Blue Origin

Thoughty Thursday: Popping your mental corn, Oct 10-16, 2021

/ Melanie Marttila / 2 Comments

Welcome to thoughty Thursday, your chance to get our mental corn popping in time for the weekend!

Trone Dowd reports that the cops and paramedics involved in Elijah McClain’s death charged with homicide. Vice

Rashad Robinson: hurricane Ida’s destruction was the direct result of years of systemic racism. Salon

Howard W. French explains how Africa was erased from the history of the modern world: built on the bodies of slaves. The Guardian

Matthew Wills says that the Zoot Suit Riots were race riots. JSTOR Daily

Adeoluwa Atayero announces that the First Nations University of Canada launches journalism program. CBC

Nick Murray: Nunavut Inuit sue territorial government over right to education in Inuktut. CBC

Erin Pottie reports that IBM opens school program for Mi’kmaw students in Cape Breton. CBC

B.C. park name change recognizes ancestral home of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation. CBC

Amelia Mavis Christnot explains why Indigenous Peoples’ Day is gaining traction as an American Holiday (over Columbus Day). Second Nexus

Rowaida Abdelaziz reports that over two thirds of Muslim Americans have faced Islamophobia. The Huffington Post

Christine Byrne explains why budget cooking tips are useless for low-income families. I’m still trying to figure out if the featured video is self-consciously ironic (all-white anchors, white people featured)? The Huffington Post

Yessenia Funes wonders whether COP26 will be a climate summit or a superspreader event. Atmos

Olivia Campbell reveals that Hildegard von Bingen was all about a woman’s right to bodily autonomy. JSTOR Daily

Diana shows us something that travels faster than the speed of light. Physics Girl

Ethan Siegal reveals that the Big Bang isn’t the beginning of the universe anymore: surprise! Big Think

Chelsea Gohd reports how William Shatner was moved to tears by space launch with Blue Origin. Space.com

Ruth Hamilton rocked awake by meteorite chuck crashing into her bed. CBC

Olivia Box wonders, will we lose fall colors to climate change? I hope not. JSTOR Daily

Thanks for visiting. I hope you took away 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 18-24, 2021

/ Melanie Marttila

Thoughty Thursday is here to prepare you for the weekend by getting your mental corn popping. You know you need a bit of a boost this time of the week.

Jessica Chia reports that the lack of representation in dermatology can be deadly for people of color. Elle

Alaina Leary: disabled people have worked from home for years. Why did it take a pandemic for everyone else to start? Refinery 29

Nick Pearce: ground-penetrating radar search of Delmas residential school property to begin. Saskatoon Star Phoenix

The tragedy of the influencer. The Take

David Leadbeater: Laurentian University insolvency reflects a structural crisis in Ontario’s neoliberal university system. Academic Matters

Nadia Drake: Jeff Bezos reaches [for] space—a small step for big spaceflight dreams. National Geographic

Relive the Blue Origin “New Shepard” launch with space.com. Last week it was Branson, this week it’s Bezos (and Wally Funk—she’s the best part!). Who’s next?

Jess Romeo: space medicine for the inexperienced astronaut. JSTOR Daily

Katie Hunt reports that the Hubble Space Telescope is operational again after almost a month offline. CNN

Guy Kawasaki interviews Jodi Kantor, the prize-winning investigative reporter for The New York Times and a best-selling author who broke the Harvey Weinstein story with Megan Twohey and Ronan Farrow. Remarkable People podcast

Madeline K. Sofia, Berly McCoy, and Brit Hanson: building a shark science community for women of color. NPR

Are humans the only animals with culture? It’s okay to be smart

Shi En Kim reveals Carla Rhodes’ beautiful moth photographs. [Still think they’re creepy Muppets, but to each their own.] The Smithsonian Magazine

Thank you for visiting. I hope you took away something to inspire a future creative project.

This weekend, I should be posting my next chapter update.

Until then, be well and stay safe!

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, June 6-12, 2021

/ Melanie Marttila / 1 Comment

Let’s get your mental corn popping, shall we?

Benjamin Wallace-Wells: what do conservatives fear about critical race theory? The New Yorker

Algorithms and skin tone bias, or, being dark on “breadtube.” Kadija Mbowe, your cool, millennial aunty

Pope calls for reconciliation and healing over Kamloops residential school discovery but falls short of true apology. CBC (via Reuters)

Andrew Lupton and Kate Dubinski: what we know about the Muslim family in the fatal London, ON truck attack. CBC

Jacqueline Howard: in controversial decision, FDA approves first new Alzheimer’s disease drug in nearly 20 years. CNN

Matt Grossman reports that Jeff Bezos and his brother will be on Blue Origin’s first human space flight. The Wall Street Journal

The “slow” crisis of space junk. PBS Space Time

Joe Hernandez shares pictures of the June 10th “ring of fire” solar eclipse for those who, like me, missed it. NPR

Joe Hernandez: scientists finally know (for sure) what causes the northern lights. NPR

Amanda Parrish Morgan: The Hunt of the Unicorn tapestries present a virgin capture legend. JSTOR Daily

Why do flamingos stand on one leg? SciShow

Alex Fox reports that puppies are born ready to communicate with humans. The Smithsonian Magazine

True facts about the dangerous tick. Ze Frank

Thank you for visiting. I hope you took away 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!