While trying to decide a good Labor Day image for the blog, I was torn between these two, so I’m throwing them both in! The first because it’s iconic, and the second because it highlights how many rights and protections were not always in place for workers. And while we aren’t where we should be in terms of firm anti-discrimination and anti-harrassment protections, these posters make me appreciate how far we’ve come (thanks to labor movements!). Anyway have a great Labor Day weekend!

1. The Radical Kindness of Teenage Girls, Quartzy. There are a few quotes that resonated with me in this loving piece. “You have never seen such an outpouring of love and thoughtfulness. They are effusive in their praise of one another, but also specific. They build each other up, day in and day out. They seem to know how much the rest of the world will try to tear them down.” And later: “there is a safe space in which we can experience the emotions her music fires up in us—anger, rebellion, sorrow, delight—without judgment, without fear of what the outside world would do if we let our guard down. A place where earnestness won’t be mocked.”
2. The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, Becky Chambers. This was a cool slice-of-life queer space soap opera. I would recommend it if you like the “found family” trope, the extended thought experiment of “what if humans and other space species had to learn to coexist,” or if you like your cozy stories with a side of technobabble. There were parts that were clunky and parts where the exposition was too much for me and I’d skim till I found more dialogue, but by the end all the characters had won me over. If you ever read “slow burn” fanfiction or spent a lot of time on Tumblr back in the day, you might know the vibe I’m trying to describe. And if this sounds like anyone’s cup of tea, please read it so we can talk about it together!
3. Learning Why, Not How, Inside Higher Ed. “[Students] don’t connect composing citations with academic values: having an open mind, respecting evidence even if it doesn’t support your hypothesis, making sure readers know how you arrive at your conclusion, and honoring expertise. None of that is made obvious from the act of citing sources.” I like how this piece breaks down the problems with over-emphasis on academic citations. Citing your sources according to a specific style, like MLA or APA, is important in school but it’s only one way to give credit where it’s due. At my community college, we emphasize the giving-credit part over the commas-and-italics part, since showing your work and honoring the voices before you will be important no matter what you do after school. The author also talks about those “moments of curiosity turn into questions and how research is not about finding sources, it’s about finding out,” and that is EXACTLY what I am trying to teach students every day!
4. A Plagiarism Scandal Shakes Up the True-Crime Podcast World, Vulture. Here is exactly why students need to learn why we cite (also how) — a real life example that is not going to be good for these women’s reputations or careers. It’s not the first time that plagiarism has been an issue on podcasts, but as a new type of media explodes and more amateurs get into it, I see this as a cautionary tale.  I think a lot of “content creators” cut corners on attribution in part because they’re amateurs, and because they think admitting that they used sources will make them look bad. Nothing wrong with getting your information (your “content”) from other sources. No one expects you to already know all the details about a crime or a historic event you’re reporting on. You just need to tell us where you got it!
5. Can You Guess These Classic Novels From Their Library of Congress Subject Categories? Lit Hub. Cute library nerd stuff. Kinda funny how many classic novels have “psychological fiction” as a subject heading. Highlight the text under each entry to see the answer! These were pretty tough; I got 24/70. I think David would know this one: “Hotelkeepers–Fiction. Families–Fiction. Occult fiction. Horror tales.”

Hi guys! My reads are gonna start grim and end with something very silly. Not much to report from me this week, but it’s back-to-school season and as usual I’m thinking of You’ve Got Mail, New York in the fall, and someone sending me a bouquet of newly-sharpened pencils.

1. No Place for Self-Pity, No Room for Fear, Toni Morrison for The Nation. “One wonders why the label “weak” has become the ultimate and unforgivable sin. Is it because we have become a nation so frightened of others, itself and its citizens that it does not recognize true weakness: the cowardice in the insistence on guns everywhere, war anywhere? How adult, how manly is it to shoot abortion doctors, schoolchildren, pedestrians, fleeing black teenagers? How strong, how powerful is the feeling of having a murderous weapon in the pocket, on the hip, in the glove compartment of your car? How leaderly is it to threaten war in foreign affairs simply out of habit, manufactured fear or national ego? And how pitiful?” I have only read essays by Toni Morrison (so far), but her voice is so powerful. Her writing makes me want to do good. I shared this breathtaking quote from the same essay on Facebook last week and I want to share it here too: “I know the world is bruised and bleeding, and though it is important not to ignore its pain, it is also critical to refuse to succumb to its malevolence. Like failure, chaos contains information that can lead to knowledge—even wisdom. Like art.”
2. #1222: “Love my family, hate my mean red-pilling brother who is always around,” Captain Awkward. “The world is full of entitled, hateful young men who desperately need someone to set them straight, just, I don’t think the primary targets of their abuse are the ones who have to do that work, they aren’t the best placed to do that work, nor is it on them to do that work. It’s on the people in their lives who can still reach them, the ones they might still listen to, the ones whose good opinion they might still care about, the ones who like and love them and who aren’t being targeted by them who can still safely say, look, put that gross shit down and come back to us, you’re always welcome here, but your hate can’t come along.” I love Captain Awkward. Related, I saw this excellent Twitter thread by Joanna Schroeder a few weeks ago about talking to your white teenage sons (or white teenage boys in your life) about their online behavior and their increasing identification with white supremacy. I liked her advice (emphasis mine): “Look through his Instagram Explore screen with him. Explain what’s underlying those memes. Explain why “triggered” isn’t a joke, what a PTSD trigger is actually like. Evoke empathy without shaming him. Remind him you know he’s a good person, but explain how propaganda works.”
3. From Baba Yaga to Hermione Granger: Why We’re Spellbound by ‘Witcherature,’ the Guardian. I almost wrote my undergrad thesis on villainous women, particularly witches. Kinda wish I had, among the many regrets I have about college (there’s a source quoted in this piece who is a professor of MAGICAL LITERATURES. What am I even DOING here??).“The women of my generation were girls [in the era of witchy 90s TV], and now we have come of age, and are shaping our own narratives, joining other female writers in grappling with perennial questions of power and agency.” I think as viewers and readers, women are drawn to stories of witches or magic because we are feeling so helpless in this present moment. At leas that’s part of it for me. My most fertile daydreams are about the power I could have in a fantasy world, and the good I might do with it, the justice I might unleash if my voice was loud enough to be heard. Some of the witchy literature I’ve read is genuinely creepy or pushes beyond my comfort zone, but it’s very interesting to me!
4. Accessible Design in 2019 & Beyond, Design*Sponge. “It’s hard to imagine a future where people will actually design their homes with accessibility in mind, but that’s my dream. There is not one family member of ours who thought about making their home accessible for our daughter – their niece, granddaughter, cousin, etc. – when making design choices for their home. I’m not mad at or blaming them because I don’t think I would have either. It doesn’t feel like a “thing” yet. We’re not there. I’m hoping in the future it feels like a “thing” not just to make sure their home is accessible for all people, but also as an investment in themselves. If a person wants to have their “forever home” it makes sense to make it accessible for themselves down the road, or to at least have a plan in place to transition it down the road.” Design*Sponge is closing up after this month and I’m going to miss them, because they’re a really thoughtful design magazine and take the time to talk about representation, accessibility and universal design! This piece introduced me to some cool resources and also made me realize that my current home is in no way wheelchair accessible. Which isn’t really in my control as a renter, but accessibility for my friends and maybe me in the future is something I am going to be thinking about in our next place.
5. You (And Your Beagle) Can Spend the Night in This Beagle-Shaped House, Mental Floss. There are two enormous beagle structures on this B&B in Idaho. Their names are Toby and Sweet Willy, and I highly recommend you take a look.

Bonus features:

• Card Catalog Generator –  Make your own catalog cards online! There’s even options to add handwritten notations (you can try my creepy ones: “possibly cursed,” and “do not read”).
• Service Dogs in Training, Practicing Attending the Theater !!!

Thomas Q

I’m prepping this post early because I’m taking off Thursday and Friday to can tomatoes with my mom! I’m so excited. It’s gonna be so messy!

(Also please note: A couple of my reads this week are about the recent incidents of domestic terrorism, just a heads-up.)

1. Family Meal Planning for Real Life, NYT. Meal planning during the week is something I struggle with. It’s very easy for me to fall into a rut of essentially the same food, or to fall back onto my fainting couch and insist we must get takeout because my nerves couldn’t possibly take it. David does most of our cooking, really. But it’s the thinking about what to eat, what groceries we need on hand, that gives me the vapors, I guess. Anyway, there’s good advice and a tasty looking meatball recipe in here.
2. Ask Polly: My In-Laws Are Careless About My Food Allergy! “Every now and then, a group of people assumes the traits and behaviors of sociopaths. Maybe one person in the group completely and permanently lost their doughnuts several decades prior, and slowly, each member of the group learns that playing along with this singular menace is the only way to survive. Eventually, the members of the group are so utterly confused and gaslit by each other that they enforce the will of the group and nod along with bizarre opinions until they can’t even remember what it means to think logically or have free will or behave like other regular human beings on the face of the planet.” This letter to an advice columnist (Ask Polly) is WILD, and makes me glad I have great in-laws.
3. More Than Friends, Gay Mag. Ah, this is a gorgeous essay about more-than-friends and almost-lovers. I’ve felt what she writes about, and I love this piece. “Can you have a break-up if you never have a real date? When the engineer started to pull away, he stopped inviting me over and asked me, instead, to meet him in public places. He declined invitations for movie night at my house. It was easy to understand what was happening, even if the vocabulary didn’t exist for us to talk openly about it.”
4. A Lynch Mob of One, The Atlantic. “Today, no white-supremacist organization is needed for a ready-made lynch mob. No false rumor is needed. There is no need to assemble a large group of coordinated white supremacists. Any young white male can become enraged listening to Trump’s racist ideas, or reading the racist messages on 8chan. Any young white male can become the raging lynch mob, the next Crusius. All that’s needed is an assault rifle, and the assault rifle of racist ideas—two weapons of war manufactured, offered for sale, and bought legally and easily in the United States of America …Being racist suspended him from reality, and he ended up targeting his own livelihood in targeting Latino immigrants. Being antiracist brings Americans back to reality.” This is a letter to the editor and I found it a compelling way to contextualize these incidents of terror within our history. It’s a careful compare and contrast, with plenty of sources to point out how much easier it is for racists to become radicalized online, access deadly weapons legally, and devastate a community. Also, I did not know that Woodrow Wilson was a vocal supporter of the Ku Klux Klan (that’s on me and my memory of history, because it is a defining part of him as a person). I recommend this read even though it’s hard, because it connected some dots for me.
5. What an American Terrorist Looks Like, Tracy Matsue Loeffelholz for Yes Magazine. The data here really put things into perspective for me. Did you know that in 2018, 98% of extremist-related killings in the US came from the radical right? The numbers and trends in this infographic article are chilling but also clarifying. The connection between mass shooters and domestic violence, for example, is stronger (54%) than the connection between the shooters and mental illness (25%). This isn’t the fun stuff that I like to share, but I think it’s important that we focus on facts in a conversation that is incredibly emotional and divided.

Veri Ivanova

Earlier this week, my dad and I were talking about hope. It is a surprisingly difficult word to define in your own terms. He said that hope is a future-looking word, different from “wish” or “want.” We talked about how it’s imagining that something could be different than the way it’s always been, that the impossible could happen. To me, feeling hope is essential for showing up to work tomorrow, for believing that our work has purpose. But sometimes our supply of hope gets low, eroded by acute chronic pain, or wiped out by tragedy. And while belief in an eternal hope is important, we also need to build up our stores of ordinary, everyday, on-earth hope. I see that as a community effort, so I tried to gather that kind of story this week. If you have stories or moments of hope, I would welcome them in return.

1. Ethiopia plants 350m trees in a day to help tackle climate crisis, the Guardian. Ethiopia, in pursuit of an environmental initiative called #GreenLegacy, encouraged every citizen to plant 40 seedlings. That final number, somewhere around 353 million, is just so impressive! “Trees not only help mitigate climate change by absorbing the carbon dioxide in the air, but they also have huge benefits in combating desertification and land degradation, particularly in arid countries. They also provide food, shelter, fuel, fodder, medicine, materials and protection of the water supply.”
2. Be Water! Seven Tactics that Are Winning Hong Kong’s Democracy Revolution, New Statesman. This is such an inspiring look at successful protest built on unity, ingenuity, and care for one another. The tactics listed here, such as a leaderless movement (to protect protestors from being singled out and imprisoned) and coordinated hand-signal communication through a crowd, are actionable and exciting to read about.
3. The Happiest Design Ethics Article You Will Ever Read, Modus. “The whole spark of design comes from our seeing another human being attempting to do something, not having a great time doing it, and thinking: I bet there’s a way to help them do that. And then figuring out what that is. That’s it, that’s the whole thing. Whether we’re helping someone fill out a naturalization form in their own language, keep better track of their finances, find the right charity to donate to, keep in touch with someone they love, or just find the right cat gif, everything we design should be in service of making people’s lives easier. Feel free to replace “easier” with “more efficient,” “delightful,” or any other positive word you prefer.” Design ethics is not a subject I’m familiar with, but what he’s talking about here is using design to make people’s lives better in some way, not to trap or trick or manipulate them (to purchase, vote, etc). The above quote about the spark of design reminds me of my urge to teach, and that’s why this piece made me feel hope.
4. Want to Change the World? Talk to Kids, Glamour. “Did I write this for kids? Of course I did. Grown-ups don’t want to read books about nervous chipmunks, and otters named Duffles and Nudge. Their loss, honestly—they are solid otters who make some really good points. But I also wrote it because, in my heart of hearts, “welcome someone new” and “kindness is stronger than fear” are what I want to tell adults. Kids encounter new things all the time—new kids at school, new experiences, even new foods. It makes sense to be a little fearful of them. But unlike adults, kids are open to change. If you give them new information, they don’t immediately get defensive or call it #fakenews. They take it in, and if it makes sense to them, they try to incorporate it into their lives.” This is sweet. I’m gonna check out her kid’s book.
5. “Mediterranean Blue,” by Naomi Shihab Nye. “They are the bravest people on earth right now, / don’t dare look down on them. Each mind a universe / swirling as many details as yours, as much love / for a humble place. Now the shirt is torn, / the sea too wide for comfort, and nowhere / to receive a letter for a very long time. / And if we can reach out a hand, we better.” Emphasis mine.

Pim Chu

You ever have a day where your thoughts are racing with ideas, worries, and your to-do list, to the point that you are essentially useless until your brain calms down? Yesterday my strategies (deep breaths, making sure I’ve eaten protein, a quick walk) didn’t work like they usually do. So I tried something we did in college when a train makes you stuck at an intersection: focus on a space in front of you and count the railcars as they cross your vision. I just sat still and counted the individual thoughts that crowded out my ability to function. Eventually the train will pass and the light will turn green, and in the meantime I will crank the air conditioning.

1. How to read the news without frying your tender circuitry, Courtney E. Martin. “Don’t feel obligated to take in the headlines on a daily basis. I don’t. I still find out the most important things via a sort of strange and very modern osmosis–my friends, the guys shooting the shit outside of the donut shop, my social media feeds, overhearing the radio. But otherwise, I store up all that saved energy and heartache for a deep dive on Sunday with the print edition of The New York Times. It allows me to stay informed, but in a more contextualized way.” I’ve been doing this with the Frederick News-Post and it’s been a helpful practice when I stick to it!
2. These police dogs are trained to help survivors, Los Angeles Times. (TW: Types of violence and abuse mentioned in passing.) This story will most likely make you cry but not in a bad way. This is the part that got me: “Adam Roulston, a Corona police patrol sergeant and one of Raider’s handlers, said that while it’s up to the trainers to decide where to take their dogs, he’s learned the dogs usually decide which person to approach. When everyone else is focused on the primary victim, Raider often heads in the direction of someone experiencing secondary trauma. “He’ll lay on their feet or sit on them. Then they’ll break down,” said Roulston, who learned of police facility dogs after reading about Scottie.” Dogs are so, so good. And I just learned that Frederick therapy dogs are doing this kind of work too! Read more about that here at the Frederick News-Post.
3. A Very Low-Key Summer Checklist, A Cup of Jo. I love the ideas Joanna sets up for a fun, meaningful summer with her kids. They’re things that will get you out of patterns, but nothing so ambitious that you feel guilty about not checking them off. I really like the idea of trying an ice cream flavor you’ve never had, and taking breaks to intentionally do nothing at all. What’s on your summer checklist?
4. The Meaning of All Caps in Texting and in Life, Wired. Ooh I love when someone walks me through a niche part of language. Here McCulloch is talking about the history of talking in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS, and it’s a fun read: “Rather, our interpretation seems to flip depending on whether we read the text as formal or informal: HOME in a website’s menu bar is a mere graphic design choice, while HOME in a message like “ugh I want to go HOME” is typographical tone of voice.” Her book, Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language, is next on my list!
5. Why Do Kids Have Imaginary Friends, the Atlantic.  This article about imaginary friends is so interesting. “Imaginary companions are giving kids a sense of control,” Carlson says. “They get to conjure them up, they get to make up the stories, they’re not being intruded upon by others. It’s something they can own all to themselves. It’s an interesting way to take a little bit of control back. But it can be very frustrating for the parents.” The article talks about an imaginary friend named Salad which reminds me that kids’ creativity is the best kind. I (lol) had an imaginary boyfriend in middle school. There’s a lot of sweet quotes in this piece, you should read it! Did you have an imaginary friend?

Bonus features:

• House for Booklovers and Cats – This house is adorable. My favorite photo is the one of the cat emerging from a trapdoor in the bedroom.
• All About Xoloitzcuintl, the Mexican Hairless Dog – I just discovered a new favorite Youtube channel, Dogumentary TV, which has well-produced videos teaching about different breeds (and as far as I’ve seen, doesn’t have any sad dog content, but use your best judgment based on video titles).