Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, March 15-21, 2020

March 26, 2020March 22, 2020 / Melanie Marttila

I’ve tried to stay clear of covid-related news. We’re all consuming enough of that and I want to create a space for inspiration and learning and just plain entertainment. Still, there’s covid-adjacent material. I couldn’t avoid it completely.

Still, I hope you can get your mental corn popping in a positive and relatively stress-free manner this week.

Sophia Quaglia says, this ancient fish with arms might be the reason we have hands. Inverse

The wild reasons older people need less sleep. SciShow

Dr. Tracey Marks explains what night terrors are. I used to have these … and sleepwalk. It’s why I have an interest 🙂

Amy McKeever explains why we evolved to feel panic. National Geographic

Diana does 20 easy experiments in about five minutes. You can try these at home! Physics Girl

Liz Hund shares ten iconic museums you can tour online. The Points Guy

Is everyone going crazy? Nothing but Thieves

Be well, be kind, and stay safe and strong. The world needs you … and your stories.

ThoughtyThursday2019

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Dec 1-2, 2017

December 7, 2017December 3, 2017 / Melanie Marttila

Thoughty Thursday’s here, and you know what that means—tomorrow is Friday!

Again, this is just a brief curation to restart the blogging engine 🙂

It’s time to get the mental corn popping.

Fan asks Dan Harmon about depression and he offers insightful advice. Bored Panda

Nothing But Thieves frontman, Conor, on his experience with depression and anxiety.

Jack Turban: nice brains finish last. Scientific American

ASAP Science: can you change someone’s opinion?

Rich Bellis explains how to design your ideal workday based on your sleep habits. Fast Company

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) reports that they’ll be able to extend the life of Voyager 1 (and possibly Voyager 2) by using thrusters that haven’t been fired in 37 years.

Nothing But Thieves – Broken Machine live for #IAMWHOLE

How’s that for a practice run?

Be well until the weekend!

thoughtythursday2016

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Sept 3-9, 2017

September 14, 2017September 10, 2017 / Melanie Marttila

It’s a little bit of everything to get your mental corn popping 🙂

If you get goosebumps when you listen to music, like Greg Evans, your brain might be special. (Not church lady special …) A friend of mine calls them les frissons musicale 🙂 The Independent

David Nield: scientists may finally have discovered the trigger for autoimmune diseases. Science Alert

Katherine Schafler says the one thing no one ever says about grieving. Thrive Global

Patti Neighmond warns, get off the couch, baby boomers, or you might not be able to later. NPR

If you drink tap water, you’re consuming plastic pollutants—ick! Dan Morrison and Christopher Tyree for PRI.

Kate Shuttleworth counts the 606 pairs of shoes that represent New Zealand suicides this year alone. The Guardian

Mary Shepperson discovers ancient Iraq’s Sealand Kings. The Guardian

Brigit Katz reports on the lost languages discovered in one of the world’s oldest continuously run libraries. The Smithsonian Magazine

Tom Nichols: how we killed expertise. Politico

Maria Sacchetti reports on what will happen to the Dreamers if DACA is repealed. The Washington Post

Jessica Taylor says Congress can save DACA—but will they? NPR

Eric Roston shows you what’s really causing global warming. Bloomberg Businessweek

Now is exactly the time we should be talking about climate change. Phil Plait for Syfy.

Phil Plait documents our close encounter with asteroid Florence. SyFy

94 year old veteran Harry Leslie Smith has a warning for the world: don’t let my past be your future. The Independent

Ta-Nahisi Coates: the first white president. The Atlantic

The United Nations unveils stunning memorial in New York dedicated to the millions who were killed or sacrificed in the slave trade to create America’s riches. Nick Chiles for the Atlanta Black Star.

Chelene Knight says, constantly proving my blackness is exhausting. The Globe and Mail

This is simply brilliant: even racists got the blues. Read the whole post. Brill, I say! The Geeky Gaeilgeoir

Bored Panda presents the photos of a 17-year-old Stanley Kubrick.

Nothing but Thieves – Broken Machine

And, just for fun, the original, 1969 (year of my birth, incidentally) Manamana from Sesame Street. Muppet mania forever!

And that was your Thoughty Thursday for the week!

Be well until the weekend 🙂

thoughtythursday2016

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Aug 28-Sept 3, 2016

September 8, 2016September 5, 2016 / Melanie Marttila / 2 Comments

It’s time, once again, to pop that mental corn!

Kristi Coulter gave up drinking and realized why so many women use alcohol as a crutch. Quartz

She doesn’t owe you shit. James Fell’s Body for wife blog.

Jim C. Hines: what is this “rape culture” we keep hearing about?

Chuck Wendig posts a public service announcement: dear men, it’s time we had a conversation. Terribleminds

Cree Summer talks about diversity in animation and the myth of the carefree black girl. Tahirah Hairston for Fusion.

Marie Solis introduces us to Moya Bailey, the woman who coined the term, “misogynoir.” Mic

Laura McKeon examines the Matilda Effect: the disappearing act. Hazlitt

Siobhan Fenton reports that even though period pain has been proven as bad as a heart attack, doctors continue to ignore it. The Independent

Marianne Moen of The Dangerous Women Project features women of the Viking age, then and now.

The safest possible route.* Anna Lovind on Annapurna Living.

Maria Lally introduces us to hygge, the Danish secret to happiness.* The Telegraph

How to be perfectly unhappy.* One of the many reasons I love The Oatmeal.

Deshun Wang – Be the fiercest.*

The Assembly of First Nations urges Canada to invest in safe drinking water. Michelle Zilio and Matthew McClearn for The Globe and Mail.

Doris Jean Lamar is the last living person who is fluent in the Wichita language.

John Horgan on the secret life of terrorists. Nova’s secret lives of scientists and engineers.

Amy Schlinger shares six health benefits of walking 1,000 more steps a day. Rodale’s Organic Life

Fiona Macrae reports on a revolutionary new drug that promises to prevent Alzheimer’s disease from developing. The Daily Mail

SETI is investigating a signal from deep space. Will it prove to originate from an extraterrestrial civilization? Robin Seemangal for The Observer.

Jolene Creighton explains what the Kardashev Scale is and what it might mean for the future of the human race. Futurism

How do dogs “see” with their noses – Alexandra Horowitz. Ted.ed

What happens when otters see a butterfly – kawaii!

Nothing but thieves – Graveyard whistling.

*posts that comforted me this past week.

And that’s a wrap, people.

See you Saturday with the last of my CWS 2016 sessions, Grants for writers with Jack Illingworth of the Ontario Arts Council. It’s kind of timely. Deadlines are coming up.

Thoughty Thursday