A Chewing Through the Restraints Weekly Link Round-Up

As Denis would say, someone seems to be playing silly buggers with me, so I thought I'd give you a word of warning. Various things go into a blog's appearance. Some of the photos used for things like the background, header photo, and sidebar have to be uploaded to a photo storage website that assigns direct URLs to each photo. Then those direct URLs are inserted into the HTML of the blog.

A few days ago, I received an email from the photo storage website that I use, informing me that they noticed that I'm doing "third party hosting" and that's against the law in their neck of the woods. (I was mightily miffed because they were holding my images hostage and my blog looked downright peculiar.) Well now, boys and girls, I've been doing that with your outfit for almost ten years now, so don't try to make it sound like I've just turned outlaw. It's probably more like you've changed your rules to gouge more money out of people. (Not that I'm cynical or anything....)

After much checking and re-checking, I tried clicking on the link to see the amount of money I owed and to pay it, but it won't let me pay. (Now don't that beat all in our capitalist society?) I fixed the photos, and now I've been trying to find another storage site that will let me do the same thing and states clearly that third party hosting is legal. One said it would, but it doesn't, so the search continues. I just wanted to let you know what's going on in case you visit my blog and it looks like Kittling: Books has been buried under crime scene tape. Sheesh!

I need to head out to the corral for some peace of mind. Head 'em up! Mooooooove 'em out!

[Author's Note: The decidedly heated--but perfectly polite-- email I sent last night seems to have done the trick. My blog no longer has the crime scene tape/bleak Arctic tundra look. (It alternated.) I hate to lose my temper because I've been on the receiving end more times than I care to remember, but when I'm forced to in a situation like this, I find it helps to know how to singe the hair off the intended target's head without resorting to four-letter words!]

►Books, Movies & Other Interesting Tidbits◄

• Pamela Paul on the beauty of a disorganized bookshelf. 
• Millennials are using public libraries more than any other generation. 
• The invisibility of the translator. 
• Was Jane Eyre written as a secret love letter? 
• How an independent bookstore took on anti-feminist trolls and won. 
• A nurse is urging every iPhone user to make a simple change to their settings right now.
• Why do we love to read about missing girls?
• Bruce Dern recalls the experience of shooting down John Wayne in The Cowboys.
• Even in the 1700s, book clubs were really about drinking and socializing.

►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄

• Why isn't anyone talking about this $30 million Italian art heist?
• A 1,600-year-old basilica has been found underwater in what was ancient Nicaea. 
• An Irish manuscript has been found that is more important than the Dead Sea Scrolls.
• A significant Viking hoard has been unearthed on the Isle of Man.
• A dying aunt tells her nephew to "look under the sewing machine," revealing the location of a $3 million treasure. 
• Charlie Sheen recently sold two of the most prized items of Babe Ruth memorabilia at auction.

►The Happy Wanderer◄

• Singapore, the world capital of the cozy mystery. 
• Twelve inexpensive road trip destinations in Arizona that won't break the bank. 
• The "parkitecture" of Grand Canyon National Park. 
• Where your favorite British TV shows take place-- on the map.
• The Hole-in-the-Wall hideout, a favorite hiding place for the outlaw gangs of the Old West.

►I ♥ Lists & Quizzes◄

• Name the missing word in each book title. 
• Twenty-two of your favorite writers on what to read this summer. 
• Ten famous book hoarders. 
• Ten habits that distinguish stupid people from smart ones.
• A shelf's worth of writers reflect on the books that mean "summer" to them. 
• Can you name the best-selling book title from the visual riddle? 
• Ten things only hardcore bookworms do.

That's all for this week! Don't forget to stop by next Friday when I'll be sharing a freshly selected batch of links for your surfing pleasure.

Have a great weekend, and read something fabulous!