Morning Coffee (11/10/15)

Me elsewhere: The Last Kingdom recap!

Amazing news: Mallory Ortberg is the new Dear Prudence.

Ben Carson, the humblebragging instrument of God The idea of this man having any kind of power is really very scary.

This is really important: Men Explain Hillary to Me "As long as feminism has existed, left-wing men have dismissed it as a bourgeois triviality. Now we know how little things have changed. For that, at least, we can thank these men for educating us."

An "artist" set the Russian security service's door on fire. "His plans apparently went undetected by the F.S.B., which like its predecessor, the K.G.B., is responsible for surveillance of the Russian population to prevent crimes and attacks." Karla would be horrified.

Unfixable: How Obama lost Syria

Was Neruda assassinated?

In Tunisia, a Mission of Justice and a Moment of Reckoning

Interesting: I thought the Amazon store was a terrible idea. Then I actually went there.

The fraught history of Princess Leia’s infamous bikini

"MAN: can you say da-da
can you say da-da for me?
BABY FOUCAULT: discourse is not life"

Morning Coffee (11/9/15)

Me elsewhere: TV news!

Today's Hedy Lamarr Google doodle is very fancy and well done and nicely incorporates the various aspects of her career, so make sure you check that out.

Best headline ever? Ben Carson Defends Himself Against Allegations That He Never Attempted to Murder a Child

Also: Carson claimed West Point 'scholarship' but never applied

Wondering how a night club fire brought down a prime minister? The Romania situation, explained.

I only knew Mark Everson was running in the first place because his campaign manager rented an office next to my friend's law firm. New Hampshire!

This Is Why NFL Star Greg Hardy Was Arrested For Assaulting His Ex-Girlfriend

Wow: "Once they reach 18, children may disavow the practice of same-sex cohabitation or marriage and stop living within the household and request to join the church."

"THE RED BULLETIN: What could we learn from James Bond that would help us in our day-to-day lives?
DANIEL CRAIG: [Thinks for a short while.] Nothing."

The history of seed vaults is really interesting!

Dogs I Would Like To Own In Art, Even Though They Are Probably Dead Now

Morning Coffee (11/6/15)

Happy Friday!

Me elsewhere: Haven recap!

Obviously this is good but I also just like the headline: Salt Lake City—Which Is Still in Utah—May Have Just Elected an Openly Gay Mayor

CBS is developing a show about a secret society of spy princesses and it's already my new favorite.

Australia Deploys Sheepdogs to Save a Penguin Colony

I love PR stunts that also actually do good: Adidas Offers Design Resources to Schools That Want to Get Rid of Their Offensive Mascots

I would, of course, totally watch this Sorkin-pitched Pixar movie about talking office supplies.

Justin Trudeau paper dolls!!

Let's go to London! Largest ever exhibition of the Queen's wardrobe planned for her 90th birthday

Or if we can't go to London let's at least look at a slideshow of Duchess Kate's coats. (The green tartan McQueen has always been my favorite.)

Bands are designing tacos for charity, but I really want them to be THEMED.

"Yet Even More Raspberry Sponge
Marzipan whatsits
I Rolled Up A Cake, Paul
Cardamom Battenberg Handfuls"

Morning Coffee (11/5/15)

Me elsewhere: The Last Kingdom recap

This CodeGirl documentary is great. It's only free through today, so go watch!

New U.S.-Backed Alliance to Counter ISIS in Syria Falters

When Leaders of Taiwan and China Meet, Even Tiny Gestures Will Be Parsed

The Republican Attempt to Hijack the Debates Is Failing Miserably

This is interesting, and I recommend the Times story it links, too: What the Success Academy fight over kicking out students says about the charter movement

Why Republicans like Ben Carson love comparing abortion to slavery

Fascinating and horrifying: They Burn Witches Here

Wondering why no shows have been cancelled yet this fall? Todd explains.

People are mad about the American word for Muggle, but I like the realism of different slang in different places.

Every Comment On Every Article About Bras Ever

Morning Coffee (11/4/15)

The filing period for the New Hampshire presidential primary starts today. If you have nothing else to do, you can watch the candidates file live on WMUR.com.

Syria's tangled proxy wars: a simple visual guide

The Guardian liveblogged Trump's book to save us all from reading it. (The Guardian has THE BEST liveblogs.)

Why Turkey's election results shocked all the experts

Oh, Thomas Blatt has died. He was one of the few survivors of the Sobibor breakout and is in the PBS documentary Escape from a Nazi Death Camp, which I saw recently and highly recommend. (It's on Netflix.)

I feel like the surprising thing here is not that campaigns use the media to coordinate with super PACs, but that reserving ad space in early primary space was "totally not even on [the] radar" of a Cruz super PAC until the media pointed out that they hadn't.

Neuropolitics are fascinating! Maybe terrible, but fascinating.

This Times series about arbitration is quite interesting.

Fantasy readers, check out collaborative serial Tremontaine. I haven't read it yet, but that's a great author line-up.

"WOMAN: can you pat the bunny?
BABY DERRIDA: there is nothing outside the text"

Morning Coffee (11/3/15)

Happy Election Day!

Heads up, New Haven area: Police to Take Valuables from Unlocked Cars to Stop Break-Ins

We're getting a new Star Trek show! On CBS All Access, so . . . I'm really curious to see how that works, as a business decision.

Party Victory in Turkey Bolsters Erdogan’s Pursuit of Power

Whoa: The New York Times Will Have a New Publisher Within Two Years

Step-by-Step: How to Make a Perfect Apple Pie (My friend Carrie and I are going to do this and tweet about it on Sunday. Join us!)

Nicole Cliffe on funding indie media is so important: "'How did those two plucky women with no business sense start a successful site of art history jokes?' - hedge. fund. money. from. a. man."

A female Van Helsing show? I'm listening, Syfy.

Huh! Berries show ancient Fortingall yew tree is 'changing sex'

Fascinating: Beneath the Frills at Ruffle Con

"ARACHNE: haha
I guess you could say I weave like Athena herself
ATHENA [appearing suddenly in the fireplace]: the fuck did you just say"

Morning Coffee (11/2/15)

Me elsewhere: TV news!

Guess what? Some of the Sirius XM holiday channels are STARTING TONIGHT.

I heard this great interview with Marlon James on the radio yesterday and now I'm very excited to read his books.

How 4 Federal Lawyers Paved the Way to Kill Osama bin Laden

This is an amazing sentence: "Göring, who would later be convicted of crimes against humanity, told Richard he was impressed with his integrity."

So is this: "The French food critic François Simon has described the 50 Best as a sort of childlike racket—'a world order of Care Bears, and this under the cynical gaze of a sparkling water.'"

Nope. Nope. NOPE.

I love K9 and will probably see his movie, but I am more interested in a. why these people couldn't get anyone to proofread their terribly-written press release and b. why the BBC and Doctor Who let this situation arise in which people could make a K9 movie without their blessing or involvement. (Before you all rush to explain: I get that the creators of the character own the rights but THAT WAS A DUMB CONTRACT TO ACCEPT, BBC, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?)

'It's a whole other world': religious pilgrims venture deep into Alaska forest

Fascinating: What America’s immigrants looked like when they arrived on Ellis Island

Songs From A Mountain Goats Album In Which Cicero Is Not Mentioned And Everybody’s Marriages Work Out

Morning Coffee (10/30/15)

Happy Friday!

Me elsewhere: We have some staff recommendations for you at Insatiable Booksluts.

Gary Oldman and his manager are . . . writing a vampire novel?!?!

This interview about editing the Middle Eastern edition of Cosmo is fascinating.

The candy corn controversy always amuses me.

Ooh, new annotated Little Women! That's going on my Christmas list . . .

Awesome: Six Degrees of Francis Bacon

Love this: "Since when does everyone feel entitled to love every fucking second of their job? Really, what is so wrong with working an OK normal job with some cool people you like, and then pursuing your passion in your free time on the side? Has the world turned upside-down or is this not suddenly a novel idea to people?"

Whoa: A French Museum Dedicated to Over 100 Hyperrealistic Miniature Film Sets

Which Baby-Sitter Are You? (I got Mallory. Of course.)

The Onion, barely: Creative Writing Professor Takes Time To Give Every Student Personalized False Hope

Reasons I Would Make An Excellent Housekeeper In A Forbidding Eighteenth-Century Estate And You Should Consider Me For The Position

Morning Coffee (10/29/15)

Me elsewhere: I wanted Wicked City to be good but it wasn't.

Wow: China to End One Child Policy

Why the Jeb Bush/Marco Rubio showdown during the debate was so dramatic

Ben Carson’s Winning GOP Debate Strategy: Flat Out Lying About Mannatech

Here's a crazy thought: We could NOT ask male politicians to play Fuck, Marry, Kill regarding female politicians.

Gamergate didn't fade into obscurity. We just stopped noticing its existence.

This is really interesting, actually: When should media companies disclose distant relationships to other companies?

A shocking amount of conservative politics is a multilevel marketing scam

I didn't know a lot of this: The Deadly Legacy of HIV Truthers

I will read practically anything about secretive religious organizations, ESPECIALLY if some people say they're cults.

“I for one could do with a little LESStorianism.” – Cyril of Alexandria

Morning Coffee (10/28/15)

Me elsewhere: Thoughts on Supergirl - I liked it! - and my latest Haven recap.

Many of the things below are FAR MORE IMPORTANT to this, but oh my gosh, this Rockapella reunion rendition of the Carmen Sandiego song just made me so freaking happy.

No, Portugal is not having a constitutional crisis. This is the real story.

What Would Jeb Do?

This Is Not a Game: How SXSW Turned GamerGate Abuse Into a Spectator Sport

Here's BuzzFeed's letter about withdrawing.

And an update: Exclusive: After Gamergate Misstep, SXSW Weighing an All-Day Forum on Online Harassment

I liked this Crimson Peak review: "And the thing to understand about a proper British ghost story is that the ghosts are often incidental to the action. Yes, they're there, but they're a way of making the story's psychological subtext into text, the lurching reminders of the past that threaten to uncover long-buried secrets." (That actually suddenly occurred to me a little while after I saw the movie - that yeah, the ghosts were creepy, but the actual bad things in the movie were done by humans and that was scarier.)

Oooh: Skeleton of ancient warrior and hoard of treasure found in 3,500-year-old tomb

Fascinating: Raiders of the Lost Web

"THE LEARNING WOMAN: I will untie your cravats and your secrets
THE BAD MAN: don’t try to understand me
THE LEARNING WOMAN: I think I can understand you"