conservation

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, April 18-24, 2021

/ Melanie Marttila

It’s time, once again, to get your mental corn popping.

Derek Chauvin guilty of murder and manslaughter in the death of George Floyd. Justice served. CBC

Vanessa Romo: Ma’Khia Bryant shot by Columbus police. NPR

Aymann Ismail says, there’s a reason this keeps happening in Minnesota. Slate

Frederick Joseph: the fact that the officer who shot Daunte Wright is a white woman matters. White supremacy isn’t just about white men. Cosmopolitan

Mitch Dudek: Adam Toledo remembered as a kid with a big imagination and an affinity for shows about zombies. Chicago Sun Times

Madeline Holcombe and Dakin Andone: the US has reported at least 50 mass shootings since Atlanta. CNN

Robert P Baird examines the invention of whiteness: the long history of a dangerous idea. The Guardian

Lauren Frayer relates how India went from a ray of hope to a world record for the most covid cases in a single day. NPR

Gina Kolato explains how Kati Kariko helped shield the world from coronavirus. The New York Times

David Treuer says, return national parks to the tribes. The Atlantic

How ocean currents work (and how we’re breaking them). It’s okay to be smart

Emma Newburger: here’s what countries pledged at Biden’s global climate summit. NBC

Molly Taft presents the history of Earth Day, from radical roots to elementary school classrooms. Teen Vogue

$20 million in NOSM money in jeopardy because of Laurentian insolvency, med school dean says. CBC

Angela Gemmill reports that the Laurentian University financial crisis is not typical of other northeastern Ontario post-secondary institutions. CBC

Ingenuity takes flight! NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

And then, the Perseverance rover extracts first oxygen from Mars. NASA

Nadia Drake: SpaceX launch kicks off regular commercial flights into orbit. National Geographic

New warp drive possibilities. PBS Space Time

Nikk Ogasa reports that nuclear fallout is showing up in honey decades after bomb tests. Poor bees! Science

Marie M. Daly, the unsung hero behind the building blocks of DNA. SciShow

Kara McKenna: how Canada is trying to protect its last three spotted owls. The Guardian

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

This weekend, I hope to post my monthly next chapter update.

Until then, be well and stay safe!

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Jan 31-Feb 6, 2021

/ Melanie Marttila

Happy Friday eve. It’s time to get your mental corn popping.

Former Columbus police officer Adam Coy indicted for murder in shooting of Andre’ Hill. Will justice prevail? Time will tell. WTOL 11 News

William Wan reports that coronavirus kills far more Hispanic and Black children than white youths, according to the CDC. Yes, this is from last September, but it speaks to the next article I’ll share. The Washington Post

Yueqi Yang: New York City initial vaccine data show deep race disparity. Bloomberg

Grace Hauck announces that Black Lives Matter nominated for Nobel Peace Prize for carrying forward “a movement of racial justice.” USA Today

Then, Terje Solsvik and Gwladys Fouche announce that US voting rights activist Stacy Abrams also nominated for Nobel Peace Prize. Reuters

David Crary reports that the ACLU elects its first Black president. Associated Press

Canada labels the Proud Boys and other neo-Nazi groups as terrorists. CBC News

Hanna Beech reports that Daw Aung Sun Suu Kyi is detained amid coup. Several countries have already spoken out against the move despite Myanmar’s problematic human rights record (read Rohinga genocide). The New York Times

Mohammed Elnaiem: what was the Zanj Rebellion? JSTOR Daily

Jenny Gross and Melena Ryzik reveal that Evan Rachel Wood accuses Marilyn Manson of abuse. #metoo The New York Times

Amy Judd reports that Amanda Todd’s accused cyberbully extradited to Canada to face charges. Global News

Why some people can’t listen to music while they work. SciShow Psych

Heidi Ulrichsen: financially struggling Laurentian says filing for court protection was ‘best path forward’ as it restructures. Sudbury.com

Mary Winston Nicklin: Parisians want to recover legendary river now covered in concrete. National Geographic

Foxes might use magnetic fields to hunt. SciShow

Jan Wesner Childs shares the massive coral colony found in American Samoa. The Weather Channel

True facts about tardigrades. Because TARDIGRADES! Ze Frank

Karen McVeigh reports that sea level rise could be worse than feared. The Guardian

Damian Carrington says that plant-based diets are crucial to saving wildlife globally. Time to consider going vegetarian? The Guardian

Thanks for spending some time with me, and I hope you took away something to inspire your next work in progress.

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, April 16-22, 2017

/ Melanie Marttila

I hope something in this grab bag gets your mental corn popping! On with the thoughty!

Heather MacDougall explores the pagan roots of Easter. The Guardian

Zdravko Cvijetic lists thirteen things you need to give up if you want to be successful. Medium

George Monbiot: neolibralism encourages loneliness and that’s wrenching society apart. [Mel’s note: this introvert says being alone is not necessarily lonely. Keep the distinction in mind as you read.] The Guardian

For balance: Michael Harris promotes the benefits of solitude. The Walrus

Alice Klein reports that creative people see and process the world differently. New Scientist

Tracy Moore says, we have to talk about women who regret having children. Jezebel

Kat Chow: the “model minority” myth is again used to drive a wedge between Asians and blacks. NPR

Itai Palti thinks that the next industrial revolution will be driven by human creativity, not machines. We can always hope. Quartz

D.T. Max reviews how humans have shaped our evolution. National Geographic

Why are you so tired? ASAP Science

 

Following up on last week’s postmodernist post, have a look at an animated introduction to Roland Barthes’ Mythologies. Learn how to deconstruct popular culture. Open Culture

Carol Off interviews biologist David George Haskell about the songs of the trees. CBC

April 22 was Earth Day, so here are some topical posts:

See you on the weekend. Be well until then.

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