Afternoon Tea (8/31/18)

Amandla Stenberg on ‘The Hate U Give,’ Beyonce, and Hollywood Diversity

I love this (and the book is great, go read it): SEAFIRE author Natalie C. Parker destroy’s the toxic myth of “not like other girls”

Inventing a Longer-Lasting Popsicle

To Kill or to Capture Bigfoot: The Great Cryptozoological Debate

Urban Fantasy Noir

Bonus Rec: Target Clog Clearing Gel

You are getting a second recommendation this week and it is . . . a cleaning product! Sexy. But seriously, if any of you have long curly hair like mine, you know that keeping the shower draining is a CONSTANT ONGOING STRUGGLE. I've tried the various products from the two big brands, mostly based on what was on sale or had a coupon, and never been happy with any of them. This week I grabbed the generic Target Clog Clearing Gel and . . . it worked?!?! I honestly did not expect that! So. Hot tip: buy the cheap Target version.

This sounds like an ad but it is not. I'm just REALLY EXCITED about it. But hey, if Target wanted to send me some for free I wouldn't object.

Morning Coffee (8/31/18)

Friday! GOOD NEWS ONLY.

Colin Kaepernick Wins a Ruling to Continue His Collusion Case Against the N.F.L.

Ayanna Pressley Already Broke a Double Glass Ceiling. Now, She's Running for Congress.

!! Watch Prince Harry sing part of Hamilton on stage with London cast

Ooh, trailer for My Brilliant Friend!

Hottest Heads of State updated and is hilarious as always.

Heh: 10 Ways You Know a TV Heroine Is a Real Badass Chick

Ooh, Go Fug Yourself has LOTS of fall floral dresses.

Bring it on (though to be honest there are other fall scents I prefer. I'M JUST HAPPY ABOUT FALL): The Bath & Body Works Fall 2018 Collection Has Over 40 Pumpkin Products

Quiz: Which Weasley Sibling from Harry Potter Are You? I got Ginny.

Oh no: Back to Hogwarts: Magical Harry Potter School Supplies

Afternoon Tea (8/30/18)

In ‘Small Fry,’ Steve Jobs Comes Across as a Jerk. His Daughter Forgives Him. Should We? (Nope.)

This has some interesting stuff about how they made decisions for the movie: The True Story of "Operation Finale"

Why Don't More Boys Read Little Women?

How a Renegade Historian Unmasked an Imposter

Heh: We Checked 50 Years Of Sports History To Find The Team That Stands Out The Least

Morning Coffee (8/30/18)

Just so we're clear, THIS IS RACIST: U.S. is denying passports to Americans along the border, throwing their citizenship into question

SO IS THIS: Florida's Republican Candidate For Governor Just Said A Vote For His Black Rival Would "Monkey This Up"

Speaking of: Who is Andrew Gillum? Meet Florida’s history-making Democratic nominee for governor.

This is frightening: C.I.A. Officer-Turned-Candidate Says PAC Obtained Her Security Application

Don McGahn to Leave White House Counsel Job This Fall, Trump Says

And related: How the Trump Administration Is Remaking the Courts

Trump lawyer Giuliani got paid to lobby Romanian president (Not the point but it must be KILLING him that he's now just "Trump lawyer Giuliani.")

How Facebook Failed The Rohingya In Myanmar

In City Ballet Shake-Up, One Dancer Out and Two Suspended

5,500-year-old tomb in Meath the ‘find of a lifetime’

Afternoon Tea (8/29/18)

An important look at allegations against Nixon: An Inquiry Into Abuse

How the Rise of Outdoor Influencers Is Affecting the Environment

Where Words Matter: Politics, Fiction, Romance, Scrabble

Laura Lee, Jeffree Star, and the racism scandal upending the YouTube beauty community, explained

Josephine Tey: A Crime Reader's Guide to the Classics

Weekly Rec: Expectations by Hayley Kiyoko

I was vaguely aware of Hayley Kiyoko as a Music Person but hadn't really paid any attention to her until I went to a Taylor Swift concert last month - which was GREAT, by the way - and Kiyoko was the surprise guest. She performed her song "Curious" with Swift and it was awesome and I made a vague mental note to look up her album, which I finally got around to doing . . . last weekend. So that took a while, but hey, the concert ploy worked.

And now that I've started listening to it, I can't stop. It's addictive summery pop with just a bit of an edge of something more in its narrative ambitious, and I love the juxtaposition of so much yearning and complicated feelings against a bright backdrop of sunshine and palm trees. "Curious" is probably still my favorite track - it's practically impossible not to sing along - but there's not a song a dislike, and the rest of the album has been growing on me steadily. Kiyoko is both a former Disney star and one of the few young out lesbian pop stars, and she's clearly still finding her footing a bit, but I'm eager to see where she goes from here.

Expectations is on Spotify and Amazon and presumably wherever else you're listening to music these days. Here's "Curious:"

Morning Coffee (8/29/18)

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny jailed for 30 days

Far-right rallies in Germany descend into violence

This from Jon Lovett is the best McCain take I've read: Mourning a Patriot Whose Politics You Hate

Betsy DeVos Says She Wants to Keep Schools Safe and Equitable. Her Policies Tell a Different Story

Kushner Companies Fined $210,000 for Filing False Documents: 'It’s Bare-faced Greed'

Louis C.K. chose the worst possible (but least surprising) way to return to comedy

Serena Williams's Tennis Outfits Defy the Sexist, Racist Norms Female Athletes Face

The recent Pelecanos one was EXTREMELY glaring: A Breakdown Of "By The Book" Columns Shows That Male Authors Are Four Times More Likely To Recommend Books By Men Than By Women

Roman coins found in Yorkshire revealed after years of secrecy

The Mysterious Green Orbs That Float by Day and Sink at Night

Afternoon Tea (8/28/18)

This is a hard read, but very well done and important: We Saw Nuns Kill Children: The Ghosts of St. Joseph's Catholic Orphanage

Feminize Your Canon: Violette Leduc

Goop has exploited the medical establishment's failures on women's health

How Jane Eyre Helped Lead Me Out of Orthodox Judaism

Anglo-Saxon elephants

Morning Coffee (8/28/18)

Student Loan Watchdog Quits, Saying Trump Administration Is Harming Students

An important read from Lily Herman: After Jacksonville Shooting, Vote In Tuesday's Primary Like Your Life Depends On It

Washington Is Turning Into Moscow

Iran’s Parliament Removes Finance Minister From Office

This is great: Scotland to offer free sanitary products to all students in world first

What We Know About Voter ID Laws

Mike Pence’s Outer-Space Gospel

A Retirement Community Turned Away These Married Women

Ancient Burial Pits Reveal Sophisticated Rituals

Attempt to replicate major social scientific findings of past decade fails