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

Less angsty this week, as promised, but there’s still some serious.

Germany finally apologizes for its other genocide—more than a century later. Lynsey Chutel for Quartz.

Physician groups representing 426,000 doctors demand a stop to gun violence. American Psychiatric Association.

How Americans came together after Orlando. Conor Friedersdorf for The Atlantic.

Jim C. Hines considers another pointless police shooting.

Ok. New direction.

Twelve female activists who are changing the world. Joe McCarthy for Global Citizen.

Got privilege? What Lori Lakin Hutcherson told a white friend asked her opinion about white privilege. Good Black News.

Why I’m a racist. Not what you think. Just read it. Beyond the Glass Wall.

Dr. Nadine Caron is Canada’s first female First Nations surgeon. CBC’s the Current.

Canadian doctors have successfully reversed the effect of MS in a patient using stem cells. Notable.ca

Chris Hadfield: Questions for a Star Man. Nova’s secret life of scientists and engineers.

 

Hubble takes a long look into the heart of the crab nebula. Phil Plait for Slate. Later, he shares a year of Earth’s days in time lapse.

A walk in the woods: how walks are improving mental health. S.A. Mathieson for The Guardian.

Jen Granneman lists twelve things every highly sensitive person needs. Introvert, dear.

Another brief dip, but it’s important.

Lauren McKeon breaks fifteen years of silence. Toronto Life.

The real reason women love witches. Anne Theriault for The Establishment.

Buzzfeed presents seventeen maps that will change the way you view the world.

An orca rescue on Newsiosity.

The Oregon Supreme Court rules that dogs are sentient beings and not merely property. Bark Post.

And on that positive note, I bid thee adieu.

Until the weekend.

Thoughty Thursday

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, May 22-28, 2016

Thoughty Thursday is weird and wonderful this week. Well . . . weird, anyway.

On refugees: a history of the ‘other’ in Sudbury. Nilgiri Pearson for Sudbury.com

This was one of the sad bits of new to come out in Canada this week: Gord Downie, lead singer of The Tragically Hip, diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. The Globe and Mail.

Here’s the sensationalist article: bodies of strange creatures found in the basement of old London home. Design you trust. And now, the real story: the truth behind the viral story of mysterious skeletons in London basement. The Earth Child.

Complain all you want, but your busy schedule may be helping your brain. Angus Chen for NPR.

Angela Hanscom wonders why can’t children stay still in the classroom? It turns out that movement is critical to attention and learning. The Washington Post.

How to be happy: lessons from an Amazonian tribe. Rick Warren for Medium.

A psychologist identifies three elements that determine happiness. Diane Koopman for LifeHack.

Finding 16 cents on the sidewalk helped one person recognize something important about happiness. The Business Insider.

The more I learn about this man, the more I love him. Albert Einstein: racism is a disease of white people. Open Culture looks at his little-known fight for civil rights.

The #HeForShe Media Summit (it’s an hour and a half long) featuring Patricia Arquette and Joss Whedon. UN Women.

 

Maisha Z. Johnson offers a black feminist’s guide to the racist shit too many white feminists say. Everyday Feminism.

Amanda Vickery says it’s time to bring female artists out of storage. The Guardian.

This is too cool. This Finnish university gives its doctoral graduates a funky top hat and sword. This is so Hogwarts, I have the desire to get my PhD! Oh. Tuition. Dissertation. But top hat and sword!

Jupiter gets his by visible asteroid impacts six times a year. Phil Plait for Slate.

Ed Yong reports a shocking find in a Neanderthal cave in France. The Atlantic.

The gruesome history of eating corpses as medicine. Maria Dolan for The Smithsonian.

Coming up: The next chapter will be coming out this weekend. I might have one more DIYMFA QotW, too! Oh, the writerly life 🙂

Thoughty Thursday

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

Popping your mental corn for . . . a couple of years now, anyway 😉

Walking helps us think. Ferris Jabr for The New Yorker.

Diversity at the Oscars matters. #OscarsSoWhite Cameron Bailey for The Globe and Mail.

I am not black. You are not white.

 

The bitter experience of residential schools translated through ballet: Going Home. CBC.

Steven Page shared his mental health struggles in Sudbury last Thursday night. The Northern Life.

You are not weak by Devin Sarges.

 

New Alzheimer’s treatment fully restores memory. Science Alert.

The memory capacity of the brain is ten times greater than previously thought. New Universe Daily.

Mental Floss lists ten legendary monsters of North America.

Plants communicate using a network of fungi. Uplift.

Trees have social networks. Another article on the same topic. The New York Times.

Traces of a 9000 year old civilization discovered in Lake Huron by University of Michigan researchers. Message to Eagle.

Lupus 4 is a dark cloud in space. Phil Plait examines the mysteries of this tentacular hole for Slate.

Lady Science, a new anthology, is helping to stamp out sexism in the sciences. Slate.

A buried ‘daytime hotel’ is rediscovered in all its Art Nouveau splendour. Messy Nessy Chic.

Roger Boisjoly, the engineer who tried to stop the Challenger launch, dies at the age of 73. The LA Times.

Mimi Matthews explores cat funerals in the Victorian era.

And that was Thoughty Thursday.

And guess what? I lied last Saturday when I said I’d be back with more convention reportage. It’s actually Next Chapter time! So, I’ll be back on Saturday with that.

Thoughty Thursday

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, July 5-11, 2015

Anna Lovind shares the life-changing lessons chronic pain has taught her.

After an incident in which she received unwanted sexual attention, Elyse Anders posted this rant. The response to her rant was insane, so she elaborated further. MofoNation.

Why many rape victims don’t fight or yell. James W. Hopper, PhD, explains what happens when the fight or flight response short circuits. The Washington Post.

Emily Hart(ridge) on depression and anxiety:

Why one black man won’t discuss race with white people. Those People.

Africans tweet pictures of their real lives to combat “poverty porn.” Plaid Zebra. #TheAfricaMediaNeverShowsYou

Pulitzer prize-winning photojournalist Paul Watson quit The Toronto Star because they refused to publish his story. The subtlety of censorship in Canada. The Huffington Post.

Our economy grew, but our income did not keep pace. The Huffington Post.

In this article from The Globe and Mail, David Helfand reports that businesses say they want workers with a liberal arts background, with strong communication skills, and who are agile in their willingness to learn and adapt. Industry in general and the government are pushing young people into the trades. In both cases (in my experience, anyway) graduates from both programs are wandering, jobless, for years, with crippling debt-loads. There aren’t enough jobs for everyone and that is our biggest problem. Are we just waking up to this now?

When did we decide kids shouldn’t suffer? Renegade Mothering.

Dear parents: please raise boys who will respect my girls. The Huffington Post.

Empathy is a choice. The New York Times.

Creativity can be learned. Canva. I find that keeping a journal of random and weird associations was what helped me most, pre-interwebz. Now, I get all the thoughty, all the time! In these posts I share the things that set off that random pinball machine in my head. I hope they do that for you, too!

Lifehack offers 11 illustrations of the difference between busy and productive people.

Would you pass this grade eight examination from 1912? Boredom Therapy.

Who owns the moon? Vsauce.

Nikola Tesla predicted the ascendance of women through technology. Brainpickings.

IFLS lists ten things you may not know about Tesla.

Someone assigned email addresses to trees and people started writing to them. The Atlantic.

Fuck that. A guided meditation for today’s world:

Why Japanese bathrooms are awesome. Distractify.

This guy’s wife left him alone with the dog. He got bored. Click through to see what happened. BoredPanda.

And that’s a wrap.

On Saturday, I’ll have more Ad Astra reportage. We’ll be starting day three! Finally!

Thoughty Thursday