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Congrats to Dianna, who won The Silence of the Stars (Stars #2) by Kate McMurray!

Congrats to bheds, who won Sharp Love (Gambling on Love #2) by Ava March! Sharp Love will be released by Carina Press on June 9.

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Randonymity

• I did a music meme and included links to all 20 songs.

Bookity

• New releases: Fiction Vixen (UF/romance), Tor.com (PNR), and AAR (romance audiobooks)

• Book and publishing news from Dear Author.

• “Any lawful impediment: Conflict in romance (especially m/m)“.

• Charlie Cochet shares five royalty-free stock photo sites.

• Authorly linkity from Becky Black.

• Tips to help yourself get unstuck with your writing.

• 20 quotes from JK Rowling.

• “19 rare recordings of famous authors“.

• 83 obsolete slang phrases.

• “30 of the best parents in literature“.

• Book pillows. (via maderr)

• Bookcase chair.

Think, Do, Make, Learn

• Interview with LeVar Burton about Reading Rainbow. (via svmadelyn)

• “20 secrets Minnesotans won’t tell you (except just this once)“. (via stuffaboutminneapolis)

• On the accuracy of the study of female-named hurricanes being deadlier than male-named hurricanes.

• John Oliver sent people to the FCC’s website to comment on net neutrality… and crashed the FCC’s website. (via svmadelyn)

• You can use LEGO minifigs to hold cables.

• The FDA now has a Flickr account for recalled product warnings.

• Migraines. (Although the article doesn’t mention the prodromal phase at all, which I would’ve liked to learn more about.)

• 13 unusual June holidays.

• How many birds would it take to generate gravitational force?

Cookity

• Funfetti sugar cookie cake. (via ticklemecolorful)

• Mallomars.

• Twix Bars.

• Gin and tonic sorbet. (via CRAFT)

• Strawberry shortcake ice cream pops.

• 9 strawberry recipes. 17 more strawberry recipes.

• Ginger and rhubarb swirl ice cream. (via The Kitchn)

• Asparagus soup with frittata bites.

• Asparagus with spring garlic pesto.

• Creamy polenta with spring greens and shitakes. (via The Kitchn)

• Jalapeno cheddar corn muffins.

• Pea pesto. (via The Kitchn)

• Lemony chicken and spring veggie soup. (via The Kitchn)

• Roasted shrimp scampi.

Gluten Free

• Butter cake.

• Cannoli.

• Saffron, ricotta, and pea pancakes. (via The Kitchn)

• Baja fish tacos with fresh flour tortillas.

Crafty

• Crochet a tiny Wolverine.

Cool

• Downtown Minneapolis across Lake of the Isles.

• Simpsonized NHL logos in three parts. (via Puck Daddy) And then Puck Daddy rated them best and worst.

• Harry Potter-themed wedding.

• Vans’ Star Wars collection.

• LEGO’s going to release three female scientists minifigs and a Mini Cooper (not all together, alas).

• LEGO Imperial Star Destroyer.

• A cover of the Doctor Who theme.

• Linkity and knitting linkity from kmkat.

• On the internet and introversion.

• Google Maps Easter egg in Wales.

• Hockey hugs, Stanley Cup playoffs style.

• Watch The Red Balloon. (I remember watching it on 16mm film!)

Cool or Wha…?

• Not sure what to think of these new sandals from Keen.

• A movie supercut of tables being flipped.

Wha…?

• Toilet-themed restaurant.

• Countertop ice cream sandwich maker.

• Swimsuits designed by Salvador Dali.

• Hobby Lobby started Christmas in May.

LOL

• “Which ridiculous food day is your birthday?” (via twoearsandaheart) (National Baklava Day, if you’re curious. Make mine gf, please.)

• What song might’ve been playing when you were conceived? (via thedreamthatdreamsus)

• Stanley Cup beard watch.

• Oh, Red Heart.

• Oh dear.

Teh Cute

• Kitten! Baby maned wolves! Baby clouded leopards! Kitten! Baby lynx! Baby penguin! Baby snow leopards! Cheetah and babies!

Reading Update

• I’ll give you one guess…

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“……zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…..” -Mayhem

“May’s taking a nap. What do you want?” -Chaos

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Congrats to Melisa S, who won The River Leith by Leta Blake!

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Contest(s)

• Blodeuedd’s giving away a copy of To Charm a Naughty Countess by Teresa Romain. Closes June 1. US & Canada.

Bookity

• New releases: Fiction Vixen (UF/romance) and Tor.com (UF, genre benders, fantasy, scifi)

• Book and publishing news from Dear Author.

• Let’s take a moment to remember Maya Angelou as she reads her poem “And Still I Rise”.

• Levar Burton’s Reading Rainbow Kickstarter was amazingly successful.

• Charlie Cochet recommends five websites for writers.

• On becoming a reader.

• Does anyone else get the impression that George R.R. Martin is a giant troll?

Do, Think, Make, Learn

• Looking at Rochester, New York, after the decline of Kodak.

• How about 38 pictures of abandoned shopping malls?

• Check out the Great Barrier Reef with Google Street View.

• Ha! You lactose-tolerant people, you’re all mutants!

• “Diet sodas better for weight loss than water, concludes study paid for by soda industry“.

• The circle in which more than half the world’s population lives.

• The largest immigrant population in each US state.

• 18 words for specific shapes.

• Now there’s a calculator for how long it will take you to binge watch a tv series.

Cookity

• Chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream sandwiches. (via puckling)

• 18 frozen treats that don’t require an ice cream maker.

• Vegan strawberry swirl ice cream.

• Spring greens risotto.

• Blistered tomato grilled toast Caprese nachos with balsamic glaze. (via The Kitchn)

• Caprese pasta salad. (via The Kitchn)

• Fried green chickpeas and baby eggplant with yogurt chutney.

• Spicy blackened chickpea scramble sandwich. (via The Kitchn)

• Sun-dried tomato, mushroom, and spinach tofu quiche. (via The Kitchn)

• Breakfast tacos.

• Chocolate brownie granola plus smoothie bowl. (via The Kitchn)

• 20 recipes for the grill.

Gluten Free

• S’Mores parfaits.

• Chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream.

• Peanut butter buckwheat chocolate chip cookies.

• Glazed doughnut holes.

• Double chocolate cherry cream cheese brownies.

Crafty

• Knit yourself a box bag. (via CRAFT)

Cool

• Minneapolis: From Lake Calhoun looking toward downtown. From maybe Cedar Lake looking downtown?

• Foggy Golden Gate Bridge.

• Dragon hedge!

• LEGO Ghostbusters fighting the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man.

• LEGO scenes from Aliens.

• Watch all the Saturn V rockets launch at the same time.

• Animals on desserts.

• X-MEN, the kitten version.

• The Washington Monument’s shadow actually moves in Google Maps.

• Linkity from kmkat. Plus bonus knitting linkity.

Cool or Wha…?

• Icelandic ram yarn bomb.

• If David Lynch directed Return of the Jedi…

• The Winnie-the-Pooh voice actor reads lines from Star Wars.

• Water bottle timer cap.

• Split beer glasses.

• Sofa that transforms into a bunk bed.

Wha…?

• This DIY couch caddy from slippers idea is… interesting.

• Faux monkey head bowls.

• Krispy Kreme triple cheeseburger.

• Burger pop tart.

• The $54 sexagintuple frappuccino, which lasted for five days.

LOL

• “Worrisome uses of quotation marks“.

• May’s 17 best autocorrects.

• Screenshot distraction. (Hover your cursor for additional text.)

• If famous artists were buildings. (via APB)

• Figure out your fantasy alterego. (Alchemist of invincibility, accompanied by a weary sorcerer.)

• Finnish name generator. (via APB) (Tuuli Lintunen)

• I can relate.

• Die, foul flipflop, die!

• Awww.

Teh Cute

• Kitten! Cat! Dhole and babies! Baby skunk! Black kitten!

Reading Update

• Hockey fics falalalala!

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“It’s too warm for a birthday.” -Mayhem

(May showing off her alarming flexibility as melted kitty season begins.)

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Congrats to Suze, who won Love Means… Patience (Farm #7) by Andrew Grey! Love Means… Patience is being released today by Dreamspinner Press.

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Monday’s a holiday in the US, so no Misadventures!

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Randonymity

From my neighborhood. Majestic…

…not majestic.

Contest(s)

• Blodeuedd’s giving away a copy of The Highwayman’s Daughter by Henriette Gyland. Closes May 24.

• Blodeuedd’s also giving away a copy of The Earl at Midnight by Gina Conkle. Closes May 24. US & Canada.

Bookity

• New releases: Fiction Vixen (UF/romance)

• Book and publishing news from Dear Author.

• Vacuous Minx on trigger warnings in college.

• And then the Vacuoux Minx Reader Manifesto.

• “On fandom, parasocial reletionships, and what we don’t know“. (via svmadelyn)

• Has ebook adoption hit a plateau?

• Kindle sideloading made simple.

• Short film about one day in the NYC public libraries.

• Three new words added to the dictionary.

• 16 old words that need to make a comeback.

• “47 charming facts about chidren’s books“.

• “How to edit: A complete guide to the art of callously destroying what some poor author slaved over for years“.

Think, Learn, Make, Do

• “10 commandements of typography“. (via Urbanista)

• Rings that convert sign language into speech. (via maderr)

• “A defense of internet linguistics“. (via APB)

• Minnesota is the first state to ban antibacterial soap containing triclosan. “The case against antibacterial soap“.

• Wilshire Boulevard, past and present.

• Make your own classic snacks, such as Doritos and Nilla Wafers. (via goulbournes)

• Most popular 2013 baby names by state. And then… “The most outrageous baby names of 2013“. (via cookietime) (Poor little Subaru and Rarity…)

• What would happen if you ignited all the pollen in the air in the spring?

• eBay was hacked – go change your passwords if you haven’t already.

Cookity

• Cherry chocolate chip cookies dipped in caramel sauce. (via APB)

• Lemon poppyseed bundt cake.

• Strawberry upside-down cake.

• Rhubarb hand pies.

• 10 rhubarb recipes without strawberries.

• Toasted marshmallow strawberries.

• Honey and strawberry panzanella salad. (via The Kitchn)

• Chicken broccoli frittata. (via The Kitchn)

• Pork and apple burgers.

• Mustard-glazed salmon.

• Pasta salad with roasted peppers, tuna, and oregano.

• 10 lighter pasta salads.

Gluten Free

• Crispy buttermilk coconut chicken fingers.

• Za’atar breadsticks.

• Chocolate chip cookies.

• Strawberry rhubarb crisp-crumble.

Cool

• NASA makes an Earth out of selfies.

• Full size LEGO R2-D2.

• Make sure you have 10 minutes before clicking on this playoff hockey video.

• Very touching music video made from yarn.

• Bandaids for badasses.

• Doctor Who notebooks.

• Downtown Minneapolis viewed across Lake Calhoun. Spoonbridge and Cherry. I always think of this sculpture as Thinker of the Isles. Much Minnesota.

• Online color thesaurus. (via Paperback Writer)

Cool or Wha…?

• Products you didn’t know you needed. (via Lori Toland)

• Not the most functional looking dish rack.

• “16 amazing facts about sea monkeys“.

• Stanley Cup beard watch.

Wha…?

• Peanut butter cup Oreos and Oreo-filled Chips Ahoy.

• Terrorist attack map cheese plate.

• Beer lollipop taste test.

• Google wants to put ads on everything, including thermostats and refrigerators.

• A city in Georgia requires you have a prescription to buy sex toys.

LOL

• “Dad illustrates weird things he has said because of his kids“.

• “24 sure signs you’re an 1890s kid“.

• Indeed.

• This black kitty doesn’t even look murderous.

• Oh oh…

Teh Cute

• Chinchillas! Baby lions! Tree kangaroo and baby! Kittens! Baby platypuses! Kitten! Horse and baby! Black kitty! Siberian crane and baby! Snow leopard! Kittens! Baby moose! Kitten!

Reading Update

• Lalalalalala!

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*sun stupor* -Chaos

Contest(s)

• Blodeuedd’s giving away a copy of Frisky Business by Tawna Fenske. Closes May 18. US & Canada.

• Blodeuedd’s also giving away a copy of The Forgotten Seamstress by Liz Trenow. Closes May 18. US & Canada.

Bookity

• New releases: Fiction Vixen (UF/romance) and AAR (romance)

• Book and publishing news from Dear Author.

• “Dear Author is not any publisher’s bitch“.

• Dear Author on digital first publishing.

• Linkity from Smart Bitches.

• Love Romance Passion shares three reading pet peeves.

• Kassa wonders why sex in YA novels isn’t considered ok. Keira Andrews wonders if there should be sex in YA.

• “LGBT representation in mainstream American comics, part 1“.

• An online graphical dictionary to help you visualize word associations.

• Chipotle’s bags and cups now have “original musings by literary minds” on them.

• 24 books that predicted the future infographic.

• George R.R. Martin writes using DOS.

• You could buy Dracula’s castle. (via mental_floss)

Do, Think, Make, Learn

• “10 comics that can help you understand mental illness” (of course Hyperbole and a Half is one!).

• 10 disappearing or vanished lakes.

• History of the chocolate chip. (Spoiler: That Toll House story is a lie!)

• On sneezing.

• “An introvert’s guide to surviving a weekend with strangers“.

• Credit card skimmers have been found on USPS stamp machines.

• Most commonly spoken language by state after English and Spanish. (Guess for Minnesota before you follow the link. I’ll be really surprised if anyone guesses correctly!)

• Which countries drink the most? And if you ignore abstinence?

• Hockey and players of color.

Cookity

• Mediterranean cauliflower “couscous” salad.

• Sweet pea hummus.

• Avocado stuffed with spicy shrimp.

• Strawberry oatmeal chia smoothie. (via The Kitchn)

• 11 rhubarb recipes.

• Peanut butter pavlova.

• Lemon sorbet.

• Cosmo slushy.

Gluten Free

• Chocolate cake mix doughnuts.

• Cherry turnovers.

• Pecan carrot cake cupcakes with vanilla bean cream cheese frosting.

• BBQ chicken pizza.

Crafty

• Crochet the Death Star. (via CRAFT)

• Turn a tshirt into a cat tent. (via CRAFT) (Jeanne! We could totally do this! Looks much less messy than decoupage was.)

Cool

• Minneapolis: Weisman Art Museum. Spoonbridge and Cherry. Driving into downtown. Downtown skyline. Downtown.

• Artistic staircases.

• More unusual dragon hoards.

• LEGOesque recreation of Bobby Orr’s iconic goal.

• Star Wars villains Disneyified.

• Poster covering 100 years of cameras.

• A year of repairs to the Washington Monument in 80 seconds.

Cool or Wha…?

• Tie Fighter nutcracker.

• 10 special edition Mr. Potato Heads.

• 35 of the world’s scariest places.

• War Worm from the BBC.

• Star Wars, Tarantino style.

Wha…?

• Manly candles.

• Would you swim swim between two the tops of two 38-story buildings?

• Burger King has a triple-patty nacho Godzilla burger in Malaysia.

• 50 really weird stock photos. (via Sklya)

• Pigs that taste like whiskey.

• Frozen treats made with NHL arena ice. (EWWWW.)

• Uterus cakes.

LOL

• Hedging reporters. (Hover your cursor for additional text.)

• Alpacas and chickens.

• Every. Single. Time.

• That’s a sturdily mounted toilet paper holder.

• Not this black kitty’s finest moment.

• Batcat.

• Bad kitty!

Teh Cute

• Kittens! Tiger and babies! Baby cheetah! Black kitten! Black kitten! Kitten! Ducklings! Kitten! Kitten! Tiger and babies! Takin and baby! Chinchilla! Lioness and babies! Lynx and baby! Lioness and baby!

Reading Update

• Do you really expect one at this point?

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“….zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz….” -Chaos

(That’s his back foot in the upper right corner of the picture, if that helps.)

Contest(s)

• Blodeuedd’s giving away winner’s choice from the first eight books of  Gini Koch’s Alien series, plus postcards and magnets. Closes May 18.

Bookity

• New releases: Fiction Vixen (UF/romance) and Tor.com (PNR)

• Book and publishing news from Dear Author.

• Kassa ponders the need for happy endings in romance.

• Bookity linkity from Becky Black.

• 11 ancient/medieval alphabets.

• Scroll down to the bed frame made from paperbacks.

• Why the book is always better than the movie.

Think, Make, Learn, Do

• NPR on a US government report about the impacts of climate change. (via Wil Wheaton)

• “Why Minneapolis is one of America’s best winter biking cities“.

• Apparently South Dakota is the best place in the US to retire to.

• Senator Al Franken on net neutrality. tl;dr.

• An app that lets friends/family track a cyclist on a ride, just in case.

• “For fitness bands, slick marketing but suspect results“. (via Gizmodo)

• Win Rock-Paper-Scissors with science.

• How has Disneyland changed since 1955?

• Infographic for doing your laundry more effectively.

• “If we could convert the energy to build the Great Pyramid, would it be enough to send a rocket to the Moon and back?“

• How IKEA products are named. Watch IKEA spread around the world.

• The history of lolcats.

• Welcome to element number 117, ununseptium.

• Science experiments you can eat.

Cookity

• Cookie dough and whipped cream chocolate cake. (via bropunzeling)

• Creme brulee cupcakes. (via The Kitchn)

• Creme brulee baked oatmeal. (via The Kitchn)

• Rhubarb crumble.

• Sweet potato flan.

• Mixed berry and jasmine tea scones.

• Vietnamese spring rolls with Thai dipping sauce.

• Chipotle Cajun shrimp and guacamole pizza. (via The Kitchn)

• Guacamole deviled eggs. (via The Kitchn)

• 5 ways to add vegetarian protein to salads.

Gluten Free

• Thick-crust pizza dough.

• Strawberry cake roll.

Flourless chocolate cake.

• Multigrain lemon poppy seed muffins.

• Starbucks-style morning buns.

• Zucchini fritters with sweet soy dipping sauce.

• Slow-cooker sweet pork tacos with black beans. (via The Kitchn)

Cool

• I live less than a mile from where this photo was taken. (via joyfulseeker)

• 3D pavement drawings. And 3D beach sand drawings.

• A short film with a corgi, zombies, and some hockey touches.

• Hockey-themed birth announcements.

• Radio that follows sunrise around the world.

• Linkity from kmkat.

Cool or Wha…?

• A bicycle that folds to the size of an umbrella.

• Mobius table.

Wha…?

• Peeps – not just for Easter anymore.

• X-Men Twinkies.

• Spicy Chicken Cool Ranch Doritos Locos Tacos.

• Scratch’n’sniff travel guidebook that includes horse manure.

• A man in Georgia held up a Waffle House with a pitchfork.

• When you’re dining alone at this restaurant in Japan. you will receive a stuffed animal to keep you company.

• A paper towel holder with a USB hub.

• An animated short called Prehistoric Hockey.

LOL

• The xkcd phone… (Hover cursor for additional text.)

• Amusing “infographics”.

• 15 funny texts from mothers.

• The Stanley Cup beard watch.

• Friends-style opening for Game of Thrones.

• Tiny hamster eating tiny pizza.

• Llama shaming.

• Please don’t make the animals sick.

• Penguin family vacations.

• Henri the Existential Cat returns.

• I know the feeling.

• Worried cat is worried.

• Cat questions.

• Such a helpful kitty.

Teh Cute

• Kittens! Red panda! Kittens! Albino kiwi! Kittens! Baby leopard! Baby sand cats! Reindeer and baby! Baby otters! Red panda! Tiger!

Reading Update

• Look! Over there! Is that the Stanley Cup playoffs?!

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Flashback Friday! Here’s May as a seven-month old kitten, keeping her eye on a wand toy that she’s about to leap after.

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Congrats to Sandra, who won an ebook copy of the Butt Ninjas from Hell anthology by Kage Alan, JP Barnaby, Ally Blue, TC Blue, Shae Connor, Jevocas Green, Kiernan Kelly, & Eden Winters!

Congrats to Jen CW, who won Stuck in Oz (Tales from Kansas) by Andrew Grey! Stuck in Oz was released by Dreamspinner Press on April 30.

Congrats to Rachel, who won Perfect Imperfections by Cardeno C! Perfect Imperfections will be released by Dreamspinner Press on May 5.

Congrats to MaryMary, who won a “Love” ring plus Sex and Candy by Nico Jaye!

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Contest(s)

• Blodeuedd’s giving away a copy of The Day He Kissed Her by Juliana Stone. Closes May 10. US & Canada.

Bookity

• New releases: Fiction Vixen (UF/romance) and Tor.com (UF, genre benders, scifi, fantasy)

• Book and publishing news from Dear Author.

• Linkity from Smart Bitches.

• VacuousMinx on self-publishing and Marx.

• VacuousMinx shares some ways to learn more about the genre of romance.

• “The uses and misuses of canon“.

• Becky Black shares seven tips for writing blurbs.

• Kassa on how useful (or not) she found the swag from an m/m romance con she recently attended.

• Tip of My Tongue helps you figure out the word you can’t quite remember.

• Infographic of science fiction books predicting (or influencing?) the future.

• Discover fanfiction! (The comments/tags are fabulous.)

• You are so busted, George R.R. Martin!

• Romance novel reader workouts: XVI and XVII (with link to all of the workouts).

• Publishing humor.

Do, Think, Make, Learn

• If your NHL team is out of the playoffs, Down Goes Brown will help you choose a new team to cheer for.

• April was a record-breaking month for earthquakes.

• How sunscreen works.

• Oh, Comcast, you really shouldn’t belittle the Consumerist. It won’t end well for you.

• Consumerist’s April recall roundup.

• 18 unusual May holidays.

• How to detect bad/badly reported science.

• Why we can see better when we squint.

• The problems with building a billion-story building.

• Fractals explained, noir style.

• Which countries drive on which side of the road (and all the countries that aren’t doing the same thing they started out doing).

Cookity

• Rhubarb recipes. And more rhubarb recipes.

• 12 spring salads.

• Sweet corn risotto.

• Green rice.

• Spicy grapefruit guacamole.

• Crunchy black bean tacos.

• Quick chicken posole.

• Skillet cookies. (via The Kitchn)

• Chocolate-covered strawberries.

Gluten Free

• Chocolate almond muffins.

• Individual chocolate cakes with dulce de leche.

• Chocolate mousse cake.

• Sopapillas.

• Easy sandwich rolls.

• Grilled BCT sandwich.

• There’s a new gluten-free flour made out of dried coffee cherry pulp.

Cool

• Hockey hugs! (Be warned – some of these are terrifying.)

• NHL team logos as medieval banners.

• Sweet comic story – there is knitting! And a princess! And grizzled hero companions!

• The cats of the internet.

• Look at London in 1924 and 2014 – simultaneously.

• Minneapolis City Hall on a rainy day wouldn’t look out of place in London.

• Linkity from kmkat.

• Yoga cat. (I would think that would lead to a lot of scratches.)

• Animated gifs of obsolete technology.

• Visualization of the Monkey Head Nebula.

• Star Wars Jedis fighting Harry Potter wizards!

Cool or Wha…?

• Octopus yarn bowl.

• Zombie apocalypse survival bracelet.

Wha…?

• Giant robot sound effect slippers.

• Restaurant photo booth station.

LOL

• 29 best autocorrects from April.

• Princess cakes, wreck style.

• Mail vs email, then and now.

• Ah, falling down the old files hole. (Hover cursor for additional text – on my Android tablet, I can get the additional text by long-pressing.)

• Goats on a horse!

• Tiny hamsters eating tiny burritos.

• Such a helpful kitty.

• Hiding fail.

Teh Cute

• Baby caracal! Cheetah and baby! Tiger and baby! Hummingbirds! Cat! Lion and baby! Kitten! Klipspringer! Penguins! Kittens! Porcupette! Piebald squirrel! Leopard and baby! Kittens! Baby penguins! Baby clouded leopards! Dwarf Zebu and baby!

Reading Update

• Some hockey fics. 🙂

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“I’m just going to stay here in the past, when we had sunshine.” -Mayhem

Bookity

• New releases: Fiction Vixen (UF/romance) and AAR (romance)

• Book and publishing news from Dear Author.

• On being a critical fan.

• Dear Author has an updated version of VacuousMinx’s post on the length and form of genre fiction.

• Some women in China were arrested for writing fanfiction.

• Most famous book set in each US state. (Hmm. I think On the Banks of Plum Creek might give Sinclair Lewis a run for his money.)

• Build a sliding door bookcase.

• The National Reconnaissance Office’s approach to Where’s Waldo. (Hover cursor for additional text.)

Do, Think, Make, Learn

• Hey, the FDA recommends getting rid of old/excess medications the same way I always do. 🙂

• It looks like Nike is leaving the wearable fitness trackers market.

• Amazon adds Prime Pantry.

• General Mills has changed its mind about taking away consumers’ rights.

• Most US internet connections aren’t what they’re claimed to be.

• The Supreme Court wonders why Minute Maid’s pomegranate juice only has 0.3% pomegranate in it.

• Neil deGrasse Tyson on race, gender, genetics, and science. He’s a smart man.

• Simple animation explaining climate change.

• And another explaining how tsunamis form.

• At what speed would rain shatter your windshield?

• The TTB approved and then reversed its approval of powdered alcohol.

• Because of LEDs, your whites won’t look as white when you do laundry.

• xkcd on free speech. (Hover cursor for additional text.)

Cookity

• Chocolatey recipes (pictures at the beginning, links to recipes at the bottom), including Oreo cookie waffles and York Peppermint Patty brownies.

• Rhubarb and ginger jam cake.

• Strawberry-rhubarb streusel bars.

• Dark chocolate almond cookies. (via The Kitchn)

• Fluffernutter ice cream sandwiches. (via The Kitchn)

• Mango sticky rice. (via The Kitchn)

• Chicken in coconut milk with lemongrass.

• BBQ margarita chicken tostadas with sweet jalapeno margarita salsa. (via The Kitchn)

• Steak and avocado Ceasar salad.

• Radish and egg salad sandwiches. (via The Kitchn)

• Thai salad with curry coconut dressing. (via The Kitchn)

• Beet risotto. (via The Kitchn)

• Roasted spiced almond cauliflower.

• Honey sriracha roasted Brussels sprouts. (via The Kitchn)

• 11 asparagus recipes.

Gluten Free

• Chocolate caramel macarons. (Thanks, Mary Lou!)

• Half brownie, half cookie cookies.

• Dark chocolate popovers.

• Maple butter blondies.

• Subway-style sandwich rolls.

• Braided stuffed spinach and pepperoni pizza.

• There’s now a gluten-free taproom in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Crafty

• Knit a Wonder Woman jumper. (via zarathuse)

• Make a felt kitty bookmark. (via CRAFT)

Cool

• Montreal street art. (via Piper Vaughn)

• Yarnbombed benches in San Francisco.

• Large Hadron Collider umbrella.

• Photos of Star Wars miniatures.

• Linkity from kmkat.

• Watch videos of GE destroying things like a rubber ducky (well, they tried) and a baseball.

• All the Stanley Cup celebrations from 1949 through 2013.

Cool or Wha…?

• Quirky chopsticks.

• Weird toys from our childhoods. (Definitely skim through the comments for more pictures.)

• Unicorn rainbow fart cake. (via The Mary Sue)

Wha…?

• Beer lollipops.

• Fourth of July candy corn.

• Paying for unknown Doritos flavors.

• Movies that are in the works: one based on the Disney It’s a Small World ride, one based on Peeps (the candy), and a Barbie live-action comedy.

• Busy intersection with no traffic controls.

• Bearskin sleeping bag.

• Table containing a cat run.

LOL

• 8 text comebacks that burn.

• 12 Easter autocorrects.

• The problem with phone alarms. (Hover cursor for additional text.)

• How capitalism works. (Actually, it’s not really funny, but…) (via Wil Wheaton)

• “The male version of Power Girl’s boob window is…” (NSFWish)

• This sure isn’t the case at my house – food dropped on the floor doesn’t survive five seconds because Chaos.

Teh Cute

• Otter and babies! Kitten! Kitten! Kittens! Baby tiger! Kittens! Black cat! Otter and baby! Lioness and baby!

Reading Update

• Hockey fics! Woot!

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“Too close? I’m sure I have no idea what you’re talking about.” -Chaos

Randonymity

• So, we got 10.5 inches/26.67 cm of snow last Friday. Then it got sunny and warmer and the snow was completely gone by Sunday afternoon. This video will help you share some of that experience: Are You MN Enough? Winter Sucks.

• Saturday night I dragged Jeanne to see Cloud Cult at the Fitzgerald Theater. It was awesome. 🙂 Here’s a great song of theirs (“Armor and Calla Lilies”) that sadly wasn’t played.

• Less than awesome was Chaos managing to scrape one of his corneas again (scroll down to the cat picture and note below it) on Wednesday. Ointment four times each day and back to the vet Tuesday for a recheck. Ugh. 🙁

Contest(s)

• Blodeuedd’s giving away a copy of Dance Until Dawn by Berni Stevens. Closes April 12.

Bookity

• New releases: Fiction Vixen (UF/romance) and Tor.com (PNR)

• Book and publishing news from Dear Author.

• Writerly linkity from Becky Black.

• “In search of the ‘pure reader’“.

• Fiction Vixen shares tips for making sure the last book in your series actually feels like the end of the series.

• KJ Charles with a great flowchart for helping authors deal with negative reviews on Amazon.

• One reader’s tale of switching from iPhone to Android. (One of her complaints was that Mailbox wasn’t available for Android, but it is now.)

• 10 interesting American libraries.

• “Spoilers for every book ever“. (Thanks, Kate!)

• Good point!

• ‘Tis a bitter moment in the fanfic reader’s life, this. Time to reread! 🙂

• Erm… I might resemble this one.

Think, Do, Make, Learn

• You probably need to change some passwords because of the Heartbleed security bug. Good luck figuring out which sites have properly updated and reissued their security certificates so that it’s safe to change your password. (“Safe” as in you won’t have to change it at that same site again right away because they weren’t completely done with the fix.) Some black humor to help you through. (Hover your cursor for additional text.) And an explanation of Heartbleed from xkcd. (Again with the hovering.)

• Lots of vehicle recalls this week – this post about BMW’s recall has links to Ford and Toyota’s as well. “What to do if your car is recalled: An explainer“.

• CallRed can help you contact people who can actually help you with problems when a company has bad customer service.

• Tips for baking without gluten.

• “The leading flank in discovering how to use technology in cool, interesting, thoughtful ways will generally always be the amateurs.“

• When your favorite TV shows continue on after they should end.

• How to generate electricity from your faucet.

Cookity

• Saag paneer.

• Spicy peanut kale salad.

• Spring asparagus quinoa salad with tarragon vinaigrette. (via The Kitchn)

• Shrimp and asparagus risotto. (via The Kitchn)

• Asparagus and mozzarella pizza.

• Chocolate lava cakes with salted caramel goo. (via The Kitchn)

• Apricot chocolate fudge cake.

• Pink grapefruit margaritas. (via The Kitchn)

Gluten Free

• Sandwich Thins copycat recipe.

• Tiramisu cupcakes.

• Blondie-style quinoa bars.

• Elephant ears/palmiers.

• Cinnamon sugar soft pretzel bites and sticks.

• Crullers.

• 10 parve Passover desserts. (I haven’t confirmed that each of the recipes is gf, but it’s very likely that most, if not all, are. Beware any matzo.)

• Links to lots of muffin recipes.

Crafty

• Turn leftover cardboard into a cardboard ball toy for your cat. (via CRAFT)

Cool

• The geology of Game of Thrones. (via Tor.com)

• Game of Meows. (via The Mary Sue) And Game of Cats.

• All of the onscreen deaths (5179) in Game of Thrones… so far. (I’m going to guess this contains spoilers……)

• Animated short made with sticky notes.

• Completely amazing 3-D pregame video extravaganza by the Halifax Mooseheads of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

• Tetris, 29 stories tall.

• Behind the scenes of 2001: A Space Odyssey. (via Wil Wheaton)

• Iconic album covers in Street View. (via Sploid)

• Geeky plushies from Funko. (via The Mary Sue)

• Timelapse of LEGO Fenway Park being built.

• Crafty miniatures.

• Dragon with a yarn hoard!

• Linkity from kmkat.

Cool or Wha…?

• Goats and sheep bleating the Game of Thrones theme song.

Wha…?

• A proposed addition to US Copyright Law that would make it illegal to link to certain content.

• As Hollywood’s leading men age, their love interests (overall) do not. (via Wil Wheaton)

• A man in China built a copy of the space shuttle on his roof.

• Creepy baby doll cakes.

• Minty fresh jeans.

• A woman received a birthday card in the mail – a birthday card that was mailed in 1969, from her (now dead) parents.

LOL

• The best of Parents Shouldn’t Text.

• How gay marriage affects straight men.

• What does the type of coffee you order say about you? (It’s spot-on for me with the mocha!)

• International landlubber code flags. (via java-genie)

• How to figure out who painted a painting.

• More truth in advertising…

• The comments on this app-enabled smart egg tray are hilarious. (Thanks, Cheryl!)

• Vicious polar bear attack!

• Kittens are extremely dangerous.

• “Cats are not nearly as impressed with magic as dogs“.

Teh Cute

• Jaguar and baby! Otters and babies! Cranes and baby! Kitten! Muskox and baby! Baby tiger! Baby agouti! Baby penguins!

Reading Update

• It’s almost time for the playoffs! 🙂

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*kitty meditation* -Mayhem

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Congrats to Louise, who won Moonlight Becomes You (Lucky Moon #1) (2nd ed) by Piper Vaughn and M.J. O’Shea!  Moonlight Becomes You will be released by Dreamspinner Press on April 7.

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Contest(s)

• Kaetrin’s celebrating her birthday by giving away a romance book bundle valued at $155. Make sure you read the post about how to enter! Closes 5 pm Adelaide (Australia) time, April 5. Australia only.

• Blodeuedd’s giving away How to Handle a Cowboy by Joanne Kennedy, plus a cowboy-themed gift. Closes April 12 – make sure you read how to enter.

Bookity

• New releases: Fiction Vixen (UF/romance) and Tor.com (genre benders, fantasy, scifi, urban fantasy)

• Book and publishing news from Dear Author.

• How to buy ebooks from anywhere, remove DRM, and read them from one place.

• Read or listen to 12 Years a Slave for free.

• “Good books are hard to write, bad books are a breeze“.

• “Genre lines: Why literary writers won’t self-publish“.

• Book linkity from the Hypeless Romantic.

• Some history of the f-word.

• 19 rules that copyeditors used to enforce.

• Linkity approves of this: “Fiercety, seriosity, debonairity: 14 abstract nouns we need to bring back“.

• “Diction-Fairy“.

• Orange books.

Think, Do, Learn, Make

• Fascinating look at the history of cats.

• Smart birds.

• How many days of your life have you spent watching tv?

• The Start Menu will return to Windows 8.1 with an April 8 update.

• Make your own grout cleaner.

• How to fix food with too much salt or spice.

• 15 unusual April holidays.

• Dead malls. (via Wil Wheaton)

• The California drought’s not going to improve anytime soon, and what that means for both California and the rest of the US.

• “You’re always coming out“.

• “Asperger’s and the art of allegory“. (via Kephiso)

• Hockey science videos: slap shots and skating on ice.

Cookity

• Milo ice cream cake. (via The Kitchn)

• Marble cake made with olive oil.

• Nutella rolls. (via The Kitchn)

• Meyer Lemon Shaker pie.

• Buttery lemon lace cookies.

• Dairy-free chocolate syrup.

• Chocolate-dipped bacon. (via CRAFT)

• Spiced rice pudding.

• Chipotle peso chicken burrito bowls. (via The Kitchn)

• Crispy garlic bread grilled cheese sandwiches. (via puckling)

• Curried coconut quinoa and greens with roasted cauliflower. (via The Kitchn)

• Spiced eggplant with yogurt and quinoa. (via The Kitchn)

• Citrus fennel salad. (via The Kitchn)

• Smoked salmon dip. (via The Kitchn)

• Baked eggs in pomodoro sauce. (via The Kitchn)

• Breakfast pizza. (via The Kitchn)

• 13 five-ingredient dinners.

Gluten Free

• Taco Bellesque smothered burrito.

• Pumpkin empanadas.

• Oat, number, and fruit bread.

• Texas Roadhouse style rolls.

• Easter chick cupcakes.

• Coconut layer cake.

• S’Mores cookies.

• Peanut butter oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.

• Chocolate chocolate chip cookies.

Crafty

• Turn a soda bottle into an adorable planter kitty. (If the google translate link doesn’t work, here’s the direct link.) (Thanks, Jeanne!)

• Make your own glow-in-the-dark stars. (via CRAFT)

Cool

• Simon’s Cat car decals?!

• Yes, this.

• Everyday awards.

• Animated My Little Blackhawk short! Too bad it’s an April Fool’s joke.

• Han Solo and Batman riding Swift Wind. (via The Mary Sue)

• Adorable dinosaur prints.

• Planetary plates.

• Spend an hour with Adam Savage.

• Turn your webcam feed into ASCII.

• Cat fight from a cat’s perspective.

• Tilt-shift time lapse short of Sydney, Australia.

• Touristy NYC pictures of Sirs Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen.

• A photo of eight hours of flights departing from LAX.

• Photos of cities with the past and present literally merged.

• Linkity from kmkat.

Cool or Wha…?

• Catwheels.

• Game of Thrones recapped in emojis.

• Clear putty.

• Tea-strainer shaped like an axe.

Wha…?

• Fish egg-stuffed crust pizza.

• Oh Canada, land of the french fry-smelling roads.

• Testing condom strength with Coke, Mentos, and Nutella.

• Ohio bananas.

LOL

• March’s funniest autocorrects.

• A guide to Fahrenheit for the rest of the world.

• Before there was the internet… (Hover your cursor for additional text.)

• “Puck Yeah!” hockey music video.

• Desperate times… (Thanks, Jeanne!)

• New Simon’s Cat.

• Oh, cats.

• Not one of my cats – neither approve of water falling on them.

Teh Cute

• Tiger and baby! Baby platypus! Baby otters! Kittens! Otter and babies! Baby turtles! Baby clouded leopards! Baby donkey! Baby fennec!

Reading Update

• I bet I don’t even need to tell you. 🙂

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“Purrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr” -Mayhem