Friday, October 03, 2014

Batch of links

- A simple classroom exercise in gratitude leaves a lasting impact on students – and their teacher. I love this story.

- Henri Matisse works provide delicious inspiration to local chefs in San Antonio. I didn’t get to enjoy this in person, but I love looking at the beautiful dishes shown!

- Tourism in Saint-Élie-de-Caxton – because it’s rare to find an English article on Fred Pellerin.

- 10 amazing GIFs of chemical reactions, along with explanations. Number 7 is my favorite. And then there’s this video. I do wish my chemistry classes had been that fun!

- Texas education is back in the news, for naming Moses as an influence on the founding fathers. I’ve always hated this type of revisionist history, which is now being called “political and cultural indoctrination”, and I just don’t understand why some people constantly find the need for their particular religion or viewpoint to supersede science and established facts. It’s stuff like this that would make me consider homeschooling.

- On a related note, US Air Force troops who refuse to use the phrase “so help me God” in their oath might be discharged.

- Indiana’s crazy administrative abortion demands have doctors racking up the violations.

- Pediatricians urge IUDs or implants for teen girls to prevent unwanted pregnancies, and I think the GOP is having a heart attack. That being said, I don’t disagree with the idea. After all, as is reported in this article titled What Henry VIII Teaches Us About Sex Ed”, “if the penalty of death couldn’t scare teens away from sex outside marriage, why do we still act like abstinence-only sex ed can work?”

- On the plus side, we’re getting closer and closer to that long-term, reversible male birth control scientists keep promising.

- Difference Maker, a good article about the childless, the parentless, and the Central Sadness of one couple (who, in my opinion, never fully committed to either having or not having a child, hence the sadness).

- Burlington, the largest city in Vermont, now gets 100% of its power through renewable resources, namely water, wind, and the biomass.

- Science reveals that metal fans and classical music lovers are actually very much alike, though I admit I’m not sure why the reporter seems to find this so surprising (I can only assume she’s not very familiar with metal).

- How to be polite. I love this article because it is full of actually useful advice that goes way beyond Emily Post.

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