First World Pains – Indulging in a bit of self-deprecating humor never hurt Americans’ humility. “My house has too much expensive stuff in it, so I can’t throw a big party.” “There’s too much food in my freezer for me to be able to chill my wine properly.” “The green light was too short this morning and I was forced to feel guilty for not giving money to the homeless … [Read more...] about Brain Fodder: Less Stuff, More Happiness
Featured Blogs
Modern Classics: Romeo and Taylor Swift
Let’s be honest: I love a good tragedy as much as the next hopeless romantic. I’m perfectly content grabbing a box a tissues and a pint of Ben & Jerry’s, curling up under the covers, and bawling my eyes out to the most recent episode of Grey’s Anatomy. Although my life isn’t always such a cliché, such occurrences happen a little more often than I would like to admit. I just … [Read more...] about Modern Classics: Romeo and Taylor Swift
New Slang: An Assortment of 1910s Terminology
If ever the case should be when you are in possession of a time machine or happen to blink in front of a Weeping Angel and are transported back into the 1910s, keep this post in mind because it will help you understand a hodgepodge of popular slang terminology of that decade. No doubt everyone already knows the meaning of the word “jazz,” even though its history is less … [Read more...] about New Slang: An Assortment of 1910s Terminology
Urban Inventions: Taking Back the City
What is green, the size of a car, and costs $.25 an hour? A: The parklet. The parklet was created by the design firm, Rebar, in San Francisco in 2005. A parklet is a mini park placed in parking spaces in urban environments. Originally designed as a simple green space with a bench and a tree, some parklets now have Wifi and even a USB port so people can charge their … [Read more...] about Urban Inventions: Taking Back the City
Brain Fodder: Bobby McFerrin Plays… the Audience!
What’s there to learn from TED this week? TED’s “Best of the Web” collection showcases speeches and performances gathered from across the web deemed worth sharing. Surely the viral hits TED collects will never be on the same caliber as the seventeen-second clip of “Surprised Kitty” or other similar hits on YouTube, but Bobby McFerrin’s performance of the pentatonic scale does … [Read more...] about Brain Fodder: Bobby McFerrin Plays… the Audience!