Lydia Schoch

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

From Does Organic Food Make You a Jerk?

According to a study by a Loyola University professor, people who eat organic are more judgmental and less inclined to engage in altruistic behavior. In short: Maybe you’ll live longer if you eat organic, but everyone will wish you hadn’t.

I’m not thrilled with the methodology of this study but the results are eyebrow raising. If this sort of trend actually does exist I think it’s the result of rigid, judgmental personalities and not the food itself, though. I’ve seen similarly snobby attitudes about all kinds of stuff: religion, politics, gender roles, etc.

Contemporary Authors We Think We’ll Still be Reading in 100 Years. Looking for some new reading material? One of these authors might be right up your alley. I can vouch for anything from Doris Lessing if you like science fiction or fantasy. Her writing is extraordinary.

The Image Language. This is one of the most incredible websites I’ve ever visited. Click on the link, type any sentence or paragraph into the box on the left and hit enter. The site automatically posts the first google picture connected with each word in your entry. You end up with a collage of images that, as much as I’d never think to link them together, often really do match up well to the tone of your text.

The Dangers of Rom-Coms. Go pop on over to my friend ‘Seph’s blog for a thought-provoking discussion about how romantic comedies mislead us on what a healthy relationship looks like.

We Love to See You Smile. As much of a cliche as this may be to say a small act of kindness can have a big effect on someone who is having a terrible day. Click on the link to read one such story.

My reading list has been skimpy lately but I finally found something worth recommending. Everyone hopes that they and their loved ones live long and healthy lives. When this dream is disturbed by a bad diagnosis the fear can be overwhelming.

Memoir of a Debulked Woman tells the story of Susan Gubar’s experience with ovarian cancer. I’ve had two loved ones struggle with serious illnesses in the last few years. (No, neither of them have ovarian cancer.) I know what it’s like to be a family member of someone in this situation – this book shows you what it’s like to be diagnosed with something  terrible.

What have you been reading?

Welcome to summer!

John Keats’ “On the Grasshopper and the Cricket” captures the sluggishness of this time of year well:

The poetry of earth is never dead:
   When all the birds are faint with the hot sun,
   And hide in cooling trees, a voice will run
From hedge to hedge about the new-mown mead;
That is the Grasshopper's--he takes the lead
   In summer luxury,--he has never done
   With his delights; for when tired out with fun
He rests at ease beneath some pleasant weed.
The poetry of earth is ceasing never:
   On a lone winter evening, when the frost
      Has wrought silence, from the stove there shrills
The Cricket's song, in warmth increasing ever,
   And seems to one in drowsiness half lost,
      The Grasshopper's among some grassy hills.

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

Click Here. Normally I tell you exactly what to expect with Suggestion Saturday links. This time I’m not giving anything away. (Don’t worry – this is nothing frightening or pornographic. I just want you to be as surprised as I was when I discovered it. 🙂 )

New from MIT: Needleless, Pain-free Injections. The best news I’ve heard all week! I wonder how long it will be before it becomes standard treatment?

From The Pro-Life Paradox. I thought it was satire at first:

It would be logical to expect, then, that these new restrictions on abortion would be accompanied by increased public services for women and children—especially for children with developmental disabilities…But nothing of the sort is happening. Instead, even as state legislators are finding new ways to interfere with a woman’s or couple’s decisions about baby-making, they are reducing the services upon which families depend.

 13 Kids and Wanting More. A fascinating documentary about large families in Britain. Everyone I know who has kids has reached a point where they realized that X number of children was the most they could care of well.  These families don’t seem to hit that wall. So interesting!

What have you been reading?

Here is this week’s list of tests (another first for Suggestion Saturday!), blog posts, comics and other tidbits from my favourite corners of the web.

I read an average of 665 words per minute for the three different selections in this quiz. One one selection I answered two of the three comprehension question correctly. I got perfect scores for the other two. How many words per minute do you read?

The Benefits of Being a Ghost. I don’t have an opinion on the existence of ghosts but this was really funny.

Of Dogs and Lizards: A Parable of Privilege. A thought-provoking, modern day parable about how the same environment can be experienced in completely different ways by different individuals. Do I agree with the assumptions the author makes? I don’t actually know yet. But I’m intrigued by them.

The Dragon in My Garage. Another parable I came across this week. While the narrator and his neighbours argue about invisible dragons that may (or may not) actually live in their garages I sit across the street and wonder why they prefer arguing indoors over sitting peacefully in the warm sunshine. 😉

What have you been reading?

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

From Things I Once Believed Were True:

When I was little, I asked my mom why people hated hippies. (Right after asking her what a hippie was.) She replied: “Well, people thought they were dirty, and that they slept around.”

Having no knowledge of euphemisms at such a tender age, I naturally assumed that “sleeping around” meant a person who would wake up in the morning, then go into their living room and take a nap.

Mommy, Where Do LEGO Babies Come From? Fun fact: my parents used to joke that they’d only had sex three times – once for each kid. In other news apparently Mr. and Ms. Lego had a really, really good time recently.

Rhubarb Curd. I’ve never posted a recipe on Suggestion Saturday before but this one looks incredible for those of you who aren’t vegan or allergic to milk. To be honest I don’t remember well what any dairy products taste like these days (and I enjoy not having a scarily swollen face just a little to much to remind my taste buds  😉 ), but I think yogurt is somewhat sweet? If you try it let us know what you think!

Why Should Religion Get a Free Ride? If you aren’t following Greta Christina’s blog yet you’re missing out. She posts such thought-provoking material. I have no interest in deconverting theists but I agree that the same standards should apply to everyone. Either it’s appropriate to try to talk everyone/anyone out of their (ir)religious beliefs or it isn’t.  What general-you identifies as is irrelevant.

But What About the Aliens? President Obama can neither confirm nor deny the existence of aliens.

This week’s book recommendation: The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt. It follows the young adulthood of a flapper and looks like a real scrapbook – lots of pictures and souvenirs, just a few words. I found Frankie to be a little too 2012 in certain ways* given that she was born in the early 1900s and lived a pretty sheltered childhood but it was still a fantastic read.

What have you been reading?