Lydia Schoch

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

Words for a Younger Self. What would you say if you could speak to the person you were 10, 30, 50 years ago? My advice would focus on a few bad decisions and missed opportunities. If it wasn’t possible to change those events I’d try to convince younger-me to worry less.

Are Some People Born Evil? Not sure what I think about this yet.

Radar Eleven – Color Me Katie. Someday I want to have dinner with Katie Sokoler. There is something deeply endearing about interacting whimsically with the world around you as an adult.

Homeless Man. Even after six years of big-city life it’s still psychologically troubling to walk past a homeless person who looks miserable. I don’t always feel comfortable giving them money but I cannot pretend not to see them.

Biblical Marriage: the Math is Wrong. One day this may need to be expanded to its own post but what is with the idea that there’s One True Way ™ to structure a relationship?

I haven’t read anything good this week. What have you been reading?

Today’s question: why do you lurk?

It’s going to be fascinating to see how your reasons match up with my own!

I’ve been thinking about the blogs and forums that I read. In some of them I’m an active participant, in others I’ve only ever silently read what other people post.

There are several reasons for this:

– The subject matter is something I know little about and I’m using the blog/website to change that.

– I’m planning to join in the conversation eventually but want to learn about how people interact there first.

– The site makes it difficult to give feedback by not allowing comments or requiring you to sign up (and maybe even pay for!) an account first.

– I have nothing useful to add to the conversation.

Some of the sites on my lurk-list espouse ideas with which I strongly disagree. I read what they have to say in order to better understand why they believe certain things. This isn’t at all about trying to poke holes in their logic or figuring out what to say to get them to convert to my One True Way ™ ( 😉 ), I’m simply ferociously curious about how minds work.

What makes perfect sense to one person is nonsense to another. For some of us the bright red line between sense and nonsense has shifted or is shifting. Why is this?

I’m also wondering about On the Other Hand’s lurkers. Why do you read without participating in the conversation?

(Photo credit.)

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

One Cup at a Time. One of the most relaxing, stress-bursting posts I’ve ever read. It’s like a virtual hug from a loved one.

Go to Church! And Then Tell Me About It. I was hoping to participate this weekend but it doesn’t look like it will work out. (It is on my to-do list for 2011, though!) If you’re able to visit your local UUA church on such short notice please share your experiences through the survey embedded in this link. The questions it poses are exactly what should be at least the occasional focus of every organization – religious or otherwise. First impressions matter!

May 8 (untitled poem). This is why I love poetry.

From Inclusion:

…my thoughts had already turned to someone who had hurt me deeply. And I found myself not only genuinely able to send those affirming and thankful thoughts to that person, but greatly enriched in doing so.

On Cavemen. A good explanation for I get twitchy when people apply what they think they know about “cavemen” to modern-day romantic relationships.

I just started reading Joel Best’s Damned Lies and Statistics: Untangling Numbers from the Media, Politicians and Activists. It’s absolutely incredible to read about all of the ways in which statistics can be interpreted to support what we already believe to be true.

What have you been reading?

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

This is Only a Test.  If I could influence traditional movie plots the hero of an action movie would be the first person to stop and help at the scene of an accident. I can think of no better definition of the term than someone who reacts to a dangerous situation in this manner (especially if he or she is a civilian).

25 Abandoned Yugoslavia Monuments That Look Like They’re From the Future. These are great monuments. I don’t know the social or political significance behind any of them but they are a good inspiration when you’re working on story ideas. The otherworldly Tjentište one was by far my favourite.

Stop Disasters Game. How would you minimize property damage and the loss of human life if you had $50,000 to upgrade a village before a natural disaster hit? It’s not an easy game but it is something I’ve returned to over and over again. Either the game makers want us to realize that there is never enough money to save everyone or there is some sort of trick to it I have yet to discover.

Music Cubes. Making music has always been a bit of a mystery to me despite growing up in in a musical family. I’ve never been able to figure out how to string notes together to make something ear-pleasing…until now. It’s funny how that works and it makes me wonder why a slightly different approach can have such a big impact on how well someone understands something. Any theories on this?

Drew and I discovered something odd on a recent walk. It looks like part of an old fence. What I don’t understand is why it has been wedged into and tied onto a tree. None of the surrounding trees had anything unusual in or on them. Do you have any theories? If I can’t come up with a good explanation I may need to dream up a short story about this to satisfy my curiosity. 😉

I’m reading another Jodi Picoult  brain candy book this week: Second Glance. It’s about, among other things, a developer who is trying to turn an ancient Abenaki Indian burial ground into a strip mall, a ghost hunter who has never actually seen a ghost, and small town secrets that are bubbling into general knowledge after decades of being submerged.

What have you been reading?