The Week: July 27, 2012

I know I shouldn’t keep complaining about the freezing weather in Seattle, especially when the rest of the country is spontaneously combusting as a result of heat (also, “combusting” is probably not a word). But when I woke up this morning, is was FIFTY-EIGHT DEGREES.

FIFTY-EIGHT. Let me tell you, that number has no business describing any part of summer, unless you are stating how many gelatos you’ve had this week, or how many times you whimpered at the fact that none of your summer clothes fit (No, I do NOT think that one has ANYTHING to do with the other. Those shorts shrunk while sitting in a drawer for six months, thank you very much).

Sigh. So while I drape myself in a blanket and sip hot tea, you enjoy these links. And if you are somewhere besides Seattle, try to stay cool.

And for my fellow Emerald-city-dwellers: stay warm, kids.

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First, a little shameless self-promotion (sorry, guys). I’m incredibly honored to have been featured on two blog’s this week. First, fellow-traveler and blogger Nomadic Matt included me on his list of favorite travel blogs (thanks, Matt!). And secondly, I was quoted on the USA Today‘s travel blog about tourists visiting Seattle to see locations from Fifty Shades of Grey (I was not kind to the book. AGAIN).

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Totally digging this xkcd comic about other improvised lines in Star Wars (besides Harrison Ford’s now famous “I know”.)

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Katherine Morrison writes about how she ended up marrying a rock star.

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A gorgeous photography blog about people on the New York subway, and the books they are reading (via my Twitter pal @hihankara.)

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Does flash photography damage art? Apparently not more than the gallery lightning would (but hey, it doesn’t matter, because there are plenty of other reasons not to take photos in galleries.)

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An incredible look at Aquarius – the world’s last remaining undersea habitat – and the difficulty (both emotional and physical) people have leaving it.

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The puzzling life of mondegreens (a.k.a., misheard song lyrics) – how they come about, and why we search for meaning when there isn’t any.

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There is a tumblr account dedicated to John Lennon’s thighs. It’s pretty self-explanatory.

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I sort of lack the words to describe this quirky little musical tool, which is all kinds of fun.

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Colson Whitehead’s rules for writing made me snort audibly. Rule #3: Fiction is payback for those who have wronged you. Hee.

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Children of the 80s, listen (no, really. Listen): a cover of “This Charming Man” by The Smiths, inspired by the Super Mario Bros. soundtrack.

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I’ve off to grab a mug of cocoa and look at pictures of Hawaii. See you next week!