CBC

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Feb 22-28, 2015

/ Melanie Marttila / 2 Comments

Sadness of the week: Leonard Nimoy’s death. The New York Times.

What Mr. Nimoy taught Tobias Buckell.

Getting grief right. The New York Times.

A friend posted a lovely little bit from Desiderata. I wanted to share the whole piece with you, so here it is:

Desiderata

The pink kitchen that got lost in time. Little things.

19 creepily gorgeous abandoned places in Canada. Buzzfeed.

Would any of these designs be feasible? Cool? Yes. Gizmodo.

Do we really want to know if we’re alone in the universe? The Washington Post.

Bill C-51 is Canada’s anti-terrorist legislation. This piece on CBC’s The Current is an interesting listen. Critics sound out, including professor of literature, Allan Weiss, who discusses the dystopian implications.

What the Oscars can teach us about the craft of being good. Fusion.

 

Empowering women means empowering humanity. The UN Women channel on YouTube.

 

This was my Friday: I can’t adult today. PandaWhale.

Looking forward to the weekend already!

See you on Saturday for the Next Chapter.

Thoughty Thursday

Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, Feb 22-28, 2015

/ Melanie Marttila

Roz Morris asks the question, can writing be taught?

In a related article . . . things Ryan Boudinot can say about MFA programs now that he no longer teaches in one. The Stranger.

Now, this started up a bit of a kerfuffle. Though the following two posts by Chuck Wendig belong to the current week, I’m offering them as a counterpoint to Boudinot’s. Some people agreed with Boudinot and some with Wendig. Some took exception to the whole conversation. You may judge for yourselves.

K.M. Weiland explores the six elements of an effective story premise in her weekly post and podcast.

And her Wednesday vlog: how to drive your readers wild with hints and hooks without frustrating them. It’s a delicate balance.

Dan Blank posts on becoming a student of your own writing process on Writer Unboxed. I love process-y stuff. This was “in my wheelhouse.”

Heather Webb explores the science of character creation (lots of resources). Writer Unboxed.

The Kobo Writing Life podcast: Mark Leslie interviews Kristine Kathryn Rusch.

This one goes along with my post on Gatekeepers, rejection, and resilience: Ten of the reasons your manuscript might be rejected. Ruth Harris on Anne R. Allen’s blog.

And . . . 12 famous authors on literary rejection. Aerogramme Writers’ Studio.

Tor.com’s Ilana C. Myer deconstructs the strong, female character in SFF.

Okay, I’m gonna link dump here, but each one of these posts on Jim C. Hines’s web site on the topic of representation is well worth the read. Expand your brains.

How to know if you’re really a writer. Authors Publish.

The ALLi watchdog examines the merits of Amazon versus Apple.

May 2, 2015 will be the first ever Canadian Authors for Indies Day. Publisher’s Weekly.

30 books that were challenged by censors. Infographic on CBC Books.

Why How to get away with murder is TV’s most progressive show. The Daily Beast. It’s great storytelling. Also, I watch TV and movies for craft. This belongs in the writing tips post. So sez me.

And that’s all the Writerly Goodness I gots for this week.

See you Thoughty Thursday!

Tipsday

Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, Jan 4-10, 2015

/ Melanie Marttila

Good things come in little packages?

Publishers Weekly: The print book is making a comeback.

Why the self-published ebook is no longer the new query. Anne R. Allen.

K.M. Weiland’s most common writing mistakes series, part 37: Unnecessary filler.

In Katie’s Wednesday vlog, she talks about the one rule about backstory that matters.

Roz Morris and Peter Snell co-host “So you want to be a writer?” on Surrey Hills Radio. Listen to them all!

Canadian authors share their New Year’s resolutions. Canada Writes – CBC.

The 50 most anticipated books of the first half of 2015. The Globe and Mail.

David Bowie answers the Proust Questionnaire. Brainpickings.

Access Hollywood asks Sam Heughan and Catriona Balfe about the second half of Outlander, season one.

Check out these cool maps of fictional places from BookRiot.

Can we answer my first question, “yes”?

See you on Thoughty Thursday!

Tipsday

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Dec 21-27, 2014

/ Melanie Marttila

Sixteen tips for dealing with seasonal affective disorder (SAD). The Toast.

Anna Maria Tremonti of CBC’s The Current interviews psychologist Brian Little about personality types.

The elusive art of inner wholeness. Parker Palmer on Brainpickings.

Wendell Barry on solitude and why pride and despair are the two great enemies of creativity. Brainpickings.

The power of applied physics. i09.

Crows understand analogies. So much for calling someone a bird brain 😉 IFLS.

How to find faster than light particles. IFLS.

Say hello to our new galactic neighbour. IFLS.

The dominant life form in the cosmos is probably superintelligent robots. Really? Motherboard.

American management explained. Tickld.

25 of the most creative sculptures you’ll ever see. EarthPorm.com

25 wild parenting moments from EarthPorm.com.

Looking back at Christmas with a couple of videos.

The Pogues:

 

And your Christmas kawaii:

 

It may be January first, but Janus looks back as well as forwards 😉

Have a great rest of the week, y’all!

Thoughty Thursday

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Sept 7-13, 2014

/ Melanie Marttila / 2 Comments

Once again, IFLS seems to have taken over Thoughty Thursday. I guess I really do fucking love science 😉

Most undergraduates are now being taught by poorly-paid, part-timers. CBC.

Ten surprising benefits of Earl Grey tea. Lifehack.

The Earth’s new address: planet Earth, Solar System, Milky Way, Laniakea. IFLS.

Ten myths about space we need to bust. IFLS.

Underground map reveals the secrets of Stonehenge and nearby “superhenge.” IFLS.

Less than 1% of Sweden’s trash ends up in landfills. We should all aim for this! IFLS.

Your blood type could affect your memory. IFLS.

Tor.com. Improved methods identify half of Viking warriors as women. Are we surprised?

The Daily Mail: how DNA evidence helped track down the identity of Jack the Ripper.

How to stop your brain from hijacking your goals. IttyBiz.

Vi Hart. They became what they beheld: medium, message, and YouTubery.

 

Thirty old, but useful, names for parts of the body. Mental Floss.

Don’t you just feel like this every Monday morning?

 

This young pug loves his ball pit.

 

32 animals being total jerks. Diply.

Hope you thought thoughts, and laughed laughs 🙂

See you Saturday!

Thoughty Thursday

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Aug 3-9, 2014

/ Melanie Marttila / 2 Comments

It appears to be I Fucking Love Science! (IFLS) week again.

This surfing seal is a cutie. Guess what? IFLS.

Remains of extinct giant penguin discovered. My question: how do they know its head looked like that? IFLS.

The headline could have used a little editorial assistance. 60 years after his death, Alan Turing’s morphogens help solve the mystery of how our digits developed. Yup. Moar IFLS.

Second super moon of the summer showed up on August 10. IFLS.

Theoretically, this means of interstellar propulsion could work. Thinking spacey thoughts yet? IFLS.

The Smithsonian answers the question, what happens to your body in space without a space suit?

 

Literary link here: Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander connection with newly discovered neolithic ruins in Scotland. National Geographic.

“Backroads” Bill Steer explores northern Ontario’s dolmen stones. CBC.

We had not one, but two earthquakes in Sudbury on August 5th. One was a 3.8 (!) They’re not frequent, but they’re freaky 🙂

This Shai Reshef guy has a really good idea: accessible, affordable education. TED.

LEGO for science geeks girls! Sure wish I had this kind of stuff when I was a kid. Barbie and her friends had to make do (I dressed them up in “costumes” and made them popsicle stick “swords”—maybe the LEGO ladies wouldn’t have attracted me, after all).

Feed your brain. It’ll give you ideas for teh stories 🙂

Thoughty Thursday

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, July 6-12, 2014

/ Melanie Marttila

Reach in this week’s goody bag . . .

Rebecca Brown took a daily selfie over the six years she battled depression. This video is the result. ViralNova.

Interesting article from the Psychiatric Times about our fascination with violence and why even some psychiatrists aren’t immune (well, they’re human, aren’t they?).

Why the internet of things will disrupt everything. Wired. Like this? Then I’d highly recommend the CBC podcast of Spark. Nora Young talks about the internet of things every week 🙂

IFLScience! The earth’s electromagnetic field is weakening. Is it getting ready to “flip”?

Moar IFLScience! Antioxidants make some cancers worse. Is it time for more research?

Discovery News. This hard drive sniffing hound helps fight child porn. Good dog!

Decoding the sign language of chimpanzees. Phys.org

In related news, chimps also like wearing “jewellery.” Daily Mail Online.

Bill Steer, A.K.A. Backroads Bill, looks for evidence of fairies in northern Ontario pictographs. Do you believe? CBC’s Morning North.

Poor dear. Elephant freed after 50 years of servitude. I hate animal cruelty in any form. Diply.

Want a keyboard with a sense on nostalgia? This darling might be for you. Bored Panda.

What did you grab, or rather, what grabbed you?

Just thought of another reason to like Thoughty Thursday: tomorrow’s FRIDAY!!!!!!

Have a good one people. See you Saturday.

Thoughty Thursday

Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, June 29-July 5, 2014

/ Melanie Marttila / 2 Comments

Heading off to yoga shortly, so getting this week’s offerings up all hasty like.

Despite the title, K.M. Weiland offers writers some comfort: Why every story you write is a guaranteed failure.

C.H. Griffin posts about what Firefly can teach us about writing. Love Joss Whedon and Firefly, so this geek was caught at the title 😉

Infuse your fiction with Donald Maass on Writer Unboxed.

Ruth Harris blew me away with all of these writerly resources, many of them free!

Neuromarketing advises us to forget the fold. Interesting news for those of us who have usually posted loooong.

Roz Morris counsels a young aspirant about what path she should take to become a writer. This is good advice for anyone considering taking a course, workshop, or degree to bolster their “qualifications.”

The CBC’s list of the 100 novels that make us proud to be Canadian.

Brainpickings presents the greatest books of all time, as voted by 125 famous authors.

Why people in the 19th century thought reading fiction was bad for you. The Huffington Post.

A TED Ed video on the art of metaphor by Jane Hirshfield.

Four lessons in creativity from Julie Burstein. A TED Talk.

And that she be it.

Tipsday

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz May 25-31, 2014

/ Melanie Marttila

First, a little titter (get your minds out of the gutter–or don’t, if you like it there–I just didn’t mean it that way).

The acronym S.H.I.T. applies to those Thursdays when you get up joyfully, thinking it’s actually Friday. Then, your spouse turns to you and says, Sorry Honey, It’s Thursday. SHIT. So, Phil and I have taken to calling Thursday, turd’s day.

Second, a little edumacation.

SHIT, in the example above is, in fact, an acronym. It forms a pronounceable word. CBC, on the other hand, which stands for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, is an initialism, because you can’t make a word out of it. This is the difference between an acronym and an initialism. Which to you use more of every day? The latter, I’ll bet.

It’s funny. Spell check doesn’t recognize the word ‘initialism.’

So on to the thoughty, already!

__________________________________________________________________

In the wake of last week’s shooting, Chuck Wendig was moved to write this post.

Pachamama invites you to explore how mindfulness helps you deal with negative thoughts.

This tiny potato might help too. Emily’s Diary. Do all the things.

Meteorology unveils archaeology near Galway, Ireland. Irish Central.

And again, from Irish Central, a 5000 year old monument is vandalized.

The Icarus is a worldship currently in research and development. It’s darned cool science, too.

Jake Dunsbridge does a spot on imitation of Matt Smith in his last moments as the Doctor.

 

What can I say? It wasn’t a terribly thoughty week, I guess.

It’s all writerly goodness, though.

Here’s hoping something twigs, inspires, or simply entertains.

Thoughty Thursday

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz April 27-May 3, 2014

/ Melanie Marttila

Thoughty ThursdayThis week, a recipe for inspiration. For your consideration.

A pinch of introspection. How we know who we are. Joshua Knobe on BrainPickings.

A spoonful of introversion. 30 Problems only introverts will understand from Tickld.

A wee tipple of a comic on what to do when you’re feeling overwhelmed.

A taste of Neil Gaiman’s anti-bullying sentiments. Difference is magic.

A little edumacation on autism. What we know, and what we don’t know. Wendy Chung’s TED talk.

 

A smidgen of imagery. The 2014 National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest. The Atlantic.

A fair bit of travel. Distractify’s 25 cities your should visit in your lifetime.

Too much of one place I wouldn’t want to go. The forecast calls for spiders, from I fucking love science.

Some physical activity. Walking leads to increased creativity. The American Psychological Association.

A heaping serving of mortality. I guess I was feeling a little morbid this week.

And … to make it all better, and because I love you, a sweet bit of PUPPY STAMPEDE!

Mix it all together and what do we have? You tell me, folks 😉

It’s all Writerly Goodness.