I hope that wherever you are you will be enjoying a safe Memorial Day weekend. Take some time this weekend to give thanks to the men and women who have made sacrifices for our freedom. In the meantime, here are some fun links for your weekend enjoyment.
This was fascinating: the song history of Warren Zevon's "Werewolves of London" It's certainly one of the more unusual songs in the history of rock and roll.
The Hay Festival in Hay-on-Wye, Wales is one of the largest literary festivals in the world. This year due to the ongoing pandemic the entire festival is being hosted online. Here are all the details on how you can enjoy the festival.
Feeling burned out? One way to combat it is to learn the art of saying no.
Grab your passport and discover how to travel like an Agatha Christie character.
Volkswagen may be best known for their cars but they actually sell more sausages than vehicles.
Thirty years ago, Calvin and Hobbes creator Bill Watterson gave a commencement speech believed by many to be one of the best of all time.
For the uninitiated, analytics (sometimes referred to sabermetrics) can be intimidating for baseball fans to understand. In this podcast, MLB.com writer Anthony Castrovince discusses his new book on understanding these newfangled stats.
Speaking of baseball, we're getting our fix by watching Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) games on ESPN. They are currently playing without fans in the stands. But there is one man who manages to get into games.
I can totally relate to the sentiment in this article. Bookstagram is the sole reason that I stay involved on Instagram at all.
Finally, something fun to try: antidepressants or Tolkien. Can you correctly identify which are the names of antidepressants versus Tolkien characters. All I can say is I did reasonably well given the fact that I've never read a Tolkien novel.
Friday, May 22, 2020
Friday, May 15, 2020
Weekend Links 5-15-20
Congratulations on making it through another week. I'm starting to think as states begin to open up that we are headed into a phase where things we once thought were odd (such as wearing masks out in public) will become part of the new "normal". It will be interesting to see how much things change from the way things use to be prior to the pandemic. In the meantime here are a few non-coronavirus related links for your weekend reading enjoyment.
It's no secret that Animal Crossing: New Horizons has been a huge hit for Nintendo especially since folks have been confined at home. I know in our household we have been spending a lot of time developing our own island. A peek behind the scenes at how this game is uniting people.
This is neat: an online school for junior archaeologists.
Recommendations for other authors like Agatha Christie. This is a very interesting list. I can only vouch for is Anthony Horowitz. I was glad to see him make this list.
Speaking of Christie, she is regarded as one of the queens of crime fiction. There are plenty of reasons why these authors remain popular today.
Long read of the week: The Day the Live Concert Returns. I do wonder what concerts are going to be like post-pandemic.
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Negro Baseball Leagues. 35 players from the Negro Leagues have been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame thanks in large part to Ted Williams' Hall of Fame induction speech in 1966.
This is definitely an unusual hobby: a couple that collects novelty Jim Beam decanters. The wonderful irony is that they are teetotalers.
Another long read but definitely worth the time: why are we so susceptible to falling for conspiracy theories?
Ranking the most iconic detective sidekicks. It's quite a list.
Decision fatigue is a real thing. Especially if you are a parent.
It's no secret that Animal Crossing: New Horizons has been a huge hit for Nintendo especially since folks have been confined at home. I know in our household we have been spending a lot of time developing our own island. A peek behind the scenes at how this game is uniting people.
This is neat: an online school for junior archaeologists.
Recommendations for other authors like Agatha Christie. This is a very interesting list. I can only vouch for is Anthony Horowitz. I was glad to see him make this list.
Speaking of Christie, she is regarded as one of the queens of crime fiction. There are plenty of reasons why these authors remain popular today.
Long read of the week: The Day the Live Concert Returns. I do wonder what concerts are going to be like post-pandemic.
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Negro Baseball Leagues. 35 players from the Negro Leagues have been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame thanks in large part to Ted Williams' Hall of Fame induction speech in 1966.
This is definitely an unusual hobby: a couple that collects novelty Jim Beam decanters. The wonderful irony is that they are teetotalers.
Another long read but definitely worth the time: why are we so susceptible to falling for conspiracy theories?
Ranking the most iconic detective sidekicks. It's quite a list.
Decision fatigue is a real thing. Especially if you are a parent.
Friday, May 08, 2020
Weekend Links 5-8-20
Happy Friday! Hope you have had a safe week this week. Also wishing all mothers a happy Mother's Day this weekend. Here are a few links of interest for your weekend reading. Sorry the post is so brief. Good stories have been hard to find.
It's tempting to think that the legal thriller genre is a fairly new subgenre of crime fiction. The truth is that it's been around for a long time.
This one is for baseball fans: the curious origins of the dropped third strike rule.
Speaking of baseball rules, here are ten baseball rules that you probably didn't even know existed. Some of these are pretty odd.
While we wait here in the United States for Major League Baseball to return we can at least get our baseball fix by watching Korean baseball and that's a good thing. I can attest that it's been fun to watch the KBO on television.
Nancy Wake may not be a household name but she was the most decorated heroine of World War II. Her story is a fascinating one.
Here are seven libraries you can tour from the comfort of your sofa.
Finding space for art in dark times - an essay on the creation of Captain America.
It's tempting to think that the legal thriller genre is a fairly new subgenre of crime fiction. The truth is that it's been around for a long time.
This one is for baseball fans: the curious origins of the dropped third strike rule.
Speaking of baseball rules, here are ten baseball rules that you probably didn't even know existed. Some of these are pretty odd.
While we wait here in the United States for Major League Baseball to return we can at least get our baseball fix by watching Korean baseball and that's a good thing. I can attest that it's been fun to watch the KBO on television.
Nancy Wake may not be a household name but she was the most decorated heroine of World War II. Her story is a fascinating one.
Here are seven libraries you can tour from the comfort of your sofa.
Finding space for art in dark times - an essay on the creation of Captain America.
Friday, May 01, 2020
Weekend Links 5-1-20
Hard to believe we have already reached the first of May. This year certainly has flown by. Here are a few things of interest I found this week.
What do Alfred Hitchcock and Quentin Tarantino have in common? For one thing, they could have both directed James Bond films. Here's the story of films from the long-running franchise that didn't get made. If you're new to the franchise and not sure where to begin these seven films are a good place to start.
The story of the enduring appeal of Scooby-Doo. We just introduced this series to our daughters not long ago and they immediately became fans.
Kansas City is famous for its barbecue. Now it has a vending machine to provide your late night barbecue fix.
The Ironbridge Bookshop is one my favorite book stores. Even though I have never visited I have spoken to the owner, Meg Prince, a number of times. She's helped me expand my Penguin collection which you can see on my Instagram feed. Meg's story is an interesting one as she became a bookseller as a teenager and has been working hard to make her shop a success. She's also a delight to work with.
While we are in the midst of the coronavirus crisis it may seem like all the answers are obvious. The truth is that they aren't. .That pretty much applies anytime we are in the fog of a crisis.
Aficionados of yard sales will tell you the fun is in the unexpected things that you will find while shopping. It's safe to say that these shoppers had no idea they would find these items while perusing yard sales.
Fake news is a commonly used term these days. However, the idea of reporters sometimes fabricating stories is not new. Here's the true tale of one false newspaper report that nearly derailed one of the most infamous murder cases in American history.
Steve Dalkowski, who passed away last week, was known in baseball circles as the hardest thrower to ever pitch. He was even the inspiration for Nuke Laloosh in Bull Durham. Despite the fact he never pitched in the major leagues (he blew out his pitching arm while in the minor leagues) he was still known by many to be a pitcher like no other. The problem is the lack of documentary evidence besides those who actually saw him pitch. But if you listen to the eyewitnesses it's hard to dispute that he truly was the fastest pitcher ever.
What do Alfred Hitchcock and Quentin Tarantino have in common? For one thing, they could have both directed James Bond films. Here's the story of films from the long-running franchise that didn't get made. If you're new to the franchise and not sure where to begin these seven films are a good place to start.
The story of the enduring appeal of Scooby-Doo. We just introduced this series to our daughters not long ago and they immediately became fans.
Kansas City is famous for its barbecue. Now it has a vending machine to provide your late night barbecue fix.
The Ironbridge Bookshop is one my favorite book stores. Even though I have never visited I have spoken to the owner, Meg Prince, a number of times. She's helped me expand my Penguin collection which you can see on my Instagram feed. Meg's story is an interesting one as she became a bookseller as a teenager and has been working hard to make her shop a success. She's also a delight to work with.
While we are in the midst of the coronavirus crisis it may seem like all the answers are obvious. The truth is that they aren't. .That pretty much applies anytime we are in the fog of a crisis.
Aficionados of yard sales will tell you the fun is in the unexpected things that you will find while shopping. It's safe to say that these shoppers had no idea they would find these items while perusing yard sales.
Fake news is a commonly used term these days. However, the idea of reporters sometimes fabricating stories is not new. Here's the true tale of one false newspaper report that nearly derailed one of the most infamous murder cases in American history.
Steve Dalkowski, who passed away last week, was known in baseball circles as the hardest thrower to ever pitch. He was even the inspiration for Nuke Laloosh in Bull Durham. Despite the fact he never pitched in the major leagues (he blew out his pitching arm while in the minor leagues) he was still known by many to be a pitcher like no other. The problem is the lack of documentary evidence besides those who actually saw him pitch. But if you listen to the eyewitnesses it's hard to dispute that he truly was the fastest pitcher ever.
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