Everybody's Linking for the Week

Twas the week before Christmas, and boy do we have a lot of links!

In Entertainment...

Atlantic Wire: This article's a tad bit old, but super relevant as we trek into what looks to be a robust year for American Hustle.  Why is it that we, particularly with actresses, seem to toss them aside the second everyone seems to enjoy them?  This is true not only of Anne Hathaway and Jennifer Lawrence, but of almost every actress of note of the past twenty years (Meg Ryan, Jennifer Aniston, and Kristen Stewart spring particularly to mind).  I personally cannot get enough of Jennifer Lawrence (her interview with Jon Stewart was just aces), and am looking forward to another year of her on the awards circuit (whether she deserves to be there or not, well, I'll see American Hustle this weekend and let you know!)

In Contention: Sadly, we've all had to read a lot of eulogies and obits this past week with the deaths of Eleanor Parker, Peter O'Toole, Tom Laughlin, and Joan Fontaine.  Guy Lodge tackled the eight-time Oscar loser here, and looked at his many flirtations with the gold guy.

CBS News: I know at this point Katie Couric has apologized and largely condemned her highly controversial overview of the HPV vaccine "debate," but I thought I'd throw my two cents in for good measure.  As I've stated categorically on this site before, the debate about vaccinations and people's misperceptions about it is deeply upsetting and totally baseless.  Vaccinations save lives, and the increasing use of "gut instinct science," frightens me (and should frighten you).  From climate change to medical treatments to debates on women's reproductive health, people with no scientific or medical background are espousing lies, and for some reason the media thinks that showing both sides of a debate of fact is worth doing.  That this came from Katie Couric, who has been a tireless activist for cancer screenings through her long journalistic career, is stunning as she should know better.

The Globe and Mail: We're talking about literature people-look alive (in an aside that wouldn't make it past an editor so thank god this is a blog-anyone else have a pile of books ready for their Christmas vacation-I for one cannot wait!)!  The Globe and Mail tackles the subject (with less bias than one might expect-it's worth a look) of the internet and how the culture of "too long/didn't read" (a subject I worry about with some of my posts) may cause novels to become shorter.

In Politics....

Time: I actually love these types of articles.  While a lot of people focused on President Obama taking a selfie (ugh-it's a photo people, and when you overreact to everything it makes any legitimate complaints seem that much less compelling), really the focus should have been on Presidents Clinton, Bush, and Obama sharing a plane.  I remember a while back my friend Tory, when we were discussing the upcoming field of Republican and Democratic presidential contenders making the apt comment (it was at a bar, so I'm paraphrasing a bit due to potential memory impairment), "it's weird that they seem so interchangeable, since one is going to become immortal."  He definitely has a point-presidents become giants in public perception, and when the molders of history (and these three men truly have molded the history of the world for the past 25 years) get together, they indeed make history.  I easily would have given up all of my Christmas presents to have been a fly on the wall during this flight.

Politico: We've actually got a few from Politico this week, but we'll start with this one since Sen. Harry Reid, while the House is enjoying an early Christmas break (anyone remotely think they deserve it?) is trying to rectify this article.  This is an in-depth portrait of the 250 or so people that have been appointed to office by President Obama that have spent months (for some, even years) waiting for a vote in the Senate.  Patricia Millett, Jeh Johnson, and Mel Watt all proved recently that the "Nuclear Option" is actually being put to good use, as all have been appointed to high positions.  By the end of the week this article should be a bit shorter.

Also Politico: Probably the oddest story of the Affordable Care Act launch has to be what has been happening in Kentucky.  Kentucky has enrolled some 69,000 of its citizens into the new healthcare programs, which Rep. John Yarmuth (the only Democrat from the Bluegrass State in Congress) will happily tell anyone who will listen.  The even more unlikely cheerleader, and the subject of this article, though, is Gov. Steve Beshear, a conservative Democrat frequently at odds with his own party.  Once a washed-up political force, he lucked into the governor's mansion in 2007, easily won re-election in 2011, and is probably the most conservative Democratic governor in the country.  As the article points out, the Democrats have been BEGGING for a hero in the healthcare debate-Beshear's about as perfect for people like Mary Landrieu, Mark Pryor, and of course Alison Lundergan Grimes as you can get.

Last One From Politico: I'm telling you-Politico Magazine has been quite excellent this week.  This is a portrait from veteran political reporter Jon Ralston about Harry Reid.  For anyone who cares remotely about the Senate and has an opinion of Reid (we all do), it's something you won't be able to put down.

Just One More...

CNN: Can you believe that Prince Harry, the rascally younger brother of Will, somehow got sexier this week by reaching the South Pole?  Such a stud, that one.