seamlessly replaced with a floor lamp with some useful information written on it to help a male hero?"
I Am Not Your Manic Pixie Bookworm (By my British doppelganger Kaite Welsh!)
Juan Carlos is retaining his immunity. Interesting.
That thing going around about how many immigrants are on the U.S. World Cup team? False.
Did Disney, like, see Into the Woods before deciding they were going to make a movie and then changing it all? (At this point, I'm basically just here for Chris Pine doing "Agony.")
Isis breach of Iraq-Syria border merges two wars into one 'nightmarish reality'
Oh, but this is good: In Landmark Decision, U.S. Patent Office Cancels Trademark For Redskins Football Team
A difficult but important read: This Is How A Domestic Violence Victim Falls Through The Cracks “The question you’re asking me is what’s wrong with the courts,” [the sheriff] said. “I’m asking you, what’s wrong with the women?” Yeah.
I knew very little about this: The Most Discriminatory Law in the Land
"Could your Strong Female Character be seamlessly replaced with a floor lamp with some useful information written on it to help a male hero?"
I Am Not Your Manic Pixie Bookworm (By my British doppelganger Kaite Welsh!)
Juan Carlos is retaining his immunity. Interesting.
That thing going around about how many immigrants are on the U.S. World Cup team? False.
Did Disney, like, see Into the Woods before deciding they were going to make a movie and then changing it all? (At this point, I'm basically just here for Chris Pine doing "Agony.")
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