Jacob Blake

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, 21-27, 2021

/ Melanie Marttila / 1 Comment

No April fools today! Just an opportunity to get your mental corn popping.

Illinois becomes the first city to offer Black residents reparations. Associated Press

Kim Barker, Mike Baker, and Ali Watkins: in city after city, police mishandled Black Lives Matter protests. The New York Times

Ashawnta Jackson explains how Mary Fields became “Stagecoach Mary.” JSTOR Daily

Lawrence Hurley: SCOTUS expands the ability to sue police for excessive force. Reuters

Related: Jacob Blake file excessive force lawsuit against officer who shot him in the back. CBS News

Whittney Evans reports that Virginia becomes the first southern state to repeal the death penalty. NPR

Li Zhou: the Atlanta shootings can’t be divorced from racism and misogyny. Vox

Kareem Fahim reports that Erdogan pulls Turkey out of European treaty aimed at protecting women from violence. The Washington Post

Nahal Toosi: US, UK, EU, and Canada announce sanctions on China for Uighur genocide. Politico

This is why we can’t have nice things. Real conspiracies. Veritasium

Ian Austen highlights Winnipeg’s new showcase and meeting place for Inuit art and artists. The New York Times

The history of throwing shade. The Take

Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal win a humble prize for architecture. Christian Science Monitor 

Breakthroughs in artificial wombs and growing heart valves. SciShow News

Jenny Stevens offers some big vagina energy: the return of the Sheela na gig. The Guardian

The biggest lie about nuclear energy. ASAP Science

In honour of World Water Day, Nina Munteanu writes about water protectors.

“Our biggest challenge? Lack of imagination: the scientists turning the desert green. Steve Rose for The Guardian.

Stuart Clark: Elsa-d mission to clean up space debris set for launch. The Guardian

Robin George Andrews: scientists spot a “space hurricane” for the first time. National Geographic

Thank you for taking the time to visit, and I hope you took away something to inspire your next creative project.

This weekend, I should be posting my March next chapter update.

Until then, be well and stay safe, my writerly friends!

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Jan 24-30, 2021

/ Melanie Marttila

It’s Thursday, and you know what that means. Tomorrow is Friday! Prepare yourself for the weekend by getting your mental corn popping.

Dalton Walker reports how the “parade across America” has an Indigenous touch. Indian Country Today

Mali Obomsawin: this land is whose land? Indian country and the shortcomings of settler protest. Smithsonian Folklife

Mildred Europa Taylor wants you to meet the eight-year-old neuroscientist who teaches online from a lab in her bedroom. Face2Face Africa

Russell Contreras: Biden picks up his pen to change the tone on racial equity. His first set of executive orders puts a “down payment” on the promise of racial justice in America. Axios

John Haltiwanger notes that Biden administration speeding up process to put Harriet Tubman on $20 bill. Business Insider

Maudlyne Ihejirika announces that the Emmett Till childhood home is now an official city landmark. Chicago Sun Times

Stephen Humphries reveals the new museum celebrating African American music from Ella to Beyoncé. Christian Science Monitor

Amir Vera and Raja Razek: two Kenosha police officers, on administrative leave since the Jacob Blake shooting, are back on duty. No justice. CNN

Doha Madani reports that the Black woman whose children were handcuffed and held at gunpoint by police sues Aurora, Colorado. NBC News

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin demands US military sexual assault reports. The Guardian

Lauren Frayer: protesting farmers flood India’s capital, storm historic fort. NPR

The pandemic that lasted 15 million years [Say what, now?] | PBS Eons

L.D. Burnett posits that there is no such thing as cancel culture. Only culture, shapeshifter that it is. Arc Digital

Kim Fahner responds to Bell’s let’s talk day: of whales, icebergs, and mental health … The Republic of Poetry

Sara Jaffe: notes on queer conception and the redefinition of family. JSTOR Daily

Dr. Becky shares the new evidence against dark matter.

Robert Z. Pearlman shares that Axiom Space names the first private crew to visit the ISS. Scientific American

Earth has a second magnetic field. SciShow

Fiona Harvey: global ice loss accelerated at record rate. The Guardian

These pools support half the people on Earth. Veritasium

Cal Flyn reports that as birth rates decline, animals prowl out abandoned “ghost villages.” The Observer

Nina Munteanu: when nature destroys … and creates.  

Thank you for spending some time with me. I hope you took away something to inspire your next creative project.

This weekend, I should be posing my January 2021 next chapter update.

Until then, 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, Jan 3-9, 2021

/ Melanie Marttila

It’s thoughty Thursday! Fortify yourself for the weekend and get your mental corn popping (i.e. get those ideas ping-ponging around inside your skull)!

The Capitol insurrection held me horrified. It still does. And the continued attempts of a certain despot to assail social media to issue a call to arms to disrupt the inauguration have me once again fearing for the future. This is not just America’s problem. It has the potential to disrupt nations across the world.

Katrin Bennhold and Steven Lee Myers report how America’s friends and foes express horror as Capitol attack shakes the world. The New York Times

Aaron Morrison: race double standard clear in rioters’ Capitol insurrection. Associated Press

Todd Richmond and Michael Tarm: no charges for Wisconsin officer who shot Jacob Blake. No justice. Associated Press

Dylan Lovan reports that two police officers involved in Breonna Taylor’s death have been fired. Still, no justice. Associated Press

Allison Miller reveals the hidden meaning of a notorious experiment. In a 1961 grant application, filed before the Eichmann trial was in full swing, Milgram “proposed to study the conditions under which compliance with authority could be increased or decreased—knowledge that had obvious military and political applications.” JSTOR Daily

Some good news: Doha Madani reports that the Red Sox hired Bianca Smith for minor league team, the first Black woman to coach in pro baseball. NBC News

Ashawnta Jackson say that when mambo was king, its creators were stereotyped. JSTOR Daily

And all this political and racial injustice while we’re in the midst of a pandemic.

Darren MacDonald: lockdown in northern Ontario to extend until Jan 23rd, but schools reopen Jan 11th. “… the province said the positivity rate for kids aged 12-13 years old increased from 5.44 per cent in late November, early December to nearly 20 per cent in early January.” CTV News

We have to do better, people.

How alchemy led to modern-day chemistry and medicine. SciShow

Gabriella Marchant: Australian “super seaweed” supplement that reduces cattle gas production wins $1million international prize. And … it was discovered by accident (!) Australian Broadcast Corporation

Graham Averill announces that New River Gorge is the US’s newest national park. Outside

Three ways exoplanets rocked planetary science. SciShow Space

Andrew Fazekas lists ten spectacular stargazing events to observe in 2021. National Geographic

Brent Lang: women directed a record number of films in 2020. Variety

Sylvia Poggioli introduces us to the women uncovering the lost works of female Renaissance artists (because, who else?). NPR

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you found 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!