TED talks

Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, Dec 27, 2020-Jan 2, 2021

/ Melanie Marttila

Here comes the first tipsday of the new year. Time to indulge in some informal writerly learnings.

Laura Highcove: how your writer’s intuition knows what advice works best for you. Later in the week, Gabriela Pereira interviews Alexandra Monir about the dystopian superhero story. Then, Kim Lozano shares five musts for writing a compelling story beginning. DIY MFA

Princess Weekes: Wonder Woman 1984 was a bitter disappointment. Melina Pendulum

Janice Hardy offers a five-minute fix to jumpstart your scene. Fiction University

Shaelin Bishop offers her advice on how to finish your novel in 2021. Reedsy

Tasha Seegmiller delves into a writer’s authentic self. Then, Fae Rowan offers three words to help you thrive in 2021. Writers in the Storm

The Himbo trope, explained. The Take

The likeable sociopath trope, explained. The Take

Kelsey Allagood: what Gandhi taught me about telling stories that mean something. Later in the week, Jeanne Kisacky shares strategies for restarting a cold project. Writer Unboxed

Shaelin Bishop shares what she learned about writing in 2020. Shaelin Writes

Bunny lists five Arab and Muslim stereotypes to avoid. Mythcreants

All Stories Matter: The Need for Afro-Futurism | Ramatoulie Bobb | TEDxRoyalCentralSchool

Nina Munteanu is embracing the paradox of creative destruction.

Foz Meadows writes a response to Meghan Cox Grudon and the Wall Street Journal. About the classics and teaching them in a modern context. shattersnipe: malcontent & rainbows

The Backlisted podcast considers the influence of Susan Cooper’s The Dark is Rising with Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris, co-authors of The Lost Words and The Lost Spells.

Livia Gershon reveals sci-fi pen pals James Tiptree Jr. and Joanna Russ. JSTOR Daily

The Merril Collection, AKA the Spaced-Out Library, is 50! Toronto Public Libraries

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you found something to support your current work in progress.

Until Thursday, be well and stay safe!

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Dec 1-5, 2020

/ Melanie Marttila

It’s time to get your mental corn popping!

Khari Johnson report how Stanford rushed to comply with Trump executive order limiting diversity training. Venture Beat

Three questions to ask yourself about everything you do. Stacey Abrams TED

Richard Frishman: the ghosts of segregation. The New York Times

Karens and cancel culture. Chelsea Handler on Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man. Emmanuel Acho

Racism is a public health crisis. SciShow Psych

Vanessa Romo: judge orders Trump administration to restore DACA as it existed under Obama. NPR

Pesha Magid: the Middle East as old Hollywood saw it. Atlas Obscura

Mikelle Street shares the news: Elliot Page announces he’s trans. Out

Robert Z. Pearlman: Mark Kelley becomes the fourth astronaut elected to Congress. Space

Dayla Alberge reports that “the Sistine Chapel of the Ancients” is found in the Amazon. The Guardian

Sarah Gibbens explains how pristine Arctic preserves will benefit wildlife and Inuit communities. National Geographic

True facts about snake and lizard tongues. Ze Frank

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you took away something to inspire your next 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, Sept 20-26, 2020

/ Melanie Marttila

It’s time to get your mental corn popping.

BLM and covid-19 sections precede more general links.

Tessa Duvall offers a fact-check on the Breonna Taylor case. USA Today

Dylan Lovan, Piper Hudspeth Blackburn, and John Minchillo report on the two Louisville officers shot during the Breonna Taylor protests. Why? “The violence comes after prosecutors said two officers who fired their weapons at Taylor, a Black woman, were justified in using force to protect themselves after they faced gunfire from her boyfriend. The only charges were three counts of wanton endangerment against fired Officer Brett Hankison for shooting into a home next to Taylor’s with people inside.” AP News

Russell Contreras reveals how the story of the underground railroad to Mexico is gaining attention. Associated Press

Jacinda Townsend explains how the Green Book helped Black travellers navigate a segregated nation. Yes, this is from 2016. These conversations aren’t new. The Smithsonian Magazine

Sam Levine explains how Republicans gutted the biggest voting rights victory in recent history. Voter suppression/poll taxing in action. The Guardian

Mohammed Elnaiem revisits the death of South African activist Steve Biko. JSTOR Daily

Nicole Karlis reports that a covid vaccine may only last for a year based on the most recent findings. Salon

Olga Khazan: a failure of empathy led to 200,000 deaths. It has deep roots. The Atlantic

How losing your job changes you. SciShow Psych

Richard Herzog explains how Aztecs reacted to colonial pandemics. JSTOR Daily

Richard Wolf calls Justice Ginsberg a superhero who never quit as she returns to Supreme Court one final time. Ginsberg is the first woman to lie in state. USA Today

Jackson Katz: violence against women—it’s a men’s issue. This TED talk is from 2012. Have we made significant progress since? TEDxFiDiWomen 

Ruth Tam advises you to lift your head and lower your arms—you just might feel better. NPR

Meghan Keane explains how to say no, for the people pleaser who always says yes. NPR

Stephen E. Nash: what fire archaeology tells us about the bringing of the American West. Atlas Obscura

The truth about dog years. SciShow

Thieving pikas in the Rockies. Because pikas are CUTE! The Nature of Things | CBC

Sarah Miller Llana considers the Sudbury model: how one of the world’s major polluters went green. Christian Science Monitor

It’s probably not life on Venus … but it could be. SciShow Space

Thor Benson reveals project A119 and the time we almost nuked the moon. Wild. Digital Trends

Alex Sanz: NASA astronaut Kate Rubins intends to vote from the ISS. AP News

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you found something to inspire your next creative project.

This weekend I should be posting my next chapter update for September (!) Seriously, where has the time gone?

Until then, be well and stay safe, my writerly friends.

Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, July 19-25, 2020

/ Melanie Marttila

Black lives matter. Indigenous lives matter. All lives cannot matter until Black and Indigenous lives matter.

The biggest covid concern of the moment is school reopening. I really think that they need to stay virtual and that employers and the government need to collaborate to support parents who need to stay home for their school-aged children. The economy is still in bad shape and will continue to be for some time. There are signs of recovery, though. Getting kids back to school and risking them and their teachers and everyone they might come into contact with is not the answer.

Yes, virtual learning is hard. Yes, all learners will not excel in a virtual environment. Yes, it requires more of students and parents. And yes, I do not have kids, nor am I an elementary or high school teacher, but some of my best friends are teachers and I’m listening to their concerns. As the old saw goes, I’d rather be safe than sorry. Covid is not going away tomorrow.

On that cheerful note, please fortify yourself for another week of #pandemiclife with these informal writerly learnings.

Jan O’Hara shares a plotstorming technique. Then, Barbara O’Neal explains how to write during a pandemic even if it feels like you can’t. Later in the week, Heather Webb says, writers, pay yourself first. Keith Cronin has a great writing craft recommendation: the guy who wrote Fight Club just kicked my ass. Writer Unboxed

Princess Weekes offers an introduction to Afrofuturism. It’s Lit | PBS Storied

K.M. Weiland offers four questions that will help you avoid plot holes. Helping Writers Become Authors

Jenna Moreci offers her top tips for self-editing.

Angela Ackerman suggests a secret weapon for characterization: the character’s job. Then, Ellen Buikema is creating memorable animal characters. Writers in the Storm

Chrys Fey explains how to create a free book trailer using Adobe Spark. Fiction University

Ginnye Lynn Cubel shares five tips for a mindful writing practice. DIY MFA

Bunny lists seven reasons storytellers should consume bad stories. Then, Oren Ashkenazi examines six sexist themes from the early Wheel of Time books. Mythcreants

Paul Graham explains how to do what you love. Very though-provoking essay.

The Irish language and beauty. Dónall Ó Héalaí | TEDxBerkeley

Joi-Marie Mckenzie lists the 50 most influential books by Black authors in the past 50 years. Essence

Cinema’s racist history. The Take

Amy Sackville: I am not reading. I am not writing. This is not normal. The Guardian

Nathan J. Robinson parses the issue of J.K. Rowling and the limits of imagination. Again, this article discusses TERF-dom. Please avoid if you are triggered by that material, but it is a very considered and thoughtful take. Current Affairs

Thank you for stopping by, and I hope that you found something to support your current work in progress.

Until Thursday, be well and stay safe!

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Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, June 28-July 4, 2020

/ Melanie Marttila

Welcome to thoughty Thursday! You know what that means, tomorrow is Friday. You’ve almost made it through another week. It’s time to get your mental corn popping!

Dionne Brand considers narrative, reckoning, and the calculus of living and dying. The Toronto Star

James Hopkin: court rules in favour of Robinson Huron Treaty beneficiaries. Soo Today

Mahdere Yared talks about the long-term effects of racism. TEDxPineCrestSchool

Claire Lampen: cops in riot gear stormed the violin vigil for Elijah McClain. The Cut

Priya Satia explains what’s really Orwellian about our global Black Lives Matter moment. Slate

Chi Luu highlights the sorry state of apologies. JSTOR Daily

Denise Oliver Velez connects the dots between Mount Rushmore, the KKK, and sanitized American history. Because a certain person held a rally there and tried to call BLM a racist attack on … I can’t even finish that sentence. From 2015. NONE OF THIS IS NEW. Daily KOS

SciShow Space news: black hole mergers and a possible gas giant core

Nadia Drake: mysterious cosmic object consumed by black hole baffles astronomers. National Geographic

Dr. Emily Zarka studies the bunyip. Monstrum

Thanks for visiting, and I hop that you found something to inspire your next creative project.

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

ThoughtyThursday2019

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Jan 26-Feb 1, 2020

/ Melanie Marttila

It’s time to get your mental corn popping, that is, to get you thinking and to get those ideas and creative connections ping-ponging off the inside of your skull 🙂

Suzanne Yost says, because I’m an introvert, you won’t see the real me right away. I still remember when I got to know one of my boyfriend’s friends better, they said they thought I was a snob … but that I was really rather fun. Thanks? Introvert, Dear

Nikki Sanchez: decolonization is for everyone. TEDxSFU

Erin Blakemore presents seven mysterious sounds that science has yet to solve. Popular Science

Neel V. Patel shares the highest resolution picture of the sun ever taken. MIT Technology Review

Alex Pasternack: this amazing new planetarium show is like Google Earth for the universe. Fast Comapny

Andrew Daniels: we spent all day arguing about this triangle brain teaser. Can you solve it? Popular Mechanics

How a simple equation will change the way you see the world. Veritasium

The oldest pool of water on Earth is in Ontario. Curiocity

Judith Lavoie reports that a government investigation reveals BC timber sales violating old-growth logging rules. The Narwhale

Bryan Nelson: the world’s largest honeybee makes rare, hallucinogenic honey. Mother Nature Network

Appalachian Magazine introduces us to the witch bottle.

Delaney Strunk presents a mother’s letter, written moments before her death at Auschwitz. Insider

Thanks for dropping by, and I hope you found something to inspire your next creative project.

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

ThoughtyThursday2019

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Dec 29, 2019-Jan 4, 2020

/ Melanie Marttila

It’s time to get your mental corn popping.

Jamie Carter offers a skywatcher’s guide to 2020. Forbes

Caleb Scharf wonders if we’re alone in a crowded Milky Way. Scientific American

Joe explains the benefits of launching rockets from the moon. It’s okay to be smart

Physics Girl shares part three of her visit to CERN.

Shayla Love: how long is right now? Fave bit: physics says “right now” may be an illusion … that’s not to say we should all become chrono-nihilists … Vice

The MIT Technology Review considers how a virtual version of da Vinci’s glass orb helps explain its weirdness.

Mike Cannon-Brookes: how to harness imposter syndrome for the greater good. TED Talks

James Hamblin says, your bedroom is too hot. Get your mind out of the gutter! The Atlantic

Darryl Fears: on land, Australia’s rising heat is “apocalyptic.” In the ocean, it’s worse. The Washington Post

Thanks for stopping by. I hope something here inspires your next creative project.

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

ThoughtyThursday2019

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Apr 28-May 4, 2019

/ Melanie Marttila

It is once more time to get your mental corn popping 🙂

Kaitlin Sullivan reports that neuroscientists have just brought pig brain cells back to life and how that changes our view of death. Popular Science

Karen Weintraub explains how scientists take a step toward decoding speech from the brain. Scientific American

SciShow Psych: can you become a morning person?

 

Jayshree Pandya wonders, are machines conscious? Forbes

Elizabeth Flock announces that the flip phone is back. Have people had enough of constant connection? PBS

Hannah Gadsby’s TED Talk: three ideas. Three contradictions. Or not.

SciShow Space News tackles the question of how fast the universe is expanding.

 

Liz Langley explains how bioluminescence works in nature. National Geographic

Catherine Zuckerman invites us to see the worlds oldest trees by starlight. National Geographic

Thanks for dropping by and I hope you found some inspiration in these links.

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

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Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Dec 30, 2018 – Jan 5, 2019

/ Melanie Marttila

Get your mental corn popping with some thoughty this Thursday.

Gloria Hillard reports on how abused wolves and troubled teens find solace in each other. NPR

Kelly McGonigal: how to make stress your friend. TED Talks 2013 (yes, it’s old, but it’s good)

Aida Edemariam delves into Roxane Gay and her philosophy: “Public discourse rarely allows for nuance. And see where that’s gotten us.” The Guardian

Mark Lorch: the periodic tables we almost had. Quartz

Neel V. Patel introduces us to Farout, the newest, most distant member of our solar system. Popular Science

SciShow Space considers why it’s so hard to land on Mars.

 

And then, they compile several of their videos to tell you everything your need to know to live on Mars.

 

Michael Greshko wonders, now that China’s landed on the far side of the moon, what’s next? National Geographic

The “snowman” shape of Ultima Thule is revealed by NASA’s New Horizons. Jonathan Amos for the BBC.

Thanks for visiting. I hope you found something inspiring in the mix.

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

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Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, April 15-21, 2018

/ Melanie Marttila

Here are a few items to get your mental corn popping.

Cara Giaimo shares everything we know about birds that glow. Atlas Obscura

The Los Angeles Times editorial board says it’s time to phase out all single-use plastics.

David Costanza begs, can we please stop talking about generations as if they’re a thing? Slate

I didn’t know where to put this, really. Megan Senseney reviews the history of the spite house. Seems like an expensive way to get revenge to me. Urbo

Steven Silver offers an Apple crime roundup. Find out, among other things, how an Apple watch helped solve a murder. Writer fuel? You betcha! Apple Insider

Clive Irving lauds how veteran fighter pilot Tammy Jo Shults saved crippled Southwest flight 1380. The Daily Beast

Kyra Gaunt: how the jump rope got its rhythm. TED Talks

Artful science: Imogen Heap sings salt shapes.

 

And check out this beautiful moon Saturn occultation.

 

Inverse: Your Brain on Social Media. It’s not all bad …

 

Watch out, Grumpy Cat. Loki’s here to steal your throne. Vaiva Vareikaite for Bored Panda.

I hope you got some great ideas from this week’s batch of thought 🙂

Be well until next Tipsday!

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