Indigenous Peoples' Day

Thoughty Thursday: Popping your mental corn, Oct 10-16, 2021

/ Melanie Marttila / 2 Comments

Welcome to thoughty Thursday, your chance to get our mental corn popping in time for the weekend!

Trone Dowd reports that the cops and paramedics involved in Elijah McClain’s death charged with homicide. Vice

Rashad Robinson: hurricane Ida’s destruction was the direct result of years of systemic racism. Salon

Howard W. French explains how Africa was erased from the history of the modern world: built on the bodies of slaves. The Guardian

Matthew Wills says that the Zoot Suit Riots were race riots. JSTOR Daily

Adeoluwa Atayero announces that the First Nations University of Canada launches journalism program. CBC

Nick Murray: Nunavut Inuit sue territorial government over right to education in Inuktut. CBC

Erin Pottie reports that IBM opens school program for Mi’kmaw students in Cape Breton. CBC

B.C. park name change recognizes ancestral home of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation. CBC

Amelia Mavis Christnot explains why Indigenous Peoples’ Day is gaining traction as an American Holiday (over Columbus Day). Second Nexus

Rowaida Abdelaziz reports that over two thirds of Muslim Americans have faced Islamophobia. The Huffington Post

Christine Byrne explains why budget cooking tips are useless for low-income families. I’m still trying to figure out if the featured video is self-consciously ironic (all-white anchors, white people featured)? The Huffington Post

Yessenia Funes wonders whether COP26 will be a climate summit or a superspreader event. Atmos

Olivia Campbell reveals that Hildegard von Bingen was all about a woman’s right to bodily autonomy. JSTOR Daily

Diana shows us something that travels faster than the speed of light. Physics Girl

Ethan Siegal reveals that the Big Bang isn’t the beginning of the universe anymore: surprise! Big Think

Chelsea Gohd reports how William Shatner was moved to tears by space launch with Blue Origin. Space.com

Ruth Hamilton rocked awake by meteorite chuck crashing into her bed. CBC

Olivia Box wonders, will we lose fall colors to climate change? I hope not. JSTOR Daily

Thanks for visiting. I hope you took away something to inspire a future creative project.

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, Oct 11-17, 2020

/ Melanie Marttila

We’re heading toward the weekend. Fortify yourself for the final stretch and get your mental corn popping.

BLM and pandemic-related items grouped for your convenience.

Grace Hauck wonders whether you’re celebrating Columbus Day or Indigenous Peoples’ Day, and then makes the case for the 14 States honoring Native American history and culture. USA Today

Renée Gokey shares five ways to celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day. Just because the day is past doesn’t mean you can’t keep celebrating. The Smithsonian Magazine

Reed Abelson and Abby Goodnough explain what would happen if the Supreme Court ends Obamacare (AKA the Affordable Care Act). Most of these negative outcomes will disproportionately affect marginalized populations. The New York Times

Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux, Nathaniel Rakich and Likhitha Butchireddygari explain why it’s so rare for police officers to face legal consequences for their misconduct. FiveThirtyEight

David Lammy: climate justice cannot happen without racial justice. TED

Juan Michael Porter II writes about racism and profiling on Katahdin: “We didn’t expect to see you.” Outdoors

Emily Cataneo provides a brief history of the women’s KKK. JSTOR Daily

Jess Romeo: the Taínos refused to grow food and the Spanish starved. Environmental racism in colonial times and its lasting effects. JSTOR Daily

Jedediah Purdy: environmentalism’s racist history. The New Yorker

Doha Madani reports that Johnson & Johnson pauses clinical trials for covid-19 vaccine due to participant’s illness. NBC News

Helen Branswell and Ed Silverman present seven looming questions about the rollout of a covid-19 vaccine. Stat

Ed Cara reports that an international WHO trial finds no benefit from remdesivir and other drugs in treating covid-19. Gizmodo

Jessica Wong: as school boards blend in-person and virtual classes, criticism emerges for the hybrid model. CBC

Jenny G. Zhang: coronavirus panic buys into racist ideas of how Chinese people eat. Eater

Olga Khazan explains how to tell if socializing indoors is safe. The Atlantic

Bob Berman says to watch the skies for Mars—it won’t be this close and bright again until 2035. The Farmer’s Almanac

Tour of asteroid Bennu. NASA Goddard

Marina Koren announces that NASA has finally made a toilet for women. The Atlantic

Livia Gershon: fossilized footprints found in New Mexico track traveler with toddler in tow. The Smithsonian Magazine

Emily Zarka: the origins of the zombie from Haiti to the US. Monstrum | PBS Storied

Ernie Smith explains why the plastic packaging you hate so much is still here. Vice

Ed Stoddard: the chinchillas and the gold mine. UnDark

Emma Stoye shares her favorite science-related photos of the month, including a covid-sniffing spaniel named Floki. Nature

Thank you for visiting and I hope you took away something to inspire your next creative project.

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