Good morning! It’s a slow content day, so that means Wednesday Links is up first thing!
This evening, I will be off to Germany, after having weeks of anxiety about traveling. Thank goodness I also had therapy yesterday to get all my thoughts and feelings out. I have an overnight flight with a stopover in Iceland. I’m very excited to be reunited with my brother, who I haven’t seen in at least 3 years.
Also, the world is so disheartening right now. Sarah and I are in the midst of gathering resource links for a variety of “shit fiestas” (as Sarah put it). We’ll be focusing on the ongoing crisis in Ukraine and then Texas and Florida’s attack LGBTQ+ youth and their rights. Stay tuned for those.
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Lovestruck Daily hosted by Sarah Wendell and Alisha Rai was named by Good Housekeeping as one of the best podcasts of 2022 so far. Hell yeah! Also big congratulations to Alisha and her engagement!
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This was going around on Twitter for just being a feel good read that exudes happiness. A “common as muck” woman wondered if she should make reservations at a Michelin star restaurant. She did and this was her experience. Both the writer and restaurant staff just seem so kind.
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Tuesday, March 8th at 7pm ET: I’m so sad to miss this launch! Farah Heron will be celebrate her release of Kamila Knows Best with fellow romance authors Lily Chu and Kate Spencer. Attendance is free and I believe Belmont Books is getting signed bookplates for Farah and Kate’s books. Please consider ordering through them! Register here!
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Was your teenage self ruined by Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights? You’re not alone!
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Most of us have probably heard about temperature blankets. But what about shit blankets? Madeline will explain:
@mwilson203 i’m so proud of my butt #shitblanket #temperatureblanket #crochet #crochettiktok #crafts ♬ Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes) – Edison Lighthouse
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Don’t forget to share what cool or interesting things you’ve seen, read, or listened to this week! And if you have anything you think we’d like to post on a future Wednesday Links, send it my way!
Enjoy your trip, Amanda!
If there are any fellow lofi fans out there, I found a new favorite channel this week that I thought would be good to share. Tokyo Tones on Youtube sets visuals of walking and riding tours of places around Japan to lofi music. Usually I have whatever lofi I’m listening to running on a tab in the background, but I really enjoy the visuals with this one. One of my favorites so far is “night snow walks in sapporo, hokkaido – snow & chill” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhh-OYwEwII&t=897s
Someone posted their Xenomorph amigurumi in a craft thread on Twitter. I failed to find it, but the search led me to Xenomorph amigurumi curtain tiebacks, so it was the best kind of failure!
https://www.cottontailandwhiskers.com/tie-backs-alien-crochet-pattern/
@Heather M, thank you for the Tokyo Tones link. The snow one is lovely – chilled out and gently haunting.
Safe travels, Amanda! And thank you for sharing your journey with us.
Common as muck meets Michelin starred restaurant was truly inspirational. Who knew?
@Lena/Ren. While I think the alien curtain tiebacks are wonderfully powerful (or vengeful), it’s the poor wee Frankenstein hanging on for dear life with whom I most closely identify. The look on its face!
The Heathcliff thing is very funny. I think even 13 year old me knew that this wasn’t the kind of man to go for though, despite the pants feels. I was very much Team Hareton.
Safe travels Amanda and congratulations Sarah and Alisha!
I have a link – https://bookriot.com/thank-you-romance/ – Thank You, Romance: On Dating in My 30s, Glorious Conversations, and Queer Romance Novels by Laura Sackton
I posted it in the WAYR comments but it’s so lovely and heartfelt that I’m just going to keep posting it everywhere.
@cleo, thanks for that link! It *is* lovely!
Safe and happy travels, Amanda. I hope that you have a great time with your brother!
Respectfully, it’s not a “crisis in Ukraine”. Calling it a crisis minimizes reality of a country fighting off a Russian invasion (a tale we’ve all heard before, and yet…). And it’s not just Ukraine’s problem. Nor should it be framed as such.
@G: You’re completely right. Admittedly, I am struggling with what word to use to accurately depict such blatant, reprehensible aggression with global repercussions without sanitizing what is happening and also trying to be respectful of people who are having a hard time. Always willing to make edits with suggestions.
Firstly, safe travels, Amanda, congratulations Sarah and Alisha on the success of your podcast, and congratulations also, Alisha, on your engagement! Kai sounds like such a lovely person and I wish you many happy years together!
Secondly, please, any support you can for Ukraine. That was my grandparents’ homeland; that is my family’s blood in the streets. Please help.
@Heather M, thank you for the link! Very calming and uplifting, and it eases my son’s yearning to go back to Japan a bit.
Finally, the Michelin story reminds me of when my then roommate and I went to World Fantasy Con at the Ottawa Omni (1984? I think?) We didn’t know the area so we ate all our meals at the hotel restaurant and the staff got to know us. By the last day of the convention all the big-name authors and publishers were lined up at the entrance and the maitre’d was all “I’m sorry but it’s a two hour wait, I don’t care who you are” and we breezed up and he just smiled and said “Ah, Ladies, right this way! Your usual table?” We decided to splurge and ordered a special roast beef meal for two. As soon as we did the waiter’s eyes lit up and we thought “oh no, what have we got into?” We ended up having two waiters hovering around our table all night carving our roast and refilling our wine glasses while all the literary celebrities looked on. Most luxurious meal I’ve ever had.
I personally am a fan of calling a spade… a spade. I understand that people are having a hard time. Trust me, I do understand – Ukraine is a neighbour country for me. That said, I’d say it’s Ukrainians who get to dictate what to call it. I feel like they’ve been vocal enough that they’re fighting a war, that they’re defending their country from Russian aggressors. It’s dangerous to be anything else but specific. A lack of specificity in both language and actions (looking at you, Western world) is partly why this is where we’re at.
Long story short: some men don’t seem to understand the knitting community, but they’re ready to make money from it:
https://www.inputmag.com/culture/knitting-com-ecomcrew-business-vs-community?utm_source=digg