What 7 negotiating tricks can we learn from FBI hostage negotiators?

Some good tips.

An amazing story of messages in a bottle

Treat yourself to watching this wonderful video (via New Advent):

Over the last two decades, Harold Hackett has sent out over 4,800 messages in a bottle from Prince Edward Island, Canada's smallest province along the Atlantic coastline. 

Every message asks for the finder to send a response back to Hackett, and since 1996 he has received over 3,100 responses from all over the world.

How people reacted to overhearing a couple discussing the option of abortion

Wow, an amazing video that makes me proud to be a Texan! (Contrary to popular sterotypes, it's also interesting to note that the most pushy person was the pro-choice school nurse toward the end of the video.)

5 Vintage Versions of Modern Social Media from Centuries Ago

Very interesting! An example:

Long before there was Facebook, there was the Republic of Letters — a vast and intricate network of intellectuals, linking the finest "philosophes" of the Enlightenment across national borders and language barriers. This self-defined community of writers, scholars, philosophers and other thinkers included greats like Voltaire, Leibniz, Rousseau, Linnaeus, Franklin, Newton, Diderot and many others we’ve come to see as linchpins of cultural history. Mapping the Republic of Letters is a fascinating project by a team of students and professors at Stanford, visualizing the famous intellectual correspondence of the Enlightenment, how they traveled, and how the network evolved over time.

The daredevils of Niagara Falls

Some fascinating stories of people who have gone over Niagara Falls in barrels. For example:

The infamous Bobby Leach plunged over the Falls in a steel barrel. Bobby broke both kneecaps and his jaw during his daring event. Years later while touring in New Zealand, Bobby slipped on an orange peel and died from complications due to gangrene!

Great resource for kid-friendly educational videos

Neat for adults too!

"The [Galileo] Inquisitors were not opposed to discovery..."

"They were opposed to hasty and unproven conclusions."

Boatlift from Manhattan

Inspiring and touching:



From SmartPlanet: "In nine hours, boats streaming in from all over the Northeast evacuated 500,000 people trapped on Manhattan Island by the complete shutdown of all trains and bridges in the wake of the fall of the twin towers. (Compare that with history’s second-biggest evacuation, of 339,000 soldiers and civilians from Dunkirk, in WWII, which took nine days.)"

Blessings in the midst of suffering

A moving, inspiring post written by a mother whose young son has a serious seizure disorder.

A fascinating look into the lives of conjoined twins

The problem with Christian rock

Excellent post. The follow-up is good too.

Age Appropriate Chore List

Good food for thought for parents.

"What Being a Cradle Catholic Means To Me"

A thoughtful piece about what it means to be a "cradle" Catholic. An excerpt:

I really wish that someone would pen the companion piece to Abby’ Johnson’s Unplanned. As much as I appreciate her book (and I do!) I would love to hear the other side of the coin: the perspective of those who prayed outside of her abortion clinic for years without fail, who witnessed thousands of women procuring abortions for every one child saved: that is the story I also need to read about. A 'cradle' Catholic needs to hear instances of perseverance, just as much as someone questioning or ‘on the fence’ about faith needs to read about someone's conversion. This is because ‘cradles’ also need help persevering in hope. A chronicle or snapshot of what persistent witness looks like is the kind of story that would really help me.

A look inside modern one-room school houses

Who knew these still existed?

10 Fabulous Ways To Use Burlap

I didn't think that burlap was that interesting of a subject...but this is a pretty cool post, especially for crafty types.

"9 out of 10 of what we call new ideas are simply old mistakes"

Excellent points from JC Sanders. It begins:

I believe that every college freshman should, upon arriving at the orientation of his campus, hear the following sentence: “Nine out of ten of what we call new ideas are simply old mistakes.” Actually, it would not be a bad idea to post this short sentence over the door to every office in the philosophy department–to say nothing of theology or religious studies–as it would help to avoid much mischief.

A touching post by the friend of a 9/11 hero

A lovely tribute.

The burden of Sola Scriptura

Good post about the burden of thinking that you have to interpret all Scripture on your own.

What to Do When Your Productivity Tools Are Your Biggest Distractions: A Two Step Plan

Good ideas.

Living a good life isn't supposed to be easy

Steve of the "Gay, Catholic and Doing Fine" blog makes a great point. An excerpt:

But I have less and less patience with this question: “How can the Church require homosexuals to be celibate? How can she impose such a heavy cross?” 

Why do people think that living a good life is supposed to be easy? Readers, whoever you are — gay, straight, married, single, relatively healthy or inflicted with any one of a billion possible debilitating pathologies — you will be asked to carry a cross. It’s going to be hard, and it’s not going to be fair.

5 things to know before visiting an Eastern Rite church

Helpful post.

The young guns of the Catholic blog world

Devin Rose highlights some great new voices in Catholic new media.

Catholics: Your misguided compassion will come back to bite you in the rear

A thought provoking post by Leila Miller.

The beauty of a hand-written note

A good reminder to send loved-ones updates on paper once in a while.

A day in the life of a family with 11 kids under 13

Neat story.

One couple's experience of having a seriously disabled child

An excellent piece about the hope and potential of every human life.

30 Years Of Music Industry Change, In 30 Seconds

A fascinating look at the changes in music format, from the days of LP's to the days of MP3's.

The 100 Greatest Songs of All Time

...With samples so you can hear each one. (My list would look a little different, but it's interesting!)

Nobody ever has a deathbed wish that they'd had fewer people around to love them

Awesome post from Matt Archbold.

Is the pursuit of physical loveliness frivolous?

A thought-provoking piece about women attempting to look nice physically. An excerpt:

To my mind, the pursuit of loveliness is, in actuality, a celebration of a woman’s unique physical attributes. It’s a way to acknowledge that, for all our messed up feminine insecurities, we realize that these bodies that God has fashioned with His own hands and given to us are gifts. Through caring for our physical selves, we demonstrate our gratitude. It’s a way of saying that we reject the worldly lies we’re told about physical beauty, that we think that God is an awesome creator and that we intend to use His gifts--all of them--to enhance this world with loveliness.

A week in the life of a Catholic priest

via Catholic Video Blog

Life without an architect

Excellent post from DarwinCatholic. An excerpt:

The house or office you are sitting in was built according to a plan and a purpose, a purpose from which it is now only able to deviate to a limited extent. My house cannot suddenly become an office tower, though it has an office in it. My office building would make a very poor house. But they are built knowingly, according to a plan. And yet, our lives seem often constructed to a purpose without the architect knowing that he is in constructing something with walls and doors -- an edifice which will suit some ends well, and other poorly. Individual choices pile up unto some particular type of life, and once that life is built people sometimes find it is not, in fact, the kind of structure they want to live.

Dignity when you can't take care of yourself

A powerful, profound post from a Catholic mom of seven who is undergoing brain radiation as she battles Stage IV metastatic breast cancer, about what she has learned by going from caretaker to the one who is taken care of.

People living in high-rise buildings told to fast longer during Ramadan

An interesting story from Dubai.

Wheelchairs for the poor

A story about an inspiring man with an amazing mission. What a great organization:

Everyone involved in the project has a favorite story. Lanfried's is about a 5-year-old boy in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The boy lived in an orphanage for disabled children, where he spent most of his time lying on the floor except for trips to the bathroom. 

A week after giving the boy his new chair, Lanfried was heading to the airport when he caught a glimpse of something familiar on the side of the street. It was a wheelchair. The little boy was in it, being pushed by an older boy, who was running. The boys were laughing.

One family's home prayer room

Inspiring!

Most expensive foods

An interesting list of the most expensive wine, cheese, chocolate, etc.

3 non-physical benefits to running

Great motivation.

We need to re-brand NFP

A very thought-provoking piece with some great points.

Stunning photos of a volcanic eruption

Wow, amazing. (The site is in Spanish -- press "Comenzar" to begin the slideshow.)

The Declaration of Independence - in MS Word

Astounding toothpick models!

Scott Weaver's Rolling through the Bay from The Tinkering Studio on Vimeo.

7 Habits of Highly Frugal People

Great tips.

How Important Is Beauty at Mass?

Some great thoughts.

An amazing performance...with invisible chairs?

Amazing pictures of the Milky Way

Beautiful.

Personalizing the Golden Rule

We know that we're supposed to do unto others as we'd have them do unto us, but Jess has some good thoughts about how we can think about that in more specific terms.

An app for people who are bad with faces

Great idea: an Android app that turns the faces of people you know into flash cards.

One Catholic's experience with secular psychology

A fascinating post by the Philosopher Mom. An excerpt:

I began to notice that we were hitting a wall. Every time I would regale her with a story of angry feelings, she would listen and say, "Good for you!" I would mention that I told my husband I felt angry: "Good for you!" Hidden anger was bad. Expressing my anger was good, she explained, because I would name it for what it was. It would no longer have the power to depress me or manifest itself in chronic pain. 

Then she counseled me: "You need to tell Todd (or person x, y, or zed) that you feel angry. Don't try to explain it or fix it. Just tell him and ask him to know your anger with you. Be transparent." 

"I don't want to always be angry," I said. "I hope to someday receive all these stresses of life with more grace. More graciously." 

She smiled and fretted, "Oh, dear." 

The message was: This anger is your self. Receive yourself. Express yourself. Do not allow anyone or any religion or any code to suggest that your experience of yourself is untrue or deficient. It is what it is. Be. Any attempt to transform yourself will mean more pain, more depression.

Read the rest here.

35+ Uses for Plastic Milk Jugs

Some clever ideas.

via Pinterest

Amazing card trick

...That stumps Penn and Teller:


via Geekpress

Important points about pride

Great post. An excerpt:

But isn’t there such a thing as healthy pride, you may ask? Such as in the face of an accomplishment or when one pays homage to their nation, ancestry or ethinicity?

In those cases, it’s not really pride (e.g. "I’m so proud of you, family member X..." or "We come from a long line of proud So-and-Sos...") at all. But since we must use language to express the combination of satisfaction, joy and gratitude for an earned success as well as the respect, reverence and humility experienced with 'honoring one's roots,' we tend to distill these concepts down to the current banal usage of the term 'pride.'

If you look closely, however, in those cases there is a recognition or an acknowledgment of being blessed that does not self-aggrandize but which gives credit where credit is due: to the One who gives us our talents, history, nation and family.

Lots of other great points here.

20 craziest job interview questions

Amusing.

via Geekpress

One woman's journey to healing through motherhood

A profound post (with some PG-13 content) by a woman who came to embrace her femininity in a whole new way after pregnancy and motherhood. An excerpt:

Having been sexually abused for seven years in my childhood, it was so profound to me that the very parts of my body that were associated with so much shame and pain had brought forth, and then sustained this precious child. The parts of my body were no longer designed for men's sexual pleasure. I began to finally and truly know that I wasn't a thing. In fact, I was created to give life! Not just physical life, but metaphorical life as well. I'm called to bring life to others, to bring hope, and to nurture the goodness already present in other people. I finally knew that I had dignity. Having been so utterly convinced of my pervading "badness" throughout my life, the discovery of my goodness profoundly moved me...As I reflected on pregnancy, childbirth, and breastfeeding, it seemed as though God was saying to me, "This society may act like you are an object. But that is not how I see you and that is not how I created you."

Read the rest here.

First world problems

A graphic.

Once-common pieces of furniture nobody uses anymore

Whatever happened to dressing tables and phone tables?

7 Amazing Superhuman Feats

Amazing indeed.

The bacon lorem ipsum generator

"Lorem ipsum" is standard dummy text that designers use as placeholders on their designs. Now there's one that involves bacon-related terms. Excellent.

Tour of an Orthodox church in Antarctica

10 Romantic At-Home Date Night Ideas

Great post.

1 Millisecond into an Atomic Explosion

Amazing picture.

An Airport Encounter

A great post by Archbishop Dolan recounting an exchange he had in an airport with a man who associated priests with pedophiles.

Where the children are

An interesting observation about the culture of life vs. the culture of death.

A computer made of of Legos

Wow!

Creating a hiding place

A beautiful tribute by an adult daughter to her mother who is a lifelong homemaker.

"It's not true because the Church teaches it; the Church teaches it because it's true"

Great post from Kaitlin.

Newspaper map

A cool interactive map showing various newspaper front pages from across the country.

Things I've Learned In Times of Doubt

A helpful, inspiring post by former atheist Karen Edmisten.

Amazing artistic renderings of Mars

Absolutely stunning visuals.

Discover Your Strengths, Charisms, and Temperament

A great list of resources.