Ni!

Isn’t red flower currant is a type of shrub with berries?

Thanks for sharing the full paper— that was interesting!

I love this! For anyone wondering, the author is Ian Hamilton Finley from his book Glasgow Beasts, an a Burd, Haw, an Inseks, an, Aw a Fush.

Walmart and Sam’s Club.

You know you’re probably dealing with the baddies when the Criticism and Controversy section of your main article on Wikipedia grows to the point where it links to another Criticism of Walmart main article.

Good Lord, what have they done?

Smithsonian article

Love illustrations like these!

Here’s an English translation of the folk tale this is from if you’re curious.

The first book came out when I was in my late teens. I wasn’t interested in the YA genre at all, so I never read them or watched the films.

Fast forward a gazillion years, when my daughter was 8, I got the first book— one of the lovely editions with illustrations by Jim Kay. We’re on The Order of the Phoenix now, with me reading about a chapter every other night to her. She’s a voracious reader on her own, but I wanted to find a new-to-both-of-us series that could extend that magical “story time” period of childhood a little longer. Harry Potter did not disappoint.

J.K. Rowling, on the other hand, continues to be a sore spot on an otherwise happy experience. My daughter is old enough that we discuss art vs. artist, and some of the problematic things Rowling has said publicly. Hard, but necessary, conversations.

•Bear Brook

•We’re Here to Help

•Reveal

•Radiolab

•Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me

Check out Tom Bihn!! They make durable bags that are of excellent quality, and definitely BIFL. They also have a pretty dedicated following of customers that post to a community forum (you can find the link from the Tom Bihn website). People there were really helpful when I posted about waffling between two styles and sizes for an EDC backpack. I definitely recommend checking TB bags out, and going to their forum for helpful advice.

This is awesome! So I get replace the hose, but then do you prop up the new one so there’s no low point for water to collect? Or will it just be an ongoing issue and need periodic replacement?

Not too scary, but the intro to Tune-Yards’ Gangster makes me reflexively look in the rear-view mirror to see if I need to pull over.

Sourdough starter!

For anyone else curious about the subject matter, I found this from the National Museums Liverpool, Walker Art Gallery:

Margaret Wilson of Wigtownshire (1667-85) was a Covenanter. She was sentenced to death by drowning because she refused to acknowledge the church hierarchy. Bound to a stake on the shore of the Solway Firth she was engulfed by the oncoming tide. The Covenanters were a group of Scottish Presbyterians who were determined to resist the influence of the Crown and the established Church of England.

Millais’s wife Effie was brought up in Perthshire and may have encouraged his interest in Scottish history. The subject of the Solway Martyr was a popular one, and first appeared as an illustration for the periodical Once a Week, published in 1862.

Open a random page in any P. G. Wodehouse novel and you’re good to go! Gussie Fink-Nottle, Bingo Little, Kipper Herring, Stiffy Byng. Or, my personal fave, add in an extra letter like he did for his character Psmith, where, he explains, the “p” is silent, "as in pshrimp.”

That’s not a fake sticker.

The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat by Oliver Sacks

The American Way of Death by Jessica Mitford

Hometown by Tracy Kidder

House by Tracy Kidder

The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan

Blink by Malcolm Gladwell

Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America by Barbara Ehrenreich

Love Jane Austen! I feel a pleasant coziness when I re-read her works as well. I recently found annotated editions of Pride and Prejudice and Northanger Abbey at a second hand bookshop that were really interesting. It offered a bit of historical context, explanation of games or dances the characters would do, insight into the daily life of people of that time, etc. I highly recommend grabbing a copy if you find one.

Ooo… love this question! My go-to is P.G. Wodehouse— there are a multitude of short stories and novels to choose from, each incredibly lighthearted, fast-paced, and super funny (and the character names! How can you not chuckle at the name Gussie Fink-Nottle?!) I find these stories easy to pick up and read in short sessions, and perfect for getting back into the reading habit. My personal favorites are the Jeeves stories and The Drones Club.

Plus, if you’re one who uses an e-reader, Wodehouse’s works were recently added to the public domain, so free downloads are available loads of places. Easy to give it a try!