F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Fatherly Advice

In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1933 letter to his daughter, Scottie, at camp, the acclaimed author professes to be glad that his daughter is happy; suggests that she request the camp librarian look up a particular Shakespeare sonnet for her; advises that she not worry about dolls, boys, parents, mosquitoes, or the future; and threatens to rechristen her “Egg Fitzgerald” if she dares to call him “Pappy” again.

*

Upbeat music, combined with positive thoughts, can put you in a better mood for the day, claims a recent study. Now if only someone could inform the makers of elevator music, the world might be a cheerier place.

*

Marvel has released the first trailer for Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., their small-screen prequel/sequel/follow-up of sorts to the blockbuster Avengers movie and associated characters’ films. The show will prominently feature the escapades of Agent Phil Coulson, whose suit-and-tie brand of saving the world promises to be a refreshing change of pace from the movies’ flash-bang fight scenes and explosions.

*

A previous edition of the Weekend Links featured the world’s largest rubber duck. Since then, the 54-foot-tall conceptual artwork has unfortunately deflated, leaving only a sad yellow blob floating in Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbor.

*

New Jersey has had its own watery struggles this past week: seven months after Hurricane Sandy collapsed the Seaside Heights boardwalk, crews have finally begun to dismantle the submerged Jet Star roller coaster, putting an end to these vaguely apocalyptic images.

*

When one crafty seven-year-old wrote a letter to Joe Biden suggesting that guns should only shoot chocolate bullets so that “nobody would get hurt and nobody would get sad,” the Vice President wrote back.

*

Dan Brown’s latest installment in the Robert Langdon novels, Inferno, has just come out to scathing, hilarious reviews.