curation

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Oct 19-25, 2014

/ Melanie Marttila / 3 Comments

Thoughty Thursday is all over the map this week. It’s just the kind of week we had, here in Canada.

This was the big news in Canada last week: The lone gunman who attacked Parliament Hill. CBC News.

Mother Jones on how we did with the reporting of the incident.

Our heroes:

Nathan Cirillo The Toronto Star

Patrice Vincent CBC

Kevin Vickers CBC

 

You are your own damned permission slip. This post is one of the reasons I love Justine Musk. You go girl. Hell, I go, too!

I don’t even . . . Why are people making such a fuss about Renee Zellweger’s new look? Plastic surgery shaming? WTF?

Your brain on dreams, with Michio Kaku. I love this dude. Big Think.

End the stigma surrounding mental illness.

 

The Business Insider posts 20 tips for sitting at your desk without hurting your back. I had an ergonomic assessment at work a few weeks ago and the video aligns perfectly with what I was told.

Fibromyalgia isn’t “all in the head.” The Liberty Voice.

The Cryptik Movement speaks about the consciousness of trees. This is really something.

I’m not afraid of spiders, but the Goliath bird-eating spider makes me shudder. IFLS.

The tagline heading around with this next IFLS feature was, the Scottish invented sex! A Scottish fish, that is 🙂

The strange beauty of the deep ocean. IFLS.

Are we getting closer to a green energy breakthrough? IFLS.

A working hover board? Back to the future! IFLS.

The real cyborgs: where wearable technology is taking us. The Telegraph.

Lindsey Stirling does a steampunk western video for Roundtable Rival.

 

Sadness, now. Photographer says goodbye to her beloved pooch after sixteen years.

See you Saturday with more WWC 2014 reportage (I hope).

Thoughty Thursday

Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, Oct 19-25, 2014

/ Melanie Marttila / 6 Comments

There is so much Writerly Goodness this week, I don’t know what to do with myself!

Martha Conway says, Forget heroes: Why heroines are important. Writer Unboxed.

Dave King on the wonders of Whedon. Everything I need to know about plot, I learned from Buffy. Writer Unboxed.

Dan Blank says it’s more about giving than receiving. Writer Unboxed.

Karina Sumner-Smith guests on Janice Hardy’s Fiction University. Finding rhythm and voice for a beginning that sings.

How many characters do you need? Jami Gold answers reader questions.

Piper Bayard guests on Jenny Hanson’s blog, Cowbell. Little Darlings Anonymous. I need to be a member 😉

Piper stopped by Kristen’s Lamb’s blog, too, to talk about backstory.

Story concept and story premise. Do you know the difference? K.M. Weiland cites Larry Brooks in this post and podcast combo.

Veronica Sicoe finds a strategy for NaNoWriMo.

Blurb’s Coffee & Quill interview with NaNoWriMo founder Chris Baty. There were some audio issues at the start, but there was also a lot of good information about NaNo and what you can do to prepare.

Moar podcasts from Roz Morris and Peter Snell for Surrey Hills Radio. So you want to be a writer? Check them all out!

Mary Robinette Kowal shares her outlines for Shades of Milk and Honey and Glamour in Glass. I love it when the professionals give us a little peek at how it’s done 🙂

The comma story by Terisa Folaron. Ted.ed.

 

The Oxford comma debate. Ted.ed.

 

Helen Sword says, beware of nominalizations (zombie nouns). Ted.ed.

 

Marlee Neel states the case against good and bad. Ted.ed.

 

Sarah F. Hawkins, lawyer, posts about the difference between copyright infringement and plagiarism.

Roz Morris asks, Have we forgotten what science fiction should be?

Project Hieroglyph’s push for positive science fiction. Eoghan.com.

The Wall Street Journal has a book club and Margaret Atwood just chose Ursula K. Le Guin’s A Wizard of Earthsea as the next read.

Tasneem Raja of Mother Jones interviews William Gibson.

The Sword & Laser interview with Delilah S. Dawson. Teh awesome.

 

An interview with Mary Stewart. Off the Page.

 

Jane Austen on men who refuse to hear no. The Atlantic.

J.K. Rowling pens a new Harry Potter story, just in time for Hallowe’en. Buzzfeed.

Sarah Michelle Gellar on how playing a strong female character spoiled her. Perth Now.

Matt Herron returns to the Write Practice to show how to create a setting sketch using Scrivener.

See you on Thoughty Thursday 🙂

Tipsday

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Oct 12-18, 2014

/ Melanie Marttila / 2 Comments

This week, the psychology stays light, the science is awesome, and pets will claim your heart 🙂

An illustrated guide to the introvert. Atchuup!

I love this girl’s response to bullying! Up Worthy.

A pep talk from Kid President and Grover for Socktober 🙂

 

Twelve personas that can supercharge creativity and innovation. Launch your Genius!

Intriguing and titillating TED talk on orgasm by Mary Roach.

Watch an x-ray of someone doing yoga. Design Taxi.

Tetrachromacy allows this artist to see 100 million colours (!) An creative superpower. IFLS.

Can we build a better solar cell? IFLS says, yes!

How a lunar eclipse saved Columbus. Discovery News.

The astronomy picture of the day: a full circle rainbow over Australia. NASA.

Wow. The lost forest world of Earth’s largest cave. Mysterious Universe.

How bees work together to defeat a giant wasp. IFLS.

Amazing pictures of lighthouses that have stood the test of time. EarthPorm.

A Labyrinth sequel? ZOMG! i09.

Here’s an idea whose time has come: Nova Scotia to make it illegal to abandon pets. Herald News.

What do dogs really think? Lockerdome.

Just a few more steps . . . and a few more drops. This pug has bladder capacity to spare! And a quirky sense of style 🙂

 

This little bulldog wants to howl. Kawaii! BuzzFeed.

And this sweet little schnauzer gets so excited when her girl comes home from college, she passes out! EarthPorm.

See you Saturday!

Thoughty Thursday

Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, Oct 12-18, 2014

/ Melanie Marttila / 4 Comments

Lots of writerly tools for your kit. NaNoWriMo prep, Scrivener tricks, and moar!

Catherine Ryan Howard gives us a sneak peek of Self-Printed: The Sane Person’s Guide to Self-Publishing, 3rd Edition. See why Roz Morris thinks of this book as one of her go to references 🙂

Speaking of Roz, here’s here next installment in the novels aren’t movies series: How to write great description in prose.

K.M. Weiland answers the most frequently asked question to come out of her character arcs series of posts: How do you write a character arc over a series?

We all know what a protagonist and an antagonist are (or we should), but what’s a contagonist? Katie answers that question and describes how best to use one in your novel in her weekly vlog.

Becca Puglisi posts eleven novelist-tested (writer’s) blockbusters on Writers Helping Writers.

Janice Hardy continues the NaNoWriMo prep from last week with her post on planning the middle of your novel.

And the third in Janice’s series, planning the end of your novel. Fiction University.

Jami Gold shares her thoughts on NaNo prep as well. Are you ready to start drafting?

Chuck Wendig posts about what you need to know about guns to write them right.

How to create a character sketch using Scrivener, from Matt Herron for The Write Practice.

In related news, Sherry D. Ramsey shows us how to create a submission tracker in Scrivener.

Nina Munteanu explores archetypes in the second part of her hero’s journey series.

See you on Thursday 🙂

Tipsday

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Oct 5-11, 2014

/ Melanie Marttila

Psychology is back in the mix with a pile of interesting TED Talks.

What happened to #BringBackOurGirls? World Post.

How sleep patterns have changed over the years and why we might want to change back. Collective Evolution.

Andrew Solomon: Depression, the secret we all share. TED Talk.

JD Schramm on the silence surrounding suicide. TED Talk.

Eleanor Longden shares her journey from schizophrenia back to mental health. TED Talk.

Elyn Saks on her struggle with schizophrenia and what is taught her about seeing the mentally ill with compassion and clarity. TED Talk.

Vsauce answers the question, why are we morbidly curious? Three’s actually a fair amount of science and psychology backing this one up.

 

And as a follow up, here is Ask a Mortician, on the topic of necrophelia. It’s quite tastefully done, really.

 

Looks like climate change is escalating: 35,000 walrus gather in Alaska. National Geographic.

Remember Rikki Tikki Tavi? The Smithsonian Channel shared this video of the real thing:

 

i09 asks, are we over thinking the dangers of artificial intelligence?

David Brin on the spirit of exploration: comets, Pluto, Titan, and Mars. Contrary Brin.

Jackie Chan’s best story ever? Getting thrashed by Bruce Lee in Enter the Dragon.

 

The Pentatonix cover Clean Bandit’s Rather Be:

 

Get thoughty with it, my friends 🙂

Thoughty Thursday

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Sept 28-Oct 4, 2014

/ Melanie Marttila

Some facts and some fun. Just what you were waiting for!

Valerie Strauss of The Washington Post asks the question, is homework an unnecessary evil? I can tell you, I rarely did mine, even in high school. If you’re heading for university, all you really need to learn is independent study skills and effective note taking (IMHO).

Fashion through the ages, from Viral Spell.

Looking for some information on exoplanets? This great series of graphics (artists’ renderings) from Space.com includes information (off to the right) with a read more link. Could one of these planets be the setting of your next science fiction story?

Fabulous information from Popular Mechanics on how we might actually build a space colony.

National Geographic features pictures of Palmyra Atoll. It’s the world’s largest marine reserve.

More of the National Geographic’s 2014 Photo Contest featured in The Atlantic’s In focus column.

This guy can really toot his own horn 😉 The CBC reports on a Laurier student who covers Outkast’s Hey ya! on his French horn using his Mac to loop tracks.

John Scalzi share this Mary Lambert video last week and I fell in love. Seriously. I think this might be my new anthem 🙂

Now this was useful 🙂 45 essential dog care hacks, from Lifehack.

Discovery shares pictures of kissable animals. Some of these choices might be questionable.

We’ve seen dog shaming pictures a-plenty. Well, here’s some cat shaming pictures from Pet Stuff Web that beg the question, are these cats really shamed?

Itty bitty piggies!

Thanks for coming along for the ride.

See you Saturday with more WWC2014!

Thoughty Thursday

Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, Sept 28-Oct 4, 2014

/ Melanie Marttila

I think this week was taken over by Roz Morris and Diana Gabaldon 🙂

Novels aren’t movie scripts: how to write great dialogue in prose, by Roz Morris.

Roz has been busy with Peter Snell of Barton’s Bookshop recording Masterclass radio shows for Surrey Hills Community Radio. Now they’ve made them available as podcasts, too. You’ll miss out on the musical selections, but Roz is always careful to offer the artist and song title so you can have a listen on your own.

Plus, Roz offers excellent advice for NaNoWriMo prep on Writers & Artists.

Ruth Harris has fourteen (writer’s) block busters for you on Anne R. Allen’s blog.

What if your character has no arc? K.M. Weiland discusses the differences between a flat arc and no character arc and whether or not it’s possible, let alone permissible, to write a novel about a character without an arc.

Agent Sarah Negovetich’s Hey, Sarah! In which she discusses how she works with self published authors.

 

Last week, I featured Chris Winkle’s post on Mythcreants about the heroine’s journey. Having read Maureen Murdock (both The Heroine’s Journey and The Hero’s Daughter), I was naturally interested. Now Chris has supplemented that with this post about villains who follow the heroine’s journey. Effective examples of how the heroine’s journey can be used in your novel.

Banned books week was two weeks ago, but I found this Huffington Post article interesting in retrospect: banned books by the numbers.

Maureen Ryan wrote this thoughtful article for The Huffington Post about Outlander’s wedding episode and what it means for the female viewer. Is television’s sexual revolution finally coming of age? I get to watch this tonight because the Canadian affiliate started the series two weeks late (probably by agreement). #ohcruelfate

Visit Scotland has an exclusive three part interview with Diana Gabaldon about her inspiration for the Outlander series of books and its resulting television series on Starz.

i09’s Charlie Jane Anders offers this list of ten characters that totally wasted their immortality.

Hop you enjoy these offerings, my writerly friends.

See you Thursday!

Tipsday

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

/ Melanie Marttila / 4 Comments

Fast Company presents this lovely infographic on humanity’s greatest architectural achievements since pre-history. Fascinating.

Geoglyphs found in Kazakhstan. IFLS.

How fire may cave shaped our preference for evening entertainment. The Economist.

Thirteen misconceptions about global warming from Veritasium.

 

The top ten unsolved mysteries of science. IFLS. Yes. There’s still stuff we don’t know 😉

The physics of space battles from It’s Okay to be Smart:

 

David Brin peers into the future of AI and robot brains. Contrary Brin.

Michio Kaku: Science fiction is becoming science fact. THOnline.com.

Scientists band together to Stand up to Cancer. Upworthy.

We’re getting closer to finding a solution to spinal cord injuries. IFLS. Today, rats. Tomorrow, the world 🙂

Your brain makes decisions while you sleep. IFLS. This explains the 3 a.m. epiphany 🙂

Madness and the muse from the Chronicle of Higher Education. Is there a real connection between mental illness and creativity, or are we focusing on the wrong data? As a writer with depression who knows other writers with depression, I’m predisposed to the positive correlation. As Mr. Science likes to remind me, however, correlation is not scientific proof, and the numbers can be manipulated to say just about anything the person collecting them wants. Keep that in mind when you hear about “the latest study on . . .” whatever. While math is the basis of physics, and therefore the hard sciences, statistics tends to be the basis for many of the so-called soft sciences (psychology, sociology, etc.). Numbers can be manipulated by the clever statistician. I’m not saying they always are, but it’s something to think about.

A blood test for depression shows that the disease is not a matter of will. The Huffington Post.

This has been all over the web in the last week: Emma Watson’s speech at the UN on achieving gender equality. #HeForShe

 

There are seven kinds of English surnames according to Ancestry.com. Which do you have? Though my surname is Finnish, there’s a town in Finland called Marttila. It means St. Martin. So I have a surname based on a place.

Over 25 applications that can make your life easier from the TED blog.

Three Clydesdales born at Warm Springs Ranch. KSDK.com.

And, kind of related, Budweiser’s latest anti-drinking and driving ad is a real tear-jerker. 93.1 WPOC.

This cat is an opera singer. Just add scratchies.

 

Batman Evolution from The Piano Guys. This is just cool. And it gave me the shivers.

 

Jimmy Fallon has so much fund with his guests. In this clip, the fabulous Robert Plant!

 

Sudbury has seen a lot of film crews in the last few years. Here’s a wee news clip about the latest shoot. CTV News Northern Ontario.

And that’s a wrap.

See you Saturday 🙂

Thoughty Thursday

Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, Sept 21-27, 2014

/ Melanie Marttila / 3 Comments

I keep catching myself as I write these posts. Though I know it’s September, I keep on wanting to type August in the date (!) And here we are, almost at the end of September and I haven’t gotten used to typing the month yet.

Just a wee testimony, I think, to just how tired I am these days 😛 That, or just how crappy a summer it’s been here in northern Ontario. I’m still waiting for a few nice days. Just a few. Can we have August weather in October, please?

Find out why K.M. Weiland says you’ve been writing sentences incorrectly all your life. All about the impact sentence.

The wrong way to write a smart character. Katie gets feisty about Sir Kenneth Branagh’s Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit.

Jami Gold explores how we can balance emotion in our writing without telling too much.

Laura Drake on the conscious use of adverbs. Writers in the Storm.

Dan Blank wants to help you create capacity on Writer Unboxed.

Chris Winkle shares how to use the heroine’s journey (as outlined by Maureen Murdock) in your novel. Mythcreants.

This is an older i09 post that saw a little renewed circulation this week: The seven deadly sins of religion in science fiction.

33 books to read to celebrate banned books week. BuzzFeed.

Shakespeare’s Hamlet was Irish, not Danish. IrishCentral.

Slow reading helps your brain and eases stress. The Wall Street Journal.

An old favourite from The Oatmeal: how to use a semicolon.

Have a fabulous week, everyone!

Tipsday

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Sept 14-20, 2014

/ Melanie Marttila

Wow, I wasn’t very thoughty this week at all (!) Oh well, enjoy the puppies.

BBC News reports on new discoveries regarding the death of Richard III.

Bloom’s Taxonomy infographic and explanation on Eudemic.

Who better to protect a tiny baby than a huge dog? Wimp.com.

I actually found these underwater dogs rather creepy . . . Mother Nature Network.

I saw this video on Canada AM last week, and then what should show up in my feed? Yup. Baby bear cuteness.

 

Did you enjoy them? The puppies, I mean? And the bear?

Be back on Saturday with more WWC2014 and, egads, a pupdate.

Thoughty Thursday