Useless Information

I'm Craig. I've got a wife and a kid and a far too familiar relationship with Tumblr's Reply button. I'm not as cool as you, but that's ok. I know you love me just the way I am.

[tismilly]

[thefount]

Me.

[thefount]

Anaheim is the new Oyster Bay

In the early 20th century, there was a woman named Mary Mallon who worked as a cook. As she moved from job to job, a pattern emerged in which many of the people where she worked would all contract the same illness.

Mary Mallon did not believe that she was a carrier of a disease, nor did she believe that hand washing was an important part of being a cook. When samples were taken that proved she was a carrier and that she was the source of repeated outbreaks, she still refused to believe and insisted that she was treated unfairly and persecuted. She did not believe that she should stop being a cook and even changed her name and resumed cooking after being forced to stop.

The fact that Mallon denied the evidence and refused to believe didn’t change anything. That’s not how science works. The facts exist whether you want them to or not and whether you believe them or not. Being convinced that she was unfairly treated didn’t keep dozens and dozens of people from getting ill or prevent the deaths of anyone (at least 3 people died). Typhoid Mary could have prevented them by listening to science and following instructions from health professionals. It’s shameful that around a hundred years later, we’re still fighting the same fight.

[buzzfeed]

Hey Buzzfeed. I like a lot of the stuff you guys do, but I've noticed something lately that makes me (and I assume a lot of other people) question whether or not to read your website. It seems like a disproportionate number of your articles and videos cater to women and so-called "feminists". This very blog recently posted a picture that mocked the new and popular #Meninist activist movement. Do you REALLY want your readers to think you support so-called "feminist" ideology?

Yes. Unequivocally yes.

[thefount]

I'll admit that I tend to complain about the click-bait nature of buzzfeed (mostly because I resent that I'm absolutely clicking on them to see those 13 people having a much worse day than me or to find out which character from a popular series I am), but this answer is pretty much perfect.

[thefount]

...as she'd left, I'd glanced at her gun. This time, when she'd pointed it at me, she'd flicked the safety on. If that wasn't true love, I don't know what was.

Brandon Sanderson, Firefight

[thefount]

Oliver Queen?

[thefount]

Enough.

[thefount]

I liked these 3D glasses, but they had to be returned (and even had anti-theft devices in them). They were quite flattering, and I think I should replace my actual glasses with a pair just like this.

[thefount]

Horseshoe crab

[thefount]

It only came in toddler sizes.

[thefount]

Olivia showing us how many horns the triceratops has. My kid is a goofball, and I love it.

[thefount]

Chillin with the aardvarks.

[thefount]

I don’t remember the name of this one, but I prefer to think of it as the pimpmysaurus, because he likes spikes so much that he put spikes on his spikes.

[thefount]

Sue

[thefount]

Field Museum panorama, 30 December 2014

[thefount]

Field Museum, 30 December 2014.

[tj]

The 2015 Challenge Reading is really super cool, but what if you need some ideas?

Or what if you just want the list as a bunch of text instead of a graphic?

Well… here!

I’ve added some starter URLs to some of the categories, and hope that maybe some other people will add some as well.

A...

[thefount]

My question (and this comes from my propensity for both overthinking and laziness) is whether each book can only be counted against a single criterion or if one book meeting multiple criteria can be used to mark several things off the list. For example, if one were born in 1991 (I just realized that there are probably people reading this born in 1991, and now I feel old.) Maus could count as a Pulitzer Prize winning graphic novel published the year you were born.

My brain wants to keep using The Children of Men to fit everything: a book recommended by a friend, set in the future (only a few years. IIRC, births stopped before the current date), set in another country, set in a place you want to visit (if one wishes to visit the UK), by a female author, made into a movie (flawed and not representative of the book, but beautifully done), probably can qualify as mystery/thriller, arguably containing magic even if not the intent of category, and--if you really want to stretch it--containing the antonyms children and men (here's where someone gets to be clever and say that those are synonyms).

[oscarwildechilde]

the library put a whole bunch of these out today and I think i’ve found my new year’s resolution.

[crankyreservationist]

Reblogging for reasons…

[cirquedurartastic]

*ahem* same

[cirquedurartastic]

I was just going through my reading list trying to match up books with these categories. Here are some links that might help you, as they have helped me:

Wikipedia lists of books

Years in Literature

Pulitzer Prize Winners

Classic Romance Novels

Books with Numbers in the Title

[thefount]

This starts off like a book reading challenge but ends up turning into a weird sort of scavenger hunt.

Also, the book that takes place in your hometown is going to be a lot easier for some people than others. (And which hometown do I choose?)

Now, where's the link to the Wikipedia page for books I started and never finished?