Quote of the day
When parents are too irregular, inconsistent, or oversolicitous, or when there are unresolved problems between the parents, the resulting sleep problems converge, producing excessive nighttime wakefulness and crying.
~MARC WEISSBLUTH, author of Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child
HEALTH
For teens, sleep habits run in the family, WSJ | Tweet
Study finds a correlation between the sleeping patterns of parents and their teenagers.
→Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child
FOOD
Edible insects: grub pioneers aim to make bugs palatable, FT | Tweet
Could insects be the next sushi and bug-burgers the new sirloin steak? Pat Crowley, founder of Chapul, which makes energy bars from finely milled crickets, hopes so.
→Edible: An Adventure into the World of Eating Insects and the Last Great Hope to Save the Planet
LITERATURE
Who was the Marquis de Sade?, Smithsonian | Tweet
Even in the age of Fifty Shades of Grey, the 18th-century libertine is as shocking as ever.
→Justine, Philosophy in the Bedroom, and Other Writings by Marquis de Sade
READING
How to read a comic book: appreciating the story behind the art, Vox | Tweet
Reading a comic book can be a daunting task. Text flies at you from all angles. Sometimes, the sequence of events can be hard to follow. And there are plenty of titles that are specifically meant to be challenging. And by and large, comics readers have to be self-taught. We don’t have a great system for teaching people how to read stories told in visuals. But there’s an art to reading a comic book, one developed over nearly 100 years in the US.
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Rethinking the definition of entrepreneur, Forbes | Tweet
Calling yourself an entrepreneur is to define yourself as many things: You are declaring yourself an innovator and a risk taker, and may find yourself pigeonholed with assumptions and stereotypes. However, an entrepreneur cannot be defined by a group of characteristics.
→The Entrepreneur Mind: 100 Essential Beliefs, Characteristics, and Habits of Elite Entrepreneurs
TECHNOLOGY
Using technology to outsource human memory, The Atlantic | Tweet
Scrolling through Facebook has largely replaced browsing through old photo albums. What does this mean for how we make and store memories?
→Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything
Meet Bond, the robot that creates handwritten notes for you, Wired | Tweet
With all the email, texts, tweets, and status updates of modern life, people have never been more prolific writers. Yet penmanship is at a nadir because we do so much of this writing on a device, often with our thumbs. Oddly, it could be a device—a robot, more specifically—called Bond that saves the humble art of handwriting.
BRANDING
How to sharpen your personal brand, Mashable | Tweet
Building a personal brand doesn’t have to be a lackluster experience. Every professional has a unique skillset to share. However, the key is finding unique ways to stand out amongst a sea of professionals. Strengthening your social media presence strategically can make a world of difference in your professional journey. Once you understand how you want to be perceived online, the rest of the pieces will fall into place.
WRITING
How to drive your readers wild with hints and story hooks–without frustrating them, Helping Writers Become Authors | Tweet
When you tease readers with something they really, really want to know, you have to be careful not to tease them too long. Otherwise, they’re going to get impatient, sense that you’re toying with them, and possibly give up on the story in frustration.
→Outlining Your Novel Workbook: Step-by-Step Exercises for Planning Your Best Book
A big storytelling DON’T: Messing with Timelines, Darcy Pattison | Tweet
But most of the time, writers should respect timelines. We live linear lives; we can’t skip ahead a year and then skip back. The act of reading is a linear act: we start at one point and read forward. Sure, some of you read the ending last. But even then, you go to five pages before the end and read forward. Humans are hard-wired to understand time lines, and when you mess with the timeline of a story you risk reader confusion.