The Weekly Wrap: October 19, 2025

I think I must have been a cat in a previous life.

On Friday, whilst attending an online meeting, I noticed the sun spilling in from the window. It created the coziest looking spot on our bedroom rug. I had to hold myself back from curling up in the middle of it. 

This is not the first time a sunny spot has called to me on a visceral level. Indeed, many of my quirks are cat like. I seek warmth and coziness. I love turning myself into a ball and snuggling in nooks on soft surfaces. When my husband rubs my back in passing, I practically purr. I've been known to stare off into space at nothing. Birds and squirrels distract me. I get the zoomies when I feel the sudden urge to get things done. I've been known to invade the personal space of my loved ones. In fact, I am constantly using my husband as a pillow just when he wants to stand up and move.

Also, objects on tables annoy me. I want clean surfaces.

​*push, push, pushpush, wap!*

---

• This might be the story that convinces me to stop heating our storage containers in the microwave. [WaPo - gift link]
• I stopped adding oil to pasta water because I'm lazy. Turns out, that was a smart culinary move. [Serious Eats]
• Where the money goes when you buy a book. [Graphic Rage]
• Maybe our increasing need to teach to standardized tests and relying on ed tech with no pedagogical purpose in lieu of focusing on essential foundational skills like, ya know, critical thinking, is causing some problems. [The Atlantic - gift link]
• This is a brilliant form of resistance in today's age of information manipulation. [Men Yell at Me]
• This articulated something I didn't know I was feeling. [The Atlantic - gift link]

• I, a librarian, approve this message. [Life Kit]
• If you wondered if we're entering an autocracy, the answer is yes. [Code Switch]
• I need to rewatch this movie. [Hot and Bothered]
• Or, ya know, we could just make guns harder to get. [The Indicator]
• What is truth anymore? [StarTalk]

• I read The Woman in Cabin 10 when it first came out. That was yeeears ago so I had basically no memory of the plot. But, when the movie was in the works, I did not think they would cast someone like Kiera Knightley in the lead role. That said, she brings gravitas to what I thought was just a frothy thriller. The plot on this flick is, ultimately, telegraphed from the beginning, but the movie was still an enjoyable watch. It's definitely a "rich people behaving badly" story. [Netflix]
• I don't know why the Husband decided to put on The Alabama Solution but it might be one of the best documentaries I've seen. This is activism straight from men who are incarcerated. Yes, the story is told through the illegal use of phones BUT that is the only way these men can get their story out. I don't think we truly understand just how much department of corrections controls the media narrative. This documentary shares the rampant abuse and forced labor of our prison system. It screams that our system is deliberately designed to not be rehabilitative. [HBO Max]

• The ground chicken and green bean stir fry I made this week came together faster than I expected. I should have use a slightly bigger pan because the one I used was full to the brim with veggies. Also, I went rogue on the sauce because I didn't want to buy new ingredients. I subbed in hoisin and rice vinegar. Also, I topped my bowl with a drizzle of sriracha to add some heat. [Real Simple]
• My lunch meal prep was lemony cucumber couscous. It's more of a spring/summer dish, but I found it tasty even in the cooler weather. I should have saved the sauce to mix in the day I ate it because the couscous absorbed the lemon overnight. [Budget Bytes]