Link Log for February 10 (#1)

Today's Categories: Heads Up, Animals, Plants, Books, Crafts, Chortles, Black History Month, Art, Travel, Quotes, News of the Weird, GMO's. Because of the Heads Up, and because it's time to stop socializing and do some actual work on this computer, I'm going to post this one now; there may or may not be a Link Log for February 10 (#2), later.

Heads Up 

Senator Tim Kaine is sending an office staffer to meet with constituents in the Bristol (Virginia) Public Library this evening, 5 to 7:30 p.m. (If you just want to take exception to something he said on to Rachel Maddow last night, this web site recommends going in early, talking to other constituents with messages for Senator Kaine, and making sure the ones who need help get to talk first.)

Animals 

You already knew this, but...do not buy any ivory or rhinoceros-horn products. Not ever. Plastic piano keys are so much better than extinction, even if it's only a sub-species that's in danger.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-31373711?ocid=socialflow_twitter

Cute coots! (We have them in the U.S. too.)

http://watching-bingley-birds.blogspot.com/2015/02/pictures-of-british-birds-coot.html

Dog lovers...this was a straightforward popularity contest between a "Dog Valentine" photo of a dog whose actual name is Valentino, and one of a small dog with a small child. But now both of these independent, natural dog images are being edged out by a less appealing photo where somebody's managed to throw in an overrated corporate trademark name! Please help! (What, actually, do +Ruth Cox and Valentino get if they win? Y'know I never asked.)

http://woobox.com/muyuri/djm3yg?fb_ref=ufp__6xsNnuP5A

Plants 

Things to do with lavender...

http://www.personapaper.com/article/23514-lavender-oil-and-its-benefits

Books 

David Boaz has a new book out today:

http://www.cato.org/libertarianmind

Did anybody ever tell you that a book whose main character looked different from you was "not for you"? Hah. Children read with their imaginations. Between ages three and six I don't remember caring much about the humans in any of the books I read with enough understanding to remember the stories; all my favorite characters were horses. (Thanks to Elizabeth Barrette for sharing.)

http://www.comicmix.com/2015/02/06/martha-thomases-the-great-comic-book-lock-out/

Crafts 

Adorable crochet-flower coin purses...if you followed that link to +Theresa Wiza's crochet flower tutorial, these will give you ideas!

https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/OhhhWhatAYarn

Jil Eaton shares a free complete pattern for mittens...you could make them with craft-store yarn, but if you use her slightly thicker merino yarn, as recommended, they'll turn snow longer and give the kids more time to play.

http://jileaton.blogspot.com/2015/02/snow-snow-snow.html

Chortles 

Do you take orders from machines? ("Things are in the saddle, and ride [hu]mankind".) Well, I don't own any device that thinks it's "smart." Yet.

http://blog.dilbert.com/post/110638270351/would-you-take-orders-from-machines

Fanfic:

http://www.newyorker.com/humor/daily-shouts/true-history-jewish-wizards-hogwarts-harry-potter

(Thanks to Teresa Nielsen-Hayden for sharing.)

Children/Homeschooling 

Some children naturally like math; my father was working his way through math books, for fun, in primary school, and at Tsu someone shared a photograph (sorry, no link) of a little angel who'd fallen asleep with its face buried in a math book. For other children, here's a game that promises to show a lighter side of math...

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2015/02/10/american-made-spotlight-yamie-chess/?

Black History Month 

Black History of and for Republicans:

http://www.freedomworks.org/content/empower-member-geraldine-lewis-black-american-history-today

Alice Walker's poem for, and video of, Bob Marley:

http://alicewalkersgarden.com/2015/02/to-win-for-bob-marleys-birthday-february-6th/

Human Rights 

The A.M.A. is right, and the mainstream media are wrong, about this. Vaccinations should always be a personal decision made on a cost/benefit basis. (E.g.: I've had measles. Measles cost me a few days of school, which was a clear gain. I've had an unnecessary but mandatory MMR vaccination. The vaccination cost me most of two years being not sick enough to be in a hospital but not strong enough to do a job either. If measles were a common side effect of vaccination against mononucleosis-complicated-by-hepatitis, that would be a vaccination I'd consider inflicting on a child...but only if the child were really likely to be exposed.)

http://www.naturalnews.com/048571_mandatory_vaccines_code_of_ethics_American_Medical_Association.html#

Art 

John Singer Sargent did realistic "society" portraits that have made him familiar to students of history. Was he just a talented hack? Jonathan Jones argues that his paintings do reflect the contemporary "movements" in Creative Art:

http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2015/feb/10/john-singer-sargent-national-portrait-gallery-review?CMP=twt_gu

Thanks to Elizabeth Barrette for sharing this fantastic wood carving:

http://www.thisiscolossal.com/2014/02/intersections-an-ornately-carved-wood-cube-projects-shadows-onto-gallery-walls/

Geometric motifs...this guy's doing them as art, but they look like knitting or needlepoint designs to me, too.

http://www.theguardian.com/science/alexs-adventures-in-numberland/2015/feb/10/muslim-rule-and-compass-the-magic-of-islamic-geometric-design?CMP=share_btn_tw

Travel 

Tweeted for financial reasons of course, but still a beautiful picture of a beautiful place for people to go when they need a day out of Washington. Or Richmond, for that matter.

http://myfamilytravels.com/content/62079-throwback-charms-big-valley-roadtrip

Quotes 

Melissa Stewart tweeted: "People who have given up on their dreams spend most of their time trying to get you to give up as well."

Mark R Matthews tweeted this quote from C.S. Lewis: "When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up.”

News of the Weird 

Alleged feminist allegedly aborts just because she was told the baby was going to be a boy? It's possible; some of the Lunatic-Left-funded "Occupy" crowd have used a lot of drugs. And I hate to say it, but the little guy might be better off not being born to a mother like that. I support women's right to "choose" abortion, no questions asked, because if that really is a choice they could make, no baby should have to spend five minutes in their custody.

http://thepunditpress.com/2015/02/07/feminist-aborts-son-because-he-was-a-boy-i-couldnt-bring-another-monster-into-the-world/

Stop the insanity...of p.c. censorship. "Crazy" is a very rude, hateful thing to call a person, but it's a technical term for some arts and crafts and an accurate description of some of the nagging documented in this article. (For those who didn't know, "getting the kinks out" refers to re-using wire or yarn, and has nothing to do with anybody's hair.)

http://www.nationalreview.com/article/398243/u-m-spent-16k-campaign-against-offensive-language-katherine-timpf

Josh Earnest...is he in earnest, or joshing? Duh. There's no debate about terrorism! It does exist!

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2015/02/10/white-house-spokesman-struggles-on-whether-climate-change-or-terrorism-is-a-bigger-threat/?

"Smart TV" sets rat out their humans...didn't George Orwell write this story seventy years ago?!

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2015/02/09/owners-of-samsung-smart-tvs-should-be-aware-of-this-very-scary-privacy-policy/?

GMO's 

+Jeff Sullivan mostly posts pictures of beautiful Western States landscapes on Google +. Today, something seems to have spilled over, and he posted a passionate, fact-packed research paper that doesn't fit into Google + at all. Worth reading, though, and strongly recommended.

https://plus.google.com/107459220492917008623/posts/EDjdSKuvWkB