Lines (the kind you wait in...or not) really are amazing, aren't they? [HT Sarah]
Mormon myth-busting. [HT Shannon]
I found this article about wedding photography (something I have minimal interest in) to be very worth the read. It speaks to our larger tendency as a society to document EVERYTHING. Jeremy and I are sometimes guilty of this since we live far away from our extended family, and we want them to be able to experience our girls growing up, too. But there is really something to be said for just experiencing an event in the moment, not through a camera lens, and it's something Jeremy and I are doing more often. Yes, this means there are more posts on the girls' blogs that say something like, "sorry, we did this, but no pictures because we were just enjoying it," but I'm happier that way (even if our families are sadder, sorry!). More to the point of the article, some of those professional photos really were ruined! [HT Crys]
An article about a common Middle Eastern spice recently prompted an all-out internet war. I saw the same thing happen a few years ago to a lesser degree on Smitten Kitchen's recipe for "Israeli Salad" (= Palestinian/Lebanese fattoush, but honestly, it doesn't matter what you call it, that salad is DELICIOUS).
This is for you, Jeremy: it's not about the nail, OK? [HT Tyler]
In map nerd news, here is a map of Pangea with modern political borders. [HT Erin]
In linguist nerd news, here are phonetic descriptions of annoying noises teenagers make. [HT Andrew]
In map AND linguist nerd news, here are lovely new visualizations of Vaux and Golder's American dialect survey from a few years back. The new maps are prettier and show the major data trends better, but some of the oddball pronunciations don't show up well as the old ones (like my dialect soul mate in Portland who also pronounces "crayon" as "crown." Solidarity!!!). See here for more about the history behind these maps. [HT Yvonne and Kristi, within minutes of each other]
Mormon myth-busting. [HT Shannon]
I found this article about wedding photography (something I have minimal interest in) to be very worth the read. It speaks to our larger tendency as a society to document EVERYTHING. Jeremy and I are sometimes guilty of this since we live far away from our extended family, and we want them to be able to experience our girls growing up, too. But there is really something to be said for just experiencing an event in the moment, not through a camera lens, and it's something Jeremy and I are doing more often. Yes, this means there are more posts on the girls' blogs that say something like, "sorry, we did this, but no pictures because we were just enjoying it," but I'm happier that way (even if our families are sadder, sorry!). More to the point of the article, some of those professional photos really were ruined! [HT Crys]
An article about a common Middle Eastern spice recently prompted an all-out internet war. I saw the same thing happen a few years ago to a lesser degree on Smitten Kitchen's recipe for "Israeli Salad" (= Palestinian/Lebanese fattoush, but honestly, it doesn't matter what you call it, that salad is DELICIOUS).
This is for you, Jeremy: it's not about the nail, OK? [HT Tyler]
In map nerd news, here is a map of Pangea with modern political borders. [HT Erin]
In linguist nerd news, here are phonetic descriptions of annoying noises teenagers make. [HT Andrew]
In map AND linguist nerd news, here are lovely new visualizations of Vaux and Golder's American dialect survey from a few years back. The new maps are prettier and show the major data trends better, but some of the oddball pronunciations don't show up well as the old ones (like my dialect soul mate in Portland who also pronounces "crayon" as "crown." Solidarity!!!). See here for more about the history behind these maps. [HT Yvonne and Kristi, within minutes of each other]