Suggestion Saturday: January 28, 2012

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

The Love Story that Changed History. Amazing photographs of Mildred and Richard Perry Loving, an interracial couple who challenged the Racial Integrity Act of 1964 (which banned interracial marriages in Virginia). The case eventually went to the Supreme Court and the verdict changed history.

From Time in a Capsule at Maple Leaf Gardens:

Every time capsule needs a mystery item—something whose inclusion puzzles the people who find it decades later. In the MLG time capsule that mystery is provided by a pendant-sized ivory elephant, whose significance has officially stumped Ryerson officials.

Daydreamers. Have you ever wondered what strangers are thinking? This is not a work-safe link.

Upside Down. And have you ever wondered what seals are thinking? This is a work-safe link. ;)

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

You Were Born in the Sea: Part Two

A parable, of sorts. Click here for part one.  Time trickles by. One day you wander so far that you end up spending the night in this strange new place. It feels good to slip into old habits the next day and give your sore muscles a rest. There are so many new things to explore,…

You Were Born in the Sea: a Parable

You were born in the sea. You didn’t call it that, of course. Everyone knew the waves have no beginning or end. Occasionally someone would swim in from somewhere far away with fantastical stories about warm, sweet water in the south, icy saltwater to the north. One of you even claimed that she’d seen water…

Suggestion Saturday: January 21, 2012

Here is this week’s list of blog posts, pictures and other tidbits from my favourite corners of the web. This picture was snapped in 1928 on a field trip taken by Waterdown Public School students and teachers. Old photographs always make me wonder what happened to the subjects in the years that followed. The Male Explorer Who Was…

5 Books That Changed My Worldview

Toni Morrison, The Bluest Eye. As a white child and teenager living in an overwhelmingly white community I honestly hadn’t thought about racism very much before picking up this book. What surprised me the most about this story is how much Pecola (and other characters) internalized the hate. Without giving away spoilers the last few pages are particularly…

Mailbag #4

Anonymous asks: How do you find other non-theists in your community? Hello, Anonymous. Here are a few ideas: 1. Grassroots Skeptics and Atheist Nexus. 2. Visit your local university, college or community college. They often host free or low cost events – plays, musical performances, art exhibits, lectures. I’ve noticed a correlation between intellectual curiosity and a willingness…

Suggestion Saturday: January 14, 2012

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 –…

What If You Are Wrong?

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:…

It’s Never Just Gossip

Originally posted on January 13, 2011. I haven’t been feeling well lately and am taking a short writing break while I recover. Let’s begin with a one-sentence working definition of gossip for the purpose of this post: saying or listening to information (true or otherwise) about someone that you wouldn’t feel comfortable participating in if…

Suggestion Saturday: January 7, 2012

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…