Weekend Links 4-17-20

Congratulations on making it through another week. Here is a collection of items for your weekend enjoyment.

During Prohibition, breweries had to engage in other businesses in order to survive. For example, Pabst made cheese.

This seems somewhat ill-advised but I can see how current circumstances provide a unique opportunity. A Cannonball team set a new cross-country record. This story naturally makes me think of The Cannonball Run although I have always thought The Gumball Rally was the better film. This guide to the New York locations from The Gumball Rally is a lot of fun.

Folks are doing a lot more cooking these days and some places are sharing their recipes. For example, Disney has shared the recipe for their iconic Dole Whip treat sold in the theme parks. Meanwhile, Doubletree by Hilton has shared the recipe for their signature chocolate chip cookies. 

Last weekend marked the 50th anniversary of the launch of the Apollo 13 moon mission. How NASA turned what could have been its greatest failure into a triumph.

In every baseball box score you will see runs/hits/errors. Why those statistics used to define the game but don't any longer. 

I really miss baseball. I agree with this columnist's thoughts. 

Video of the week: why are ballparks all different dimensions? The answer might surprise you.


These are tough times for independent booksellers. However, thanks to Bookshop there is a way for them to sell their merchandise on line.

Some recommendations of classic detective novels to read while quarantined. Quite a few of my favorites made this list.

Lots of folks are baking while quarantined but are having trouble finding yeast. Here are a collection of yeast free recipes to try. Beer Bread has been a staple in our household for years. Also, here's an easy recipe to make your own bagels with just a few ingredients. My oldest daughter made these the other day and they were terrific.

What I am listening to: my current favorite podcast is the Shedunnit Show. Author Caroline Crampton discusses classic crime fiction as well as some of the real cases that inspired golden age fiction.

Weekend Links 1-12-18

A ton of links of interest in this week's roundup:

I am at heart a frustrated writer. Part of the reason for resurrecting the blog was to get myself to write again even if it's no more than these Weekend Links posts I put up every Friday. I'm fascinated by people who are successful writers particularly when they've tried something else and given it up to be a writer. That's probably why this interview with Robert Kurson caught my attention. I haven't read his books yet but they will be going on my to be read list right away. 

From Barnabas Piper, ways to become a more curious person. Lots of great food for thought in this article.

This seemed very timely given events in the news of late: Why repentant pastors should be forgiven but not restored to the pulpit. Wise words from Johnathan Leeman.

Season 2 of The Crown on Netflix explores Queen Elizabeth's faith and a meeting she had with the Reverend Billy Graham. The question is whether any of it is true. Sarah Pulliam Bailey has the answers.

In the film Darkest Hour the producers went to great lengths to make Winston Churchill's secret war rooms look as realistic as possible. 

This is a story I had never heard: the Swiss man who saved thousands of Jewish people from the Holocaust during World War II.

Russell Moore answers the question of whether we are living in a post-Christian society.

Where I would say that we're a post-Christian society is that we're a post-pretend-Christian society. There was a previous era when people had a certain basic understanding of biblical truths and some connection to the church. That brought some benefit because, in many cases, there was some sort of stable understanding of morality. But, it also brought a lot of drawbacks because a nominal Christianity doesn't save.

Often what a nominal Christianity does is the worst possible thing: leave people in lostness but convince them that they're reconciled with God. I do think we're moving beyond that kind of Christianity. That's going to mean a lack of cohesion in the country and in some communities.

Be sure to read the whole thing.

Good to know: how winter weather affects your car and what you can do about it.

Baseball season is almost upon us. Safe to say I will be checking this opening day countdown clock regularly. 

Speaking of our national pastime, this is an amazing piece of baseball history:

9/23/1908: Two outs, bottom of the 9th inning @ the Polo Grounds. 1-1 game and a dead heat for the pennant. Fred Merkle takes his lead off first base as Frank Chance holds him on. Moments later, Merkle's life would forever be changed.

(Cubs 1, Giants 1) #MerkleGame #NYC pic.twitter.com/8WtmoVP8Rh

— Alex Cheremeteff (@AlexCheremeteff) January 6, 2018

Merkle's mistake would help the Chicago Cubs advance to the 1908 World Series. Despite the infamous miscue, Merkle would go on to have a very nice twenty year career in the major leagues including four years with the Cubs.

Book of the week: The Story of Classic Crime in 100 Books.

What's more fun than a book about books? This particular book traces the history of the Golden Age of Crime Fiction in Britain through 100 different novels. These are books which are considered to be ones that made the greatest contribution to the crime drama genre. It's no surprise that as a result of reading this book my to be read list has grown a whole lot longer. This is a great resource for anyone who wants to dive into the crime genre but isn't sure where to begin.

Weekend Links 12-15-17

A roundup of interesting links for weekend reading:

I've been reading a lot of crime fiction lately particularly from the Golden Age of Crime Fiction in Britain (think Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers and G. K. Chesterson, for example). Naturally then this book is of great interest to me and appears to be must reading for anyone interested in the genre.

This is surprising: it's a good thing to stockpile more books than you'll ever actually read.

It's time to be honest about men. And about human nature.

Comedy doesn't need to mean anything. It's okay for it to just be silly. 

"We should not assume that doing what is best for one's country is always synonymous with doing what is best." Fascinating insight into the Netflix series The Crown.

This is a fun fact:

Full story here. Video here. 

I can relate to this: Why I Can No Longer Call Myself an Evangelical Republican.

Russell Moore: “American evangelicalism is old and sick and weak, and doesn’t even know it.”

This is fun: 20 Calvin and Hobbes comics to get you into the Christmas spirit.

History lesson: the true story of the women who became codebreakers during World War II.

Finally, a little something you'd probably hear playing at our house this time of year: