The Toast's weekly Friday open thread, hosted by The Bartender.

It's shrinkage. You know the second these cookies hit the oven they'll look more "normal."

Ren Jender talks with Deniz Gamze Ergüven about her super-cool movie, "Mustang."

The Toast presents a selection of delightful information in the form of a link roundup.

Is it a prizewinning showcat, or a striking but forgotten example of 18th-century masculine nomenclature? YOU DECIDE.

"Real piece of work."

I am moving today and I am convinced that as soon as I enter into my new abode, no more problems shall ever befall me.

Using meditation to destroy your enemies.

Teresa Mathew on the Raging Grannies of San Jose and their distinct brand of activism.

You're almost certainly going to talk someone into committing a murder.

Velcro puppy and dignified cat.

The process of reconstructing the past is fascinating, and that’s why I want to spend time working through its complexities and writing history myself. But if I honestly recall what drew me to reading about the past in the first place, it is fiction. Specifically, children’s historical fiction presented as the diaries of girls my age, living through various periods in Canadian and world history.

Thanks for considering my application.

you know how god hates dirty clothes more than anything else

Mindy Hung on her childhood church and her own journey towards atheism.