It's been a while, folks. Chances are that I have lost most of my 3.14 readers; I'm probably down to 0.14 by now. However, my family is currently isolated due to Virginia's "stay at home" order, and I have decided that now is the time to re-emerge on the internet. Just for the time of crisis, when events like finding a mostly-full container of Clorox wipes hidden in the basement cause excess amounts of joy. When my greatest triumph is successfully getting a twelve-pack of toilet paper shipped to my house.
Wednesday, April 8, 2020
Tuesday, March 22, 2016
Things That Exist: Dialectics for Kids
In the course of initial research for my philosophical anthropology course (i.e. what is the human person, for Aquinas and Hegel), I discovered... "Dialectics for Kids: Dialectics Defined Since 1999"! It includes "The ABC's of Change" (for kids four and up); three songs about the dialectic, written by the website's creator; and testimonials from real-live kids who learned about dialectics (by watching balloons explode?).
Sunday, March 13, 2016
Science, Society, and Entertainment
I came across this story from NPR earlier this week. It's about the beginnings of incubators for premature babies. Here's a teaser: it does not involve hospitals and does involve a sideshow. Science has come a long way and gotten some help from unexpected places.
(Photo by Bonnie U. Gruenberg (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons)
Thursday, March 3, 2016
Thank You, Thank You Very Much
First, read the intro to this series here.
Write thank you notes. It is one of the best ways to make a good impression and literally takes five seconds. It is a dying art that so desperately needs to be revived. If someone is nice enough to give you a gift or recommend you to a position, the least you can do is give them a proper thank you. People remember thank you notes.
I am actually not going to fudge around and change this one. Write thank you notes.
This one is not something I am terribly good at. I had a boss who wrote the world's best thank you notes, full of personal warmth and sincere gratitude. Mine are awkward and stilted, but sincere. It's a skill my mother forced upon me as a child for a brief period of time, and which then lay all but forgotten, momentarily revived when I was told, "Your grandmother sent you money, but it won't hit your bank account until she gets a thank you note."
Enter wedding time. Do you know what happens when you get engaged? And then married? And then have a baby? People you barely know give you things you don't deserve. People you know well give you more than you need. People who love you turn out in material abundance, emotional abundance, spiritual abundance. I have written so many thank you notes from the time I got engaged to now... Hopefully the habit will stick. Because thank you notes let those who give know that you do not take them for granted---that you do not expect the world to provide for you---and that you know how to receive graciously. The art of gratitude becomes manifest in the art of the thank you note.
Way of Womanhood #4: Write thank you notes; it helps you cultivate gratitude.
For next week, we have #5: "Get involved. Join societies and organizations that have a positive influence in your community. Create positive exposure for yourself."
Photo by Flickr user vistamommy [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
50 Ways to Be a Woman: #4
I am actually not going to fudge around and change this one. Write thank you notes.
This one is not something I am terribly good at. I had a boss who wrote the world's best thank you notes, full of personal warmth and sincere gratitude. Mine are awkward and stilted, but sincere. It's a skill my mother forced upon me as a child for a brief period of time, and which then lay all but forgotten, momentarily revived when I was told, "Your grandmother sent you money, but it won't hit your bank account until she gets a thank you note."
Enter wedding time. Do you know what happens when you get engaged? And then married? And then have a baby? People you barely know give you things you don't deserve. People you know well give you more than you need. People who love you turn out in material abundance, emotional abundance, spiritual abundance. I have written so many thank you notes from the time I got engaged to now... Hopefully the habit will stick. Because thank you notes let those who give know that you do not take them for granted---that you do not expect the world to provide for you---and that you know how to receive graciously. The art of gratitude becomes manifest in the art of the thank you note.
Way of Womanhood #4: Write thank you notes; it helps you cultivate gratitude.
For next week, we have #5: "Get involved. Join societies and organizations that have a positive influence in your community. Create positive exposure for yourself."
Monday, February 15, 2016
In Lieu of a Thoughtful Post...
I give you this image of periodic table battleship, from TYWKIWDBI:
I also will not embarrass myself by sharing how many times it took me to spell "lieu." (Or "embarrass" for that matter...)
The Captain, the Sleeping Dragon, and I spent Valentine's Day eating chocolate chip pancakes and watching the Republican Debate. The latter especially does not provoke profound thoughts, so this is all I've got this week.
I also will not embarrass myself by sharing how many times it took me to spell "lieu." (Or "embarrass" for that matter...)
The Captain, the Sleeping Dragon, and I spent Valentine's Day eating chocolate chip pancakes and watching the Republican Debate. The latter especially does not provoke profound thoughts, so this is all I've got this week.
Sunday, February 7, 2016
On Pearls
First, read the intro to this series here.
If the last item on the list was about knowing what you are communicating to the world by how you present your body and choosing deliberately, this item suggests that there is a particular image that ought to be presented. Conservative dresses, a string of pearls, a handbag, pumps---these are timeless, classic, and professional. For a woman, this wardrobe communicates: I am comfortable with my femininity and I am a woman to be respected. While there are ways beyond pearls to do this, the message carries:
50 Ways to Be a Woman: #3
Certain fashion staples will always remain timeless. A few conservative dresses, a string of pearls, a nice handbag and a good pair of pumps should always be in your wardrobe.
If the last item on the list was about knowing what you are communicating to the world by how you present your body and choosing deliberately, this item suggests that there is a particular image that ought to be presented. Conservative dresses, a string of pearls, a handbag, pumps---these are timeless, classic, and professional. For a woman, this wardrobe communicates: I am comfortable with my femininity and I am a woman to be respected. While there are ways beyond pearls to do this, the message carries:
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