The Messy Desk Weekly Link Round-Up

 

I've been working on clearing out my office, something that's long overdue. I've gone through all the paperwork Denis kept and shredded what didn't need to be kept. (99% of it.) Now I need to go through mine, but that won't take nearly as long because all of mine is in one drawer-- much less than Denis's dozen.

I'm doing all this to get all the important papers together in one place. I've had to take care of the final affairs of too many packrats not to want what happens after I kick the bucket to be completely different. Now this makes me sound all noble, but the execution of my plans could be moving a bit faster. It's always easy to find something else that needs to be done. (Sound familiar?) 

While I have cleared out one side of my desk, the other side is still a mess. Take a look at a bit of it.

The keyboard is partially buried under greeting cards and the knitting patterns that I've printed out. Then there's tax documents, Post-It notes... you get the picture. Now that I've got the bulk of things dealt with in here, the rest shouldn't take as long... I hope.

The weather has been glorious here, and the forecast for next week says it's going to be more of the same, so I'm tentatively planning an outing either to the Phoenix Zoo or the Desert Botanical Garden. Keep your fingers crossed. Virtual hugs to you all!

Enjoy the links!

►Books & Other Interesting Tidbits◄

• Maven Screen Media has optioned the film rights to Ariel Lawhon's hit historical mystery, The Frozen River. (Let's hope the movie gets made.)
• Researchers are warning that next-generation AI "swarms" will invade social media by mimicking human behavior and harassing real users.
• Wikipedia volunteers spent years cataloging AI tells. Now there's a plugin to avoid those tells. (I tell you, AI is getting scarier and scarier.)
• The generational impact of book bans on teens.
• There's nothing better than a whole lot of books: In praise of bibliomania.
• The hidden politics of the crossword puzzle.

►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄

• Archaeologists discovered the "Holy Grail" of shipwrecks a decade ago. Now, they're finally beginning to unravel the secrets of the San Jose.
• These high-status individuals were given a "princely" burial alongside a fully harnessed horse in an early medieval cemetery.
• A 1,400-year-old Zapotec tomb discovered in Mexico features an enormous owl sculpture symbolizing death.
• Archaeologists unearthed an intricately decorated box carved from deer bone that may have once held ancient ointments.
• A new Livestream tour takes tourists underneath Rome into the never-before-seen House of Griffins.
• Archaeologists stumbled upon a mysterious medieval village while preparing for new wind farms in England.

►Channeling My Inner Elly May Clampett◄

• Do animals hate the bitter cold of winter?
• Maverick the Bengal cat has learned to surf so he can stay close to his human.
• These hungry starfish are spiraling out of control in Australia. Now scientists say they have a new plan to fight back.
• The penguins that thrive-- and the ones left behind as Antarctica warms.
• Ancient mummified cheetahs discovered in Saudi Arabia contain preserved DNA from the long-lost population. (I can see it now-- Jurassic Park with cheetahs.)
• The nation's biggest animal sanctuary operates under a mantra to "save them all." How could that be controversial?

►The Wanderer◄

• The American Southwest's iconic Joshua trees are blooming early-- and scientists want your help to figure out why. 
• Lakes to make you double-take.
• Minneapolis's Moon Palace Books is a hub for anti-ICE resistance.
• The uncertain future of the world's most expensive spice. 
• A stunning stretch of California's rugged coastline is now open to the public for the first time in a century.
• America's pistachio industry came from a single seed.

►Fascinating Folk◄

• Val McDermid on why she starts new novels in January.
• Meet thirteen people who survived on deserted islands, from a real-life Robinson Crusoe to a noblewoman marooned with her lover.
• How an enslaved gardener named Antoine transformed the pecan into a cash crop.
• Horse-riding librarians were the Great Depression's bookmobiles.
• Tragedy struck composer Irving Berlin on Christmas Day. Years later, he would write one of the all-time holiday classics.
• Let Pierce Brosnan do whatever he wants!

►I ♥ Lists◄

• 15 groundbreaking films that somehow didn't win a single Oscar.
• 20 slang words and phrases that are much older than you'd think.
• The ultimate list of 2026 book-to-screen adaptations.
• 16 books that will sweep you away to the Pacific Northwest.
• What books showed up across all the "Best of 2025" lists?
• 14 gripping archaeological mysteries.

That's all for this week! No matter how busy you may be, don't forget that quality Me Time curled up with a good book!