I promised more posting, so here I am. And while I have an actual suggested topic or two, I'm going to save them for next week…because I stayed up way too late last night hanging out with bad influence friends:
I am keeping @larazontally because snow and we have gained an @maureenmcq and @christopherrowe. pic.twitter.com/mbxlXKzx1q
— Gwenda Bond (@Gwenda) January 3, 2014
I regret nothing. But you get hangovers, some of which are very old. But maybe you didn't see them the first time around.
- That fascinating Atlantic piece on how Netflix's weird category system works. Don't miss it. A favorite quote: "Let me get philosophical for a minute. In a human world, life is made interesting by serendipity," Yellin told me. "The more complexity you add to a machine world, you're adding serendipity that you couldn't imagine. Perry Mason is going to happen. These ghosts in the machine are always going to be a by-product of the complexity. And sometimes we call it a bug and sometimes we call it a feature."
- Salon's most underrated albums of 2013.
- I forgot to show this one to Christopher: Sesame Street parodies LOTR.
- Bad client criticism as posters. Cringe-worthy anti-brilliance.
- Why we need more than three genders, at NPR.
- I'm obsessed with Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries. (Give to me season two! Never let it end!) If you haven't tried it yet, get streaming (on Netflix currently).
- Alice Kim's fabu Buzzfeed piece, about Philip K. Dick and so many other things.
- Welcome news for the writers in the bar.
- I know this is full of Salon stuff, but hey, I couldn't leave out Michele Filgate's excellent piece on how to avoid literary self-loathing.
- The PEN 10 featuring Alexander Chee: "I still like a train best for this kind of thing. I wish Amtrak had residencies for writers. And after trains, libraries at night, especially empty ones." World's best idea.
- An essay about why you should be watching The Good Wife and Scandal, two of my never-miss shows.
- Ramez Naam brings some welcome optimism about the future.
- The most incredible historical discoveries of 2013.
- Got Ted?
- And hey, one more gratuitous time (for now!): GIRL ON A WIRE has a pre-order page. (More info and/or add it on goodreads here.)