Earth Day

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, April 19-25, 2020

/ Melanie Marttila

I hope you’re bearing up in these surreal times. Try not to feel pressured to learn a new language or finish that novel or whatever weighs on your creative conscience. Interest will return when it will, the words will sing their siren song again. It just may take some time. Be kind to yourself. We’re all struggling.

While you adjust to our changing circumstances, don’t forget to feed your brain with some interesting stuff. Get your mental corn popping with thought Thursday 🙂

50 things we’ve learned in the 50 years since the first Earth Day. The Smithsonian Magazine

And, while Earth Day was last week, there’s no reason for you not to extend the celebration. Kaitlin Thomas lists 20 ground-breaking nature documentaries you should watch. TV Guide

It’s also the 30th anniversary of the Hubble Space Telescope. It’s okay to be smart celebrates with a fly-through of some of the best images. And a lovely poem by Dr. Katie Mack!

Kristine Wen shows you how to cook and bake with lavender without making your food taste like grandma’s soap. Chow Hound

Kier Holmes explains how to use coffee grounds in your garden. Gardenista

Olivia Kelly is watching Dublin bloom: city thrives under new “wilding” policy. The Irish Times

Jelisa Castrodale reports on the 1,000-year-old mill that’s resumed production due to lack of flour. Food & Wine

Sarah Wells: tech eroded sleep quality in the 1800s. Can tech restore it now? About biphasic sleep, the advent of electricity, and sleep trackers. Inverse

Katie Falkingham reveals the strict and secret world of bicycle racing in Japan. BBC

Amanda Capritto says, this is the best time of day to exercise (backed by science). Spoiler: it’s any time you can bloody well fit it in 🙂 Cnet

Will Bardenwerper: army ranger school is a laboratory of human endurance. Outside Online

Riley Black explains why bats are one of evolution’s greatest puzzles. The Smithsonian Magazine

Zoe Denenberg wonders why dogs walk in circles before they lie down. Southern Living

Thanks for visiting. I hope you took away something to inspire your next creative project (even if it stays in percolation mode for a while).

Until next tipsday, be well and stay safe, be kind, and stay strong. The world needs your stories.

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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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