Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, April 10-16, 2016

April 21, 2016April 21, 2016 / Melanie Marttila / 1 Comment

It’s mega-thoughty Thursday this week 😉

This is the next emergent issue in Canada: the quality of life in First Nations. This is our Prime Minister’s next big challenge. One First Nation has become the focus of media, recently, but it is not the only place where living conditions have been shown to be deplorable.

Attawapiskat in the news:

In Attawapiskat, by Louise Bernice Halfe with photography by Larry Towell. The Walrus.
Dying from hopelessness: Attawapiskat is desperate to stop suicide epidemic. CBC’s The Current.
Joseph Boyden writes about the true tragedy of Attawapiskat. MacLean’s.
Attawapiskat is not alone: Indigenous suicide is a national problem. “. . . [C]olonialism . . . deprives people of the ability to create their own futures and shape their own destinies.” Bob Rae for The Globe and Mail.

Just because our Prime Minister’s a geek (and yes, I realize he was dodging a question, but he did it well, don’t you think?).

Sandra Martin explains why we need better end-of-life policies in seniors’ residences. The Globe and Mail.

North Carolina passed ridiculous legislation that discriminates against transgendered people in the name of safety. Lindsay King-Miller covers the issue for role reboot.

Carla Ciccone wrote an article to warn women about Jian Gomeshi and it nearly destroyed her life. Chatelaine.

Samhita Mukhopadhyay wonders, will ‘it’s on us’ finally put an end the sexual assault on America’s college campuses? I hope so. It’s time and long past. Mic.com

Jia Tolentio explains how empowerment became a product for women to buy. The New York Times Magazine.

Leah McLaren explains why she’s teaching her son to embrace the ‘girlish.’ The Globe and Mail.

James Phelps, MD, makes the distinction between borderline personality disorder and bi-polar disorder. The Psychiatric Times.

The Mighty shares the secrets of people with anxiety.

Nancy C. Andreasen shares the secrets of the creative brain. The Atlantic.

I didn’t know where to put this tasty tidbit: How to see all the companies tracking you on Facebook and block them. Tech Insider.

The Shell Grotto in Margate, England.

Göbeklitepe. An amazing ancient site.

Photos of the Fukushima exclusion zone show how nature has taken over in a few years. BoredPanda.

Phil Plait debunks the planet nine comet scare for Slate.

Yuri Milner develops Breakthrough Starshot. CBC.

Phil Plait presents a tale of three Jupiters in four parts. Part one: A lonely young Jupiter wanders the galaxy. Part two: A Jupiter analogue orbits another star. Part three: Jupiter’s brother has three suns. And, finally, part four: Great Jupiter’s ghost! Slate.

Where do minds belong? In this fascinating essay, Caleb Scharf speculates on the fate of human, and alien, intelligence. Aeon.

Ariana Eunjung Cha examines Sean Parker’s revolutionary project to ‘solve’ cancer for The Washington Post.

Sarah Laskow considers the original copy of the Malleus Malificarum in Cornell’s witchcraft collection for Altas Obscura.

Food in its growing state 🙂 Bright Side.

Dog shaming always makes me smile. They know we’ll always forgive them 😉 Here are a couple of sites to bookmark in case you need a mid-week pick-me-up. Dogshaming and Dog Shame Awards.

Be Deutsch! Just AWESOME.

All the best.

See you on Saturday!

Thoughty Thursday

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

March 31, 2016March 31, 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, July 5-11, 2015

July 16, 2015 / Melanie Marttila / 2 Comments

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.