Lydia Schoch

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

Mary Cassatt’s The Bath has always been one of my favourite nineteenth century paintings:

Heart Potato, Face Potato. A surprisingly shaped vegetable.

A House Divided: Science Fiction vs. Fantasy. This doesn’t only happen between literary genres – I’ve seen people argue (and misinterpret one another) about everything from religion to the best way to do the laundry.

Ten 100-Year Predictions That Came True. Many of John Elfreth Watkins’ predictions did not come true…but some of the ones that did were eerily prescient. Click here to read John’s original article.

From January Blues? Or As Good a Month As Any Other?

It’s a popular myth that one particular “Blue Monday” in January tops all others for being the most depressing day of the year. This year it’s tipped to be…16th January. It makes some sense on the face of it – in the UK at least it is cold and dark; people may be in debt from Christmas excess; and who likes Monday mornings at the best of times?

Kaye Gibbons’ Ellen Foster tells the story of an eleven-year-old orphan’s journey through several foster homes.

What have you been reading?

Originally published on December 30, 2010. I have not been feeling well this week and am taking a short writing break while I recover.

Commander Locke: Damnit, Morpheus, not everyone believes what you believe.Morpheus: My beliefs don’t require them to.– The Matrix Reloaded

Here’s something to consider as we slip through last few days of 2010:

What if you are wrong?

What if your most strongly held beliefs or codes – religious, political, philosophical, ethical, moral – are false?

This is a question to which I return from time to time not because I seriously doubt my own beliefs but because there is always the possibility that I could be mistaken. In the past I have been known to switch opinions on a variety of topics after thoughtfully considering new ideas. It isn’t something I expect to happen again but I also never thought it would occur in the first place.

Everything that I’ve experienced so far has led to my current beliefs but I’m not omniscient. Religiously speaking, for example, there could be something that I’ve missed that obviously points to the:

• Muslims
• Christians
• Neopagans
• Atheists
• Buddhists
• Hindus
• Jews
• Taoists
• Sikhs

having the corner on the truth.

Ultimately it is as important to know what one believes and why we believe it as it is to hold those convictions with a gentle reminder that I, you, we could be wrong.

My Rule of Thumb:

If someone cannot admit that there’s a possibility, as slim as it may be, that they don’t have the unadulterated truth I will take everything they say from that moment on with a few teaspoons of salt. One blind spot has already been uncovered. Of how many others are they also unaware?

There is a deep, quiet strength in ambiguity-flecked beliefs, in following hunches, assumptions or even convictions without the zeal of absolutism. Grey is not always a cobbled road between the black and white villages of truth and fairy stories; sometimes it is its own destination.

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

This is What Happens When You Give Thousands of Stickers to Thousands of Kids. I have one question about this art exhibit – who scraped all of those stickers away when it was finished? 🙂

Protocell Shoe Mends Itself. The design isn’t great but what an idea! Imagine only having to buy shoes once.

Dear Customer Who Stuck Up for His Little Brother. The world would be a better place if there were more people like this big brother in it.

From How Does the Brain Perceive Art? 

We want to believe that pleasure is simple, that our delight in a fine painting or bottle of wine is due entirely to the thing itself. But that’s not the way reality works…We only see the beauty because we are looking for it.

What have you been reading?

Happy New Year’s Eve!

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

New Year’s Day:  Now is the accepted time to make your regular annual good resolutions.  Next week you can begin paving hell with them as usual.  ~Mark Twain

Chocolate: a Complete Beginner’s Guide. Who would have guessed there were so many steps to the process of making it?

‘Tis the Season. Cleaning out your closet? This link is full of good advice on what clothing should and should not be donated to homeless shelters, used clothing stores and other charities.

Nana and Betty. It’s amazing how much can be forgotten about the life of one person after just a couple of generations. I wonder if it will become easier to track down what actually happened to people in 50 or 100 years (assuming that we still have the Internet and that the records are preserved!)

The complete lyrics to Auld Lang Syne. I, for one, will be singing the entire thing tonight. 😉

From A Saturday Story:

I’m not sure if this will work, but it might be fun to try. We’re going to tell a story.

I’ll start, then we’ll take turns continuing from there in comments. Whoever goes next adds a sentence or two and together we’ll find out where the story goes from there.

What have you been reading?

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

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

Gifts for the Baby.  I’ve always assumed the gold, frankincense, and myrrh were either used as forms of currency or sold to generate funds. Can anyone confirm this?

Mysterious Paper Sculptures. Ok, which one of you has been leaving ornate paper sculptures at the Scottish Poetry Library? 😀

100 Most Beautiful Words in the English Language. We should find more ways to include these words in everyday speech.

Ancient Graffiti. It turns out that graffiti from a few thousand years ago is not that different from what one stumbles across today.

From The Fir Tree:

Out in the woods stood a nice little Fir Tree. The place he had was a very good one: the sun shone on him: as to fresh air, there was enough of that, and round him grew many large-sized comrades, pines as well as firs. But the little Fir wanted so very much to be a grown-up tree.

I’ve never understood how this story became so popular. It has such a gloomy ending!

What have you been reading?