Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, April 24-30, 2016

Light-headed? Yeah, I think so. Oh! Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Your thoughty funny for the week:

First, Newsner reports that farts can prevent cancer. Then, IFLS reports that theory stinks.

NASA’s ‘impossible EM drive works: German researcher confirms it can take us to the moon in four hours. Physics-Astronomy.

Then a friend shared this MIT Technology Review article: the curious link between the fly-by anomaly and the ‘impossible’ EM drive thruster.

If Saturn was this close on May 1st, we’d all be dead. Phil Plait for Slate.

Lucy Orr reviews the evolution of AI in popular culture. The Register.

How the “Moth Radio Hour” helped scientists map out meaning in the brain. Amina Khan for The LA Times.

The secret language of narcissists, sociopaths, and psychopaths: how abusers manipulate and traumatize their victims. The Minds Journal.

The Awesome Daily has collected these pictures of the 40 most breathtaking abandoned places in the world.

Cosmopolitan lists 22 of the most beautiful places in the world.

Dala sings Red is the Rose.

 

Priming the pump, popping the mental corn, call it what you will, I hope it happened.

Now . . . go write!

Thoughty Thursday

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, April 17-23, 2016

Lots of videos for your edutainment this week 🙂

Science confirms: men are terrified of smart women. I was sceptical. Not all men are like Phil, or most of the men I know, I guess. The Mind Journal.

Speaking of smart women . . . Melissa McCarthy can’t get respect. The Vulture.

Lolly Daskal shares seven rituals successful people use to de-stress and stay productive. Inc.

Jordan Gray asks four honest-as-fuck questions that we can use to chart our courses to bliss.

Money can buy happiness, but only if you spend it the right way. Quartz.

Tor Constantino helps us switch from pursuing happiness to being happy with these five tips. Entrepreneur.

James Webb writes about existential depression in gifted children. Creatives of any age tend to succumb to this. The Unbounded Spirit.

Time captures the aftermath of the recent Japan earthquakes.

Tesla unveils a new battery that can power your home off the grid. Eat Tomorrow.

NASA saw something come out of a black hole for the first time. Blastr.

On SciShow: Restless leg syndrome. It’s a thing. I have it when I get anaemic.

 

It’s okay to be smart looks at how slime molds are redefining our idea of intelligence.

 

ASAP Thought wonders, what makes tattoos permanent?

 

And . . . should you swear more often?

 

Ask a Mortician delves into a bog body murder mystery.

 

Patrick Lynch supplies proof that the Pythagorean Theorem predated Pythagoras. Phys.org

The White Wolf Pack shares some amazing photos of the Sami, Finland’s indigenous people.

If you like abandoned places as much as I do, you owe it to yourself to check out Iris van Wolferen’s site.

Dangerous Minds presents Herbert Baglione’s eerie shadow paintings in an abandoned psychiatric hospital.

Ten really weird crow facts. Aves Noir.

Beethoven’s 5th in the style of Chopin by Syd R. Duke.

 

Les frissons musicale! The Amalgamation Choir.

 

And, on that note (pun intended) I’m out of here until next Tipsday!

Have a fabulous weekend!

Thoughty Thursday

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, April 10-16, 2016

It’s mega-thoughty Thursday this week 😉

This is the next emergent issue in Canada: the quality of life in First Nations. This is our Prime Minister’s next big challenge. One First Nation has become the focus of media, recently, but it is not the only place where living conditions have been shown to be deplorable.

Attawapiskat in the news:

Just because our Prime Minister’s a geek (and yes, I realize he was dodging a question, but he did it well, don’t you think?).

 

Sandra Martin explains why we need better end-of-life policies in seniors’ residences. The Globe and Mail.

North Carolina passed ridiculous legislation that discriminates against transgendered people in the name of safety. Lindsay King-Miller covers the issue for role reboot.

Carla Ciccone wrote an article to warn women about Jian Gomeshi and it nearly destroyed her life. Chatelaine.

Samhita Mukhopadhyay wonders, will ‘it’s on us’ finally put an end the sexual assault on America’s college campuses? I hope so. It’s time and long past. Mic.com

Jia Tolentio explains how empowerment became a product for women to buy. The New York Times Magazine.

Leah McLaren explains why she’s teaching her son to embrace the ‘girlish.’ The Globe and Mail.

James Phelps, MD, makes the distinction between borderline personality disorder and bi-polar disorder. The Psychiatric Times.

The Mighty shares the secrets of people with anxiety.

 

Nancy C. Andreasen shares the secrets of the creative brain. The Atlantic.

I didn’t know where to put this tasty tidbit: How to see all the companies tracking you on Facebook and block them. Tech Insider.

The Shell Grotto in Margate, England.

 

Göbeklitepe. An amazing ancient site.

 

Photos of the Fukushima exclusion zone show how nature has taken over in a few years. BoredPanda.

Phil Plait debunks the planet nine comet scare for Slate.

Yuri Milner develops Breakthrough Starshot. CBC.

Phil Plait presents a tale of three Jupiters in four parts. Part one: A lonely young Jupiter wanders the galaxy. Part two: A Jupiter analogue orbits another star. Part three: Jupiter’s brother has three suns. And, finally, part four: Great Jupiter’s ghost! Slate.

Where do minds belong? In this fascinating essay, Caleb Scharf speculates on the fate of human, and alien, intelligence. Aeon.

Ariana Eunjung Cha examines Sean Parker’s revolutionary project to ‘solve’ cancer for The Washington Post.

Sarah Laskow considers the original copy of the Malleus Malificarum in Cornell’s witchcraft collection for Altas Obscura.

Food in its growing state 🙂 Bright Side.

Dog shaming always makes me smile. They know we’ll always forgive them 😉 Here are a couple of sites to bookmark in case you need a mid-week pick-me-up. Dogshaming and Dog Shame Awards.

Be Deutsch! Just AWESOME.

 

All the best.

See you on Saturday!

Thoughty Thursday

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, April 3-9, 2016

I hope you’re all visual learners, ‘cause this thoughty Thursday’s jam-packed with videos!

It’s autism acceptance month 🙂

Photographer, Michelle Marshall, documents Afro-Caribbean gingers. Black Girl Long Hair.

Ten inspiring Muslim women every person should know.

 

Mike Veny: Mental illness is an asset. TED Talk.

 

A psychiatrist thinks the key to happiness might be swallowing the right bacteria. Business Insider.

Things about anxiety nobody talks about. The Mighty.

 

Six reasons why touch is amazing. ASAP Thought.

 

Vi Hart muses on the tools we use.

 

Crash course physics is here! Phil Plait for Slate.

The first photograph of light as both particle and wave. Phys.org

The music of the spheres. Literally. EWAO.

Jessica Cail on NOVA’s secret lives of scientists 🙂

 

WWF Hungary released this amazing video – Paper world. Vimeo.

It’s okay to be smart asks, how do bees make honey?

 

And for your entertainment:

MsMr – Wrong Victory

 

And Florence + The Machine. Queen of Peace & Long and Lost.

 

Enjoy, my friends.

See you on Saturday for an origin story and some anime series discoveries.

Thoughty Thursday

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, March 27-April 2, 2016

Here’s your thoughty for the week.

Buzzfeed features Katie Joy Crawford, a young photographer who has captured the essence of anxiety in her photographs.

Christine Denewith and Creigh Ferinas debunk eight myths about autism. Everyday Feminism.

Steven W. Thrasher says, don’t tell cancer patients what they could be doing to cure themselves. It’s our urge to do something to help that bites us in the butt here. Just be there. Take care of their kids for a while. Offer to do the running around for an exhausted partner. Hug them, if they can bear it. The Guardian.

Katie Roiphe explores the beauty of our final moments. CBC’s Q.

Silence may help to regenerate brain cells among other important functions. LifeHack.

Dublin observes the Easter Rising centenary. Irish Central.

Lifebuzz shares amazing footage of the Himalayas.

Take a virtual visit to Iceland’s Museum of Witchcraft. ScoopWhoop.

Australia’s Carnegie CETO wave power generator.

 

Yes. I confess I was attracted to this article by the word ‘unicorn’ (is it any relation to the badass unicorn?) but this rhino ancestor is still amazing. Shaena Montanari for Forbes.

Japan’s Hitomi satellite disappears and reappears mysteriously. Gizmodo.

This is the most detailed map to date of our place in the universe. Vimeo.

Hubble reveals the heart of the Milky Way. Phil Plait for Slate.

Do ravens know what you’re thinking? The California Academy of Sciences.

Your kawaii of the week: orphaned magpie bonds with boy. Photography by Cameron Bloom. This is Colossal.

Costa Rica’s land of the stray dogs is heaven for the unwanted. Bored Panda.

Not as extensive as Tipsday this week, but still, a solid showing in the brain pan department 😀

See you on Saturday for some series discoveries.

Thoughty Thursday

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, March 20-26, 2016

Topics run the gamut in this week’s batch of thoughty. I was hard pressed to know how best to present it all. I hope nothing jars too much. Then again, sometimes you need a week jolt to get the big squishy (brain) into gear 😉

This is why Finland has the best schools. The Syndey Morning Herald.

National Arts Centre to launch indigenous theatre in 2019. The Globe and Mail.

Tay exposes the lies we tell ourselves about racists. New Republic. Peter Bright reviews the Tay AI debacle for Ars Technica.

UN Women ask men and women to switch roles:

 

One woman tells her story of reporting sexual abuse. The Globe and Mail.

Scaachi Koul: I hope the Ghomeshi verdict makes you fucking furious. You know? It really does. Buzzfeed.

Barbara Moran writes about her mother’s death and how it indicates a greater system failure. The New York Times.

Your drunken aunt was right: the art of the hot toddy. Vinepair.

University Affairs devotes an entire issue to mental health and universities.

Brenda Knowles knows how to save an introvert/extrovert relationship.

Kira Asatryan offers six simple strategies for being happy alone. Time Magazine.

ASAP Thought. Should you trust your astrological sign?

 

Einstein is (almost) always right. It’s okay to be smart.

 

The equinox isn’t what you think it is. It’s okay to be smart.

 

NASA captures the crazy shockwave of an exploding star. Slate.

Earth is about to pass through the tail of Halley’s Comet, giving us a month of meteor showers. IFLS.

Another lovely picture of a strange geological formation on Mars. Slate.

19 pieces on non-human DNA found in the human genome. Yup we got junk in there. IFLS.

Covão dos conchos. A-MA-zing! The real interesting part in about 2:25.

 

Looks like Monty Python had it right. Rabbits (in medieval times) were deadly! The Poke.

Explore the tear-filled (and slightly creepy) world of Marina Bychkova’s dolls.

The White Wolf Pack shares these lovely photos of ravens. Have I even mentioned that corvus corvus rocks my world?  😉

Hope something in this mix gets those fingers moving on the keyboard. Inspiration’s what this is all about.

All the best until Saturday when my next chapter update lands!

Thoughty Thursday

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, March 13-19, 2016

Short on the thoughty this week (again).

Since this past week included St. Patrick’s Day, Quirk Books decided to share three magical Irish creatures cooler than Leprechauns.

On St. Patrick’s Day, I went to see a new local Celtic folk band, Fagroongala. Here’s the interview from CBC’s Morning North. They were awesome, by the way 😉

Creativity requires time.

 

Cree mythology is written in the stars. CBC’s Unreserved.

Rob O’Flanagan takes grief for a walk in the woods. Guelph Today.

Do fame and material success make you happy? Think for yourself.

 

The #IStandUp #WomenNotObjects campaign highlights the harm done to society by objectifying women.

 

Apparently, burning NH4Cr2O7 and HgSCN opens a portal to hell . . .

 

Hope you’ve been inspired. See you Saturday!

Thoughty Thursday

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, March 6-12, 2016

A few videos, some abandoned (and recovered) places, a bit of science, and some feels. Enjoy!

Susan Engel believes that joy is a subject schools lack. The Atlantic.

Reshma Saujani’s TED talk: Teach girls bravery, not perfection.

Caitlin Moran lists 12 things about being a woman that women won’t tell you. Esquire. Funny and true 🙂

Justin Trudeau: Gender equality is an opportunity, not a threat. The Globe and Mail.

Finland’s parliament: pioneer of gender equality. This is Finland.

Converted church—including graveyard—for sale as family home. Would you? If I had the money, I certainly would!

This 300 year old house has been completely renovated. Bright Side.

The Daily Mail shares these amazing pictures of a secret underground WWI hospital.

Francine Christophe: Human.

 

Scientists studying the DNA of ancient Europeans find evidence of a major population upheaval at the end of the last Ice Age. Doug Bolton for The Independent.

Another fast radio burst update from Phil Plait. Slate.

How do we know global warming is real? Phil Plait recommends a Tamino blog post that does a really good job answering that question. Slate.

Solar energy product rolls out like a carpet. Inhabitat.

To get you in the mood for St. Patrick’s Day, here’s part one of the National Film Board’s The Fairy Faith. Bailey Cotton.

 

For the feels. Eric and Peety, a mutual rescue story.

 

See you on Saturday!

Thoughty Thursday

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

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, Feb 21-27, 2016

Gah. Can’t brain. Well, maybe a little. Little brain.

The fight to preserve the Cree language. The Walrus.

Building James Webb, the biggest, boldest, riskiest space telescope, yet. Daniel Clery for Science Magazine.

Sean Carroll talks about whether the universe had a beginning. Yes, we still don’t have definitive evidence. Slate.

Astronomers find another small, icy body beyond Pluto. Slate.

Listen to the otherworldly beauty of overtone singer, Natascha Nikeprevelic. Good.

Despite anti-vaxxer resistance, the Gardasil vaccine has already drastically cut HPV infections in young women. Slate.

This is something that might affect me personally. The Liberals are “unravelling” the Conservative’s plan to recoup savings from the public service’s sick benefits plan. Negotiations are ongoing. We’ll have to see if this has a real impact. The Ottawa Citizen.

The Dala girls wrote a new song!

 

The next Chapter will be up on Saturday.

Take care until then.

Thoughty Thursday