A Sensitive Remote Weekly Link Round-Up

 

The bathroom remodel is now in its second week, and I wouldn't be at all surprised if it doesn't go into the third. There's no supply chain problems here. What seems to be the biggest problem occurred at the very beginning: the demolition. These guys are used to going into a newer house and ripping through drywall like it's butter. Demo's done in a flash. This old ranch house is a total stranger to drywall. They had to fight and pound their way through concrete and the old-style thick plaster with chicken wire. Yes, the remodel may be taking longer, but it's shaping up nicely, and I can't wait to see the finished product. All the folks who have stayed here at Casa Kittling and called that guest bath their own won't recognize it once everything is finished.

But what's this about a sensitive remote? Well, I used to have the annoying habit of laying back in the recliner with the TV remote on my stomach or chest then shifting position only to have the remote slide down between the cushions and onto the floor beneath. Poor Denis got the task of digging the thing back out.

Well... the last time this happened, instead of falling to the floor, the remote found a secret hidey hole in the recliner, and Denis couldn't find it even though he literally turned the recliner upside down in his search. However, we knew it was there. How? Because every evening for a week, whenever I'd shift my weight to bring down the footrest, I'd butt-dial the remote. The channel would change, or the closed captioning would turn on, or Netflix would rear its head. *sigh* Then on Laundry Day, I was sitting there folding clean clothes and happened to hear and feel that little devil shift and fall down a couple of inches. I immediately told Denis who crawled underneath and captured the miscreant. No more butt-dialing. Huzzah!

Please tell me I'm not the only one who's butt-dialed her TV remote. Please?

Enjoy the links!

►Books & Other Interesting Tidbits◄

• Another scholarly megaproject from Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
• The perpetual timeliness of Tess of the d'Urbervilles. (The first in the #MeToo movement?)
• The unheralded female scribes who brought medieval manuscripts to life.
• How the TV adaptation of Alex Haley's Roots sparked a cultural awakening.
• Lauded Spanish female crime writer revealed to be three men.
• Translators fight for credit on their own book covers.
• How Jane Austen raised seven Gothic novels from the dead.
• Why mystery fiction is so engaging.
• Dune, fifty years on: how a science fiction novel changed the world. 
• The 20-Page Rule: how much time should you give a devastatingly boring book? (Hmm... I've heard of the 50-Page Rule but not the 20-Page.)
  

 

►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄

• Shells possibly carved by Neanderthals found at Princess Diana's former home.
• The Egyptian egg ovens considered more wondrous than the pyramids.
• An extraordinary 500-year-old shipwreck is rewriting the history of the Age of Discovery.
• A diver discovered a 900-year-old Crusader's sword off the coast of Israel.
• A rich medieval hipster was buried with his fancy beard comb.
• 400 stone-cut chamber tombs, filled with wall paintings and treasure, have been discovered in Turkey.
• A rare 18th-century drawing by Rococo artist Tiepolo has been discovered in an English estate's attic.
• Renaissance-Era Venetian beads that were found in Alaska were there before Columbus discovered America.

 

►Channeling My Inner Elly Mae Clampett◄

• Hungry bears eat 20,000 calories a day. Here's what that looks like in human food.
• Australia begins vaccinating hundreds of koalas against chlamydia in a new trial.
• The return of leatherback turtles to the coast of Queensland, Australia, give hope to this endangered species.
• How one unexpected phone call led to the rescue of the last diving horse in America.
• The mysterious disappearance of Masterpiece the poodle.
• Ten breathtaking images from the 2021 Nature Wildlife photographer of the Year Awards.
• Capitol Police welcomes its newest member: an emotional support dog named Lila.
• A large African cat called a caracal was captured after its escape in a Detroit suburb. (Escaped zebras roaming streets in Maryland. Now caracals in Detroit. What next?)

 

►Fascinating Folk◄

• Remembering Caroline Todd.
• How Ruth Bader Ginsberg and Gloria Steinem fought for your right to get a beer.
• The trail-blazing, multi-faceted activism of lawyer-turned-priest Pauli Murray.
• Shop Talk: S.A. Cosby is late to this interview and it's because of some dead bodies.
• Andrea Camilleri's final Inspector Montalbano mystery, finished years ago, is published.
• Tony Hillerman and the invention of Jim Chee.
• Michael Van Nostrand, the infamous "Lizard King" of Florida was nabbed in a turtle heist.
• Eleven Indigenous leaders you should know.

 

►Craftsmanship & Artistry◄

• Teeny tiny micro-crochet animals by yarn artist Lucia.
• Three craft artists share how the pandemic has reshaped life and art.
• Giant tarantula pillows.
• Korovai, Ukraine's beautiful wedding bread.
• Anna Chan creates wonderful animal sculptures from shells she finds on the beach.
• How Native artisans in Alaska bring innovation and humor to their craft. 

 

►The Wanderer◄

• Eleanor Rigby's grave.
• This new installation pulled 20,000 pounds of plastic from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
• The No Scum Allowed Saloon in White Oaks, New Mexico. This round's on me, barkeep.
• Famous writers' houses.
• Demolishing public libraries from the inside: the Niles Public Library is a warning.
• The world's only float-through McDonald's.

 

►I ♥ Lists◄

• Eleven horror film sets where you can revisit your greatest fears.
• The myriad meanings of the rose.
• Ten Jazz Age mysteries that will make you swing.
• Ten funny mystery movies you can stream tonight.
• Thirteen inventors killed by their own inventions.
• Crime movies so scary they're almost horror.
• The five most realistic P.I.s in fiction.
• Thirty-five classy slang terms for naughty bits from the past 600 years.
• Nineteen inspiring memoirs that will change the way you see the world.
• The twenty-four best science fiction and fantasy books of fall.

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. And don't forget to curl up with a good book.