August 24th....Dinner Party Edition

This week's theme is "did you hear about X....?"   For this edition, I included links to tidbits I found interesting, that you can share with friends and strangers at a dinner party and sound both fascinating and well read/ informed.  I've included the blurbage you can use, feel free to modify based on your own style and that of your dinner party guests.

"Did you read "The Education of Little Tree" in high school?  Did you know it is not actually an autobiography - in fact, the author was a well known segregationist?"  (I personally learned about this on This American Life as well, but there are a few online mentions of it (both old and new)- super interesting, I think!)

"Have you heard about companies outsourcing credit debts and suing the customer?  Do you know what to say if you end up in court?.... OR.... Have you heard about that guy who faked an entire book on "psychonics"?.... OR... Do you know what improv has in common with dementia?"  Both Marni and I really liked this episode of the podcast This American Life, Magic Words.  You can wow your friends with your knowledge, but know the crowd- you may want to credit TAL if it is an NPR savvy group!

"Did you hear about that guy in Maine who spent 30 years living in the woods, breaking into homes to survive?  When he was arrested, he hadn't spoken to another person in 27 years!"  Article is linked here.

"I promise this was NOT the plot of a Lifetime movie-- I was reading about a couple who fell in love after not seeing one another for over 60 years.  How sweet is that?"  Good news in the newspaper?  Let's do it.  

"Did you know that little kids who are better at drawing might actually be smarter?"  I was literally telling a mom at the playground about this (which I sort of learned through watching incoming kindergarteners) just days ago, and then saw this write-up on NPR about the same thing.  I've always found it kind of unfair-- you're five years old, and you can totally draw AND sound out words and write letters, or you can do NONE of those things at all and just have scribble scrabble on your paper.

"Did you see the koala who was hit by a car but recovered because of being given CPR?"  Yep.  Enough said.

"Did you hear about the kids who "beat" autism?"  This article is fascinating...(especially if you read the Disney article previously...)- I hadn't realized "beating" autism was a thing.   This follow up on the NYT motherlode blog, The Kids Who Don't Beat Autism is also worth looking at-- both of these pieces overwhelm me with what so many of the parents featured go through to support their children.

"Did you see J-Lo's dress at the MTV video music awards? Holy cutouts!"  Dress below.  Thoughts?

August 17th

A bit of a random assortment of news and newsiness again this week.

Can you please offer your opinion-- would you get yourself a digital assistant?  As a regular talk-to-texter and "Siri, remind me to ___ at ___ p.m," I can see the appeal.  Though this sounds a little bit more like "Ask Cha-Cha" in the old days- masquerading as a digital sidekick.  Thoughts?

And you must have heard a lot about Michael Brown and #Ferguson this week (if not, get on google right now, and then smack your own self, please!)...I have been reading way too much about it myself.  So, I'm sharing some responses rather than news, and if that is your cup of tea you can check them out (or more likely you have already read them?)....  from a white mother's perspective (as I am very aware of my own privilege while holding my son- this is a viewpoint I really identify with)...to a black mother's call to action....to a TFA alum's perspective on her hometown of Ferguson.  A lot to digest and think about.

And I thought it was pretty interesting to see the change in tone of police presence, and reflect on how that is percieved by a community, when Captain Johnson took over the police force in Ferguson and changed the dynamic.  

A positive out of negative- these 3 teenaged siblings from Georgia developed an app where people can report positive and negative police interactions-- pretty smart, right?

I may have been reading too much about difficult news lately-- and I've not been able to understand why people (like my sister) post terrible stories of tragic news events to facebook (and why I so often click on them!).  Do you wonder about the impact?  This article talks about what bad news does to your own outlook.

Did you hear Rick Perry was indicted last week for abuse of office?  He was.  I'm linking you to The New Yorker's take on it (the title- The Strange Case Against Rick Perry- speaks for itself) just because I think it is interesting.

And most importantly-- this is good news for me, and bad news for some of you!  Singers (not professionals, just you guys like me who hum when walking around or sing in the shower) make better friends!  My good-friend-ness has been confirmed by science.

Changing the subject-- do you know a narcissist?  Have you....possibly...ever worked with one?  There used to be a 40 question quiz used to identify them, but this article says there is one question in particular you can ask to find out.

And what everyone by the 2/3 Eastern Parkway stop is wondering about-- is it coming?  Or isn't it?  (A true renters vs owners quandry- us renters are hoping for no way no more rent hikes, while the owners are saying yes, up that property value, kick out Key Foods).

An Assortment, Week of August 10th

So, as far as news this week....

Um, I had a baby.

But we know this isn't about me, it is about Christina.

So, I offer no promises that I got every story- in fact, I am absolutely sure that I missed a ton.  But I did do some bits of newsy (or not) reading here and there, so this is what I've got this week!

Have you heard about Mississippi's ruling to close the last abortion clinic in the state?  This is a profile of one of the two doctors at the clinic currently- he is a really fascinating man who commutes from out of state in order to provide abortions because no one else will do it locally. 

This NPR piece is about a 30 year study of kids in Baltimore and what it takes to get ahead or move up out of your economic bracket.  The author claims that education is not a primary factor- money and family are.  I am curious, however, because it does not say anything about the schools the kids attended.

And I imagine you have been in a conversation at some point this week about Ebola.  Your thoughts about the media's dramatic take?  The Nation has some opinions here.  I appreciate the use of "the OJ Simpson treatment" to reference sensationalism.

Do you remember the Detroit man who shot a woman on his porch who had been in a car accident and was asking for help?  He was convicted of murder, thank goodness (according to me).  Interesting to see that race was not discussed at the trial-- I'd love to try to have a conversation about this with and without the inclusion of race, as I've only thought of them as intwined.

Continued ups and downs in terms of cease-fires in Gaza.

But the newest newsy news is continuing in Iraq- I've mostly been talking to my Dad about this, and I can't hyperlink to him, so here is what I've got if you aren't with me.  Insert a more credible, intellectual, or well-titled article here mentally if you prefer.

Finally, in case there is a CHANCE that Christina doesn't know HONY-- I first started seeing these pictures where I see a lot of news- Catherine's facebook page.  But now, HONY is not just taking pictures of New Yorkers on the street, but acting as an international journalist on the UN World Tour.  These pictures and blurbs are fascinating to me, and it is nice to actually see that the community comments often include humane and well intentioned interactions from others. 

  

Entering August

Happy August, Everyone!

Let's start with our connected updates....

Eric Garner's death was officially ruled a homicide, caused by the police chokehold.  We'll want to see how Mayor DeBlasio responds - here is his round table discussion from July 31st.

And for more on Hobby Lobby....Ruth Ginsburg did an interview with Katie Couric to elaborate on her thoughts on the case.  Did you know she's known online as the Notorious RBG? Funny to see her response to this.

It is hard to find truly neutral articles on the situation in Gaza right now.  I'm not sure that I am well informed enough to know what source to trust.  These talking points are helpful, anyways, for some concrete information, and this opinion piece from the online version of Israel's Haaretz newspaper is well said. 

I don't fully understand how it is really a thing that the House bills that just passed in response to the immigration crisis with child migrants are explained as bills that won't really become law.  The point of the energy and manpower that go into these are....?  But here is how Ann Coulter wishes we'd deal with it.  She's something. 

In news we haven't  yet discussed-- the ebola virus epidemic in Africa has killed more than 700 people- we've started hearing about it more because the first two ebola patients are being transported this weekend to the US.

This piece in The New Yorker goes into the arguments between the transgender community and radical feminism-- the gist being, no man-turned-woman could ever truly understand what it is to be a woman because of the "caste system" of gender.  Interesting dinner convo piece.

Ok.. so I may have watched The Bachelor/ Bacherlotte a few times in the past...not for a while...but check out this clip, if you have any interest, where a contestant actually admits that there is some real hanky panky happening when they go back to the fantasy suite.  Ha ha. (Legitimately- my source was NPR for this!)

The NY Times Editorial Board "went big" in favor of marijuana legalization-- as have several other sources -- what do you think?  Legalize marijuana everyone and use the tax money for pre-k?

And for the teacher crowd - last week I missed the NY Times Magazine article excerpted from the new book Building a Better Teacher.  This op ed adds some more insight-- and talks about Deborah Ball's work at University of Michigan- she just happens to be my childhood best friend's mom.  Some of the reactions against common core's approach to emphasis on mathematical process over computation speak for themselves, I think.

And, just for fun, some related (not particularly timely) images I stole from mic.com.