AI

Thoughty Thursday: Popping your mental corn, March 19-25, 2023

/ Melanie Marttila

Tomorrow’s March 31st! Prepare for April Fool’s Day by getting your mental corn popping 🙂

Ashawnta Jackson sings the Ballad of Railroad Bill. JSTOR Daily

Guy Kawasaki interviews Latanya Mapp Frett about the impact of everyday feminists. The Remarkable People Podcast

Sarah Barmak reveals what women (still) want. The Walrus

Mike Stobbe reports that autism now more common in Black and Hispanic kids in the US. But they have access to fewer supports. Associated Press

Marisol Martinez: immune system cells in the gut linked to stress-induced depression. Medical Xpress

Ryan O’Hare reports that advanced brain imaging hints at how DMT alters perception of reality. Imperial College London

Ingrid Fadelli: study hints at the promise of non-hallucinogenic LSD for treating mood disorders. Medical Xpress

Adrianna Rodriguez reveals the real (i.e., not cordyceps) fungal threat: the CDC warns against candida auris, a drug-resistant fungus invading health facilities. USA Today

Elizabeth M. Renieris wonders, will AI mean we’ll be able to work less? The Walrus

Will Dunham reports that an asteroid discovery suggests ingredients for life on Earth came from space. Reuters

Robin McKie: A Brief History of Time is wrong, Stephen Hawking told collaborator. The Guardian

First detection of neutrinos made at particle collider. Universität Bern

Egyptian startup turns millions of plastic bags into tiles. Reuters

New UBC water treatment zaps forever chemicals for good. University of British Columbia

Fiona Harvey reports that global fresh water demand will outstrip supply by 40% by 2030. The Guardian

Thanks for visiting, and I hope you took away something to inspire a future creative project.

Until my next chapter weekly update, be well and stay safe; be kind and stay strong. The world needs your stories!

Tipsday: Informal writerly learnings, March 19-25, 2023

/ Melanie Marttila

It’s the last tipsday of March! Prepare to “go out like a lion” with some informal writerly learnings 🙂

Amy Christine Parker shares four powerful tools for creating dread in your fiction. Then, Constance Emmett discusses finding her writing tribe. Carol Van Den Hende offers three ideas to inspire Instagram-worthy book posts. Next, Lori Walker interviews Jinwoo Chong about exploring themes of grief and loneliness in a neo-noir speculative novel. Sara Gentry lists five ways numerical data can improve your novel. DIY MFA

How to write strong openings: action-driven vs. voice-driven. Mary Robinette Kowal

Susan DeFreitas: your story is amazing, but does it make sense? Dave King warns of critter danger. Then, Sophie Masson has the last word on epilogues. John J. Kelley discusses using social occasions to elevate your story. Writer Unboxed

Story Structure 101. Reedsy

K.M. Weiland presents two ways to write organic themes. Helping Writers Become Authors

Lisa Norman tells you all you need to know about how to write with AIs. Then, Ellen Buikema explains how to kill a character without enraging readers. Writers in the Storm

Where alcoholic drinks got their names. Otherwords | PBS Storied

Sarah Elizabeth Sawyer answers seven questions on writing about Native Americans. Then, Susanne Dunlap explains what memoirists can learn from historical novelists. Katie Bannon shares five reasons to write your taboo stories. Jane Friedman

Lucy V. Hay explains the importance of a great opening to a novel. Then, Becca Puglisi has some creative ways to brainstorm story ideas. Angela Ackerman wonders how much time do you waste as a writer? Writers Helping Writers

The best outlining tools for writers. Reedsy

Nathan Bransford explains how to edit someone’s novel.

Tiffany Yates Martin says don’t build your network. Fox Print Editorial

Chris Winkle shares lessons learned from the clichéd writing of Pendergast. Then, she explains the why and how of foreshadowing. Mythcreants

Gene Maddaus reports that the Writers Guild of America would allow AI in scriptwriting as long as writers maintain credit. Variety

Thank you so much for spending some time with me. I hope you found something to support your current work(s) in progress.

Until Thursday, keep staying safe and well, my writerly friends.

Tipsday: Informal writerly learnings, Feb 12-18, 2023

/ Melanie Marttila

Welcome to tipsday, where you can get the best of the week’s informal writerly learnings. Enjoy!

Ann Marie Nieves: so you’re interested in hiring a publicist. Jim Dempsey says, write for that someone special. Then, Barbara Linn Probst wonders what actually makes you a better writer? Writer unboxed

K.M. Weiland offers some tips on writing romance. Helping Writers Become Authors

C.S. Lakin explains what story hooks are all about. Live, Write, Thrive

Stories about stories about stories. Tale Foundry

Elizabeth Spann Craig reviews Amazon’s author page updates.

Roz Morris wonders, will AI writing threaten authors’ livelihoods? Nail Your Novel

Jane says negotiation is the one business skill she could grant all writers. Jane Friedman

Suzy Vadori helps you slay your bloated word count. Writers Helping Writers

Nathan Bransford says don’t dribble out morsels of information within a scene.

How to write dialogue. Reedsy

AK Nevermore defines science fiction and fantasy. Then, Lori Walker interviews Courtney Maum about genre-hopping, process, and time management as a working writer. Karmen Špiljak shares the secret ingredient. Next, Sebastián Calderón offers five techniques to connect with your novel. DIY MFA

Janice Hardy shares three ways “show, don’t’ tell” can strengthen your writing. Then, Lynette M. Burrows helps you create characters your readers love and hate. Eldred Bird lists five ways helping other writers helps you. Writers in the Storm

Jenna Harte explains how to find your readers. Fiction University

Tiffany Yates Martin: when will you be a success? Fox Print Editorial

Chris Winkle helps you judge what information your story needs. Then, Oren Ashkenazi analyzes five stories with disappointing prophecies. Mythcreants

Chuck Wendig considers AI and the fetishization of ideas. Terribleminds

Connor Garel explains why M. NorbeSe Philip declared war on her own book. The Walrus

Amna Khalid: the futility of trigger warnings. Persuasion

Thank you for visiting, and I hope you found something to support your current work(s) in progress.

Until Thursday, keep staying safe and well!

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Dec 6-12, 2020

/ Melanie Marttila

It’s thoughty Thursday, your opportunity to get your mental corn popping!

Brakkton Booker: federal investigators join probe into Casey Goodson shooting death. NPR

N’dea Yancey-Bragg reports that the Seattle police who fired pepper spray and blast balls at BLM protestors violated order, according to judge. USA Today

Liz Navratil reveals how a divided Minnesota city council votes to cut 8 million from police budget. Star Tribune

Emmanuel Acho talks to the police. Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man.

Hailey Fuchs: Brandon Bernard’s planned execution stirs debate over punishment for your offenders. The New York Times

Karen Hao read the AI ethics paper that forced Timnit Gebru out of Google. Here’s what it says. MIT Technology Review

Luis Martinez reports that 14 senior army leaders at Fort Hood suspended or fired after broad review of sexual harassment and abuse allegations. ABC News

Colin Dwyer: Canada authorizes Pfizer vaccine. NPR

Joe takes us inside the lab that developed the covid-19 vaccine. It’s okay to be smart

Margot Sanger-Katz, Claire Cain Miller and Quoctrung Bui compiled this article on how 700 epidemiologists are living now, and what they think is next. The New York Times

Jackie Wattles explain how the Starship explosion was still a success. Spoilers: we learn from our failures. CNN

Nadia Drake introduces us to the astronauts of the Artemis Mission, eight of whom are women (!). National Geographic

Jim Daley says Earth’s orbital shifts may have triggered ancient global warming. (From Sept 2019, but still interesting.) Scientific American

Marco Hernandez and Cassandra Garrison report that the world’s biggest iceberg heads for disaster. Climate change is still happening. Reuters

Grace Eber explains how precisely arranged stones coil and surge across the land in Jon Foreman’s mesmeric works. This is Colossal

Fun, and so much better than the original. Walk Off the Earth and Harm & Ease cover Toxic.

Thank you for stopping by, and I hope you found something to inspire a future creative project.

Until next tipsday, be well and stay safe, be kind, and stay strong. The world needs your stories.

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, July 19-25, 2020

/ Melanie Marttila

And here we are, at the end of July. You’ve survived another month of #pandemiclife. I hope you’ve found some way to come to terms with our ever-evolving new normal.

It’s time to reward yourself and get your mental corn popping!

Robert Evans: what you need to know about the Battle of Portland. Bellingcat

Uncomfortable conversations with a Black man. White parents raising Black and bi-racial kids. Just do yourself a favour: watch all six episodes and then subscribe. Emmanuel Acho

Channon Hodge and Tawanda Scott Sambou: these Black female soldiers brought order to chaos and struck a blow against inequality. CNN

Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez responds to Rep Ted Yoho (in defense of women, everywhere). Systemic misogyny enables systemic racism.

Kaleigh Rogers explains how to make indoor air safer. FiveThirtyEight

A Dublin doctor effectively (and simply) debunks the idea that a face mask (or several) lowers oxygen levels or negatively affects the ability to breathe. Eyewitness News

Zoria Gorvett: the people with hidden immunity to covid-19. BBC

Maggie Koerth says, every decision is a risk and every risk is a decision. FiveThirtyEight

Carly Silver: before vaccines, variolation was seriously trendy. It’s okay. I had to look it up, too 😉 JSTOR Daily

Eugene S. Robinson wonders, what do killer robots dream of? Ozy

Mars in 4K. Elder Fox Documentaries

Sean Fleming: this is now the world’s greatest threat—and it’s not coronavirus. The World Economic Forum

Matt Simon considers the terrible consequences of Australia’s uber-bushfires. Wired

Christina Larson reveals that the mating call of the Ecuadorian hummingbird is ultrasonic. AP News

Andy Boyce and Andrew Dreelin: ecologists dig prairie dogs, and why you should, too. The Smithsonian Magazine

Thanks for visiting. I hope you took away something to inspire your next creative project.

This weekend, I’ll be tackling my next chapter update for July. I may not get it out on time, though, because I have an exam due on Sunday (more on that in the update).

Until then, be well and stay safe, be kind, and stay strong. The world needs your stories.

ThoughtyThursday2019

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, March 22-28, 2020

/ Melanie Marttila

In need of some distraction? You’re in luck. Thoughty Thursday is here to get your mental corn popping 🙂

Alex Beard: can AI ever replace the classroom? The Guardian

Laura Millan Lombrana: the post-virus economic recovery could be a green one. This is the hope of many people I know. Bloomberg

Elizabeth Landau discovers that the Fibonacci sequence is everywhere—even the stock market. The Smithsonian Magazine

Allison Meier: 18th Century lovers exchanged pictures of their eyes. JSTOR Daily

Stevie Keen shares ten photography projects you can do at home. Amateur Photographer

Eric Gross shares photographs of frozen waves in an alpine Colorado lake. PetaPixel

Jessica Stewart shares enchanting photos of Madeira’s Fanal Forest and its 500-year-old trees. My Modern Met

How Earth’s tides gave us life as we know it. SciShow Space

Tom Ward takes us inside Victor Vescovo’s mission to reach the bottom of all the world’s oceans. Wired

Ruth Doherty reports that Google Earth has released virtual tours of 31 of the world’s most incredible national parks. Country Living

Stella’s best leaf jumps of all time 🙂 Joy!

Lydia Schrandt shares ten of the best animal live cams for you to watch. 10 Best

PBS Eons answers the age-old question. The egg came first.

Thank you for stopping by. I hope you take away some inspiration for your next creative project, or just some interesting reading and entertainment to ease your isolation.

This weekend, I’ll be diving into my March next chapter update.

Until then, be well, be kind, and stay strong. Now, more than ever, the world needs your stories!

ThoughtyThursday2019

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Jan 19-25, 2020

/ Melanie Marttila

Let’s get your mental corn popping. That’s right, it’s thoughty Thursday, and you know what that means … Friday’s right around the corner!

Why trauma survivors can’t just “let it go.” The Mighty

Elena Renken: most Americans are lonely, and our workplace culture may not be helping. NPR

James Hamblin considers China’s unprecedented quarantine of Wuhan in the hope of halting the spread of coronavirus. The Atlantic

John B. Judis offers a warning from the 60s generation. The Washington Post

John Henley reports that overtourism in Europe’s historic cities sparks backlash. The Guardian

SciShow examines why humans menstruate (when most other mammals don’t).

SciShow Psych looks into REM sleep behaviour disorder.

Rebecca Heilweil explains how AI can help find opioid sellers online … and wildlife traffickers … and counterfeits. Vox

Archaeology World shares images of 14000-year-old bison sculptures found in Le Tuc D’Audoubert cave in Ariege, France.

SciShow considers the causes of crown shyness.

The mating dance of the puffin. Ze Frank

Thank you for visiting. I hope you found something to inspire your next creative project.

This weekend, I’ll be working on my next chapter update for the first month of the new decade (eee!). Until then, be well, be kind, and stay strong. The world needs your stories.

ThoughtyThursday2019

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Jan 12-18, 2020

/ Melanie Marttila

This week, I found lots of resources to get your mental corn popping.

Zwikar Oli reports for the Plaid Zebra: moss-growing concrete absorbs CO2, insulates, and serves as vertical garden.

Alex Landon considers similar installations in London: artificial trees absorb as much pollution as 275 regular trees. Secret London

Nathan Bahadursingh says that urban farming is the future of architecture. Architizer

Greta and George

Gosia Wozniacka warns about the dark side of compostable take-out containers. Eater

Alex Ross considers the past and future of the world’s oldest trees. The New Yorker

Five things ravens do. The Raven Diaries

Christian Cotroneo tells the tale of the astonished divers who encounter a massive jellyfish off the coast of England. Mother Nature Network

Chelsea Whyte explains how we can tell where a whale has travelled by the themes in its song. New Scientist

True facts about the ostrich. Ze Frank

Eben Disken: wombats are the improbable heroes of the Australian bushfires, hiding other animals in their burrows. Matador Network

Greg Hogben explains how we broke our promise to Harry. My Daughter’s Army

Melissa Pandika: why does my body jerk when I’m falling asleep? Mic

Joseph Stern shares his perspective on dying in the neurosurgical ICU. The New York Times

Kathrin Glösel: Finland ends homelessness and provides shelter for all in need. Scoop.Me

Anne Quito reviews a survey of 20,000 creatives that suggests group brainstorming is a giant waste of time. Quartz

John Pavlus: computers are learning to see in higher dimensions. Wired

Kelly Richman-Abdou shares five powerful paintings by underappreciated female artist Artemesia Gentileschi. My Modern Met

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you found something you can use to inspire your next creative project.

Until next tipsday, be well, be kind, and stay strong. The world needs your stories.

ThoughtyThursday2019

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, July 28-Aug 3, 2019

/ Melanie Marttila

And now, it’s time to get your mental corn popping.

‘They have become the new religion’: Esther Perel says we expect too much from relationships. “Out in the open” with Piya Chattopadhyay on CBC.

Why the trend of surveilling strangers online proves we are horrible. This ties in to the post I shared by Kim Fahner last week and why we should resist objectifying others for our amusement or sense of superiority. “Spark” with Nora Young on CBC.

Allie Volpe explains why kids invent imaginary friends. Guess us writers just never grew up 😉 The Atlantic

SciShow Psych looks at the differences between men and women who are diagnosed with ADHD.

Ethan Siegal: today is not 24 hours long. Forbes

Dr. Becky observes the cartwheel galaxy. Space is weird

The BBC reports on the discovery of a clay tablet on which the oldest extract of Homer’s Odyssey has been found. Struggled for a while over whether to post this in Tipsday or here on Thoughty Thursday, but the latter won out, because archeology.

Chris Dawson: North Bay unrolls its first accessible beach mat. The Northern Life

Jeffery DelViscio explains how a bionic hand helps amputees “feel” again. Scientific American

Martin Giles wonders, is AI the next big climate change threat? We have no idea. MIT Technology Review

Massive ice melt caused by heatwave over Greenland. CBC

Kent German explores the relationship between redwoods, birds, and microphones in the quest to save an endangered species. CNET

SciShow makes a dog Q&A compilation 🙂

Because tardigrades! Chubby, misunderstood, and not immortal. Journey into the microcosmos

Thanks for visiting and I hope you found some inspirational fuel for your next (or current) creative project.

Until tipsday, be well, be kind, and stay strong. The world needs your stories!

ThoughtyThursday2019

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Dec 2-15, 2018

/ Melanie Marttila

Last week, I had two skimpy links to offer. As I said, my brain refused to brain in the week following NaNoWriMo. This week, the neurons mustered, and so I have a reasonable selection of stuff to pop your mental corn 🙂

The Guardian editorial staff shares its view on editing human DNA: a bad idea, and badly executed.

This “city” for people with dementia is the future of memory care. Katherine Schwab for Fast Company.

More neuroscience with Shannon Odell. Your brain on hangovers. Inverse

 

David Paul Kirkpatrick is breathing in the light. An instruction in the “Golden Flower” meditation. Better Humans/Medium

Matt Novak: how did Mary Queen of Scots send her secret messages? Paleofuture

Lizzie Philip takes a close-up look at the most influential medical book of the 16th century. Atlas Obscura

Robert Iriondo: differences between AI and machine learning and why it matters. Data Driven Investor

Brandon Specktor reports that Earth’s mysterious “deep biosphere” harbours millions of undiscovered species. NBC

Johnson & Johnson knew for decades that asbestos lurked in its baby powder. Lisa Girion for Reuters.

Christine Ro: the psychology behind stalking. Vice

And on that disturbing note, that was thoughty Thursday.

Until next Tipsday, be well, be kind, and stay strong. The world needs your stories.

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