Author Archives: lydias

Here is this week’s list of blog posts, paintings and other tidbits from my favourite corners of the web.

Hyperrealistic Paintings of People Wrapped in Plastic. I have a hard time interpreting modern art. Don’t ask me to explain  these paintings but I love looking at them. It’s amazing that some people are able to paint such realistic depictions of the human body that I at first assumed they were photographs. How in the world does one learn how to do that? Fair warning: there is nudity in this link. It’s tasteful and not as graphic as you’re probably imagining but I try not to surprise my readers with these things. 😉

From Redeeming Susan Pevensie:

That is why, to this day, 40 years after first meeting her in the first sentence of the first book-book I ever read, I still have strong feelings about Susan Pevensie.

Not strong feelings for her — I don’t mean a reader’s crush — but about her. Anyone who has read and loved Lewis’ Narnia books has encountered the problem of Susan. Her story ends poorly. What happens to Susan is just wrong.

Struggling with an Abusive Aging Parent via My Better Nursing Home. This blogger’s heart is in the right place but I don’t think there’s one right way to respond in this situation. For some people reconnecting with a (formerly?) abusive loved one is the right decision. For others it might be healthier to visit sparingly or to walk away from the relationship entirely. Any of these things can be done in a spirit of love and forgiveness. It’s not up to those of us standing outside of the circle to judge what works for other families.

Minimalist Street Art via Ken Kaminesky. I’m actually a big fan of street art but these pictures are fantastic. And, to be honest, any style of art can become grating if it isn’t done thoughtfully.

From How Advertisers Convinced America They Smell Bad:

Young realized that improving sales wasn’t a simple matter of making potential customers aware that a remedy for perspiration existed. It was about convincing two-thirds of the target population that sweating was a serious embarrassment.

Young decided to present perspiration as a social faux pas that nobody would directly tell you was responsible for your unpopularity, but which they were happy to gossip behind your back about.

The Giver was one of my favourite childhood books. I recently decided to reread it and was pleasantly surprised to see how well it holds up. Jonas lives in a community in which every major life decision is made for you – your career, your spouse, and which children you raise. It’s a world without war, colours, pain, music, grief and love.  If you’ve read this book I must know your interpretation of the ending. Just leave a *spoiler* tag in your comment so those who haven’t read it will know to skip ahead.

What have you been reading?

Here is this week’s list of blog posts, infographics, videos and other tidbits from my favourite corners of the web.

Couple Rescues Baby Bears. A couple’s ingenious plan for rescuing three baby bears trapped in a dumpster.

Glass Half Empty. Over-thinking the expression, “is the glass half empty or half full?”

Self-Help Without God. Book-lovers, my online friend Zoe needs some help! Go give her your recommendations for self-help books that don’t assume the reader is religious or believes in god.

How People Die in Poe. How Edgar Allen Poe killed off his characters. Fun fact: while a few of the characters in the short stories I’ve been working on this summer are dead no one has died to further a plot. Yet. 😉

Good stuff from Cosmetics Don’t Make You Happier:

Two countries that spend the least on haircare, skincare, fragrances and makeup — Netherlands and Sweden — have the best rankings in the Satisfaction With Life Index (SWLI).

I never would have guessed a raccoon would fear a cat!

The Night Bookmobile is a graphic novel about a woman who discovers a mystical library stocked with every book she’s ever read. I love this concept.

What have you been reading?

Here is this week’s list of blog posts, pictures, quotes and other tidbits from my favourite corners of the web.

“Live a good life. If there are gods and they are just, then they will not care how devout you have been, but will welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by. If there are gods, but unjust, then you should not want to worship them. If there are no gods, then you will be gone, but will have lived a noble life that will live on in the memories of your loved ones.”

– This has been attributed to Marcus Aurelius but further research indicates he may not have actually said it. It’s a fantastic quote.  Does anyone know to whom it should really be attributed?

From How to Be an Ungrateful Jerk:

Wherever you go, you will find yourself surrounded by and confronted with constant reminders — reasons, causes, demands — to be grateful. You must guard yourself against them.

From Nobody Has a Normal Life:

 …every time someone talks about a “typical” or “average” life, they’re referring to a script that eliminates, conservatively, 98% of people actually living in society. This means that every time we make assumptions based on your normal, average, everyday person’s life arc, we are 98% likely to be wrong. We would literally be less wrong if we assumed that everyone is gay.

Atheist Afterlife: The Graveyard Book. This is a really neat conversation between a father and son about atheism and life after death. I’m not interested enough in the topic to have a dog in this fight but I love the idea of allowing everyone the opportunity to figure out what they do or do not believe.

The Last of Us. Click on this painting by Shaddy Safadi before reading the short story below. It complements “Ash and Dust” beautifully.

Ash and Dust. A short story about a midwife trying to survive on a dying Earth.

 I grew up with an unflappable mom. If any of our questions about sex or the human body embarrassed or surprised her we never knew it. One minute she’d be driving us around town or putting away groceries, the next she’d be answering questions about how HIV is transmitted, why certain forms of birth control fail more often than others  or the difference between sex and love.  Why is the Penis Shaped Like That? reminded me of these old conversations. It’s factual without being stuffy and is full of information I never knew about the human body. (Especially the bodies of men!)

What have you been reading?

There were ten questions in this year’s survey. Once again thank you to everyone who participated.

Let’s take a look at the results.

Participants were…

Evenly divided by gender. I didn’t ask this question last year and wasn’t sure what to expect.

American. Once again the U.S. dominated the survey with over 80% of you coming from there. Everyone else was Canadian.

Younger. Last year the average participant was 40+. This year there was an even split between the 18-29 and 50-59 age groups. Interesting!

Longterm readers. 75% said they had been reading this blog for at least 18 months. I did hear from some new readers this year, though, which was really nice.

You wanted…

Pictures. Every once in a while I’ll post unique pictures I’ve found online. Many of the comments I received asked for more of these.

Forgotten heroes. I didn’t realize this series was so popular as it usually doesn’t stir up much discussion. I’ve run low on forgotten heroes at the moment but will continue on with the series as soon as I find new historical figures to profile. Suggestions are always welcomed!

Stories.  There were quite a few comments about specific short story series I’ve done in the past. I am working on new stories and will be sharing them in the future. Some will be free, others I’m planning to sell as e-books later on this year. My biggest hurdle to getting these stories out right now is coming up with cover art and design- does anyone have a good recommendation for this?

Happy Blogiversary to On the Other Hand! It turns two tomorrow. Wow, how did that happen so fast? 🙂

Survey results will be posted on Thursday. If you missed it feel free to leave a comment or use the contact form to share any suggestions you have for improving this site.

Thank you all so much for reading this blog. Due to other projects on my plate I don’t always have the time to respond to everything but I deeply appreciate every comment, email and back-link you’ve sent in.

Top 10 Posts

The top ten most visited posts over the last year have been:

10. What Would You Do if Money Wasn’t an Issue?

9. The Ethics of Being On Time.

8. The Ethics of Eating Animal Products.

7. A Cure for Nostalgia.

6. Why is Violence More Acceptable Than Sex? 

5. How to Forgive Without an Apology.

4. 5 Reasons Why You Should Stop Reading the News.

3. Has the Internet Destroyed Our Social Skills?

2. What the Quiet People Are Thinking. 

1.  6 Reasons Why I Don’t Wear Makeup.

My personal favourite this year: the You Were Born in the Sea series. I’m still not sure where that story came from (or even what it all means!) but there’s something special about it to me.

I was surprised to see so many of the links from last year’s top 10 list show up on this year as well. I wonder if this trend will continue?

Respond

What have been your favourite posts here over the last year? If you have a blog have you noticed certain posts continuing to get a lot of traffic months or years after they were first published?

Here is this week’s list of blog posts, comic strips, videos and other tidbits from my favourite corners of the web.

Meet the Modern Descendants of Your Favourite Authors. To the best of my knowledge none of my ancestors were famous.  It must arouse all kinds of emotions to be the great-grandchild of someone who wrote or did something incredible.

Storm Warnings in Portland, Oregon.  Gorgeous pictures and a poem about thunderstorms. Apparently I’m not the only one who loves them!

‘Dark Knight Rises’ shooting: Three Heroes Died in Aurora Taking Bullets for Their Girlfriends. I’m sure you’ve all heard by now about that shooting that took place in a Colorado movie theatre recently. Three men died that night shielding their girlfriends: Jon Blunk, Matt McQuinn and Alex Teves. Now this is the definition of love.

Aurora Shooting Hero Saved Young Mom. Jarell Brooks was also watching the new batman movie that night. When he noticed a woman struggling to protect her four year old daughter and infant son he guided them to safety. When terrible things happen the media tends to focus on the motivations of the (alleged) shooter and the number of fatalities and injuries. This is understandable but I wish they’d spend more time talking about how people helped one another as well.

Limit Fast Food Advertising Toward Kids, Lower Childhood Obesity Rates. I’m not susceptible to advertisements for clothing or household goods but for some reason food advertisements have a huge influence on my cravings.  If Drew and I had cable my diet would be much less balanced (unless white sugar counts as a food group. :P) It’s reason #5938 why I’m so glad we don’t own a TV.

Wow, I haven’t recommended a lighthearted book in a long time.  Clouds that Look Like Things is exactly what it sounds like – a collection of pictures of unusual clouds. I couldn’t make out some of the faces and animals the authors claim to see but the majority of these photographs are spectacular. The numbers were my favourite.

What have you been reading?