Woody tells his story of recurring cancer and how that became a motivation for him to make a difference in this humorous and engaging TEDxMileHigh talk titled, "You Are Here."

More on BoingBoing.

BillMoyers.com reports:

"Last week, the research and advocacy organization Demos held a policy conference in Washington on 21st century poverty issues.... The inspiration for the gathering was the 50th anniversary of Michael Harrington’s seminal exposé The Other America. Even before the recession, millions of Americans were living in poverty. Now, with many more out of work, economic inequality on the rise and proposed cuts to the social safety net, the issue is more relevant than ever."

The infographic highlights some findings presented at the conference.

Newsweek reports on new research about how technology and our online activity contributes to loneliness, depression, and compulsive behavior.

"The first good, peer-reviewed research is emerging, and the picture is much gloomier than the trumpet blasts of Web utopians have allowed. The current incarnation of the Internet—portable, social, accelerated, and all-pervasive—may be making us not just dumber or lonelier but more depressed and anxious, prone to obsessive-compulsive and attention-deficit disorders, even outright psychotic. Our digitized minds can scan like those of drug addicts, and normal people are breaking down in sad and seemingly new ways."

"People tell her that their phones and laptops are the 'place for hope' in their lives, the 'place where sweetness comes from.' Children describe mothers and fathers unavailable in profound ways, present and yet not there at all. 'Mothers are now breastfeeding and bottle-feeding their babies as they text,' she told the American Psychological Association last summer. 'A mother made tense by text messages is going to be experienced as tense by the child. And that child is vulnerable to interpreting that tension as coming from within the relationship with the mother. This is something that needs to be watched very closely.' She added, 'Technology can make us forget important things we know about life.'"

From Russell's Teapot Comics.

The Center for Reformed Theology and Apologetics provides an interesting, albeit somewhat academic debate on whether tithing should be based on gross or net (after tax) income, based on Scripture.  The original article is from Covenant Community Church of Orange County.

The Boston Globe reports on a study where a team of UCLA anthropologists and archeologists studied 32 middle-class Los Angeles families over four years:

"The rise of Costco and similar stores has prompted so much stockpiling — you never know when you’ll need 600 Dixie cups or a 50-pound bag of sugar — that three out of four garages are too full to hold cars."

"Managing the volume of possessions is such a crushing problem in many homes that it elevates levels of stress hormones for mothers."

"Even families who invested in outdoor décor and improvements were too busy to go outside and enjoy their new decks."

"Most families rely heavily on convenience foods even though all those frozen stir-frys and pot stickers saved them only about 11 minutes per meal."

"A refrigerator door cluttered with magnets, calendars, family photos, phone numbers, and sports schedules generally indicates the rest of the home will be in a similarly chaotic state."


Read more...