Tapestry

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, July 25-31, 2021

/ Melanie Marttila

Welcome to thoughty Thursday, your chance to get your mental corn popping. The weekend’s in sight! We’ll get there 🙂

Christian Spencer reports that the majority of Americans want the history of racism and slavery taught in schools. The Hill

Li Zhou explains why Illinois’s new law requiring Asian American history in schools is so significant. Vox

Dianne Lugo: 100 years after forceful removal, Nez Perce people celebrates reclaimed homeland. Statesman Journal    

Matthew Wills considers vaccine hesitancy in the 1920s. See, it’s nothing new 😦 JSTOR Daily

Andrew McKevitt shares some foundations and key concepts about guns in America. JSTOR Daily

InSight reveals the deep interior of Mars. NASA

How do supermassive black holes grow? Dr. Becky

What the new black hole discovery tells us. Physics Girl

Climate tipping points are now imminent, scientists warn. Deutche Welle (DW)

Sara Burrows: woman turns non-recyclable plastic into bricks seven times stronger than concrete. Return to Now

Kim Fahner: we, and those who come after, have a stake in what happens to the Laurentian Trail System. Sudbury.com

Mary Hynes interviews Robin Wall Kimmerer about the spirit of life in everything. CBC’s Tapestry

Why is sex a thing? It’s okay to be smart

Weird body parts. SciShow

Siobhan Leddy: Leonora Carrington brought a wild, feminist energy to surrealist painting. Artsy

Maya Wei-Haas reports that this 890-year-old sponge fossil may be the earliest animal yet found. National Geographic

Thanks for taking the time to stop by, and I hope you took away something to inspire a future creative project.

Until next tipsday, 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, July 12-18, 2020

/ Melanie Marttila

Happy Friday eve! Without further delay, it’s time to get your mental corn popping 🙂

An example of how white supremacy privileges things over humans. Black Lives Matter Toronto holds a press conference after three protestors are arrested for “defacing” statues. Don’t even look at the comments on this one if you’re not prepared to be triggered. CTV

Mary Hynes interviews Ijeoma Oluo on Tapestry. CBC

Ashawnta Jackson explains what the first Black-owned bookstore had to do with the underground railroad. JSTOR Daily

Sarah Gilbert: civil rights activist and politician, John Lewis—a life in pictures. The Guardian

Sonia Saraiya interviews Viola Davis: my entire life has been a protest. Vanity Fair

Paul McGuinness reveals the power of protest songs. uDiscover Music

Amy Greer, Nisha Thampi and Ashleigh Tuite: we can get children back to school full time, if we put the right strategy in place. The problem is, no one can agree on what that strategy is … The Globe and Mail

North Bay OPP charge Florida couple with failing to self-isolate. CBC

What happened when we all stopped, narrated by Jane Goodall. TED.Ed

Adam Mann: the universe’s clock might have bigger ticks than we imagine. Scientific American

Mary Robinette Kowal does a dramatic reading of her “peeing in space” Twitter thread for Uncanny Magazine. It is hilarious.

David Szondy: 75 years ago, the Trinity atomic bomb test changed the world forever. New Atlas

Mark Wilson says knock codes were supposed to be more secure than passwords or PINs, but they’re surprisingly easy to hack. Fast Company

Catie Keck shares everything we know about the 2020 Twitter hack (so far). Gizmodo

Nathanael Johnson: the population bomb didn’t detonate, but it turns out there’s a new problem. Grist

Feargus O’Sullivan goes behind the accidentally resilient design of Athens apartments. CityLab

Sophia Smith Galer reveals the accidental invention of the Illuminati conspiracy. BBC

SciShow busts the “alpha dog” theory.

Jimmy Thomson says, one solution to the world’s climate woes is Canada’s natural landscapes. The Narwhal

Alexandra Witze: how humans are altering the tides of the oceans. BBC

Thank you for stopping by. I hope you took away something to inspire a future creative project.

Until next tipsday, be well and stay safe, by kind, and stay strong. The world needs your stories!

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Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, Mar 10-16, 2019

/ Melanie Marttila

Another week, another bunch of informal writerly learnings 🙂

There’s not as much as usual, because last week’s Facebook outage sacrificed a whole day’s worth of curation. Sorry, but it’s still the easiest way for me to track my online reading.

Nina Munteanu explains how to stoke the scintillation of inspiration.

Julianna Baggott offers three clues that you may be a more productive writer. Kathryn Craft tells you when to let go of your original inspiration. Writer Unboxed

Christina Delay wants you to invite creativity through meditation. Writers in the Storm

K.M. Weiland says that plot, character, and theme are the greatest love triangle of all time. Helping Writers Become Authors

Elisabeth Kauffman answers a question about character description and POV. Stephanie Jo Harris shares five tips for fearless writing. DIY MFA

Chris Winkle answers a writing question: how do I keep my non-productive immortal race from becoming problematic? Then, Chris teams up with Oren Ashkenazi: five ways your characters can acquire magic. Finally, Oren tackles five more underpowered antagonists. Mythcreants

Jami Gold talks about story threads and fixing the rips in our stories. Victoria Mixon explains how to layer character for believable fiction. Writers Helping Writers

Alexa Donne tries to help you figure out if you’re a good writer.

 

Mary Hynes: when hope is “punk” and grudge is forgiveness. “Tapestry” on CBC.

Ben H. Winters wonders what the make-believe bureaucracies of science fiction say about us? The New York Times

And that was Tipsday. Come back on Thursday for some fuel for your thoughts.

Until then, be well, my friends!

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Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, July 29-Aug 4, 2018

/ Melanie Marttila

Thanks for coming back! It’s Friday eve and time to get your mental corn popping.

Anne McLaughlin reminds us that August first is Lughnassadh.

Ephrat Livni: the artful science behind the scent of bottled rain. Quartz

Brian Kahn exposes how the quietest place in America is becoming a warzone. Gizmodo

Brad Stulberg introduces us to the equation that will make us better at everything. Outside

Christa Couture hosts a summer edition of CBC’s “Tapestry”: rethinking disability.

Michael Finkel explores the amazing journey our minds go on when we sleep. National Geographic

Annaliese Griffin recommends Wednesday as the best day to take off. Quartzy

Shannon Odell: your brain on alcohol. Inverse

 

Natalie Wolchover: the peculiar math that could underlie the laws of nature. Wired

Nadia Drake gives us the facts on the underground lake found on Mars. National Geographic

​This star might be hiding new elements. SciShow Space

 

Jesse Grady explains what dog and cat years really mean. Popular Science

Julija Televičiūtė brings us the story of how a puppy saved from a fire became a fire fighting dog. Bored Panda

Ze Frank: true facts about the owl. Not as hilarious as some, but still cute 🙂

Until the next time I blog, be well, be kind, and stay strong. The world needs your stories!

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