friday link love
Happy Friday, friends. I send this update to you from Massachusetts suburbs from where we’re finishing up the work week and seeing my parents before departing for Vermont, with A’s family tomorrow morning. Yesterday was a travel and work day. Emphasis on both because thanks to wireless being nearly everywhere, I can be productive and not lose too much time. Today is also a work day, but tomorrow vacation begins. What this means for me, however, is that I can scale back with some work but not with other. A project I’m starting has a deadline of February 1. If you quickly do some of that back-of-the-envelope math, you’ll quickly realize that this is less than six months from today. This means few breaks and focused, dedicated work time. It will be nice, however, to unplug and relax surrounded by bucolic countryside. I anticipate reading more than usual and being as unplugged as I possibly can. Which means I’ll be skipping Friday links next week, most likely, and instead using that time to go sit in a meadow somewhere and just breathe the air in. I hope you understand. And I hope you’re all doing something lazy in the month of August – it’s only right.
How cities mess with our sleep cycles.
How exercise changes fat and muscle cells. Fascinating.
Clooney takes on Loeb, and rather well, I think. Smart guy, this George Clooney. Spot on.
Wow, and now for an email that will leave your jaw wide agape. This might be why the world of high finance is not enjoying its best PR moment. Banker bro trying to start a hedge fund with his trust fund money and recruiting his frat brothers (with hot slampieces). I had to google what that one means.
A brilliant bit of cable news self-parody by the wonderful Chris Hayes.
Jason Sudeikis kills me with this promo.
Differences on abortion rights/services across Europe and beyond, and how they differ with those of the US. An excellent piece by the always-fantastic Emily Matchar.
How a glob of fat the size of a school bus got stuck in London’t sewers. I kid you not, people. It reads like sci-fi.
Sarah, of one of my favorite blogs, This Yellow House, discusses the foibles of locavorism. As usual, Sarah is eloquent and has gorgeous prose. Also, I wish we were neighbors.
A woman writes her own obituary, “I was given the gift of life, and now I have to give it back.” Beautiful and heartbreaking. This line is, perhaps, most astounding, “And may you always remember that obstacles in the path are not obstacles, they ARE the path.”
David Remnick’s beautiful piece on the sale of Washington Post.
The pleasures of reading recipes. Somewhat unrelated, but somewhat related, I recently was reading a recipe written by Sam Sifton (years ago) adapting a Marc Murphy pork chop recipe, and this, by far, was my favorite recipe sentence I’ve seen in awhile. “Drop the pork chops into the brine and add enough additional apple cider so that the chops lurk in the liquid like frogs in a pond.”
An open letter to David Cameron (by Stephen Fry). Yes. And yes.
Dolphins have long memories. Make sure you don’t insult one; they remember it for 20+ years.
Sarah
Too kind, thanks! We’re *kind of* neighbors, right? :) —S
olga
Sarah – next time we come to DC, can we actually make a coffee happen? Would be so lovely! And thank YOU for writing something that’s been stuck in my head for awhile. I couldn’t get it out – you did a masterful job of it.
Donald
Yep, I practice only laziness in August, you should too!
judith
friday link love is one of the best curated blogs i look forward to every single week.
but! down time and rest is a hard won reward. may your time renew you and bring you back to us with a great smile and relaxed shoulders! peace.
Mike
What is Clooney trying to say. If you buy 7% of Sony, you still don’t get a voice in it’s direction ?
Spielberg and Lucas have been predicting for some time an implosion of the movie business as it currently operates and maybe hedge funds will help pave the way to the implosion.
olga
Mike – I think you’re angling for an argument here :) and I’m not taking the bait, but I’ll answer this one question you posed. People who are good at “making money” might not be the best people to “make art”. And Clooney is a particularly thoughtful artist who wants to preserve quality film even if it doesn’t make money in light of other movies that do. I tend to watch those films and not the blockbuster moneymakers, so for those of us who appreciate art for art’s sake, we get bristly and concerned about the art’s state when people who aren’t particularly knowledgeable about its nuts and bolts get involved.