Not a lot this week. Travelling and NaNo are taking priority.
Five tips from the stoics about happiness. The Business Insider.
How introverts react to the world. The Huffington Post.
How we’re wired. A video on left-handedness from It’s OK to be Smart.
Bizarre cloud formation seen in the Australian sky. IFLS.
The wildlife overpass near Sudbury is in the news. CTV.
See you Saturday!
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).
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!
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 🙂
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!
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 🙂
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.
Once again, IFLS seems to have taken over Thoughty Thursday. I guess I really do fucking love science 😉
Most undergraduates are now being taught by poorly-paid, part-timers. CBC.
Ten surprising benefits of Earl Grey tea. Lifehack.
The Earth’s new address: planet Earth, Solar System, Milky Way, Laniakea. IFLS.
Ten myths about space we need to bust. IFLS.
Underground map reveals the secrets of Stonehenge and nearby “superhenge.” IFLS.
Less than 1% of Sweden’s trash ends up in landfills. We should all aim for this! IFLS.
Your blood type could affect your memory. IFLS.
Tor.com. Improved methods identify half of Viking warriors as women. Are we surprised?
The Daily Mail: how DNA evidence helped track down the identity of Jack the Ripper.
How to stop your brain from hijacking your goals. IttyBiz.
Vi Hart. They became what they beheld: medium, message, and YouTubery.
Thirty old, but useful, names for parts of the body. Mental Floss.
Don’t you just feel like this every Monday morning?
This young pug loves his ball pit.
32 animals being total jerks. Diply.
Hope you thought thoughts, and laughed laughs 🙂
See you Saturday!
First, because 9/11.
The new head of the Ontario Bar Association goes on record about his struggle with depression. The Toronto Star.
Five supplements that may help with depression. IFLS. Please read the whole post, including the very important caution that you not begin any supplemental regimen without first consulting a medical health professional.
What happens when a therapist who’s counselled patients through loss faces the death of his father? Psychiatric Times.
Renewable energy sources now provide 22 percent of the world’s energy. IFLS. C’mon, people! We can do better than that, can’t we?
Fifteen thou a litre? Holy horseshoe crab blood, Batman! Mind you, I still feel sorry for the poor wee things. They really need to work on that whole synthetic thing a little harder, don’t you think? IFLS.
Deep sea life form that resembles a mushroom could mean a new branch on the tree of life. IFLS.
What makes the rocks of Death Valley “slither”? When one researcher decided to put cameras on the rocks, they found out . . . IFLS.
The silent line: photographer Pierre Folk captures images of a 160 year old Parisian rail line. This is Colossal.
What the fugu? Japanese puffer fish create lovely works of underwater art.
And here’s the video of one of the little guys at work:
What personal space? Dogs without boundaries from Pet Stuff Web.
30 little-known features of your favourite social media, by Kevan Lee for Buffer.
Isabel Allende’s TED Talk on how to live passionately:
Test your Highland IQ with the verra much harder Outlander quiz, from The Daily Record’s Scotland Now.
New Pentatonix video, La La Latch:
Kina Grannis, Tyler Ward, and Lindsey Stirling cover Coldplay’s The Scientist:
See you Saturday, with more WWC2014 🙂
Anita Sarkeesian is trying to change the way women are depicted in popular media. The trollish reaction to her efforts has driven her out of her home. Shameful. Maybe #NotAllMen but #YesAllWomen. Polygon.
The Huffington Post shares nine things that only depressed people can understand.
I’m pretty sure this is what sent my dad into the hospital. Psychotic depression: under recognized, under treated, and dangerous. Psychiatry Today.
Julian Treasure discusses five ways you can listen better in this TED talk.
Slate Science looks at the similarities between dogs and their humans. It’s all in the eyes.
Imagine what they can build with this kind of scaffold. Maybe a new spine? Skull? Hip? IFLS.
Ten persistent cancer myths debunked courtesy of IFLS.
A mammoth find in Texas, courtesy of CNN. I couldn’t resist. I had to have a little pun.
Meghalaya may be the wettest place in the world, but it’s also one of the most beautiful. In Focus – The Atlantic.
About Imogen Heap’s Entanglement:
Entanglement was originally written “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn,” but the song was rejected by the film makers who thought it was too raunchy for their teenage audience.
Undeterred, Imogen recorded the song for Sparks and filmed what is her most intimate video to date. #sparksfacts
Here’s what Imogen’s boyfriend, director Michael Lebor had to say about it:
“Andy Carne, the art director for the Sparks box set shot some beautiful stills for the front of the Entanglement single and so Imogen and I discussed shooting something that tied in with that.
The picture on the cover looked like a loving embrace, perhaps after a steamy moment and so I wanted to work back from that. The end frame in the video is as close as I could get to the angle and lighting of the still that Andy took.
Imogen has lovely, big floor to ceiling 10ft windows in the house and so I wanted to shoot just using the natural light that flooded in. I had recently been testing a camera (Sony FS700) that had excellent quality slow motion and because we didn’t have a huge amount of time, I thought this would be a great way of shooting a simple video in an emotional and beautiful way. Imogen has great bone structure, great skin and a model like figure so I knew that if we got the right light, the rest would fall into place.
It’s essentially a love story but I wanted it to be unclear as to whether it was imagined or not. The video starts with Imogen on her own and perhaps she is remembering a moment with her lover or waiting for him to arrive, either way, it’s ambiguous as to who this person is, if he is really there or if this happened in the past.
I wanted to build a narrative around the scene but because of time constraints and Imogen’s desire to keep it simple, we stayed within the confines of her bedroom and shot it in a few hours. It is difficult to sustain such a simple music video for five minutes, but that was the length of the song so we had to make it work.
It was a very intimate shoot and I didn’t want anyone else in the room, so it’s just me and Imogen. This of course created a challenge when I was needed for the scene. I used a tripod for those moments but an extra difficulty was that the camera only recorded 10 seconds of ‘super slow motion’ at a time. This meant that after every take I would have to jump up and run across the room to press ‘end record’ on the camera, not wearing very much…
One of my favourite moments in the video is when Imogen looks at the camera and she looks truly in love. It’s something that can’t be captured on a busy set, so it was a magical moment for me.”
And here’s the video (can you tell how much I love Imie?):
Open Culture on Patti Smith’s cover of Nirvana’s “Smells like Teen Spirit.”
Kate Bush’s Before the Dawn live blog from The Guardian.
Baby talks to dog. Too cute for words.
And now for something completely different, watch this kid’s reaction to the ALS bucket challenge. Jezebel.
Back-to-school fun with “Baby’s got class.”
Entertainment Weekly compiles their list of 55 movies your kids need to see before they turn 13. Do you agree?
The CBC’s Terry O’Reilly interviews George Takei about his new documentary. Listen to the podcast.
Diana Gabaldon gets a cameo in the series based on her books. Entertainment Weekly. See? All you have to do is write a mega million bestselling series of books . . .
BuzzFeed Geeky’s definitive ranking of “Firefly” episodes.
The San Diego ComiCon Game of Thrones panel.
What did you think of “Deep Breath,” the first episode of the new Doctor Who series? Well, here’s what Kyle Anderson of the Nerdist thought.
And last, but not least, a little back-to-school Whovian fun with Catherine Tate and David Tenant.
Hope you enjoyed this cornucopia of . . . stuff.
Always Looking Up 