Week of July 26th

Starting with the hard stuff first this week.  Heavy news week in general. 

A cease fire followed the bombing of a school that was used as a UN shelter in Gaza.  If you need a more info on what is going on the in area, you can read or listen to this NPR piece or this more comprehensive NY Times article-- it seems like daily updates are needed to stay totally informed right now (I started this yesterday, and the cease fire has expired since....)

It looks as though those responsible for the downing of Flight 17 were actually Ukrainian rebels, thinking they were targeting a military plane. 

You should have heard about Eric Garner this week... the Staten Island man who was arrested and ultimately killed (died... guess it depends on how you want to put it).  Meanwhile, Newark's police force is getting a federal monitor due to repeated rights violations.

Have you been hearing anything about the Syrian civil war?  I have not...and probably wouldn't have at all if it weren't for looking for news for this blog.  And yet, 1700 people have been killed in the past week.  Leaving me realizing that I don't do a good enough job staying informed and informing Christina!

More on Finland this week, too- it just so happens that this article about Finland's success with education was one I found today as well.  I think it oversimplifies, however-- yes, the respect for teachers is something to look at deeply, but the demographics may also play a role.  Thoughts?

And in New York demographics-- check out this building with separate entrances for rich and poor.  I hope two star crossed lovers end up violating door use here one day.

Continuing with "what now" in the Hobby Lobby and religious right right's conversation, check out this story about a nurse-midwife who is suing because she wasn't hired because she won't prescribe the pill.

I still don't have a name picked out for this new baby who's coming any day....unless we go with Zoe's pick of Grandma.  But this article regarding using the mom's last name and people's reactions is interesting to consider.  Thoughts?  Reactions?  Opinions?

Some news I didn't get to..... the Tour de France, other airplane crashes, etc....so check out this week in pictures from BBC to see if you want more.  My favorite is pictured below- don't you want to jump from there?

Week of July 19th

Let's start with some cold, hard, news.

This is utterly absurd to me.  It is as if money is literally worth a different value in different locations.  So many of you are homeowners.  How do you justify it?  And what on earth, Boston?
(Will you come visit me in Topeka?)

Continuing with news of importance-- I was a little disappointed to read that the new season of Scandal will highlight Abby.  Actually (truthfully), when I saw the headline I thought- "who's Abby?"

And do you want a compelling way to prove the popularity of the World Cup.  Check out the impact it had on web based porn.

And I'm starting to cross my fingers that maybe I'll really get to live through our finding life in outer space.  You think?  If we concentrate our efforts really hard in the next 30 years???

Let's talk about art...design...vaginas.

 

Did you see this artist, above, who did her own crowdsourcing to fund her vagina based kayak?  Apparently she has now been arrested for obsenity.
And I had a bit of a debate recently with friends about whether the design for the World Cup stadium in Qatar is actually vagina shaped.  They said no.  I said it looks identical to a plate in Judy Chicago's The Dinner Party.  Personally, I think there is no question about it, but given that the architect says otherwise I'm presenting another view.

This is a really interesting piece on the desegregation of public schools since Brown v Board of ed.  Sixty years have passed.... and you can probably assume not a staggering amount of change.

Some real news, really now-- I am assuming you heard about the Malaysian airline flight that was downed this week.  And Ukraine is saying it can prove that Russian missiles downed the aircraft.  

Can we talk about this for a moment?   A single working mother had her nine-year-old play in the park while she was at work.  She was put in jail.  Had she been at home in her house making dinner, would it have been okay? 

There is a lot of rather depressing Israel/Palestinian news to weed through this week, so instead I'm opting for a feel good piece from NPR-- a shared break-fast meal out of the chaos.

And look-- a pro-testing piece!  I finally found one.  Tests make us smarter, they say.  Blog officially balanced!    

Week of July 13th

Hi all!  Here is a little taste of this and that from this week-- really no theme, and certainly no mood stuck, just a bit of a hodgepodge....

World Cup News-- I believe that very few readers need this information, but it is important that Christina be able to speak to anyone about the fact that Germany won the 2014 World Cup today, defeating Argentina.  Click here to see why Aaron is now suggesting we name our baby Mario.

I feel like I all but missed the fact that New York legalized medical marijuana this week.  Did you all?  Did anyone think we shouldn't?  Anyways, we did, so that's that.  In DC, however, there is some "feuding" going on regarding the potential decriminalization of marijuana, so we'll have to keep tabs on that.

Tennessee recently passed a law criminalizing the use of narcotics by pregnant women-- and, the first woman was just arrested under it, two days after her baby was born.  I have a lot of questions about what this could mean for women in the future....what do you think?

This NY Times article on the handling of a rape report by a college student is pretty disconcerting.  It reminds me of a clip from The Daily Show a few weeks ago --  and an example of one of the times where I've said I'm not laughing, because this is too true and frustrating to be funny while watching Jon Stewart. 

NY Times Sports Section

If you are interested in the fact that Lebron James is heading back to Cleveland, he is. And even if you don't care, you have to admit that the front page of the NY Times sports section is pretty awesome, above.

Weigh in on the potato salad situation. Everyone else has.  Is it hilarious?  Or is it equivalent to taking money from hardworking artists and entrepreneurs?  Should he donate to charity, or make some potato salad and head to the bank?

It seems genetics may play a role in whether you math nerd it out like Marni or book nerd it out like Christina!  And, perhaps those genes are more similar than one might think.   Interesting.....

I am fascinated by this town in Norway (truly, we are supposed to believe that its name is Longyearbyen?).  Joblessness and homelessness are both banned, and most residents carry guns...to protect themselves from polar bears.

I think I've never gone into anything related to Israel and Palestine here-- my parents are planning a trip to Israel next fall so they've been monitoring more than I have.  Here is a short explanation of some of the challenges in the area currently.  Possibly more to come.

And have you seen a mustache car drive by yet?  Lyft came to Queens and Brooklyn on Friday.  Anyone know if they really are more affordable?

Independence Day Weekend

Happy Fourth of July Weekend!

Starting off with the news for America: 
If you are well versed in the Hobby Lobby decision, skip this paragraph.  I'm assuming you know (but maybe not?) that all the women judges plus one mail voted against this-- here we have the best lines from Ginsburg's dissent (and a link to the whole thing if you are so inclined).    Here is an opinion piece that helps explain the fear that this decision could have lasting impact, even though the claim is that it will not set precedent for other religious based medical coverage.  Watch out- might this really happen?

A bunch of you are homeowners-- is it good news for you, then, that Brooklyn is now the number 2 most expensive place to live?
Not good news for me!

Speaking of Brooklyn, NY lost the first fire fighter in two years yesterday. :(

More Detroit news-- water companies are cutting off water on customers who are more than 60 days late with their bill, turning an economic problem into a public health crisis. 

And thanks to Catherine for submitting this week- a much more compelling piece on immigration than the Sarah Palin bit the other week, focusing on especially children fleeing Central America.  It says Obama will be taking action "before the end of the summer," so hopefully we'll have follow up soon.

Here is just one of those pieces where I thought-- oh, so true, and I've never thought about this before-- as I read.  Anyone else ever notice that cartoon moms are always killed off?  I may watch more cartoons than you!  (Plus, I had to leave the theater during Bambi at that scene when I was little.)

This will probably only interest you if you, like me, listen to This American Life.  And it sounds like if all goes well even I won't notice a difference- fingers crossed. 

Some specific to Christina public interest regarding sugar and whether labels will have to include added sugar.  I've been wondering about trying the whole sugar free idea just to see, but I love cookies and ice cream so much!

And maybe of the most interest to me these days, given the circumstances, but doesn't it seem like Finland really does a lot of things well?  Have you heard about the "baby boxes" they give out to all women? Kind of awesome, right?

You may have seen this, but if not, it is worth seeing-- the "perfect Aryan baby" of Nazi Germany was actually Jewish.

Have you heard about the self-driving google car?  I don't understand it.  Are kids really going to be driven around by their cars?

And I'm curious about your thoughts on this one-- a friend of mine's brother was one of the writers-- a study suggests that people do NOT want to be left alone with their thoughts.  You?