On occasional Fridays, I point you towards some recommended reading around the blogosphere:

1. Love my She The People colleague Melinda Henneberger’s take on why Americans love Downton Abbey.

2. And speaking of our abiding Anglophilia, be sure to take The Guardian’s quiz on Pride and Prejudice in honor of the novel’s 200th anniversary. For someone who has seen the film about 6,000 times and read the book at least twice, I was quite disappointed with my score!

3. I thought Latoya Peterson’s take on Washington, DC in the New York Times Townies column was spot on.

4. Thinking of moving to Britain? Not so fast. Following a rumor that certain government ministers were planning a campaign to limit the number of immigrants, readers of the Guardian came up with mock posters to discourage wanna-be Brits from moving to Blighty. Hilarious!

5. Frank Santo’s account in The Daily News of sexting with a older, married woman is both funny and moving.

6. Justin Peter’s posthumous tribute in Slate to computer whiz kid Aaron Swartz is wonderful.

7. Finally, if you’re looking for inspiration, check out this “landfill harmonic” orchestra composed of instruments made entirely from…garbage. (Hat tip: Strangling My Muse)

Enjoy your weekend!

Every Friday I point you towards some recommended reading around the blogosphere:

1. I’ll listen to author Anne Lamott talk about anything. Here’s an interview with her at the New York Times Motherlode blog where, among other things, she discusses her views on adulthood. Bliss.

2. Simon Doonan’s random meditation on why we really get tattoos over on Slate is hilarious.

3. Here’s a gorgeous graphic comparison of New York and Paris at The Guardian.

4. I really can’t say for sure why I was mesmerized by the Children Medieval Band performing a song about overdosing on drugs, other than my no longer latent obsession with Game of Thrones. Check out that drummer – wow!

5. Strangling My Muse had some terrific suggestions for how to mark World Creativity and Innovation week. I’m personally a big fan of the community story idea.

6. Via The Huffington Post’s Lisa Belkin, I’ve just discovered The Bloggess. Boy, does she look like fun…

Have a great weekend!

Every Friday I point you towards some recommended reading around the blogosphere:

1. Over on Time, here’s a eulogy for the American bagel. I especially liked the sidebars – e.g. “Is Hummus the next Guacamole?”)

2. What if the pilgrims had Facebook? A funny and clever post on The New York Times Opinionator blog.

3. Also funny is this description of France.

4. At Guy Kawasaki’s Holy Kaw! blog, do check out The History of English (in 10 minutes.)

5. Love my friend Sharon Hyman’s animated take on the (un) joys of grownuphood. Watch this space for news of the release of her Neverbloomers film!

6. Finally, my find of the week is without a doubt the Official Tim Burton Gallery. (Note: use your arrow keys to move the little man through the doors and into the gallery.) Hat tip: Strangling My Muse.

Have a great weekend!

Every Friday I point you towards some recommended reading around the blogosphere:

1. This is now a bit dated, but if you haven’t seen these two ads back to back, it’s a must. The first is Delaware senatorial candidate Christine O’Donnell’s “I’m You” ad in which she dispels all those pesky rumors that she’s really a witch. The second is a You Tube parody of the O’Donnell ad which is just…well, priceless.

2. In a campaign season featuring the likes of those ads, it’s no wonder that my Politics Daily colleague Donna Trussell came up with this post to characterize America’s political “moment” right now, aptly entitled Witches and Whores and Sluts, Oh My!

3. I got a real kick out of the Funniest Notes To Thieves Ever Written over at The Huffington Post.

4.  And as long as we’re looking at lists, you won’t want to miss The World’s Eight Strangest Sex Remedies at the Global Post.

5. I’ve mentioned before how much I love Strangling My Muse, a blog designed to inspire creativity. Check out this Neruda writing prompt and tell me that you don’t just want to grab a pen and start writing!

6. Finally, here’s a beautiful video about dancing in the streets.

Have a great weekend!

Every Friday I point you to some recommended reading around the blogosphere:

1. If you’ve read even one book in Stieg Larsson’s magnificent Millennium Trilogy (e.g. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo) you will love Nora Ephron’s spoof of Larsson’s series in The New Yorker. (And when you’re done with that, check out my colleague Luisita Lopez Torregrosa’s take on why Lisbeth Salander is the iconic heroine of our age at www.PoliticsDaily.com.)

2. While we’re on the topic of feminist heroines for our age, have a look at Salon’s interview with The Daily Show’s new correspondent Olivia Munn. (Must read if you’ve been following the whole Jezebel-Daily Show face-off over Munn’s new job.)

3. An old friend of mine has just started a delightfully funny, self-mocking look at what it’s like to be a white middle-class professional woman in NYC. If you like Stuff White People Like you will *love* Another Bourgeois Dilemma.

4. I really enjoyed Andrew Heller’s insightful take on why summers in the old days were so much better than they are now at the Flint Journal. Of course, anyone who still references “Kick the Can” has my vote any day.

5. One of my favorite new (to me) blogs, Strangling My Muse, posted last week about the “To Don’t” list. God, do I need one of those…

6. Finally, for those of you who still pine for a mullet, here’s my look over at www.PoliticsDaily.com at Iran’s ban on Western haircuts. (My subtitle that was dropped: Last of the Mohawkans…pity.)

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Every Friday I point you to some recommended reading around the blogosphere:

1. As someone who’s been pondering middle age quite a bit lately (here and here), I was quite taken with this post by Raina Kelley at Newsweek where she lays out some mid-life crisis rules to live by. (Note to self: No naked skyping!)

2. If you’re a mom, a wife or both, be sure to check out this CafeMom quiz that lets you rank yourself as a parent and a spouse. (Hat tip: Motherlode)

3. I laughed out loud at his essay in McSweeneys where the author writes from the perspective of life as a comic sans font. Hilarious! (Hat tip: Writer Abroad) Also in McSweeneys, Eloise (of story book fame) turns 23. (Hat tip: Communicatrix)

4. Writers will wince in recognition at this arch  blog by a literary agent entitled SlushPileHell, where the agent lists – and then disses – the kinds of claims authors make in their cover letters. Ouch! (Hat tip: Lisa Romeo Writes)

5. A new (to me) blog on creativity which a thoughtful reader pointed me towards: Strangling My Muse.

6. Finally, I really enjoyed this essay in the Brown Alumni Monthly by Jamie Metzl on the perils of wikipedia fame.

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