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

/ Melanie Marttila / 2 Comments

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, Feb 28-March 5, 2016

/ Melanie Marttila / 2 Comments

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, Dec 20-26, 2015

/ Melanie Marttila / 2 Comments

Here’s to having a Thoughty New Year!

Cameron Diaz sums up the meaning of happiness. The Huffington Post.

Lauren Alix Brown: In your 30s, you’ll discover that happiness is just persistence and sheer will. Quartz.

Yvette Cooper says that online sexism is so out of control we can no longer control it. The Guardian.

It was the winter solstice last week, and Newgrange is one of the most magical places in the world to experience it. Irish Central.

Phil Plait got in on the solstice action, too. Slate.

Is your brain a computer, or is it a quantum orchestra, tuned to the universe? Interalia Magazine

So, Space-X launched its latest Falcon 9 rocket last Sunday night. And guess what? They stuck the landing 🙂 Both events were reported by Phil Plait, Bad Astronomer, for Slate.

No, this asteroid that passed by Earth on Christmas Eve did not cause earthquakes . . . Slate.

Pluto’s moon in near-perfect alignment. Space.com.

These are cool: sky wolves. I don’t care if they’re Photoshopped. They’re awesome. The White Wolf Pack.

Take a visual tour of New York’s most beautiful subway station, abandoned since 1945. Hyperallergic.

China’s ghost cities: the largest urbanization movement in the world. CBC’s The Current.

This 800 year old Icelandic hymn is pretty damned special. Pulptastic.

I haz a want. Samurai hoodies 🙂 Rocket News 24.

More evidence of the cleverness of crows from Phys.org.

So they built this hotel over an elephant migration route . . . Mental Floss.

David Wong shares the real meaning of Christmas that everyone forgets. Cracked.

Have a great time tonight and celebrate with the ones you love.

The future is yours to make. Make the most of it!

Thoughty Thursday

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, October 11-17, 2015

/ Melanie Marttila / 2 Comments

Making up for last week!

Here are 13 reasons we need a change in government up here. Press Progress. And guess what? We got it (!) For better or worse. I hope for better. Really, anything’s got to be better.

Providing safe drinking water on reserves (one of numerous issues First Nations face) is simple. Just do it. The Globe and Mail.

Ken Taylor, the Canadian envoy who hid Americans during Iran Hostage Crisis, died last week. NPR.

Brainpickings has unearthed a rare BBC interview with Carl Jung.

Understanding sleep paralysis. IFLS.

The Psychiatric Times reviews the DSM-5 changes for sleep-wake disorders.

How we might cure Alzheimer’s (TED talks):

IFLS explains why you shouldn’t wear a bra. Your boobs will thank you 🙂

Eight things Michelle Coombs is too old for. The Huffington Post.

Bizarre star may suggest the existence of alien civilisations. BBC.

i09 lists five gruesome murders that inspired spooky ghost stories.

600 year old Henry V warship found in Hampshire river. The Telegraph.

Chivalry isn’t dead. You just don’t know what the fuck it is. Myths retold.

Doctors take women’s pain less seriously. The Atlantic.

Jennifer Lawrence speaks out on wage inequality in Hollywood. Salon.

A male engineering student explains why his female colleagues aren’t his equals. Click-bait title for a fair and thoughtful post. The Huffington Post.

Meg Urry writes about ending sexual harassment in astronomy. We need to do this across not only STEM fields, but all fields. Seriously people. Scientific American.

How California’s largest school district blamed an eighth-grader for her rape. This one made me swear. Copiously. The Atlantic.

Nobody cares how hard you work. 99u.

Ravens can tell if you’re a cheater who can’t be trusted. Corvus corvus rocks my world 🙂 IFLS.

Twin pandas were born last week at the Toronto Metro Zoo. IFLS.

Here’s a Red Panda and a pumpkin 🙂

I hope this will hold you until Saturday when I’ll be sharing my thoughts on the fall season television shows (what I’ve seen so far, at least).

Hang in there. Tomorrow’s Friday.

Now, hie thee to a thoughtery!

Thoughty Thursday

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, September 6-12, 2015

/ Melanie Marttila / 1 Comment

Making up for last week (!)

And happy Friday (yeah, I’m posting this late . . .)!

Brené Brown writes about the physics of vulnerability and what resilient people have in common. Brainpickings.

How Katrina turned a psychiatrist into a coroner. The Atlantic.

Why some people are left-handed. Brainpickings.

Upworthy presents a comic that accurately sums up depression and anxiety and the uphill battle of living with them.

You are home. The Bloggess offers a lovely video and message in honour of World Suicide Prevention Day.

Bianca Sparacino explores how we ruin our lives without realizing it. Thought Catalog.

Everyday fantasia: the world of synesthesia. The American Psychological Association.

Your brain is particularly vulnerable to trauma at two distinct ages. Quartz.

Brainpickings shares Carl Sagan’s thoughts on the meaning of life.

Tornados on the sun? Yup. As long as they’re plasma tornados 🙂 IFLS.

The Daily Dot presents the twelve best science shows on YouTube. I follow several of these 🙂

Here are a couple of them now.

Is body shaming helpful? ASAP Thought.

And SciShow answers the question, why don’t spiders stick to their own webs?

Why people’s opinions of you aren’t real:

Homo Naledi, a new species in human lineage, is found in a South African cave. The New York Times.

The White Wolf Pack shares ten fascinating facts about ravens.

And my musical find of the week is Iron & Wine – Boy with a coin:

Have fun, and I’ll see you on Saturday.

Thoughty Thursday

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Dec 21-27, 2014

/ Melanie Marttila

Sixteen tips for dealing with seasonal affective disorder (SAD). The Toast.

Anna Maria Tremonti of CBC’s The Current interviews psychologist Brian Little about personality types.

The elusive art of inner wholeness. Parker Palmer on Brainpickings.

Wendell Barry on solitude and why pride and despair are the two great enemies of creativity. Brainpickings.

The power of applied physics. i09.

Crows understand analogies. So much for calling someone a bird brain 😉 IFLS.

How to find faster than light particles. IFLS.

Say hello to our new galactic neighbour. IFLS.

The dominant life form in the cosmos is probably superintelligent robots. Really? Motherboard.

American management explained. Tickld.

25 of the most creative sculptures you’ll ever see. EarthPorm.com

25 wild parenting moments from EarthPorm.com.

Looking back at Christmas with a couple of videos.

The Pogues:

 

And your Christmas kawaii:

 

It may be January first, but Janus looks back as well as forwards 😉

Have a great rest of the week, y’all!

Thoughty Thursday

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Nov 23-29, 2014

/ Melanie Marttila / 2 Comments

Chuck Wendig confesses to being a sexist, racist, and whatever other ‘ists you can think of. This is social justice in my opinion, so I’m presenting it on thoughty day.

The psychology behind messy rooms. Elite Daily.

Wired’s absurd creature of the week: The colugo. Flying squirrel meets bush baby.

We’re mistaken about the whole alpha wolf thing. i09.

Ravens have social abilities previously only seen in humans. Another reason curvus corvus rocks my world. IFLS.

Interesting for genealogists and writers. Who is related to whom in what way? A great chart to keep things simple. mic.com

Because I love language. Newfoundland slang, brought to you by Cottage Life.

And that’s a wrap for this week.

Thoughty Thursday