dogs

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Jan 15-21, 2017

/ Melanie Marttila

Another small curation this week. With all those #alternatetruths out there, I guess the world isn’t feeling too thoughty 😦 Or maybe that’s just me.

Timothy B. Lee gets a bird’s eye view of Women’s Marches all over the US. Vox

Sarah Kaplan reports on the astonishing science behind fairy rings in the desert. The Washington Post

Rae Paoletta interviews Dr. Chandra Prescod-Weinstein about the importance of Hidden Figures. Gizmodo

Nunavut’s 96 year old seamstress models her clothes and advocates for traditional design. Priscilla Hwang for the CBC.

Emma Young: Iceland knows how to stop teen substance abuse, but the rest of the world isn’t listening. Mosaic

Phil Plait offered this lovely astronomical metaphor to those saddened by inauguration day: if you need strength, be like Daphnis. Slate

Katy Koontz considers fireflies: a surreal synchronized wave of light. BBC

Emily Laurence: what to do when meditation doesn’t work for you. I must admit, I’m not a good meditater. Well and Good

Samoyed sings while squeezing toy. #sammytude

 

All the best.

See you on the weekend for more WorldCon reportage!

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Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Jan 8-14, 2017

/ Melanie Marttila

It’s like, wow (it’s like right now)! Sorry, I have a Beck ear worm 😉

The Kounotori electrodynamic tether hopes to displace space debris and clear the upper atmosphere. Bill Chappell for NPR.

Matt Novak replays an interview with David Bowie in which he argues the point about the subversive nature of the internet. I miss starman 😦 Paleofuture

Imogen Heap’s Mi.Mu gloves.

 

Dan Nosowitz discovers why Canadians say “eh.” Altas Obscura

ASAP Thought debates early birds vs. night owls.

 

Timothy Joseph Elzinga captures an amazing photograph of light pillars. Marina von Stackleberg for the CBC.

Listen closely to what this crow says 😉 Best Source of Fun

Bernese Mountain pup vs. lemon.

 

Here’s hoping that something in this selection popped your mental corn. Get those creative connections going.

And let me know if anything comes of it.

Be well until the weekend.

thoughtythursday2016

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Dec 18-24, 2016

/ Melanie Marttila / 2 Comments

The holiday edition of thoughty Thursday will help get your mental corn a-poppin’ after your turkey coma wears off 😉

Was Hildegard of Bingen right about the herbal cures she proposed? Medievalists.net

Sarah Sloat reports on how evolution made really smart people long to be loners. Inverse

Lady Gaga opens up about her PTSD. Good Is

Anna Lovind: avoid the bad and you’ll miss out on the good.

The first female doctor in Britain spent 56 years disguised as a man. Lauren Young for Atlas Obscura.

Nicolas DiDomizio introduces us to the Purple-Red Scale, a new way to understand the sexuality spectrum. Mic

Mike Murphy reports on the world’s first solar panel paved road. Quartz

Las Vegas is now powered entirely by renewable energy. Avery Thompson for Popular Mechanics.

Apparently, there’s a massive metal dragon hiding inside the Earth’s outer core. IFLS

Bob MacDonald reports on climate change, as seen from space. CBC

Phil Plait wishes us a happy solstice with this video of 24 hours of light. Slate

And, for the non-science-y among you, here is the magical history of Yule, the winter solstice celebration.

Enjoy this lovely video by Angie Pickman: the longest night.

I must commend the Welsh for having some of the strangest traditions. A rhyming, skeletal horse comes a-knocking? Allison Meier shares the tale on Hyperallergic.

Hudson, a pup nailed to a rail road tie and abandoned, gets a prosthetic paw.

 

And just to end on a light note, here’s a golden retriever pup playing with a door stop.

 

Come on back on Saturday for my last post of the year. It’s all about class and equality in fantasy and science fiction. Yes, it’s another WordlCon 2016 report 🙂

Be well, be kind, and be loved. Virtual hugs!

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Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Oct 16-22, 2016

/ Melanie Marttila

Let’s get that mental corn a-poppin’!

Carol Mulligan explores the lore of the pour. The Sudbury Star

What are dreams? Drake Baer shares five of humanity’s best explanations for dreams. Science of Us

Anna Lovind: the shameless introvert.

Suzanne Lucas to employers: please stop punishing your employees for being introverted. Inc.

UpWorthy recommends Marzi’s cartoons to help others relate to intorversion and anxiety.

The Born Again Minimalist examines the gaslighting of the millennial generation.

Transgender rights bill passes key commons vote and heads to committee. The Globe and Mail

Too sweet, or too shrill? The double bind for women. Shankar Vedantam hosts the Hidden Brain podcast for NPR.

The transformative power of Moko. Michelle Duff for Broadly/Vice.

Cath Pound considers the great women artists that history forgot. BBC

Artist Toby Allen, who suffers from anxiety, illustrates mental illnesses as monsters. Bored Panda

Regina activists place warning labels on indigenous Hallowe’en costumes. CBC

I’m just going to leave this here. To the new culture cops, everything is appropriation. Cathy Young for the Washington Post.

Avaneesh Pandey: self-awareness may be a side effect of the brain trying to maximize entropy. International Business Times

Ben Paynter shares news about how the world is slowly winning the fight against Malaria. Fast Company

Sarah Knapton reports on how tool-making monkeys are prompting scientists to reconsider human evolution. The Telegraph

Bec Crew: scientists accidentally discover the process that turns CO2 into ethanol. This could change the world. Science Alert

Ross Pomeroy explains why Bill Nye changed his mind about GMOs. Real Clear Science

The mystery of the Bermuda Triangle may finally be solved . . . by meteorology. Cory Charlton for The New York Post.

Loren Grush explains how the ExoMars spacecraft will make its way to the surface of Mars. The Verge

Catch Space.com’s coverage of the landing and other astro-news.

Maddie Stone: Pluto’s skies look more Earth-like than we’d imagined. Gizmodo

A spiral galaxy defies the cosmic flow. In an expanding universe, it’s actually getting closer to us. Also: how big is Proxima Centauri’s planet? Later in the week, we learn that the Schiaparelli lander (crash) site can be seen from orbit. Phil Plait for Slate.

Can the multiverse explain the course of human history? Andrew Crummey for Aeon.

Puppers! Buzzfeed

Alex and Jumpy, the parkour dog 🙂

 

Just a reminder, this is your penultimate thoughty Thursday prior to my #NaNoWriMo break.

I’ll see you next Thursday, but after that, you won’t get your weekly dose of thoughty until December.

Respect your priorities.

Be well.

All my (virtual) love.

Mel

Thoughty Thursday

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Oct 2-8, 2016

/ Melanie Marttila

Thoughty Thursday’s all over the map!

The Vintage News reports that Amelia Earhart’s remains may have been found on an island.

Gabriel Samuels reports on a piece of engraved wood that suggests a Persian taught math in Japan 1,000 years ago. The Independent

Medievalists.net compiled this comprehensive list of online resources for researching the Black Death.

Medievalists.net shared this entertaining piece on Viking nicknames. My favourite? Eystein Foul-Fart 🙂

And, for the hat trick, Medievalists.net explains why cats were hated in medieval Europe.

An oldie from Barbara G. Walker of Church and State (2008!): local wise women who carried on ancient traditions were exterminated by Christianity.

Margaret Rhodes invites us to obsess over this infographic about the history of alternative music. Wired

Jonathan Jones looks at the legacy of painter Artemesia Gentileschi. The Guardian

Azeen Ghorayshi reports that transgender children as young as three are getting the help they need. Buzzfeed

Katrina Schwartz wonders why we’re so obsessed with teaching kids cursive handwriting. Mind/Shift

America is obsessed with happiness and it’s making everyone miserable. Ruth Whippman for Vox.

What it’s like to have “high-functioning” anxiety. The Mighty

 

Baby Boomers may be more susceptible to treatment-resistant depression. Anna Gorman for CNN.

Myke Cole writes about PTSD. This is from a few years ago (2013) but it’s still relevant.

Dominik Parisien shares his experience with Alice in Wonderland Syndrome. Uncanny

Justin Gammill lists ten things to keep in mind when loving a highly creative person. I heart intelligence

Paul Stamits talks about how fantastic fungi can save the world.

 

Bees are demonstrating problem-solving and transmission of knowledge. Daily Science

Scientists declare the dawn of the human-influenced epoch. Damian Carrington for The Guardian.

AI and deep machine learning are changing your life. Roger Parloff for Fortune.

What Emma Thompson learned from spending a week in the arctic. Time

Beware of dog, indeed. Upshout

Adieu until Saturday.

Be well until then 🙂

Thoughty Thursday

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Sept 18-24, 2016

/ Melanie Marttila

The thoughty is gaining strength again.

The Golden clock: how one simple time hack can increase your happiness at work. Steve Farber for Inc.

Eric Barker explains how mindfulness really works. The Week

Anna Lovind explores the truth about procrastinators and overachievers.

The Dalai Lama redefines the word terrorist. Patheos

Lolly Daskal lists seven reasons employees quit, even when they like their jobs. Inc.

Katharine Trendacosta lists this year’s Emmy winners, including Tatiana Maslany (eeee!). i09

Rami Malek is the Emmy’s first non-white best actor winner in 18 years. Tahirah Hairston for Fusion.

Toronto’s new street signs present the indigenous history of street names. CBC

A new generation suffers from mercury poisoning at Grassy Narrows. CBC

A DNA study confirms that indigenous Australians are the most ancient civilisation on Earth. Hannah Devlin for The Guardian.

The US faces a scathing UN human rights review. Natasja Sheriff for Aljazeera America.

Laura Kastner explores the boy code and toxic masculinity. This is another reason why everyone needs to be a feminist. Parent Map

Chelsea G. Summers: the politics of pockets. Racked

France has banned plastic cups, plates, and cutlery. Shehab Khan for The Independent.

Ancient Persians built really effective ice houses. The Vintage News

The Vintage News shares the good reasons why castle stairs were built spiralling clockwise.

Ross Kenneth Urkin reports on the forgotten Jewish pirates of Jamaica. The Smithsonian

Farnam Street shares The Feynman Technique, the best way to learn anything.

George Dvorsky reports that scientists have finally figured out why tardigrades are so indestructible. Gizmodo

No, NASA did not just change your astrological sign. Ria Misra for Gizmodo.

Futurism shares an infographic on human evolution into the near and far future.

Jennifer Ouellette: quantum cat experiment captured on camera. Gizmodo

Allyson Souza shares seven reasons your dog should sleep in your bed. Little Things

Dogs vs. stairs. Petcha

 

Here’s hoping your mental corn is well and truly popped.

See you Saturday for the September edition of the next chapter.

Thoughty Thursday

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Sept 11-17, 2016

/ Melanie Marttila

Time to get your mental corn a-poppin’!

Anna Lovind wants you to find the vision that wants to be born through you.

Kristen Lamb takes aim at the fashion industry.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: we should all be feminists. TEDX Euston.

 

Illustrator Rasneth (Razzy) shows bros why everyone needs feminism. Bust

Daphne Patai: how diversity came to mean “downgrading the west.” Minding the Campus

Throat singer Tanya Tagaq combats indigenous stereotypes. Liz Przybylski for KCET.

Exorbitant food prices on the James Bay coast mean that children are going hungry. Olivia Stefanovich for CBC.

The Irena Sendler story.

 

Sweden is officially moving to a six-hour work day.

 

The wreckage of Sir John Franklin’s HMS Terror may have been found. Garrett Hinchey for CBC.

Phil Plait features Xkcd’s latest comic on global warming. Slate

Anna Nowogrodzki shares a first glimpse of a black hole being born from a star’s remains. New Scientist

Ria Misra reports on new evidence that points to a different theory for the moon’s formation. Gizmodo

The Martian landscape looks like Utah. Phil Plait for Slate.

Wasn’t sure where to put this . . . creepy. David Brown reports on the discovery of a skeleton that points to cannibalism in the Jamestown colony. The Washington Post

Photographer, Lorenzo Montezemolo, takes enchanting long exposure shots of fog over California. My Modern Met

Elyse Wanshel lists ten ways dogs show they love you. The Little Things

Hugs and stuff, ‘cause you’re all grand, you are!

See you Saturday for some movie madness and some series discoveries (midseason follies).

Thoughty Thursday

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Feb 28-March 5, 2016

/ Melanie Marttila / 2 Comments

The days are getting longer. I must think on solar power 😉

Jessica Lahey explores how the focus on academic achievement in schools can lead to failure. The Atlantic.

No, honey. You can’t be anything you want to be, but that’s all right. The Washington Post.

The men of the Oscars humiliate brilliant costume designer, Jenny Beavan. Heather Mallick for The Toronto Star.

New York Governor, Andrew Cuomo, bans “conversion therapy.” Several other states have already done so, but this barbaric practice needs to be abolished. Now. The American Psychiatric Association.

Monarch butterfly numbers are on the rise over winter. YAY! The Toronto Star.

These orphaned crows return to check in on their adoptive human family every year. UPI.

Why do dogs tilt their heads when we speak to them? Short answer: nobody knows for sure. Entertaining post, though. IFLS.

An ancestor of the domestic cat chose humans, not the other way around. Seriously? Hasn’t this always been the way with cats? Samme Chittum for Life with Cats.

This jaguar is blissing out!

 

Jill Suttie shares five ways nature can help you become kinder, happier, and more creative. Greater Good.

What’s the one thing you need to be truly happy? Read on and find out 😉 Inc.

Yes. This is a laundry commercial. #sharetheload

 

A photographer visited a lost, Mongolian tribe and took these amazing pictures. Shareably.

Online parish records will change the way we research genealogy. Irish Central.

Allison Meier shares fantastic images of holloways, roads that have been tunnelled into the earth over time. Atlas Oscura.

Medieval oaks found in Winston Churchill’s old back garden at Blenheim Palace. The Daily Mail Online.

Wales Online features 33 amazing castles in Wales. Though the article calls them Welsh castles, a kind reader pointed out to me that many of these castles were actually built by the English. Po-tay-to, po-tah-to. Seriously cool.

Phil Plait explains leap days and how they work. Because astronomy. Slate.

Astronomers posit that the moon was created by a head on collision between Earth and a protoplanet. UCLA science and technology.

See you Saturday!

Thoughty Thursday

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Jan 11-17, 2015

/ Melanie Marttila / 3 Comments

Let’s start with a moment of silence. Please use that time to look at these images from Paris in the wake of the terrorist attack. The Boston Globe.

 

Fast Company asks, what is your beautiful question of 2015?

The subtle art of not giving a fuck. This post by Mark Hanson was shared by Delilah S. Dawson. It’s pure awesomesause.

And here is one of my favourite memes on the subject:

Field of Fucks

Canva shares six ways to stay creative under pressure.

Mary Jaksh of Write to Done compiled this list of creativity posts and articles.

Why not everyone who tries drugs becomes an addict. IFLS.

Bell’s Let’s Talk campaign takes aim at ending the stigma around mental illness.

Clara Hughes’s testimonial:

 

How women are working to change the public perception of body image. UpWorthy.

How will language change in the next 100 years? The Wall Street Journal.

Bill Nye’s new book and talking Darwin over dinner. Science Friday.

i09 presents eight logical fallacies that fuel anti-science sentiments.

Space Suite, a short video by Lucas Green and shared by Phil Plait on his Bad Astronomy blog.

Neil deGrasse Tyson answers the question, “what’s the meaning of life?” UpRoxx. Best answer since 42.

How many smells can you smell? It’s okay to be smart.

 

Why do dogs watch—and react to—TV? National Geographic.

Does my dog know what I’m thinking? It’s okay to be smart.

 

Do our dogs miss us when we go away? BrainCraft.

 

Foxes in photos from MetaSpoon.

The beauty of abandoned greenhouses. MessyNessyChic.

Dark and lonely roads photographed by Andy Lee. Bored Panda.

2200 year old mosaics uncovered in ancient Greek city. Twisted Sifter.

Imogen Heap is one of my favourite musicians, but she’s also a musical inventor and innovator. Consider her brilliance in this article from CNN about her Mi.Mu gloves.

Owl City and Lindsey Stirling: Beautiful Times. Just lovely.

 

Last week was uber thoughty! Who’d a thunk it?

See you Saturday!

Thoughty Thursday

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz May 18-24, 2014

/ Melanie Marttila / 4 Comments

A fascinating article from The Smithsonian Magazine on the microscopic structure of dried human tears.

This article on and video of the fungus cordyceps in action creeped me out. I fucking love science.

Discovery presents the top ten species of 2014.

Part of me cringed at the wanton destruction. The other part drooled a little. Book art by Brian Dettmer.

Web Urbanist presents 15 of the world’s most magical lodgings. Bucket list!

I love dogs. LOVE. So, of course, I could resist sharing these pups with gorgeous coats.

Here are two videos from a crazy Finnish magician, who figured it would be fun to make dogs’ treats disappear. It’s funny. Also a little mean. Dogs NEED their treats. Mind you, the dogs take it well. A testament to their species and a confusing commentary on ours. (I’m including myself in this indictment – I laughed.)

 

 

The Pentatonix, Love Again:

 

I just can’t get enough of their lovely harmonies 🙂

Images of Earth captured from the International Space Station. The Atlantic.

National Geographic contributing photographer Peter Essick pays homage to Ansel Adams.

Worried about using unlicensed images on your blog? Here are some alternatives to stock imagery.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has just made images of their collection and archives free to access (!) Talk about an alternative to stock imagery 🙂

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And … this deserves a category all its own. Thanks to Jenny Hansen for this.

A hilarious guide to pooping at work:

Thoughty Thursday