The Post About The Rabbit Recommends V. 123

Every so often I post things of which I'm fond. You can choose what happens after my recommendation. Ignore, embrace, debate. Earlier volumes of The Rabbit Recommends can be found here.

Television

I have Netflix. And by that, I mean I have a Netflix password. Thank you Patrick. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt is a new show from Tina Fey and Robert Carlock of 30 Rock fame. If you loved TGS, then you'll adore UKS. I didn't realize how much I needed joy in between watching Orphan Black and The Americans. Episode #4 will raise you up just like Josh Groban promised.

Music

Spring temps mean music for sitting on the porch, drinking lemonade and thinking about who's going to rake all those leaves.

Emily Hearn is a lighthearted singer/songwriter who's on tour with Tyrone Wells and collaborating with Ben Rector - two more of my favorites. Her new album Hourglass is a delight.

Movies
YOU GUYS. I'm still feeling the effects of Oscar burnout so I've only watched one movie in three weeks: DUFF. It was adorable, but you can wait to watch it on the comfort of your couch. And I give you permission to find the lead actor attractive despite him portraying a high school student. God did not stumble when it came to his face.

Reading

This post-apocalyptic novel has lingered with me in the best way. Like Taco Tuesday. No surprise since it's a finalist for the National Book Award and the PEN/Faulkner Award. It's so beautifully written. Add it to your TBR pile. As of this writing, it's only $5.99 on Kindle.

One Stupid Tweet Blew Up Justine Sacco's Life: Words matter y'all.
Lessons from Curt Schilling's Satisfying Internet Victory: Seriously, the words matter so much.
You Don't Need to Write: My friend Elizabeth confirmed my suspicion that not all storytellers have to write.
Owning Our Gifts: Lindsey encourages us all to bloom where we're planted even if we don't like the patch of dirt.

YouTube


I'm still mourning the loss of The Colbert Report, but Stephen's cameo on The Mindy Project this week was ridiculously funny. This short video of him talking about his faith is great. I feel the exact same way about Peter.


Just in case you didn't know, I co-host a podcast with Knox McCoy called The Popcast (pop culture). A listener and friend, Sarah, let me know I remind her of Nick Kroll's character in his sketch PubLIZity. This was the best compliment I've ever received.


Sometimes you wish you could headbutt someone, but you shouldn't. Or worse, you can't.

What have you watched or read or heard that you're loving right now?

The Post About My 2014 Annual Report

2014 was weird and wonky and wonderful.

It was 12 months without a regular full-time job and discovering God can be trusted in word and in deed.

It was 52 weeks filled with road trips and coffee shops and new friends and learning you can still eat out at fun restaurants if you stop eating out at crappy ones.

It was 365 days of laughter and gritting my teeth and discipline and understanding the beauty of the unplanned.

It was a year of sabbath for a very weary heart.

This is a little recap and celebration of chasing rabbits again in 2015.

 

2015 will be different. Not because I have concrete plans, but because I don't.

Let's wander through this year together.

Twitter / Facebook / Instagram / Pinterest / Top Secret Rabbits

The Post About What You Write and Read

So...I know you're startled. I've posted to this blog seven days in a row. This is more than I had posted since February.

I didn't realize how much I had missed it.

I've also missed reading your blogs. My Feedly reader actually fought back and deleted all my subscriptions. Yes, I assume it was a calculated move on its part as if it's a sentient being.

Help me start populating this technical frenemy again.

Do have a blog? What blogs do you consider must-read? 

Note: This will be a great crowd-sourced list, so don't hesitate to pimp yourself and others.

{image: Jamie}

The Post About The Rabbit Recommends: April-ish 2014

Each week or so I post things of which I'm fond. You can choose what happens after my recommendation. Ignore, embrace, debate. Earlier volumes of The Rabbit Recommends can be found here.

This month is an "-ish" because I didn't wrap up March. It's such a nice month with its...well...there's nothing too grand about March (unless you celebrate a birth) but I hate to ignore it completely. Like I do cleaning my freezer.

1. Facts That Sound Like Huge Lies. #1 will sell you on watching this entire clip.


2. How I Met Your Mother. I spent 104 hours of my life watching this sit-com. I know this exact figure because of the website tiii.me. 90% of the time, I loved it, but the finale pummeled me. No words. TV critic Alan Sepinwall summed up my feelings perfectly.

3. The Office Time Machine. This is a website that allows you to plug in any year and view a brief compilation video of every single time the TV show The Office made a reference to something that happened then. Here's one of my favorite years, 1994, as an appetizer. 


4. Vintage Easter Bunny. Buzzfeed collected 19 vintage Easter Bunny pics that will make your skin crawl. I could also show you three from my own Instagram feed.

5. Majestic. Kari Jobe released a live worship album recently. In finding the links for this list, I stopped to listen for the umpteenth time and stood up from my chair and sang like I was her twice.

6. Prince George on Tour. I didn't know seeing Prince George down under would wreck me so. But for 3 weeks, I was captivated. I mean, I want to touch her hair too. He's as cuddly as a kitten and here's proof.









7. Kids React to Walkmans. I'm old. You're old. We're all old.


8. Stephen Colbert. I'm a huge fan of The Colbert Report and the guy behind the character - Stephen Colbert. One of the reasons is how often he talks about his faith. Relevant Magazine recently shared 6 Times Stephen Colbert Got Serious About Faith.

9. The Rosie Project. I devoured this book in 6 hours last month. Don Tillman is a genetics professor who creates a detailed questionnaire to help him find a wife. She will be punctual, logical and most definitely not a barmaid, a smoker, a drinker, or a late-arriver. Yet Rosie Jarman is all these things. Funny and heartwarming.

10. Helen Keller. Although Helen Keller was deaf and blind, she wrote two particularly moving letters. One to the New York Symphony Orchestra after "hearing" Beethoven's 9th and one to Dr. John Finley after "seeing" the view from the Empire State Building. We're all underachievers.

11. The Most Famous Book Set in Each State. Mental Floss compiled a list of all of the best-selling book sets in each state. My home state of Alabama, thankfully, picked To Kill a Mockingbird rather than a biography of Bear Bryant. My heart goes out to Arkansas.

12. Bitman Begins. My theory is there can never be enough Hemsworths. My favorite two gathered for this newest film adaptation.  


13. Jen Hatmaker. I discovered Jen Hatmaker shortly after she published 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess and I liked her almost immediately. Someone who had faith AND a sense of humor. A combination that is all too rare in my opinion. She wrote two blog posts recently that inspired me: Run Your Race and Where I Stand. 

What have you loved recently? What are your recs for books, movies, TV, websites, articles or cat videos?

The Post About The Rabbit Recommends: February 2014

Each week or so I post things of which I'm fond. You can choose what happens after my recommendation. Ignore, embrace, debate. Earlier volumes of The Rabbit Recommends can be found here.

1.Classic Movies in Miniature Style. As part of his graduation thesis, Murat Palta decided to blend traditional oriental motifs with contemporary western films. Pop culture art is a favorite. Particularly when it features such delights as Star Wars, Inception, and Kill Bill.

2. The Popcast. This month on our pop culture podcast, Knox and I tackled the Olympics, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, House of Cards, Jimmy Fallon, Pharrell, Valentine's Day, True Detective, The Oscars, Alec Baldwin, Canada, Seth Meyers, Boycotts, The Super Bowl and much more.

3. Rapper's Delight. The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon debuted this month. Jimmy's wheelhouse is viral video content. Don't hesitate to check out his Lip Sync Battle with Paul Rudd or The History of Rap 5 with Justin Timberlake. My personal favorite is Brian Williams' Rapper's Delight.


4. Pixar Theory: Last summer, Jon Negroni wrote a great piece called A Grand Unified Theory of Pixar which hypothesized all the movies were connected in one cohesive timeline. It's a fascinating read. This month, Negroni put forth my favorite theory: Andy's Mom in Toy Story is Jessie's Previous Owner. Perfect.

5. Ellie Holcomb: I've always enjoyed the music of Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors. Drew's wife (and one of the "neighbors") Ellie Holcomb released her first full-length solo album this month, As Sure As The Sun. It is special. Not only was it a Kickstarter baby, but it's good music. Each song is like a page torn from a journal of a person wrestling with God and faith and trust. It hit home.

6. Stormscapes. I live in "tornado alley" in a city full of trees so it's rare to see the beauty in storms. Last summer, Nicolaus Wegner camped out in South Dakota and Wyoming and captured thunderstorms and supercells at their fanciest.


7. My Life in Middlemarch. Rebecca Mead writes a book that's part memoir, part literary criticism and part Eliot biography. This exquisite novel made me fall in love with that high school required reading and believe it to be more than I recall.

8. Sean Lowe's I Am Second. I'm a fan of this particular Bachelor. His video and Annie Downs' take on it confirms why. 

9. The Americans. In the aforementioned Popcast, Knox has tried without fail to have me fall for this 1980s cold war spy drama on A&E. I finally caved when the first season went up on Amazon Prime. After a 4 day binge, I was completely hooked. The KGB is just a wallpaper for this tumultuous drama about a marriage in crisis. So good. Not suitable for all grandmothers.

10. This Old Man. Roger Angell wrote this frank piece for The New Yorker about living in your nineties. Here's just a sample of the goodness:

But I believe that everyone in the world wants to be with someone else tonight, together in the dark, with the sweet warmth of a hip or a foot or a bare expanse of shoulder within reach. Those of us who have lost that, whatever our age, never lose the longing: just look at our faces. If it returns, we seize upon it avidly, stunned and altered again.

11. Unlikely Simultaneous Historical Events. A list that will make you furrow your brow. Includes: The first wagon train of the Oregon Trail heads out the same year the fax machine is invented.

My Favorite February Tweets

Frozen: A cautionary tale about isolating an extrovert based on the special needs of an introvert sibling.
— Rachel Callahan (@ObjectivityRach) February 4, 2014

Life is 10% what happens to me, 75% how I handle it, and 15% how I share it on social media.
— Jared Hollier (@JaredHollier) February 5, 2014

"My current stage of life is much better/worse than yours and here's why..." -Majority of today's viral blog posts
— Cindy Warren (@cindy_warren) February 13, 2014

David, you're the John to my Aeryn. The Wash to my Zoe (please don't die). The Rory to my Amy. The Daryl to my Horton Scout 125. #makeyoutey
— Ruthie (@bogueandweejer) February 14, 2014

Note: I included this because each of those pairings is truly the most romantic. And I was proud I knew them all.

If I was blind I could tell who the hot girls in the nail salon were by how boring their stories are
— Mindy Kaling (@mindykaling) February 18, 2014

Ironically, the more camo you wear, the more people see you.
— Corey Boyd (@CoreyBoyd) February 19, 2014

"Haha you're way fatter than you thought!" -stairs
— Amber Krogel (@amberkrogel) February 21, 2014

Twitter: where we gather to complain about our Facebook friends.
— Laura McClellan (@laura_mcclellan) February 21, 2014

Tip: NOTHING worse than tweets about how cool your life is. Everybody hates that and resents you for them. *Sent from the #Oscars stage
— andy lassner (@andylassner) February 27, 2014

Linking up with the delightful Leigh Kramer to share what I loved in February.

What did you fancy last month?

The Post About the Rabbit Recommends: January 2014

Each week or so I post things of which I'm fond. You can choose what happens after my recommendation. Ignore, embrace, debate. Earlier volumes of The Rabbit Recommends can be found here.

Last month, I loved much and loved it well. It's easy when the weather outside is frightful AND you're unemployed to consume a lot of stuff.

Sherlock Season 3: It's odd when an entire season of a show can begin and end in one month but when there are only 3 episodes it's doable. But they were good ones. You can watch this season on pbs.org and the previous two seasons on Amazon Prime.

Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee: I didn't discover this gem until Tina Fey was a guest. Now I've binged them all. I adore chatting with people who are funny during regular conversation. Jerry Seinfeld is the king of this. My favorite conversations include Chris Rock, Seth Meyers, and surprisingly Alec Baldwin.

Taylor Swift Thinking She Won a Grammy and Then She Didn't.

I Have Decided: My pastor led a message series about the four best decisions you can make in 2014. It was surely goodness and mercy.

One Word 2014: My word for 2014 is "waffle." I ordered this necklace to stay focused. It's scented.

The Goldbergs: I recommended this ABC sitcom to everyone last month. If you were aware of the 80s, then you can watch any episode and be transported.

Writing Music: Camping out in coffee shops means musical inspiration that doesn't necessarily lead to dance breaks. Enter artists like The Album Leaf, Olafur Arnalds, Dustin O'Halloran, Explosions in the Sky, Goldmund, Christopher O'Riley, and David Jalbert. Here's a link to my "Writing Right" playlist on Spotify.

The Power of Habit: Charles Duhigg's NYT bestseller is worthy of your time. It forced me to think about how I can better accomplish my goals by taking a close look at my habits. It was a fast and fascinating read.

One Direction Auto-Tune: No video has made me laugh this hard in a long time. And I watch a lot of videos.

The Popcast: This month on our pop culture podcast, Knox and I tackled the Golden Globes, Grammys, Bachelor, Woody Allen, American Hustle, Miley Cyrus, Ron Paul, Scandal, True Detective, Drake, Anonymous Commenting, Richard Sherman, Anna Kendrick, Arby's and more.

Short Term 12: Not only the best movie I watched this month but in my top list of all time. It's the story of Grace, a supervisor at a foster-care facility for at-risk teenagers. The movie took South by Southwest by storm and is up for three Independent Spirit awards. It wrecked me in the best way.

What If The Characters of Parks and Rec Had Amazon Wish Lists

My Favorite January Tweets

Be sure to check on elderly neighbors to make sure they are warm and also delete the 25 stacked toolbars on their Internet Explorer 7.
— pourmecoffee (@pourmecoffee) January 4, 2014

Someone else's booger is currently lodged under my fingernail, if you were on the fence about becoming a parent.
— Katherine H  (@grass_stains) January 5, 2014

Unbelievable! Your weather app looks like my weather app! (Replace "weather app" with latte, burger, airplane, sunset, or baby.) #instagram
— samdavidson (@samdavidson) January 5, 2014

I will not let anything that will ultimately mean nothing keep me from experiencing what means everything. #21daysofprayer
— Chris Hodges (@Chris_Hodges) January 7, 2014

You can find anything—ANYTHING—on the internet. Except a lyrics site that doesn’t look like it was designed in 1995 by a 7th grader w/ ADHD.
— Tiffany Dorrin Olsen (@NotThatOlsen) January 8, 2014

I want y'all to know there's a showing of Antigone at my house right now because mandarin oranges have seeds.
— Erin Moon (@erinhmoon) January 17, 2014

Forget the to-do list; decide who you want to become. God's a lot more interested in shaping our hearts than organizing our days.
— Love Does (@lovedoes) January 18, 2014

Just heard a Cranberries song, and suddenly I was in my Camaro with the t-tops out, clunky shoes on, and 6 tiny clips in my hair. #ninetiesg
— Gretchen Bush (@Gbushmomma) January 20, 2014

Based on all the Laura Ingalls Wilder in my feed today, Little House books are Southern girls' main references on surviving snow.
— Elizabeth Hyndman (@edhyndman) January 28, 2014

Linking up with the delightful Leigh Kramer to share what I loved in January.

What did you fancy last month?

The Post About Another Amazon Giveaway

First, I did a little redecorating on the site. That is my new winter header. Please hold me accountable to keeping it updated because I'd rather you confront me than judge me quietly. However, I'm only giving you permission to be in my face about this specific thing. No other condemnation should be spoken aloud.

I'm fragile.

I'd love for 2014 to be the year we become friends. Better friends, new friends, codependent friends, whatever. In order to do that, I need to extend a kindness. How about an Amazon giveaway?

I recently shared the nine best books I read in 2013. The best book I've read in 2014? S by JJ Abrams and Doug Dorst. It's a library book suspense novel with a secondary story of two people leaving notes in the margins and trinkets stuffed between the pages for each other. It was a fantastic read and the best looking book I've ever owned.

If you win this giveaway, you can buy it. Or you can buy toiler paper. I'm not the boss of you.

The kindness I need from you is to help me build up my Feedly where I organize and read blogs and news sites.

The only task required to enter this giveaway is to post a comment with your own blog address/website or a website you read every day. You can also earn some bonus entries...

a Rafflecopter giveaway

{images: Jamie}

The Post About the Best Books I Read in 2013

Each week or so I post things of which I'm fond. You can choose what happens after my recommendation. Ignore, embrace, debate. Earlier volumes of The Rabbit Recommends can be found here.

I absolutely love to read. Books, magazines, Mindy Kaling's Twitter feed. The more words the merrier.

Here are nine books I read this year that stayed with me - always a sign of good pages. A few weren't actually published this year but sometimes I get behind in reading. And laundry.

1. Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone: This came out almost 15 years ago and I somehow missed the boat. My friend Erin Moon gave this to me and insisted our friendship was riding on it. Once I finished it, I immediately wanted to start over. FYI: It's about a wizard and crazy wonderful stuff happens.

2. A Curious Man: The Strange and Brilliant Life of Robert "Believe It or Not!" Ripley: A shy cartoonist who became a world famous millionaire by pointing out and honoring the oddest people and things. This biography was absolutely fascinating.

3. Eleanor & Park: At first, I didn't think I could trust an author named "Rainbow Rowell." But who better to write a young adult romance set in 1986? Although it's written about teens, it will pull the most crotchety adult back to the whimsy of first love, while tackling tough issues such as bullying and family violence.

4. I Wear The Black Hat: I first discovered author Chuck Klosterman on ESPN's You Don't Know Bo 30 by 30 film. I don't know what it was about his commentary but I fancied him. When this book crossed my path, I was all in. It's a look at the pop culture and real-life villains who fascinate us and perplex us. And it's ridiculously funny.

5. 11/22/63: At 880 pages, this is not for the weak of arm or those who like to see the Kindle percentage escalate quickly. But Stephen King keeps you enthralled as you follow a time traveler as he prevents JFK's assassination. No horror, just good old-fashioned suspense.

6. Thank You For Your Service: There's a reason this is on almost every "Best of 2013" list (Amazon, NPR, Publisher's Weekly, NYT.) Pulitzer prize winning journalist David Finkel embedded with the 2-16 Infantry Battalion in Baghdad and wrote the subsequent For The Good Soliders. This book is after those same soldiers returned home. It's mesmerizing.

7. League of Denial: The NFL, Concussions, and the Battle for Truth: I'm a huge college football fan, but I don't even watch pro ball. But leave it to Frontline and Jon Stewart to convince me to pick up this book. It's investigative journalism at its finest because I was hooked on every page.

8. Packing Light: Thoughts On Living Life With Less Baggage: I picked up this book since I had met author and blogger Allison Vesterfelt IRL. As a result, I cancelled my order for a new iPhone and started evaluating the "wants" versus the "needs" in my life. It was the worst. A travel memoir that will call you to a place of crisis. In the best way.

9. The Last Beholder: I actually re-read this in 2013 and was transported again to the magical fantasy world of Wallis and Gus. It's a character-driven imaginative wonder.

Anne at Modern Mrs. Darcy, who once bought me a gift card when I was hit by a naked drunk driver, is hosting a link up of best reads in 2013. If you need a slew of recommendations, go there to see what the rest of the Internet suggests you read.

What was the best book, magazine or twitter feed you read this past year?

Note: The book links in this post are affiliate links. Your clicks might lead me to being able to pay my water bill. No pressure.

The Post About What's On My Bookshelf

I'm doing my first link-up. Like it's 2009.

I'm running a little behind.

Anne from Modern Mrs. Darcy asked her readers to pull back the curtain on their bookshelves. I could not be prouder of any corner of my home more than these shelves so it was easy to commit to this gang-related writing.

This is how my clothes and shoes are organized. Even my cupcake sprinkles are arranged by color. So it made sense in my head that the books should follow suit.

Yes, I have John Ortberg and Jimmy Carter mixed in with Nicholas Sparks, Star Wars' Timothy Zahn, and Mary Poppins' P.L. Travers.

My go-to baby gift is always library books with custom bookplate labels to match the nursery. Silverstein's Where The Sidewalk Ends is always included. This brown section also includes my favorite Jane Austen novel Persuasion.
 

Yoda keeps careful watch over Beth Moore, David Sedaris, Zora Neale Hurston, and Brother Lawrence.

 Every bookshelf needs more than books. A candle poured into a recycled wine bottle and a "Guess-Jamie's Emotions" game created by my friend Caryann.

I'm confident most libraries would sandwich the Twilight series between Elmore Leonard and C.S. Lewis if given a choice.

Are you a shelf person or an e-reader or both? What's the best book you've read this year?

{images: Jamie}

The Post About The Rabbit Recommends v. 122

Each week or so I post things of which I'm fond. You can choose what happens after my recommendation. Ignore, embrace, debate. Earlier volumes of The Rabbit Recommends can be found here.

This week's episode of my new pop culture podcast with Knox McCoy tackles life changing topics such as the war on emojis, Lindsay Lohan predictions and Kanye West as artist and j-hole. Knox and I had the biggest fight we've ever had. We may recover.

• Listen or download episode two.
• Subscribe on iTunes.
• Read episode show notes.

 

Plus, we answered these listener questions:

• Will there be a new Friday Night Lights movie?
• What will life be like after Breaking Bad?
• Is Ryan Gosling the Antichrist?

 Learn the answers here:




I've written about being a Mary Poppins fan. A new Disney movie Saving Mr. Banks follows MP author P. L. Travers as she meets with filmmaker Walt Disney during the production of her grand novel. The trailer above has me primed and ready for this Christmas season release.


Georgia Tech sophomore, Nicholas Selby, brought down the house in less than 2 minutes at this freshmen event.

 John Mayer released a new album this week, Paradise Valley, which I like quite a bit. I also want to like John Mayer again. I'm following the 7-Step Plan to Not Hating John Mayer Anymore. It's working.

Jessica from Meet the Buttrams wrote A Letter For My Children. I don't have kids and it wrecked me.

I will always love you thoroughly, even if it is imperfectly. Even when my heart wants to explode just from the sight of you sleeping, I can’t love you the way you were created to be loved.

Favorite Instagram

...via Erin Moon (erinhmoon). This is how a parent should document their child's life.

Favorite Tweets

The only unforgivable sins are murder and spelling it “should of"
— Brian Gaar (@briangaar) August 15, 2013

sometimes you just have to leave the piles of clean clothes on your bed and sleep around them. it's why I have a queen size bed.
— Molly Gentry (@mollsabeth) August 20, 2013

I'm convinced my mom just walks into the cable company each month, says "Fox News and Judge Judy" lays 20 bucks on the counter, and leaves.
— Nick Flora (@NickFlora) August 21, 2013

What have you recently read or seen or listened to that you've loved?

P.S. We have two winners from last week's Popcast Giveaway!

• Amazon Gift Card: Jacey (@thebalancedwife)
• iTunes Gift Card: Charlene Kuser

Email me at jamiesrabbits@gmail.com to collect your swag!

The Post About The Rabbit Recommends v.121

Each week or so I post things of which I'm fond. You can choose what happens after my recommendation. Ignore, embrace, debate. Earlier volumes of The Rabbit Recommends can be found here.

Leigh Kramer wrote a fantastic post last week titled "Nashville Doesn't Love Me." She shared about the struggle of moving to Tennessee and seeking depth but it alluding her. I think this post was brutally honest and vulnerable - in such a good way. I sense she received a bit of backlash and followed up with 2 additional posts to provide some context. However, I prefer the first swing she took at this tough topic of searching for community.


I can be red or blue or a gorgeous shade of purple on any given political issue. However, I'm definitively pro-life. The way in which Wendy Davis was deemed a hero last week was disappointing. This article by Kirsten Powers in The Daily Beast articulated what I could not.

Chad Gibbs wrote one of my favorite books Love Thy Rival (free on Kindle as I type this). Now, he is writing a column for the Opelika-Auburn News about being a new stay-at-home Dad. I couldn't pick just one article, so read them all.

There is so much goodness in The Atlantic's How To Be Better at Email: A Comprehensive Scientific Guide. Including:

• Check email no more frequently than once every 45 minutes.
• Turn off incoming email notifications and set up email clients to display the sender, subject line and the first three lines of the email to make messages easier to scan and triage.

Buzz Feed's 18 Babies Experiencing Things For The First Time is .gifs with babies. Your ovaries will thank you. You too, gentlemen.

My friend and blogger Rachel Callahan posted this picture on her family trip to Legoland.

The caption was “So my life has come to this.” Darth Vader

I’m keeping my kids. Daughter is screaming. SON: Do you know why she is screaming? ME: No, why? SON: (coldly) Because of you.
— Knox McCoy (@KnoxMcCoy) June 27, 2013

Knox's son is my new favorite.

Super Mario Bros. In Food. By Hunter Harrison.
 
Plus, rabbits I chased this week:
Podcast: The Bachelorette Recap in which I said: "The odds were against him but that doesn't mean all of America didn't stand by, flags at half mast, when Juan Pablo went home."

Podcast: Golden Moon Buffet in which we tackled Miranda July pulling an NSA hack on celebrity emails; Jay-Z as a bad parent; and the best, worst, and yet unmade patriotic movies.

Blog Post: I wrote about being called "annoying" by an Internet stranger. It was a good thing. I promise.

Tweet: I'm nothing if not spiritual.

Lunch small group discussed avoiding distraction in our walk with God. Then we focused on how to cheat at Candy Crush.
— Jamie Golden (@JamiesRabbits) July 2, 2013

Rabbit Sidebar: THIS is how to cheat at Candy Crush.


Cake Pops: A tribute to Doctor Who and America.

Now you recommend something to me. Do it.

The Post About The Rabbit Recommends v.120

Each week or so I post things of which I'm fond. You can choose what happens after my recommendation. Ignore, embrace, debate. Earlier volumes of The Rabbit Recommends can be found here.


I'm obsessed with all things paperless.

Rabbit Sidebar: Except wedding and graduation invitations. I'll only pony up a crock pot or wad of cash if someone had to lick a stamp and the back of an envelope. Please don't Facebook invite me to your life event. No.

But despite my preference for digital, this video makes me happy. And for all of you reading "real" books and printing emails, this is my concession.

The 50 Most Perfectly Timed Photos. Perfect place, time, and angle. And then you win the Internet. Disclaimer: #46 is the worst.


I once had a blogging mid-life crisis and didn't write for more than 3 months. It was a boy in skinny jeans and a pair of Toms that turned it around. This may be the reason I love this one-for-one charity idea from Tripp & Tyler.

Things I Read This Week That Weren't Poppycock (see...not giving up...)
Groupon Dating by Jason Melville Gausta: Jason and I had a conversation. It became this very delightful post. It begs the question "How much is your soul mate worth?"

60 Thoughts About Turning 60 by Ian Martin: Quick preview:
17. The scarier the world becomes, the more important it is to focus on the correct use of "less" and "fewer".
37. It's funny and comforting to know that after you are dead, you will still get spam.
60. When people finish a sentence by saying "the list is endless", it always means they have run out of things to list.

5 Words Everyone Says by Jon Acuff: "...we all say them thousands of times in our lives. At the end of adventures, in the middle of mistakes, late at night, early in the morning, "How did I get here" is a sentence that none of us escape." This post was just goodness.

A Prayer for the Miraculous by Jessica Buttram: This post actually makes me angry because she is not writing every day. Holy moly with the words. 


As I left the grocery store today with a buggy full of items and a broken foot, the bottom dropped out and rain fell in buckets. A member of my church happened upon me. She offered to drive my car to the sidewalk and load my purchases. Right?!?

This video captures folks helping others via car dash cams. May it restore our faith and prompt us to kindness.

The Post About The Rabbit Recommends v.118

Each week or so I post things of which I'm fond. You can choose what happens after my recommendation. Ignore, embrace, debate. Earlier volumes of The Rabbit Recommends can be found here.

Do you ever feel less-than compared to the rich and famous? Well, we can't always sit around waiting for their mug shots, so artist Danny Evans has provided his support by photoshopping celebrities to look like ordinary people. I went to high school with his version of Brangelina. I WAS his version of Miley Cyrus.


I'm an Amy Poehler fan. When she hosted the Golden Globes with Tina Fey, I wanted her to host my life. When she separated from Will Arnett, I wanted to send her an Edible Arrangement. When she launched a video series "Ask Amy," I wanted to hire her as my therapist. I've been needing some bravery this week as I start and want to start embarking on some newness in my life. Amy's advice is "do it and see what happens." That's a good word.

My friend Katherine is ridiculous. She is funny. Quite funny. And you can read her blog Grass Stains or follow her on Twitter and get access to that ridiculous goodness. Please start at her ongoing series Uncomfortable Truths. That adjective is appropriate. Your second stop should be "I Don't Think I'm Cut Out For Facebook." It's a powerful post prompted by the death of a friend and the ongoing debate about legalizing gay marriage.


Easter 2013 - Death to Life from Church of the Highlands on Vimeo.
I mentioned in my last post that I ugly cried twice during Easter services at my church. This 9-minute video initiated the second incident.

Psalm 40:2 "He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand."

Tweets I Starred

I'm so hip old people should replace me.
— Tyler Tarver (@tylertarver) April 5, 2013

@jamiesrabbits Texted my mom a couple days ago then put the phone to my ear waiting for her reply. :-/
— Hilary Farris (@HilaryFarris) March 30, 2013

Password must contain a capital letter, a number, a plot, a protagonist with some character development, and a surprise ending.
— John Green (@johndashgreen) April 2, 2013

@jamiesrabbits Nope. If you choose that suite, you don't leave.
— Clair McLafferty (@see_clair_write) March 29, 2013

Frantically hitting the “End” button on an accidental phone call is my workout.

— sammy rhodes (@prodigalsam) April 6, 2013

What do you recommend for me this week?

Especially since I'm laid up with no car and bum limbs and pain meds....

The Post About The Rabbit Recommends v. 117

Each week or so I post things of which I'm fond. You can choose what happens after my recommendation. Ignore, embrace, debate. Earlier volumes of The Rabbit Recommends can be found here.

It's highly likely The Lizzie Bennet Diaries is not a new discovery for you. I've been hoarding this recommendation for months because I couldn't bear to send you to it without it being worth the investment. It's not that I didn't love this modernized adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, it's just that it was in the middle of the series and I was STRUGGLING waiting for each new installment. But now there's resolution...almost 100 episodes later.

So here's Episode 1. I apologize for how you will waste the rest of your day.

I attended the Killer Tribes conference this weekend which was a snazzy event filled with lots of nuggets of wisdom and Cheez-its. One presenter, Amy Lynn Andrews outlined her favorite apps for time management. Here's her list:

• Gmail. I love how I can get all my emails (from my various email addresses) in one spot and how it integrates beautifully with so many other apps and Google products.
• Google Calendar. Again, integration is excellent and I love the ability to have multiple calendars and customize each.
• CalenMob Pro and CalenMob. The best mobile app I've used for Google Calendar.
• GoTasks. I find myself using this really simple task list that integrates with Google Tasks well. It's especially good for quick lists, like shopping lists.
• The Secret Weapon. A robust way of keeping track of to-dos. I have modified the system they present to suit my needs, but it uses Gmail and Evernote together.
• Evernote. The very popular Evernote is an excellent way to keep track of notes and anything else you want to capture. Here are the Getting Started pages.
• 30/30. A free app that helps you keep track of the tasks you need to complete in the amount of time you've allotted for each. Lovely.
• IFTTT. If This Then That is a very handy way of automating tasks linked between many channels. Create "recipes" to work for you.
• Pocket. This helps those of us who have a tendency to leave lots of tabs open in our browser to "read later." This app lets you add anything to your Pocket to read later.

Another Killer Tribes presenter was Kristen Howerton, blogger at Rage Against The Minivan. I don't have kids, but I know her post this week, Let's Bring The Holidays Down a Notch, is pure gold. May all you moms be encouraged that you are enough.

Have I ever mentioned I adore cats on the Internet? I have? Well, here are some more: 25 Things Cats Are Not.

 
And these tweets...

My life is like a romantic comedy except theres no romance and its just me laughing at my own jokes.
— Condescending Wonka (@WonkaTweets) March 18, 2013

I’m 100% okay with my future husband needing more sponge rollers than me. twitter.com/JamiesRabbits/…
— Jamie Golden (@JamiesRabbits) March 18, 2013

For @jamiesrabbits: Bradley Cooper. With rollers, as requested. I now have no more dignity. You're welcome. twitter.com/AwfulArt/statu…
— Awful Art (@AwfulArt) March 19, 2013

The Post About The Rabbit Recommends v. 115

Each week or so I post things of which I'm fond. You can choose what happens after my recommendation. Ignore, embrace, debate. Earlier volumes of The Rabbit Recommends can be found here.

One of my Internet favorites is Amanda Williams. She's smart, witty and honest - an ideal person combo. She recently wrote a powerful post "Finding God in a Little White Pill." A friend once told me she was praying through her depression. I replied that my Mom was praying through her high blood pressure. She immediately countered "Blood pressure is something to take seriously. She should see a doctor." See how I verbally trapped her like a close friend? The brain is an organ just like the heart. We believe God uses doctors and medicines to heal us. Why don't we believe that for every part of us?

Speaking of our health... Healthcare is a BIG deal in America. Most often the discussion centers on who should pay for healthcare. Journalist Steven Brill decided it was time to steer the debate to the more important question: Why are healthcare bills so high? He wrestles for the answer in his recent feature "Bitter Pill: Why Medical Bills Are Killing Us." This is not for the faint of heart - it's 1 article with 24,105 words. Every word is compelling.

If I could follow only one person on Instagram, it would be Tyler Tarver. He takes fantastic shots and then adds perfect captions - an ideal IG combo. He and I agree on math, Lost, Ryan Gosling, and ADD. We do not agree on which Disney Princesses would last the longest in the Hunger Games. He was kind enough to invite me on his Talk Hugs Podcast to tackle this and other pressing issues. Also check out Tyler on Twitter and Facebook.

Emeli Sandé is from Scotland. She went to medical school. She's married to a scientist. She wrote her first song at 11. Her debut album, Our Version of Events, is phenomenal. I've had it on repeat since discovering it was the  bestselling album in the UK in 2012 ousting Adele's 21. All the tracks are superb, but start with Next To Me, My Kind of Love, and Heaven.

The 30 Happiest Facts of All Time will let you have a moment of surely goodness and mercy. I mean...#7 you guys. I'm headed to Sweden.

Meeting your child for the very first time can be just as powerful and life-changing as when someone meets their child in the delivery room. There are no unwanted children, just unfound families.

To learn more about adopting from foster care, visit Adopt-US-Kids.