“What fresh hill is this?”
– Dorothy Parker
This week has been alternately delightful and rough. Behold your links. As a bonus, here, have a shot of Trafalgar square all gussied up for the holiday while I make up behind work and plan my weekend escapes.
The Hairpin is starting a series called Internet Work and Invisible Labor, about the work that goes into web production. Their first interview is the Fug Girls (whom I love!), but I’m curious to see who else they get involved in this since this is the field I’ve moved into – though not yet in anything half as prestigious – and I think it’s interesting how some people don’t see what I do (content creation, content marketing, media strategy) as work. Writing is a lot of work, it’s not easy and making a successful career at it is damn hard sometimes. (Caitlin Kelly wrote about this too, lately.)
I truly believe that Benedict Cumberbatch is one of the British-est names ever devised, right up there was Alistair Fothergill. Enjoy, therefore, this thing I found. (Bumblebee Vegemite! Also I’m seriously excited for series three of Sherlock.)
This is just a commercial, but it sums up the problem succinctly
Here’s your tumblr find of the week. Nothing but London gorgeousness through and through.
I like complex mathematics boiled down (honest to goodness, the analogy that got the theory of space time and quantum mechanics into my head was a loaf of bread and a block of Swiss cheese), so it’s oddly comforting to know that we rank somewhere between a banana and potato at birth.
A ridiculously good read about the development of the retail mannequin, of all things. Miss Modesty, a seemingly drunken hostess, gender bending, history -it’s like Shakespeare up in here!
For the headline alone you should read this. But also enjoy the astronomical odds.
How gorgeous are these boxes?
This week’s been frantic, so this short article on busy people and their weekends was a timely reminder.
ETA: A surprise Beyonce album dropped today! Frankly, I kind of like the surprise nature of it, it’s a refreshing change to the hype and buildup you often get (though I readily admit only a mega performer could probably pull it off). Beyonce makes up a significant portion of my workout mixes, it must be said.
Small Dog Syndrome 
The only thing better than Beyoncé is SURPRISE! Beyoncé 🙂 Great list this week!
Danke, darling. Beyonce is good anytime but I agree SURPRISE Beyonce ranks pretty highly And it’s good to have you back blogging regularly again!
Okay, I’ve been stealing a link here and there from these posts to use in my own blog and Twitter feed, so I feel like it’s only right that I start commenting. Thanks for curating such interesting stuff!.
Hi Melanie! Steal away, and thanks for saying hi so I could discover you blog. I share your dislike of the Elf on the Shelf and annoyance with fashion bloggers who don’t understand winter coats, and your fear of cockroaches. Cougar solidarity!
This is a great selection — and thanks for the shout-out!
Those malachite boxes are fab. Laura Vanderkam spends her life organizing people and chivvying them into (sigh) even GREATER productivity. I know her personally– she’s got three small children and has published three books and has yet to hit 35. Oh, yeah, I guess it pays to be organized…:-)
Love the London photos…Have you been to two of my fave nabes? Primrose Hill (veddy posh) and Spitalfields, where the Huguenots lived in the 1770s.
Anytime!
People like Laura both impress me immensely and make tired and slightly worried about what I do with my life.
I haven’t been to Primrose Hill yet, but I am planning an expedition to Spitalfields next week.
Laura is exhausting in her endless imprecations to BE PRODUCTIVE all the time. Jesus. Some of us are having a grand time, and making $$, by doing it in a less martial manner. It’s very American, this fetish for producing all the time. I’d rather take a nap!