Friday, April 19, 2013

Batch of links

- I can’t really post anything today without mentioning the terrorist attack in Boston. I don’t have anything to say that hasn’t already been said, either in the official media or on Twitter, so let me just give you two links: the term “godless” doesn’t apply to terrorism, as the godless mourn along with everyone else, and also, Patton Oswalt reminds us that the good outnumber the bad.

- I’m sure by now you’ve all seen Dove’s latest ad. While I agree with their message in general, and love their ad campaign, here is why this ad should still make you a little uncomfortable.

- A beautiful tribute that reminds us how food is often connected to love.

- The Slow Death of the American Author, an interesting read on how copyrights and royalties are worth even less with e-books.

- You know how people always complain about how the government or municipality spends its money? There’s an idea the Engineer has been talking about for a long time: create an official website with some kind of pie chart that lets the people see how the money is currently being spent, and that would let them adjust spending based on their own wishes – keeping in mind that, with a pie chart or similar graphic, if you want to spend extra money on a particular thing, then you need to take money away from something else! I think this is brilliant, as it would not only let the powers-that-be see how the people want their tax money to be spent, but it would let the people see that you can’t cut spending significantly if you refuse to cut into certain programs that benefit you. Well, there’s a Montreal borough that’s putting this idea in motion: here’s their website.

- How America’s cities will look in 500 years if the sea level rises as predicted by scientists. Better get those pumps working, people!

- I’ve been hearing a lot about the virtues of marrying young; the political right, obviously, is the one promoting this, but I think they’re doing so for the wrong reasons. I’m happy that there’s a much more factual and balanced point of view out there.

- Here are a bunch of different models of eco-friendly streetlights, most using solar power as a source of energy. I really wish this were standard in any new construction!

- Awesome Oatmeal cartoon about the mantis shrimp.

- The faces behind 31 Disney villains. This is really interesting to see!

- Two articles on somewhat linked topics: meet the family who sent six kids to college by age 12, and everything you’ve heard about failing schools is wrong (the latter is the title of the article, not my personal opinion, but it was a fascinating read).

- And finally, I’ll leave you on a good note: here’s a video of an awesome, sweet proposal. (Full disclosure: I once worked with the gentleman proposing marriage, so I saw the video via Facebook first and loved it there, but I’m just amazed at how viral it’s become – Huffington Post, for God’s sake!)

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