Weekend Links 1-28-22

 We're bracing for more winter weather here where I live. Between the weather and the continuing lockout of Major League Baseball it seems like spring will never arrive. We must not lose hope. Better days are ahead. In the meantime, here are a few items of interest for your weekend reading. 

One thing the South is known for is barbecue. One group is trying to assemble the oral histories of pitmasters before it is too late.

A popular pastime in England is to be a detectorist. You never know what treasures you will uncover.

Cold case solved? A team of historians believe they have figured out who betrayed Anne Frank's family to the Nazis during World War II.

While we are on the subject of World War II, check out some of the ingenious methods used by British Intelligence to help prisoners of war escape. 

Confessions of a Scrabble enthusiast.

More word games: why Wordle went viral.  I confess that I am hooked. Related: the creator shares the secrets of the online sensation.

Before there was the internet, there  was Zoom, the first viral kid's TV show. Hard to believe that it has been 50 years since it first went on  the air. 

I confess that I am a practioner of Tsundoku.

If you did need to cull your library, here are some helpful tips.

Weekend Links 1-15-21

 Happy long holiday weekend. We're bracing for a winter storm this weekend. However, there's part of me that's a little skeptical of dire predictions of bad weather. The last storm we were supposed to have turned out to be nothing of consequence. We'll see what happens. In the meantime, here are a few links of interest for your weekend reading. 

All Creatures Great and Small has just started airing season two in the U. S. and it is the perfect balm for these difficult times. If you are interested in James Herriott's original books, here is the order in which you should read them.

H. A. Rey is best known for his Curious George books, but he also had a keen interest in astronomy. The illustrations featured in this article are wonderful. 

This is a good reminder what an excellent series Foyle's War was to watch. Here is what one writer learned from rewatching the series.

I am really looking forward to this: the trailer for the BritBox series Magpie Murders is out and it looks fantastic. I thoroughly enjoyed the book so I am pumped to watch this when it comes out next month. 

The annual elections to the Baseball Hall of Fame are due to be announced in a couple of weeks. One fan's attempt to track the voting has forever altered the election process. Personally, I like seeing how the votes are tracking before the announcement is made. 

I agree with this: you should listen to CDs in their entirety.

Why The Princess Bride is such a great movie.

For some reason I think that "office supplies" means something different in Manchester.

Weekend Links 1-8-22

 I don't know about you, but I still can't get used to writing out 2022. We are already a week into the new year and it doesn't feel much like a new year yet. Hopefully that will change in the coming weeks. 

Here are some links of interest for your weekend reading:

New journals have been discovered of the only man to eyewitness the death of two presidents. His writings provide fascinating insight into this period of American history.

The Devil In The White City by Erik Larson is a non-fiction book that reads like a thriller. It also happens to be a favorite of mine. Now the book is being turned into a television series and I am intrigued. 

This week marked J. R. R. Tolkein's 130th birthday and while I have never read any of his works, I certainly appreciate that  he was a literary giant. For example, take a look at his refusal to work with Nazi-leaning publishers in Germany in 1938. I also didn't know that Tolkein was quite the prankster.

I'm not sure why i was unaware that this existed until this week but it has been playing on repeat: Carole King and James Taylor Live at the Troubador. Related: the stories behind some of their biggest hits.

Photo essay: Historic movie theaters that have been reused for other purposes.

Answering the important questions; what's the difference between yellow cheese and white cheese?

How potato chips became our favorite snack.

This upcoming podcast looks very interesting particularly if you are a fan of Jane Austen's novels.