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Congrats to DebraG, who won A Courageous Ride (The Bullriders #3) by Andrew Grey! A Courageous Ride will be released by Dreamspinner Press on March 31.

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Bookity

• New releases: Fiction Vixen (UF/romance)

• Book and publishing news from Dear Author.

• “When online reviewing is no longer fun“. “Reading and reviewing, then and now“.

• Dear Author ponders the usefulness of Facebook.

• Becky Black thinks about what makes someone a writer.

• Diesel eBooks is closing at the end of March.

• Learn about Little Free Libraries.

• One writer shares her descent into reading fan fiction. (via TeleRead)

• World record breaking book domino chain.

Do, Think, Make, Learn

• So, what if male superheroes posed the same way female superheroes do? (Thanks, Expy!)

• 20 tidbits about cats.

• How Robert Luongo saved Vancouver.

• Senator Franken, telling it like it is re: the proposed Comcast/Time Warner merger.

• How to fold a fitted sheet.

• How to use a rotary phone.

• Three simple animations that explain complex subjects: how we know the age of the sun, what’s inside a black hole, and how big the Universe is.

• How the Corvette Museum rescued most of its cars from that giant sinkhole.

• Easy exercises to increase bone strength.

Cookity

• Oatmeal Nutella mug cake.

• Nutella and bacon stuffed French toast. (via The Kitchn)

• Chocolate-filled hazelnut cookies.

• Dark chocolate walnut cookies.

• Raw chocolate chip cookie dough bites.

• Peanut butter chocolate mousse parfait. (via The Kitchn)

• Lemon curd. Lemon curd butterfly cakes.

• Thai cabbage and chicken soup. (via The Kitchn)

• Baked shrimp with tomatoes and feta. (via The Kitchn)

• Roast salmon and rice salad.

• Quick vegan curry.

• Whipped feta dip.

• 10 pasta recipes.

• 9 bar cookie recipes.

Gluten Free

• S’Mores waffles. (via The Kitchn)

• Banana muffins with Nutella swirl.

• Blueberry oat bars.

• Soft pretzels.

• English muffins.

• Chalupas.

• Cheese pizza crackers.

• Roasted banana squash and new potato salad.

Crafty

• Build your own Iron Throne.

• TECHKnitting with how to tink faster.

Cool

• The Star Wars theme played on an amazing pipe organ.

• Cartoon theme mashup played by an orchestra.

• LEGO Simpsons.

• Salvador Dali LEGO elephants.

• OYO (think LEGO) stop-motion animation of the Penguins vs Blackhawks at Soldier Field.

• LEGO interpretation of The Way of Kings.

• Gif set in which Neil deGrasse Tyson explains how the selfie of himself, Bill Nye, and President Obama came about.

• Potholes treated artistically. (via oflights)

• Minnesota forest shaped like Minnesota.

• Lightning from above.

• London from above.

• Black cats! (The last gif is terrifying – that cat basically has a moveable thumb.)

• Linkity from kmkat.

Cool or Wha…?

• Meteor striking bus stop… sort of.

• Pizza axe.

Wha…?

• Beer that contains (goat) brains.

• The AromaFork.

• The possible link between California wildfires and titanium golf clubs.

• Dog wearing a crocheted unicorn mask.

• Naked Burt Reynolds on a bearskin rug… done in latch hook.

LOL

• Whoa. (Hover cursor for additional text.)

• I was not expecting this. Guaranteed (video) day brightener!

• “[B]ased on extensive observation, I believe that my cats have only a tenuous grasp on how much of my body is ‘me’“.

• How to choose a pet.

• I’m dubious…

• Naughty kitties.

Teh Cute

• Japanese dwarf flying squirrel! Hedgie! Baby otters! Lioness and baby! WALL-E, kitten version! Moose and baby!

Reading Update

• Hockey fics falalalalalala.

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“Of course I know I look very lovely and artistic here! Duh.” -Mayhem

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Congrats to Joder, who won Fractured by Mickie B. Ashling! Fractured will be released by Dreamspinner Press on March 24.

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Randonymity

• Some pictures of Minneapolis on the first day of spring. *sigh*

• Oh yeah, this is why I’m so tired of winter. (“Freezing” is 32F/0C for that infographic.) (via Neighborhoodr Minneapolis)

• Hey! Leave a comment if you get a chance – sometimes blogging feels like talking into a void… Thanks to all of you who comment regularly, particularly on the Misadventures and Linkity, which take the most time to put together!

Bookity

• New releases: Fiction Vixen (romance/UF)

• Book and publishing news from Dear Author.

• “Anonymity, transparency, and online book reviewing“.

• Kate McMurray shares her thoughts on criticism.

• Becky Black lists 10 things you shouldn’t ask on writing forums.

• Even classic 20th-century novels were reviewed harshly when they were released.

• Five sites with free ebooks.

• Altered books as wall hangings. (via CRAFT)

• “40 worst book titles and covers ever“. (via MandyM)

Do, Think, Learn, Make

• Samsung’s Gear Fit looks really cool, except… you can only use it with a Samsung phone.

• How accurate are fitness trackers?

• The reason why dark chocolate is good for you involves gut bacteria…

• I didn’t realize that IBM sponsored the Hepburn and Tracy movie Desk Set.

• 15 unusual (and specific) color names.

• The next time time you need a new pillow, draw on ratings and reviews from 20,000+ pillow purchasers.

• How to streamline your home cleaning.

• How to stop compromising your online privacy.

• Wait, what?! It’s not Duck, Duck, Grey Duck everywhere?!

Cookity

• 8 recipes for beans and rice.

• 13 quinoa recipes.

• 29 quesadilla recipes. (via kdsarge)

• Kidney bean curry with rice.

• Black bean “meatballs” with marinara. (via The Kitchn)

• Slow cooker Thai chickpea stew. (via The Kitchn)

• Caprese tomato spinach soup. (via The Kitchn)

• Butternut squash and spinach lasagna. (via Cabled Sheep)

• Red pepper and sunflower seed pesto. (via Cabled Sheep)

• Savory oatmeal with roasted tomatoes and oyster mushrooms. (via The Kitchn)

• Superfood baked potato.

• Fish tacos with quick cabbage slaw.

• Quick coconut chicken soup.

• Cookie (milk) shot glasses. (via The Kitchn)

Gluten Free

• Chocolate eclairs.

• Snickerdoodle cookie chips.

• Chocolate chip quinoa cookies.

• Easy biscuit doughnuts.

• Starbucks-style petite vanilla bean scones.

Cool

• Highlights from the 2014 Sony World Photography Awards. (via Gizmodo)

• Lord of the Rings sneakers.

• Neil deGrasse Tyson talks to Pluto.

• Ancient abacus ring.

• “The history of movies from 1878 to 2014 in just three minutes“.

• Linkity from mrspao.

Cool or Wha…?

• Smiley face screws.

Wha…?

• Wave sculpture made from Barbie dolls.

• Wine and vodka milkshake.

• Three-pound iPhone case.

• Spring Black Friday. Ugh.

• “The 12 weirdest experiences you can have in Canada“.

• Creepy vintage mechanical doll. (Randomly, check out the scary “guest” we had at Thanksgiving one year.)

LOL

• Best out-of-order sign ever.

• Literal translation of Danish city and place names.

• It really doesn’t pack the same punch. (Hover your cursor for additional text.)

• Accurate. (Again with the hovering.)

• “Things I would wish upon my enemies“.

• Well, this is definitely a twist on those stick figure family window clings…

• This is my life.

• Cat on a leash.

• Dream big! You are fierce!

• Lion, you are silly.

• Houdini kitty.

Teh Cute

• Buffalo and baby! Snow leopard and baby! Tiger and baby! Tiger and baby! Fox! Baby foxes!

Reading Update

• *twiddles thumbs*

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“I’m going to stay here a while, in case Mom’s not done vacuuming.” -Chaos

“Oh, shiny!” -Mayhem

The sign on the wall (click the pic to embiggen) was a gift from my family… Um, thanks?! 😉

Randonymity

• Just because I can’t fit it into any other category: female armor bingo. *sigh*

Contest(s)

• Blodeuedd’s giving away a copy of The Maid of Milan by Beverly Eyeikli. Closes March 15.

• Blodeuedd’s also giving away a copy of Flight to Coorah Creek by Janet Grover. Closes March 22.

Bookity

• New releases: Fiction Vixen (UF/romance), Literary Escapism (UF/PNR), and AAR (romance)

• Book and publishing news from Dear Author.

• Dear Author attempts to define comfort reading.

• Heidi Cullinan with a public service announcement: “Authors, write books not war”.

• Lisa Henry on how books are not babies.

• Lyn Gala points out that writing a review is not included in the definition of bullying.

• Thought provoking post from Kate at Booklikes about m/m books being written for fans instead of readers.

• Anne Rice has written another Lestat novel.

• All about speed reading.

• Humorous post about sock puppets on Goodreads from Becky Black.

• Authors! Have you submitted your application for the Amtrak Writers’ Residency program?

• Poster covering 100 years of the typewriter.

Do, Think, Make, Learn

• It’s actually not that likely you’ll get salmonella from eating cookie dough. And there was much rejoicing!

• Unblock YouTube easily lets you watch regionally blocked videos.

• Fitbit Force wristbands officially recalled by the US government.

• Some arguments against Daylight Saving Time.

• Looking at how phone calls worked in the past and how they work now. (via mental_floss)

• How to improve your bone density – Guess I’ll be adding some hopping into my routine once my hip can handle it.

• Most popular TV show set in each US state. I think the rebuttal version is more accurate for Minnesota.

• What if you tried to stop a car with radio waves/radar?

Cookity

• Miso coconut chicken. (via The Kitchn)

• 15-minute coconut salmon with kale. (via The Kitchn)

• Corned beef grilled cheese. (via The Kitchn)

• Lentil salad with olives and feta. (via The Kitchn)

• Brown rice bowl with chard and nutty tomato romesco sauce.

• African style stewed spinach. (via The Kitchn)

• Roasted broccoli soup with cashews. (via The Kitchn)

• 7 cabbage recipes.

• 7 olive recipes.

• 13 recipes using canned beans.

• 15 vegan lunch recipes.

• Grain-free nori rolls with roasted carrot hummus. (via The Kitchn)

• Clementine cake. (via The Kitchn)

• Red velvet chocolate bonbons. (via CRAFT)

• Red velvet chocolate-swirled brownie bars. (via puckling)

Gluten Free

• Chicken gyros.

• Taco pizza.

• Chocolate chip chip-style cookies.

• Two-bite brownies.

• Grapefruit kumquat scones.

Cool

• You can now explore the Colorado River via Google StreetView.

• Animated fairy tale adventure about fixing wifi.

• Anti-monster spray by prescription.

• Explore the tediously accurate solar system. (via Tor.com)

• Flat air conditioner.

• Geeky jewelry. (via The Mary Sue)

• LEGO St. Pancras station.

• LEGO Star Wars sandcrawler.

• LEGO family portrait.

• Purple doorknob.

• Mind-boggling rock balancing.

• Linkity from kmkat.

Cool or Wha…?

• Microwave that listens to popcorn popping.

• Remote control sofabed.

• Geeky lip balm.

Wha…?

• And I thought Zdeno Chara was scary before I saw this video.

• Stickers to make your toilet more fun.

• Superhero poop on Etsy.

• Weird Barbie and Ken dolls.

• Pasta with tomato sauce popsicle.

• Marmite-stuffed stuffed crust pizza.

• Chicken Soup for the Soul chicken soup.

LOL

• Snap! (Hover your cursor for additional text.)

• We had that day this week – it was 52F Monday!

• Uncommon dragon hoards. (Where is the book hoard?!? Must not be that uncommon.)

• Couple lip-syncing “Love is an Open Door” from Frozen – it’s their daughter’s utter disinterest that really makes this.

• The unmaking of Oreos.

• Anyone who owns a lizard needs this costume.

• Surprise!black kitten.

• Keyboard cat.
  

• My cats would not have this problem…

• Oh oh…

Teh Cute

• Baby river otters! Baby leopard! Camel and baby!

Reading Update

• *waves*

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“……zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…….” -Mayhem

“……zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…….” -Chaos

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Congrats to Gigi, who won Love Comes Home (Sense #3) by Andrew Grey! Love Comes Home is being released today by Dreamspinner Press.

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Randonymity

• Not enough linkity for you this week? Did you actually make it through last week’s epic post? 🙂

Contest(s)

• Blodeuedd’s giving away a copy of Desperately Seeking Suzanna by Elizabeth Michels. Make sure you read the rules! Closes March 15. US & Canada.

Bookity

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

• Book and publishing news from Dear Author.

• Links from the Hypeless Romantic.

• Links from Becky Black.

• “Love, color, and blindness“.

• Dear Author on beta reading.

• “Is genre fiction creating a market for lemons?“

• One reader on how having an ereader changed her reading habits.

• “Does anybody read books the right way any more?“

• On teen girls and reading.

• Nice quote about why fanfiction comes about.

• Novella and novel-length fanfic recommendations across a wide array of fandoms (including hockey rpf, of course).

• The truth about fandom and fanfics…………………………

• “25 things you had no idea there were words for“. (via Becky Black’s tumblr)

• Turn your books into mobiles.

• More book sculptures.

• Book-scented candles.

• Reading sutra.

Think, Do, Learn, Make

• No penguin sweaters are actually needed, knitters…

• Getty Images is now allowing bloggers to embed their stock photos for free.

• Yet another new phishing scam – watch out for this one if you use Netflix.

• Why it feels like time is increasing at an increasing rate as you get older.

• Bitcoin primer.

Cookity

• Black-eyed pea hummus. (via The Kitchn)

• Moroccan shepherd’s pie with sweet potato. (via The Kitchn)

• Okra curry. (via The Kitchn)

• Spinach and cheddar quinoa cakes. (via The Kitchn)

• Breakfast polenta squares with spinach and bacon.

• Carrot cake oatmeal. (via The Kitchn)

• Mocha crunch steel-cut oatmeal.

• Single-serving cinnamon roll. (via The Kitchn)

• Double-chocolate muffins. (via The Kitchn)

Gluten Free

• Granola.

• Flour tortillas.

• Biscuits.

• Braided Nutella bread.

• Grain-free lemon and blueberry scones.

• Self-saucing chocolate pudding cakes.

Crafty

• Learn how to knit.

• Knit some geodes. (via CRAFT)

Cool

• Disney-inspired cocktails.

• Celestial quilt.

• Catch up on the Academy Awards memes.

• Linkity from kmkat.

Cool or Wha…?

• I’d consider this the result of cabin fever. Probably this too.

• Lightsaber BBQ tongs.

• Horse head squirrel feeder.

Wha…?

• Vanilla shake M&Ms.

• Bacon Pringles.

• “Jury convicts two Americans of selling secret Oreo-whitening technique to China“.

• Not sure how I managed to completely miss the “green ketchup” craze.

• Per the USDA, Americans waste 141 trillions calories of food annually.

• Pickle chandelier.

• Rent a stranger’s bathroom for a few minutes.

• As snow melts in the Alps, the bodies of WWI soldiers are appearing.

LOL

• More of February’s funniest autocorrects.

• The five stages of winter.

• That couch is a goner.

Teh Cute

• Red pandas! Swans and cygnets! Leopard and babies! Lionesses and baby! Baby pygmy falcons! Tiger tongue!

Reading Update

• Move along, nothing to see here…

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“I think I see a squirrel on the next block… or maybe it’s a leaf… It was way better when we had squirrels instead of all this boring white stuff on the other side of this window.” -Chaos

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Congrats to Jane(PS), who won Beyond Reckless (2nd ed) by Ava March!

Congrats to Shellirie, who won Base Over Apex (Kinky Cupid #2) by Kim Dare!

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Randonymity

• The view from my windows last Friday morning, after 10.5 inches/26.7 cm of snow overnight. That street lamp was confused for days – ice was blocking its light sensor, so it stayed lit through hours of bright sunshine.

• It doesn’t bode well when the icy conditions sign has slipped and fallen…

• If you like hockey and you’re not doing anything Friday, February 28 (aka today), at 8 pm CST, why not join the Goon rewatch party?

Contest(s)

• Blodeuedd’s giving away a three-pack of Kate Ashford books: Man of Honour, The Three Graces, and The Marriage Wager. Closes March 8.

Bookity

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

• Book and publishing news from Dear Author.

• Vacuous Minx on “credentialism and the internet”.

• “Is ‘happy for now’ happy enough for you?“

• Science finds that reading can reduce anxiety.

• Is there a relationship between book price and ratings?

• You can read some of the Nebula Award nominees for free online.

• Game of Thrones pop-up book.

• LEGO recreations of famous literary scenes. (And more!)

• Stories reduced to their main colors. (Thanks, Kristi!)

• Infographic of Kurt Vonnegut’s eight story shapes/types. (via mental_floss)

• 25 opening sentences diagrammed on a single poster.

• Book sculptures.

• Pride and Prejudice, mathematically.

• This would’ve been a helpful display when I worked at a bookstore. 🙂

• Not suitable for obsessively organized readers.

• They should probably just load ebooks on her phone.

• Sometimes there’s simply no deeper meaning.

Do, Learn, Think, Make

• “Playing Tetris may stop your food cravings“.

• Chipotle will soon have vegan tofu options all over the US.

• “Pizza math: A 12″ pizza is over twice as big as an 8″ pizza“.

• Dark chocolate is good for your heart.

• Forced arbitration is bad for consumers – why you should opt out. (Dropbox just added new terms of service that include forced arbitration, but at least they offer an online opt out.)

• Beijing’s air pollution is really bad. China’s air pollution is affecting Japan.

• “Keep the Cold War out of the Olympics“.

• More of that hilarious hockey primer. Websites for hockey news and information.

• Visualization of how many calories are in various Starbucks drinks. (via Consumerist)

• Time zones. (Hover your cursor additional text.)

• The home of time in the US.

• Rocket golf.

• “The science of sriracha“.

• Hmm. I wonder how the Great Lakes’ ice cover has progressed since this February 19 photo? (It was -11F/-23.9C with a -34F/-36.7C windchill when I woke up yesterday morning. Talk about a demotivator.)

• For the Twin Cities, it’s the coldest winter since 1979 and one of the coldest on record. (Yes, it really was colder and snowier when I was a kid, dammit.) Seems legit.

Cookity

• Decade-defining recipes: 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s. (Related: 1950s foods dinner party, via Emma Sea.)

• Espresso banana bread.

• Grilled chocolate sandwiches.

• Citrus fruit winter salad. (via The Kitchn)

• Toasted oatmeal with strawberry chia jam and coconut whipped cream. (via The Kitchn)

• Slow cooked Moroccan lentil soup. (via The Kitchn)

• Garlic shrimp and spinach tostada. (via The Kitchn)

• White chicken enchiladas with green chile sour cream sauce. (via The Kitchn)

• Stir-fry beef and broccoli. (via The Kitchn)

• Burrata BLT with spicy mayo. (via The Kitchn)

• Romaine salad with bacon, five-minute eggs, and pesto dressing.

• 9 chili recipes.

• 9 curry recipes.

• 13 eggs for dinner recipes.

• Blood orange Salty Dog. (via The Kitchn)

Gluten Free

• Pretzel turtle bars.

• Chocolate chip yogurt quick bread.

• Lemon poppyseed cookies. Lighter version.

• New Orleans-style beignets.

• Various Girl Scout-type cookies.

Crafty

• Make a custom collar for your cat.

• Learn how to arm knit.

• Arm knitting tutorial video – how to knit a scarf in 20 minutes. (via CRAFT)

Cool

• There might be Doctor Who-themed LEGO sets soon.

• More Olympic hockey hugs!

• 16 great things about George Takei.

• Classic paintings of London laid over modern street views.

• Linkity from kmkat.

Cool or Wha…?

• Sriracha-flavored Pringles.

• Metrodome implosion.

Wha…?

• “[A]rtisanal meat from celebrity tissue samples.“

• Sausages made with the aid of baby poop.

• “Neiman Marcus missed 60,000 alerts as hackers stole credit card info“.

• The relationship between selfies and lice…

• Gluten-free: you’re doing it wrong.

LOL

• Funny autocorrects from February.

• The Swedish Chef explains curling.

• What if Olympic speed skating was like Mario Kart?

• Entrepreneurial Girl Scout.

• Could be Chaos.

• *blink blink*

Teh Cute

• Moose and baby! Okapi and baby! Baby panda! Foxes! Foxes! Black kitten! Lioness and baby! Pygmy goat and babies! Baby Florida panther! Takin and baby! Sand cat and baby! Snow leopards and baby!

Reading Update

• Wait, wait, don’t tell me… 😉

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“…zzzzzzzzzzzzz…” -Chaos

Not that you can really tell in this picture, but his mouth is hanging open a bit. Classy! 🙂

Contest(s)

• Blodeuedd’s giving away a copy of Impossible Things by Kate Johnson. Closes February 19.

Bookity

• New releases and more: Fiction Vixen (UF/romance), Literary Escapism (UF/PNR), and All About Romance (romances)

• Book and publishing news from Dear Author.

• Ebook sales and earnings. (via Emma Sea)

• Critique of the aforementioned ebook sales and earnings report. (Thanks, Expy!)

• “Does length matter?“

• Heidi Cullinan and “death by promotion”.

• Becky Black shares some thoughts on freebies.

• Eden Winters contemplates success in writing.

• Based on your word choice, which writer are you? (Toni Morrison, apparently.)

• Bookity linkity from Smart Bitches.

• Yes, this.

• Paperback art.

• 11 book-shaped cakes.

Think, Do, Learn, Make

• See why vaccination is important.

• For another perspective on #sochiproblems… (via Wil Wheaton)

• Warroad, Minnesota, population 1800 – hockey Olympian hotspot. 🙂

• Relating stars to sand and vice versa.

• Kansas is planning to legalize anti-gay segregation. (via listedheart)

Cookity

• Tie-dye cheesecake. (via maderr)

• S’mores milkshake. (via The Kitchn)

• Brown butter cupcake brownies.

• 14 chocolate cakes.

• Spicy egg drop soup. (via The Kitchn)

• European coleslaw. (via The Kitchn)

• Steak salad with blue cheese, balsamic, and candied pecans. (via The Kitchn)

• Prosciutto-wrapped chicken with asparagus. (via The Kitchn)

• Thai red chicken curry. (via The Kitchn)

• Baked potato grilled cheese. (via The Kitchn)

• Apple and blueberry baked oatmeal. (via The Kitchn)

• Blueberry breakfast bars.

• Caramelized banana and chocolate chip breakfast bake. (via The Kitchn)

Gluten Free

• Grilled cheese croutons.

• Chocolate glazed cherry almond quick bread.

• Red velvet cupcakes with vanilla cream cheese frosting. (scroll down to the end of the post)

• Starbucks style chocolate caramel muffins.

• Salted caramel Nutella hot chocolate.

• Chocolate recipes.

Cool

• Mister Rogers Remixed – The Garden of Your Mind. (via barefoot-hearted)

• Aimee Mann singing about the common cold.

• Enterprise ring.

• Star Wars told via tapestry.

• If the Winter Olympics happened in Star Wars…

• What the Winter Olympics look like from the International Space Station.

• The 1932 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York.

• What Lake Superior looks like frozen.

• Linkity from kmkat.

• Hockey hugs!

Cool or Wha…?

• TARDIS boot slippers.

• Rechargeable LED cork that turns empty bottles into lamps.

• Toilet seat with built-in nightlight.

Wha…?

• What a house looks like after a cougar breaks in.

• Plowing snow with… fire.

• A sinkhole opened under the National Corvette Museum.

LOL

• Aw, have you ever seen a kitten feeling so sorry for itself?!

• 16 Valentine’s Day autocorrects.

• On important updates for your computer. (hover your cursor for additional text)

• May always used to do this, back when I had a shower curtain. Now I have glass shower doors, so both of the cats sit and stare at me…

• Ewww!

Teh Cute

• Baby lions! Kittens! Baby tiger! Black kitten! Baby leopards! Kitten! Kitten! Baby goat!

Reading Update

• Hockey fics! 😀

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“Where did the birds go?! I miss them…” -Mayhem

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Congrats to Sandi, who won Walk with Me (Home #7) by Cardeno C! Walk with Me is being released today by Dreamspinner Press.

Congrats to Julia, who won It’s All Geek to Me by JL Merrow! It’s All Geek to Me will be released by Riptide Publishing on February 10.

Congrats to Bobbie, who won One Good Deed by Andrew Grey! One Good Deed will be released by Dreamspinner Press on February 10.

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Randonymity

• The view from my living room window on January 30 – the grey stripe along the bottom is snow piled up on the window ledge outside (click to embiggen):

• This is a very good question…

Contest(s)

• Blodeuedd’s giving away a set of three books in the Cowboys & Brides series by Carolyn Brown, plus a cowboy charm. Closes February 8. US & Canada.

• Blodeuedd’s also giving away a copy of Under a Jeweled Sky by Alison McQueen. Closes February 8. US only.

Bookity

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

• Book and publishing news from Dear Author.

• Orannia’s hosting the 2014 M/M Romance Reading Challenge.

• Becky Black with writerly links.

• “The reader’s ever changing hard limits”.

• Vacuous Minx discusses notebooks (the kind you write in). She also wonders “where have all the readers gone”?

• “The self-pub ‘shit volcano’ will end“. “Debunking the ‘self-pub shit volcano’ – not shit, nor a problem, and [it is] not going away“.

• Lou Harper on the dirty truth of self-publishing.

• If you enjoy reading new scifi writers, download the 2014 Cambellian Anthology for free for a limited time.

• Listen to James Joyce read from Finnegan’s Wake and Ulysses.

• Neil Gaiman reading Green Eggs and Ham.

• Peter S. Beagle and George R.R. Martin meet.

• 10 literary holidays.

• Periodic table of storytelling.

Do, Think, Make, Learn

• Make a puzzle box toy for your cat.

• Make LEGO minifig soap. (via CRAFT)

• Baseball/comet equivalency.

• Real technologies predicted in Star Trek.

• Looks like scientists are pretty unified on global warming/global climate change.

• An overview of Olympic men’s hockey. And an overview of Olympic women’s hockey.

• 11 unusual February holidays.

• A map of the bus and train routes across the US.

• “What’s behind the IKEA Effect?” (via Wil Wheaton’s tumblr)

Cookity

• 10 warm breakfasts.

• Nutella espresso chocolate chip pancakes. (via The Kitchn)

• Double chocolate banana waffles. (via The Kitchn)

• Coconut lime quinoa breakfast bowl. (via The Kitchn)

• Chai spiced baked oatmeal.

• Nutella and strawberry heart-shaped pop tarts. (via The Kitchn)

• Nutella swirled banana cupcakes with peanut butter frosting. (via The Kitchn)

• Brown butter apple loaf.

• Salted caramel and vanilla bean custard tartlets. (via The Kitchn)

• Fiery garlic tofu. (via The Kitchn)

• Easy turkey chili with kale.

• Buffalo-style quinoa chili.

• Chicken and cashews with Chinese broccoli salad.

• Crisp tuna-cabbage salad.

• Spinach lasagna roll-ups.

• 10 cauliflower recipes.

Drinkity

• Nutella hot chocolate. (via The Kitchn)

• Fire cider.

• Blood orange rosemary cocktail. (via The Kitchn)

• 12 essential cocktails.

• 18 colorful cocktails.

Gluten Free

• Dairy-free strawberry cupcakes. (via The Kitchn)

• Stuffed red velvet cupcakes.

• Cinnamon roll sugar cookies.

• Chocolate turtle thumbprint cookies.

• Dairy-free blueberry vanilla cream scone.

• Stuffed soft breadsticks.

Crafty

• I-cord bind off tutorial. (via CRAFT)

Cool

• Flashback: Johnny Cash on Sesame Street.

• LEGO Escher.

• Deep Space Nine clock. (via The Mary Sue)

• Thor 2 gag reel.

• Patrick Stewart playing a dying moon rover.

• Astronomically accurate star map knit shawl.

• Crocheted Twelfth Doctor.

• Compare the cost of being various superheroes when they were created versus now.

• Not sure how long the new Google doodle will be up, but it’s a good one for the start of the Sochi Olympics, taking on Russia’s anti-gay laws.

• Linkity from kmkat.

Cool or Wha…?

• More 2014 Olympic uniforms.

• Weird water towers. (I grew up in Rochester, Minnesota, so that ear of corn water tower doesn’t look weird to me…)

• Unicorn high heels.

• Pillow that detects snoring and encourages you to roll over.

• 20-sided pecan pie. (via CRAFT)

• Piggy bank with smartphone integration.

• Street legal Little Tykes car.

Wha…?

• Kitten leotard.

• Red cabbage dress.

• Decapitated heads wedding cake.

• More problems from Sochi. (via mental_floss) (But here are some viral “photos from Sochi” that are fake.)

• Oh, and hey, apparently Russian officials are taking surveillance videos in the bathrooms in Sochi?! o.O

• Tumbleweeds bury a New Mexico city.

• Pizza perfume.

• Crocodile skin covered bicycle.

• Smartphone scent emitter.

LOL

• Penguin would like to science, please.

• What the Winter Olympics actually are.

• 10 amusing flowcharts.

• Downton Tabby.

• Simon’s Cat for Valentines.

• Sleepy!

Teh Cute

• Baby lions! Penguins and babies! Baby red pandas! Black kitten! Otter and baby! Lioness and baby! Fennec!

Reading Update

• Oh hockey fics, I love you so…

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“There really haven’t been enough stripey socks for me to park my butt on lately, Mom. Do something about that!” -Mayhem

Those are my SIL’s 2013 birthday socks, finished before her 2014 birthday at least…

Contest(s)

• Becky Black is giving away an ebook copy of her forthcoming m/m romance, Too Good a Man (Red Dragon #2). Closes 9 am GMT, February 4.

• Blodeuedd’s giving away a copy of Between a Rake and a Hard Place by Connie Mason and Mia Marlowe. Closes February 8. US & Canada.

• Blodeuedd’s also giving away a copy of Lord of the Hunt by Shona Husk. Closes February 8.

Bookity

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

• Book and publishing news from Dear Author. (Dear Author is not going to be available on Friday, January 31…)

• Newbery and Caldecott winners.

• “What do readers want?“

• Breaking in a hardcover without cracking the spine.

• Infographic classifying types of book readers. (I have aspects of the hoarder, the re-reader (actually, I’d be a comfort read re-reader), ereader convert…)

• More clickbait book titles. (Or are these the same ones I’ve posted before?! It blurs…)

Think, Learn, Make, Do

• Newly discovered species of peacock spider. (Thanks, Cheryl!)

• Free workout posters will have you exercising like a warrior, superhero, or Jedi.

• What makes hiccup cures effective?

• There’s going to be a gluten-free Girl Scout cookie. (via mental_floss)

• US state stereotypes, per Google.

• This visualization of the polar vortex is rather pretty…

• The amount of snow it takes to cancel school across the US. (I think school’s been cancelled more times here this winter due to dangerous windchills instead of snow.)

• Make an earbud organizer.

• Do wearable fitness gadgets actually help people get fit, or are they just a temporary crutch?

Cookity

• Cauliflower fried “rice”. (via The Kitchn)

• Potato “nachos”. (via The Kitchn)

• Stuffed eggplant. (via The Kitchn)

• Garlicky roasted broccoli.

• Yellow lentil soup. (via The Kitchn)

• Sweet potato bisque. (via The Kitchn)

• Green omelette. (via The Kitchn)

• Asparagus morning scramble. (via The Kitchn)

• Kale and quinoa salad with dates, almonds, and citrus dressing.

• Vegan sloppy joes.

• Green bean and minced beef stir fry. (via The Kitchn)

• Savory maple and dijon slow-cooker pot roast.

• Spicy chickpea and sour tomato curry with pasta.

• Chickpeas and chorizo stew. (via The Kitchn)

• Chorizo nachos with queso fresco.

• Beetroot chocolate protein balls. (via The Kitchn)

• Vegan coconut almond chocolate chip ice cream.

• Toasted almond fortune cookies.

• 11 recipes using peanut butter.

Gluten Free

• Cauliflower fritters.

• Corn muffins with a Santa Fe twist.

• Double chocolate banana poppy seed bread.

• Soft vanilla swirl bread.

• Dark chocolate macadamia nut oat cookies.

• Starbucks-style oatmeal cookies.

Crafty

• Embroider some notebooks. (via CRAFT)

Cool

• Trailer for Neil deGrasse’s Tyson’s Carl Sagan’s Cosmos.

• Very short stop-motion animation of Darth Vader vs Albert Einstein.

• Map of the internet.

• Cylindra spice rack.

• Short animation called Love in the Time of Advertising.

• 13 quotes from Sir Patrick Stewart.

• Which fictional city should you live in? (I ended up with the Cloud City from Star Wars, which just… no.)

• Linkity from kmkat.

Wha…?

• They’re running out of time to finish up that Olympic village in Sochi…

• Chocolate toothpaste… from Crest.

• Flavor review of Mountain Dew Cheetos.

• Things people tried to bring on airplanes in 2013.

LOL

• Honest company slogans. (You are so busted, IKEA!)

• xkcd on cold. (hover your cursor for additional text)

• “What if the cable guy in p0rn was from Time Warner Cable?” (NSFW)

• Cats being afraid of things. (Thanks, Cheryl!) (That video reminded me of Chaos and the zucchini…)

• Oh oh…

• Yes.

Teh Cute

• Kitten! Zebra and baby! Sea otter and baby! Kitten! Baby lion!

Reading Update

• Hockey fics. 🙂

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“…zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…” -Chaos

“…zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…” -Mayhem

Bookity

• New releases: Fiction Vixen (UF/romance) and Literary Escapism (UF/PNR)

• Book and publishing news from Dear Author.

• Hunting Under Covers is a free collection of m/m romance, including one by Kaje Harper.

• “In the absence of traditional publishers“.

• Vacuous Minx on reading beyond where you’re comfortable.

• Kaetrin wonders if other have default heroes and heroines they picture when reading.

• “10 things you may not know about ebook prices“. (via Emma Sea)

• Story Surgeon sounds like fair use, but some writers think it’s actually copyright infringement.

• The entire text of The Hobbit on a single poster.

• Build some Tetris bookshelves. (via CRAFT)

• Make a ring from book pages and Mod Podge. (via CRAFT)

• Take a quiz to see if you can tell which quotes are from Sherlock Holmes and which are from Spock. (I got 90%)

• “7 Actually Useful Children’s Books for Twenty-Somethings“. (via Wil Wheaton)

• Smart Bitches with “10 things I hate about sex (scenes)”.

• Definitely a lot for one book to cover!

• Hipster Kindle.

Do, Think, Learn, Make

• US stamps increase from $0.46 to $0.49 on Sunday.

• Yet another type of card skimmer to be on the lookout for. I’ve given up using my debit card at all – if my card info gets nabbed, I’d much rather have it be Visa’s issue then to deal with the money being pulled out of my checking account and have to fight to get it back.

• What to do if you’re a victim of identity theft.

• The technologies that have been replaced by the smartphone.

• The state of homelessness in the US.

• The United Nations has included online privacy in its list of basic human rights.

• A comic explaining the history of the Global Strategic Maple Syrup Reserve.

• Apparently some formerly ok browser extensions have been acquired by adware and malware companies.

• How to practice empathy.

• Which countries drink the most tea?

• Astronomical vs meteorological winter. (via Yarnerinas)

• What if all the viruses in the world were collected into a single pile?

• Simon Draws: Tabby Cats.

Cookity

• Creme brulee cheesecake bars.

• Almost flourless chocolate cake.

• Coconut lover’s cake. (via The Kitchn)

• Sichuan peppercorn peanut brittle.

• 9 mushroom recipes.

• 12 dips and spreads.

• Warm squash and chickpea soup with tahini.

• Turkey tortilla soup.

• Turkey, avocado, and goat cheese panini. (via The Kitchn)

• BBQ chicken stuffed sweet potatoes. (via The Kitchn)

• Spicy shrimp and fish stew. (via The Kitchn)

• Pumpkin breakfast polenta.

• Apple pie oatmeal. (via The Kitchn)

Gluten Free

• Skillet brownies.

• Lighter banana cake.

• Carrot cake muffins.

• Cinnamon roll cupcakes.

• Milano-esque cookies with amaretto ganache filling.

• Honey bread.

• 30+ gf pizza crust recipes.

• Mulligatawny soup with jasmine rice.

Cool

• Hockey hugs!

• LEGOesque NHL figures.

• What if Game of Thrones was set in feudal Japan?

• The real Miss Officer reacts to her fame.

• Linkity from mrspao and kmkat.

Cool or Wha…?

• Mr Potato Head Homer Simpson.

• Cat butt heels.

• Celestial carpets.

• Extremely creepy carpet.

Wha…?

• Cookie Dough and “Marshmallow Crispy” flavored Oreos…

• Shrimp Mayonnaise Doritos.

• Beer-flavored jelly beans from JellyBelly.

• There is only one flavor of Froot Loops.

• Avert your eyes: “What the US Olympic teams will be wearing in Sochi“.

• Amazon’s patented a method of sending you things before you buy them.

• Mannequins in pubic wigs and underwear.

• “A ghost ship full of cannibal rats has disappeared in the Atlantic” and might be headed toward the UK.

LOL

• “The 22 Funniest Definitions Found on Urban Dictionary“. (via Megan Derr) (NSFW)

• “20 ways to survive in a horror movie“. Don’t click on the link to the original! It’s the commentary that makes this awesome. 🙂

• What an odd location to get married.

• Typical cattitude.

• Oh oh…

• Hmm.

Teh Cute

• Tiger and babies! Leopard and baby! Red panda!

Reading Update

• Hockey fics! You are sooooooo surprised. Not.

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*lurking* -Mayhem