It's been ten days since the last word of the week...

This week's word is a real humdinger; it's a German word I am quite fond of that has made its way into English vocabularies.

Schadenfreude: The pleasure derived from the misfortunes of others. (Wikipedia - its actually a pretty good source for basic stuff)

*** The image is just for funsies, and can be found at this sweet new easy shop I discovered called Entropy Trading Co. FYI... You can also find a poster at this internet shopping place of awesomeness that says "Free house elves, donate a sock".

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I thought you would enjoy this...

Several years ago thousands of bouncy balls where released down the hills of San Francisco for I believe a Sony commercial. But these stunning still photos where taken by Danish artist Peter Funch. I think they are not only quite beautiful but also so fun and a bit magical.

*** Image Credit: http://www.lumas.com/artist/peter_funch/

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#Overly Honest Methods

I recently stumbled upon this Twitter called Overly Honest Methods which includes little gems such as the above image and other amazing little gems such as;

• "The plates where incubated an extra 20 minutes because we couldn't hear the timer over the Frozen soundtrack."
• "In case of doubt....Sound convincing."
• "Curves were drawn, and the data was plotted."
• The procedure was paused for 5 minutes to dance to Lady Gaga. And the grad student joined in."
• "Did not make corrections suggested by reviewer 1, because we think reviewer 1 is a fucking idiot." 
• "A modified protocol was implemented because a certain graduate student seems unable to follow simple instructions."
• "The eppendorf tubes where "shaken like a Polaroid picture" until the part of that song ended."
• "Our results where non-significant at p >0.05, but they're humdingers at p . 0.1!"

*** Image Credit: http://www.itsokaytobesmart.com/post/40105118499/overlyhonestmehods

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Word of the Week

So I was listening to a TED talk the other day, because I'm a huge nerd and I enjoy listening to educational talks in my spare time and I came across a lecture about the evolution of the English language. It was wonderful, funny and smart and introduced me to a new word that I think needs to be incorporated into vernacular.

Multislacking: The practice of using a computer at work for tasks or activities that are not related to one's job. (Oxford English Dictionary)

Such a fantastic work, multislacking, it is quite literally the exact opposite of multitasking. I am quite proficient in using both of these tasks in my daily life but I do think I am more practiced in multislacking, specifically when working on homework or studying. Because Pinerest provides such a lovely and relaxing foil for studying Organic Chemistry or Bio-Chemistry.

*** Note for Loo: I know you are only 14, but you are a very intelligent young woman and you know how to use google and your cell phone. So if there is something you don't understand, google that shit. Its the best way to learn, to find the answer your self and if you can't find a satisfactory answer then feel free to ask.

*** Image Credit: http://lawsofmodernwoman.tumblr.com

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Revenge of the Nerds

So remember how last week I was telling you about you shouldn't try to grow up too fast so that you don't "peak early" and have a less than promising life after high school? How you should try to develop yourself as a person because there are far more important things in life than just being "cool" between the ages of 14 and 18. Well it turns out that a group of psychologists have been studying phenomenon for many years and their results are strikingly similar to what I have observed with some of my old classmates and many other 20 somethings that I know including myself.

The group of researchers from the University of Virginia followed 184 teens from the age of 13 to 23 documenting things such as engaging in what they call "pseudo-mature" behavior which is categorized as using drugs, drinking alcohol, or engaging in sexual activity in order be perceived as "cool" by their peers not only engaged in increasingly risky behavior as they aged but also experienced "difficulties in social functioning" as a young adult. The study also indicated that a large number of these teens who engaged in this "pseudo-mature" behavior also had a much higher likelihood of developing substance abuse issues and criminal behavior.

As someone who was not particularly popular in high school, I can't help but feel a bit of Schadenfreude when I read studies like this. But at the same time I feel incredibly frustrated that our culture glamorizes this kind of behavior with TV shows such as 16 and Pregnant, Gossip Girl,  and a plethora of other shows I am not familiar with because I prefer to watch Dr. Who, Game of Thrones and The Daily Show in my spare time. And as much as I love the movie Mean Girls for the shear comedic genius of Tina Fey and epic one liners. I really hope you don't end up like the Plastics, who the nerds totally get revenge on in a truly epic Mathlete fashion.

Note: unfortunately the link only goes to the ScienceDaily summary of the original article published in the journal Child Development, as I have only limited access to full academic articles because money.

*** Image Credit: Paramount Pictures

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Required Reading/Viewing...

I'm starting small, because I know you and I know that even though you love the Harry Potter movies, you have never read the books which is blasphemy. But we will address the book issue later, for right now lets start with some blogs:

Tomboy Style It's a fantastic source of stories about amazing women, great fashion, and fantastic gear including some pretty sweet cars.

A Well Traveled Woman This is mostly a visual blog, which makes the sparse quotations even more profound.

I Fucking Love Science This amazing blog has everything from bizarre sea creatures, solar flares, and NASA's latest designs for a space ship capable of achieving warp drive.

Crash Course This amazing balls YouTube channel covers everything from Literature to Psychology to Biology. It's fantastic, and it commonly refers to Carbon as a "sexy little minx" and water as "Liquid Awesome".

** Image credit: NASA, ESA, and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)

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Stay Rad.

I know I was a bit ambiguous the other day when I was pleading with you to not be one of those people that peak early. What I mean by that is the type of person who spends all of their time in high school focusing on being popular; who spend so much time on the social aspects of school that they don't spend any time developing intellectually. They develop social skills, which are quite important, but don't spend any time working on making themselves better, more well rounded, human beings. They lack the ability to become well rounded adults and end up still living at home at the age of 25 working as a Bikini Barista. Or worse...living in a trailer park and working at a fast food restaurant.

High school could be a time before adulthood and maybe collage to learn valuable life skills, not too many though you do want to enjoy your youth and the freedom from real responsibilities as long as possible. To do things like learn a new language, which is a phenomenal exercise in becoming a better human and giving your still developing brain a hefty workout. I heard you are taking German, I'll enjoy practicing my rusty German with you, just as long as you don't tell me I am nict sehr hässlich. At least have the courtesy to tell me I am schön, which is not Kristin's preferred way to describe me in Deutch. 

What I'm saying kiddo, is continue to develop your personality. Don't be a mean, surly teenager just because you can. Make a conscious effort to develop your mind and personality, stay rad. 

**Image from Bloom:http://meggielynne.tumblr.com/post/28735179993

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Lindsey-Loo this blog is for you...

I worry about you kiddo...All the time. Because I still see you as this tiny girl full of promise and wonder, and yes I know that sounds like a cliche. But I don't really give a damn, because it is far more important to me that I try and help you navigate this world and the next four years of your life, because they do matter. Every single second matters, and how you spend them will help shape the rest of your life.

Now before I dissolve into a fit full of cliches, I want to tell you why I am creating this blog for you, for us really. Because I will never have a normal schedule, it is simply not in the cards for me kiddo. So I will never be able to pick you up regularly from school and have you hang out at my house like Kristin does. And I may not even be awake during the same hours as you some days, because these days I am primarily a day sleeper, this being mostly the result of not getting off work until roughly 6 a.m. Unfortunately I do not see this changing anytime soon. So this is a way for me to share all of the super cool things I am inspired by with you, in a way that is archived on the internets so you can read them at any time. Well any time you have access to the internets, which is most of the time.

Also, I apologize in advance for lecturing you, making fun of cheerleading, bows, and the absurd amount of make up that you have to cake on your face in order to go to a cheer competition. I just don't understand why you can't play basketball, or volleyball, or soccer. Something that doesn't require my baby sister to sake her ass in a mini skirt. I'm getting off my soap box now. Have a nice day.

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