“The importance of stupidity in scientific research,” in the Journal of Cell Science is an old article that will comfort any aspiring scientists. In fact, anyone who has ever felt lost, asked a question or simply wanted to know will find a valuable sympathizer here. The short treatise acknowledge that stupidity is not only inevitable in honest questioning, it is also essential and good.
Usually I’d skip an article headlined “7 things to never say to a single woman,” but I’m glad I didn’t this time. Maggie Shipstead in the Huffington Post gives a funny, sincere perspective on singlehood and the stigma it sometimes evokes. Good for singles to read. Better for those who are paired off.
“Jahar’s World” is the article that goes with the Rolling Stone cover of so much controversy. Definitely a well-researched, intriguing read. Mostly it’s about Jahar Tsarnaev’s life before the Boston Marathon Bombing. It describes his education, his wrestling, his friendships, his aspirations, his sisters and his relationship with Tamerlan, his older brother. There are a few new revelations, but the thing I like most about it is the way it turns “the monster” into a person again. If the public demonized him and the magazine cover “glamorized” him, the article finally humanizes him.
Underneath it all, they were a screwed-up family. They weren’t Chechen, and I don’t think the other families accepted them as Chechens. They could not define themselves or where they belonged. And poor Jahar was the silent survivor of all that dysfunction. He never said a word. But inside, he was very hurt, his world was crushed by what was going on with his family. He just learned not to show it. – Anna Nikeava
“I wonder if Sunday school is destroying our kids” is a great post from Beliefs of the Heart about what we teach children in church and why it might nudge them away from the faith. The way we frame Bible stories and the heroes of the faith affects how kids see religion in their own lives. We need to be honest about scripture and honest about the world. The “wonder of the gospel” is enough to bring people to Jesus. Let’s not taint it with our own skewed narratives.
“At 99, a St. Petersburg man finds meaning in the working life” is a beautiful story in the Tampa Bay Times. This piece is great writing about a great man. Newton Murray is a 99 year old man from Trinidad, now living in Florida, who continues to work. He lives out grace and faith and contentment. We should all take a lesson. I know I’d like to be something like this when I hit 99.
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