Thoughty Thursday

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Jan 18-24, 2015

/ Melanie Marttila

A first-person account of the Paris rally. Psychiatric Times.

Redefining mental illness. The New York Times.

Drink more tea. It’s good for your mental health. The Canadian Mental Health Association.

Love this comic from Everyday feminism on body policing.

The Huffington Post. The surprising cause of addiction—it’s not what you think.

The LA Times reports on the dangers of sitting all day. One of the reasons I now have an adjustable desk at home.

Why you should take notes by hand instead of by lap top. Lifehack. This is how I do all my conference learning these days. I listen, take notes by hand, and then transcribe those notes later in a blog post. That’s three exposures to the same information by three different methods. Do I remember more? You betcha!

Jane Friedman shares ten resolutions for a saner internet—and life.

The potential quantum effect of parallel worlds on our own. Mother Nature News.

Thanks to the Hubble telescope’s latest and highest resolution picture, you can now get new perspective on how vast the universe is. IFLS.

How could I resist this piece by National Geographic on animal commuters?

Keep on learning! It’s the only way to live 🙂

See you Saturday!

Thoughty Thursday

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

/ Melanie Marttila / 3 Comments

Let’s start with a moment of silence. Please use that time to look at these images from Paris in the wake of the terrorist attack. The Boston Globe.

 

Fast Company asks, what is your beautiful question of 2015?

The subtle art of not giving a fuck. This post by Mark Hanson was shared by Delilah S. Dawson. It’s pure awesomesause.

And here is one of my favourite memes on the subject:

Field of Fucks

Canva shares six ways to stay creative under pressure.

Mary Jaksh of Write to Done compiled this list of creativity posts and articles.

Why not everyone who tries drugs becomes an addict. IFLS.

Bell’s Let’s Talk campaign takes aim at ending the stigma around mental illness.

Clara Hughes’s testimonial:

 

How women are working to change the public perception of body image. UpWorthy.

How will language change in the next 100 years? The Wall Street Journal.

Bill Nye’s new book and talking Darwin over dinner. Science Friday.

i09 presents eight logical fallacies that fuel anti-science sentiments.

Space Suite, a short video by Lucas Green and shared by Phil Plait on his Bad Astronomy blog.

Neil deGrasse Tyson answers the question, “what’s the meaning of life?” UpRoxx. Best answer since 42.

How many smells can you smell? It’s okay to be smart.

 

Why do dogs watch—and react to—TV? National Geographic.

Does my dog know what I’m thinking? It’s okay to be smart.

 

Do our dogs miss us when we go away? BrainCraft.

 

Foxes in photos from MetaSpoon.

The beauty of abandoned greenhouses. MessyNessyChic.

Dark and lonely roads photographed by Andy Lee. Bored Panda.

2200 year old mosaics uncovered in ancient Greek city. Twisted Sifter.

Imogen Heap is one of my favourite musicians, but she’s also a musical inventor and innovator. Consider her brilliance in this article from CNN about her Mi.Mu gloves.

Owl City and Lindsey Stirling: Beautiful Times. Just lovely.

 

Last week was uber thoughty! Who’d a thunk it?

See you Saturday!

Thoughty Thursday

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Jan 4-10, 2015

/ Melanie Marttila

Another small package of good things for you.

The haunting world of 19th century asylums. Abandoned places are so inspirational. Brainpickings.

A couple purchased an abandoned 1700s French chateau and took pictures of what they found. Wimp.com

Do the spiral and cup carvings have something to do with astrology? Irish Central.

Check out these pictures of the 2015 ice and snow festival in Harbin, China. The Atlantic.

Scientific American delves into the reasons why we’re so intrigued by zombies.

After years of podcasting, Neil deGrasse Tyson is getting his own late night talk show. (YAY!) The Verge.

CNN presents a cool kind of horse racing.

A picture of another winter horse race shared by a friend. Panoramio.

When I was a kid, this was entertainment:

 

The Thin White Dude has always been a fashion icon. Esquire.

Get thoughty with it!

See you on the weekend 🙂

Thoughty Thursday

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Dec 28, 2014-Jan 3, 2015

/ Melanie Marttila / 2 Comments

Peg Fitzpatrick shares Elizabeth Gilbert’s Happiness Jar project. Write the happiest moment of your day down and put it in the jar. It’s as simple as that.

The seven habits of happy people that they never talk about. Mind Body Green.

The age of loneliness is killing us. The Guardian.

WikiHow explains how to recognize a psychopath.

Back in September, just before DevLearn, Twist recorded a conversation with Neil deGrasse Tyson about science literacy and the future of work. Awesome stuff.

The eight books Neil believes everyone should read to understand the thinking that has historically driven western culture. Brainpickings.

Moar Neil, this time from the Business Insider: Why role models are overrated. It starts a playlist, but they’re all interesting videos . . .

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This article by Keith E. Stanovich for The Scientific American made me think about thinking. Metathinking? Anyway, it’s about dysrational thought and intelligence.

Thought we were more enlightened than this? I did too. Excellent reality check and novel fodder. i09.

Ten comics intended to shut down terrible arguments (but that might really only inflame the situation—please use with caution). i09.

These ten Futurama jokes will make you smarter. i09.

Another study confirms that ereaders disturb proper sleep patterns leading to various health complications. If you read anything before sleeping, make it a paper book. NPR.

The science of sleep: dreaming, depression, and how REM sleep regulates negative emotions. Brainpickings.

Why is NASA looking at your Christmas lights from space? Futurity.

We didn’t get to see this, but apparently there was a comet that could be seen with the naked (or binoculared) eye on New Year’s. The Christian Science Monitor.

There’s this star and it’s headed straight for our solar system. IFLS.

The Large Hadron Collider is coming back online at double the power to track down that tricky Higgs Boson and solve more of the mysteries of the universe. The Independent.

Archaeologists have unearthed a 6000 year old mega-temple built by a matriarchal society. World.Mic

These photographs of ancient trees are absolutely fabulous. BoredPanda.

Here are the top five National Geographic videos of 2014. Varied topics, but all fascinating.

People buy the strangest things. The Examiner.

An old-timey cover of Stay with me by Christina Gatti:

 

This guy casts his boxer puppy as Indiana Bones. Too kawaii for words. i09.

That’s your thoughty for the week.

See you 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, Dec 14-20, 2014

/ Melanie Marttila

It’s Christmas Day . . . whee! I’ll be sharing a great meal with the family. Hope all of you are similarly occupied today.

Creative people are paradoxical. Who knew? 😉 Fast Comapny.

What it means to have the heart of an empath. Sensitive is also one of the defining traits of the introverted, so you may find some enlightenment here. Elephant Journal.

I have this amazing friend (Hi, Dani!) who’s been teaching mindfulness to her class. They made this video:

 

Have a look at the lovely (and detailed) maps being sent back to us from Mars. Wired.

The huge issues science fiction movies conveniently gloss over. Cracked.

How ancient Romans made stronger concrete than we do. Construction companies, take note. i09.

I’m not even sure where to put this . . . The blood-curdling sound of the Aztec whistle. Dangerous Minds.

A creative musician figured out a way to translate the information contained in tree rings into piano notes. The result is amazing. IFLS

This is awesome. How a 3D printer was used to make prosthetics for a dog born with malformed front legs. Fabulous implications for human application, too, don’t you think? IFLS.

See you Saturday!

Thoughty Thursday

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Dec 7-13, 2014

/ Melanie Marttila / 2 Comments

Why every year seems to pass more quickly than the last. The Mind Unleashed. An argument for remaining present in the moment if I ever heard one.

The CBC’s Anna Maria Tremonti interviews Bletchley Circle code breaker.

Albert Einstein wrote to Marie Curie and advised her to take heart and ignore the “trolls.” i09.

28 months on Mars. What Curiosity has taught us so far. The New York Times.

Two blue giants engage in interstellar merger. IFLS.

Is there a parallel universe that moves backward in time? IFLS. As one friend commented, science is finally catching up with Merlin (The Once and Future King, T.H. White).

One physicist has a groundbreaking idea about why life exists. Business Insider.

Are there still people out there that think climate change is a conspiracy? Ask them to watch this:

 

Images of Bhopal and its people, thirty years after the disaster. The Altantic.

Rinelle Harper calls for national inquiry into violence against aboriginal women. The Huffington Post.

What an x-ray reveals about the art of Artemesia Gentileschi.

How one boy responded when his friend came out to him. Elite Daily.

Amazing uncensored art reflects modern society. So bad, so good.

Here’s some inspiration for you: Why you will fail to have a great career. Larry Smith’s TEDxUW talk.

 

This is just fun: someone created a map of the UK with only the rude place names listed. *giggles* Buzzfeed.

Ok. Time to get a little weepy over our canine buddies. Why dogs never really die. Tickld.

And on that sombre note, Thoughty Thursday is adjourned.

See you Saturday for all things updatey 🙂

Thoughty Thursday

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Nov 30-Dec 6, 2014

/ Melanie Marttila / 2 Comments

Diana Pitaru of Psych Central wonders, are we afraid of losing our darkness?

TED talks to pick you up when you’re feeling down.

The trouble with bright girls. Psychology Today.

Anita Sarkeesian is just getting started. Bloomberg Businessweek. One of my favourite bits: “Harassment is the background radiation of my life.” And still she fights on. The definition of courage.

Alanah Pearce has started reporting young harassers to their moms. The Huffington Post.

Trauma dog helps victims on the stand during sexual abuse trial. The Huffington Post.

It’s hard to believe it’s been 25 years since the Montreal Massacre was perpetrated. Poet Penn Kemp posted about some of the commemorative and healing events taking place.

The world’s oldest engravings found on 500,000 year old shells. IFLS.

Abandoned and tragic places are fascinating to me. Drone footage of the Chernobyl exclusion zone from IFLS.

Thanks to Phil Plait for posting this wonderful video on his Slate Bad Astronomy column.

Cymatics, the science of sound from Nigel Stanford.

 

Cody C. Delistraty of The Atlantic wonders, can creativity be learned? What a new study reports.

The difference between opinion and reaction. Prolost.

Walking helps us think. The New Yorker.

Veritasium. Why innovation in education is not the end of the teacher.

 

Reasons you should move to Finland. Buzzfeed. We have most of this stuff right here in Canada, though, especially in Sudbury, Thunder Bay, and many other northern communities where the Finnish have settled. My last name? Finnish 🙂 Yes, my mom has a sauna and makes Finn bun. Om-a-nom-a-nom-a-nom.

I only hope this is true. The Huffington Post.

Kawaii time with Buzzfeed: 21 reasons to be thankful for your dog.

Stanley the Airedale talks to his mom on the phone.

 

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

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Nov 16-22, 2014

/ Melanie Marttila

Can you rewire your brain to change bad habits, thoughts, and feelings? AlterNet.

The science of sleep on Brainpickings.

Brain scans reveal what dogs really think of humans. Brain.mic

An archaeological find with a great story behind it. The Daily Mail Online.

A 1300 year old book of Egyptian spells has been deciphered. i09.

A 2000 year old pigment can eliminate the third dimension. Confused? Just read the article. i09.

Five facts you should know about the women who shaped modern physics. Ideas.TED.com

Know your place in the universe. BuzzFeed.

The sound the universe makes. Janna Levin. TED Talk.

Could we actually live on Mars? ASAP Science.

 

Russian dash cams have caught another flash in the sky. They’re still trying to figure out what it was. IFLS.

The sixth extinction. It’s coming. It’s okay to be smart.

 

What does a murmuration look like when it’s not in flight?

 

MacLean’s interviews Joni Mitchell.

A light-based art exhibit by Bruce Munro. My Modern Met.

Six ideas from creative thinkers to shake up your work routine. Ideas.TED.com

What Finland is doing right for its students. The Conversation.

Soup to nuts and everything in between 🙂

See you Saturday!

Thoughty Thursday