A Talking in Code Weekly Link Round-Up

Another week of Not-Much-Going-On. I've finished most of my smaller projects and have begun knitting yet another afghan. I have vague ideas about what I'm going to do with them all, but nothing concrete. Yet.

Denis, the non-multi-tasker, has taken another crack at cleaning out his side of the office closet. By the time he's done getting rid of outdated computer do-dads, his side might be empty. He just this second told me that hoarding is a hard habit to break. I agree, but I've had to do something he hasn't: go through the worldly goods of hoarders after they've died. Having had to do that makes me more aware of the job the loved ones I leave behind  will have to face.

On that cheerful note, here's a photo of a t-shirt that's been doing an excellent job of keeping me smiling--

Our niece Daisy has been teaching herself how to knit, and I sent this to her, asking her how her knitting was coming along. She replied that the t-shirt contained several things that she'd have to check out on YouTube. The t-shirt does make knitting lingo look like some sort of code, doesn't it? Wish YouTube had been around when I was learning to knit, but I can't really complain. I've got it now when I need to decipher a bit of code!

Enjoy this week's links!

►Books & Other Interesting Tidbits◄

• The Black book club takes it to the next level.
• Allison Montclair on how to start a long-running mystery series from scratch.
• Michael Robotham believes lying is fundamental to who we are as humans.
• Congress makes Jeff Bezos listen to stories from crushed businesses. "We called it Amazon heroin."
• Counting down the greatest crime films of all-time: #3, Chinatown.
• How hurricanes have shaped the course of U.S. history.
• How the Australian finger lime could save American citrus.
• When mums go bad: how fiction became obsessed with the dark side of motherhood.
  

►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄

• Art historian Wouter van der Veen has identified the spot where Vincent van Gogh painted his final work.
• A woolly mammoth skeleton with intact ligaments has been found in a Siberian lake.
• Enormous Iron Age temples have been found at Northern Ireland's monumental Navan Fort.
• 14,000-year-old fossilized poop is among the oldest traces of humans in North America. And you thought it disappeared forever...
• An archaeology student found a Viking trading post in Norway.
• Archaeology in Mexico: Pre-Hispanic ruins have been found on a mountaintop.
• The genetic impact of the African slave trade has been revealed in a DNA study.
• A site in Jerusalem has revealed an ancient Judean tax center.
  

►Channeling My Inner Elly Mae Clampett◄

• Scientists have cracked the mathematical mystery of stingless bees' spiral honeycombs.
• New evidence suggests that ancient crocodiles swam from Africa to America.
• How do dogs find their way home? They might sense the Earth's magnetic field.
• I loved seeing this huge black bear that was spotted relaxing a a pool.
• The incredible condor can soar for one hundred miles without flapping its wings.
• Protections for grizzlies in the Greater Yellowstone area were upheld in court.
• A pigeon that can't fly and a special needs Chihuahua have formed a fast friendship at a New York rescue.
• Birds sing to their eggs, and this song might help their babies survive climate change.
  

►Fascinating Folk◄

• The Brontës: the unfortunate and unlikely tale of the world's greatest literary sisters.
• "Rest easy, I pack a gun": true tales of the first Chicago policewomen.
• Greta Thunberg wins a $1.15 million prize and pledges to donate all of it to environmental groups.
• Dr. Frances Oldham Kelsey, a determined FDA scientist, saved American children from a birth defect catastrophe.
• At 102 years old, neuroscientist Brenda Milner is still unlocking the mysteries of the brain.
• Granville T. Woods, an innovative Black engineer.
• What Geraldine Brooks is reading.
  

►The Happy Wanderer◄

• This Frank Lloyd Wright home was a trailblazing example of accessible design.
• Atrani, a seaside Italian village that inspired M.C. Escher.
• This bookworm tiny cabin's purpose is to give you a peaceful place to read.
• Why the Valley of the Gods inspires such reverence.
  

►I ♥ Lists◄

• The best book covers of July.
• Obsession thrillers.
• The fifty most iconic heist movies, ranked from worst to best.
• The essential crime novels of Los Angeles.
• Sixteen of the best books to read in August according to Kirkus Reviews.
• Fifteen must-read mysteries and thrillers by diverse authors.
• Seven captivating historical fiction novels about real and iconic women.
• Six heart-melting stories about furry friends that show the healing power of animals.

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.

Stay safe! Stay healthy! Don't forget to curl up with a good book!