Man, do I ever have a lot of articles to post!

This'll take up multiple entries, I'm sure.

Cricket helps the police forge ties in immigrant communities

( Read more... )

Rain collection is now legal in Colorado

( Read more... )

Children: Self-Control Presages Math Gains in Young

( Read more... )

Fragile Tanzanian Orphans Get Help After Mothers Die

( This one is fascinating )

Political Shifts on Gay Rights Lag Behind Culture

( Read more... )

More articles!

On a woman's effort to speak Hindi in NYC

( Read more... )

Daughter Against Use of Father’s Name to Subvert Neo-Nazis

( Read more... )

When an Ear Witness Decides the Case

( Read more... )

An article on beekeeping in the city

( Read more... )

An article on how feeding cows a different diet not only reduces their methane output but - surprise! - makes them healthier

One on the proposal in the UK to stop teaching the specific mnemonic "I before E except after C". I personally have seen people claim this is due to "political correctness gone amok" (there's a term that no longer means anything if I ever saw one!), that it's due to "Obama's election" (these people seem to think that the UK is synonymous with the US), that it's due to not wanting to teach children how to spell, that there's NO way to learn how to spell without reciting inane jingles at every turn, and that all the rules are flying out the window. Not to mention the people who don't understand the rule in the first place. Why is language always ostensibly defended by people who lack the reading comprehension skills to understand that it was never under attack in the first place? WHY?

An article on why ethnic jokes aren't that funny

An article on octopi that "walk" to get past predators. COOL.

I have a copy of The Mysterious Benedict Society

Got the sequel, too.

The books would be better if they weren't quite so long, but they're not bad either. And the author is great with the niggling details of consistent characterization - one character is this absurdly bright two year old - so bright that the other characters don't realize until they're told that she's just two and a half years old! (This stretches credibility somewhat, as she's got the same body as the average two year old, and the same need for sleep, lack of dexterity, and general lack of experience as the average two year old, but they just figure she's a bit weird.) And yet, when you look back over the book, it all makes sense - her behavior is exactly what you'd expect of a two (and a half) year old with the vocabulary and math skills of an adult (and then some). In the next book, the kid (now almost four) looks through a marble with one eye and carefully covers the other with her hand because she isn't able to wink yet.

I know little kids can't wink* because my mother has told me (repeatedly) but not everybody does know this - Ana's teacher this year didn't, for example. So it's a nice little detail put in there.

[Poll #1422715]

So here's the thing. We have a very consistent book. One of the characters (not the little kid) is described as having "light brown skin". He's shown in the in-book illustrations as being visibly darker skinned than the other children. And yet, on the covers of both books - done by the same illustrator, the shapes of all the characters are the same! - he has the same very light burn-under-moonlight skin as the other characters.

What gives?


*For that matter, not all adults can wink, and many adults can only wink one eye, or prefer to wink one eye over the other.

I have a copy of The Mysterious Benedict Society

Got the sequel, too.

The books would be better if they weren't quite so long, but they're not bad either. And the author is great with the niggling details of consistent characterization - one character is this absurdly bright two year old - so bright that the other characters don't realize until they're told that she's just two and a half years old! (This stretches credibility somewhat, as she's got the same body as the average two year old, and the same need for sleep, lack of dexterity, and general lack of experience as the average two year old, but they just figure she's a bit weird.) And yet, when you look back over the book, it all makes sense - her behavior is exactly what you'd expect of a two (and a half) year old with the vocabulary and math skills of an adult (and then some). In the next book, the kid (now almost four) looks through a marble with one eye and carefully covers the other with her hand because she isn't able to wink yet.

I know little kids can't wink because my mother has told me (repeatedly) but not everybody does know this - Ana's teacher this year didn't, for example. So it's a nice little detail put in there.

So here's the thing. We have a very consistent book. One of the characters (not the little kid) is described as having "light brown skin". He's shown in the in-book illustrations as being visibly darker skinned than the other children. And yet, on the covers of both books - done by the same illustrator, the shapes of all the characters are the same! - he has the same very light burn-under-moonlight skin as the other characters.

What gives?

Okay, so, first I'd like to thank pne

He introduced me to we_swap_snacks and I'm so in my first snack swap.

I got matched with somebody in Saskatchewan. Which I apparently can't spell. Hold on. Spellcheck, I choose you!

Huh, there's an a in that word. Got it.

So, as I was saying, I got matched with a Canadian. I was hoping for somebody overseas, but I've never been to Canada, so that's all right.

Having never been to Our Neighbor to the North, I have no idea what sort of snacks are common there, so I'd love it if my Canadian friends can post about snacks they miss after visiting here, or things they've seen in the media but have never personally had. Also, I'm going to keep a running list once I get it started of things I'm buying to swap, so any critiques of "Man, that's ALL OVER THE PLACE" would be useful. I'd hate to embarrass myself sending something she can pick up down the block for a buck!

I'd also like to send some NYC-specific treats, and here I have the opposite problem. Having lived in this city pretty much my whole life, I have no idea what's NYC-specific! If it doesn't say I ♥ NY on it, how can I tell? (And I really am reluctant to buy tourist crap.) I may post in newyorkers for help picking NYC-specific snacks and convenience foods.

Any advice?

( MY LIST! )