The best marriage advice I’ve ever read. I repeat, Ever. [Article]

Old Bob Fulghum had me hooked to his writing when I was 16; when I read “Uh oh” from cover to cover instead of listening to an accountancy lecture on ‘double entry system of bookkeeping’. One of my favourite people (not just authors), Fulghum has some advice about marriage to his beloved god-daughter – and universally applicable to anyone contemplating marriage (or who’s already married). “Attend to your marriage, not your wedding.”

The Unhappiness Motivator [Article]

Scott Adams wonders if having a manual job in one’s youth is a good motivator for success. In The Unhappiness Motivator, he asks how much of a role unhappiness plays in peoples’ ability to plan for success. His concern is the level of homework that kids have these days that he feels develops disgust in kids to avoid any sort of mental work.

The Extremist Cult of Capitalism [Article]

Richard Stallman calls it the worship of the invisible hand – the extremist cult of capitalism. Capitalism isn’t turning out to be the panacea that it is often, mindlessly, purported to be to the economic problems of society. In the words of Bertrand Russell, “Advocates of capitalism are very apt to appeal to the sacred principles of liberty, which are embodied in one maxim: The fortunate must not be restrained in the exercise of tyranny over the unfortunate.”

Overcoming obstacles [Video]

A little while ago, I’d posted about Gerry Leary, who is a master roaster of coffee beans and is blind. Here’s another inspiration, blind skateboarder Tommy Carroll [‘There’s always a way to overcome an obstacle, if you really want it enough”] . And here’s a reminder that it isn’t only five physical senses that we humans have – never mind what you learned in school.

What determines life span? [art/article]

Photographer / blogger Yunfan Tan chronicles the lifespan of plants of all sizes, & this article, referring to it, claims that Life is short for small creatures, longer in big ones. Not true, say the biologists who have commented on this blog post, & caution us against mistaking art for research. Interesting pictures, nonetheless.

Remembering the anit-war Martin Luther King [Article]

Glenn Greenwald expresses dismay, on the occasion of Martin Luther King’s birthday commemoration, that MLK’s anti-war advocacy (as well as his economic views) are entirely ignored – while he is remembered only for his civil rights achievements. King, during an anti-Vietnam war speech on 4 April 1967 at the Riverside Church in New York City, called the US government the “largest purveyor of violence in the world” – a tag that is even more applicable today than ever before. Greenwald also contrasts that while Obama has been an inspiring by-product of King’s civil rights work, Obama’s policies are a manifestation of exactly the militaristic mindset which King denounced.

Journey through the seasons [Video]

A journey through seasons” is a creation of the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, by recording the 10 hour, 473 mile journey four times through the year. This compressed 1 minute video is simply amazing. They also created a 10 hour documentary of this journey. But even more amazing is the fact that the entire 10 hour raw footage is available for download under a Creative Commons license.

You are going to die [Article]

The older you get, the more your chances of dying? The mortality rate for humans, in case you were avoiding even considering it, is 100%. Tim Krieder visited the age care facility that his mother chose to move into well before she got sick or unhealthy or unable to take care of herself, & his emotions & thoughts come gushing out. Worth reading “You are going to die“.