Eventful has been nominated for a Major Award. Okay, so I don’t really know how major it actually is, but I just can’t stand to be beaten by the likes of Facebook. So vote for me! Please?
Category Archives: To Help
overcoming shyness… with SCIENCE!
Now why didn’t I think of that? An article in LiveScience talks about the roots of shyness and possible treatments.
Carducci says that despite beliefs to the contrary, shyness is not completely hardwired. This is because shyness requires a sense of self—which develops only after about 18 months of age. It involves feelings of excessive self-consciousness, negative self-evaluation and negative self-preoccupation, he explained.
“Shy people operate as if thy have a mirror in front of them all the time,” he told LiveScience.
[...]People might try imagining themselves in different social situations while taking slow, deep breaths to keep calm. They can also work to slowly expand their comfort zone, Carducci said. He suggested volunteering as a good way to do this. “When you volunteer, [people] don’t really care your level of skill; they’re just after your time, so there’s no critical self-evaluation,” he explained.
Okay, so it’s not exactly a specific regimen to follow, but there are still some great tips for sky people in there. I plan to try some of them out myself…
it’s time for this war to end
I was originally going to write another post about the cost of the ongoing occupation of Iraq, but two people far more important than I am have written things you should read instead.
First, bask in the calm brilliance that is Keith Olbermann’s response to the president’s recent comments on Vietnam. If you didn’t catch it, Mr. Bush went to Vietnam and told the American public the lesson he thinks he’s learned from that long, bloody mess: “We’ll succeed unless we quit.” (No, I’m not making this up.)
Second, take part in what might prove to be the antidote to such bloody-minded idiocy. Senator Barbara Boxer has created an online petition calling for the president to begin redeploying U.S. troops out of Iraq now. (Emphasis hers.) I usually advise against Internet petitions because they don’t have any teeth, but this one is different. It’s being sponsored by an official representative with some real power (especially now), so it has at least some chance of being heard. There’s more information in her press release about the petition, which makes some compelling arguments itself.
So read Keith to get fired up, then go do something about it.
help out a fellow space geek
UPDATE: It worked! Here’s the latest:
It is official, Kayla won the contest and the title of NASA’s Greatest Fan! Thank you for all your votes. We don’t have all the details yet, but we’re off to (hopefully) see the shuttle launch!
Excited beyond words,
Jennifer
See the original post below:
From Jennifer, a Global Spin reader and my teammate from Space Camp:
Since I am not a US citizen, I couldn’t enter a contest to win the title of ‘NASA’s greatest fan’ but my friend Kayla did, and she made it to the finals. The prize – a trip for two (her and I) to Florida to watch the space shuttle launch! You all know it’s my life-long dream to see a launch, so make it a reality and vote! Vote lots – the more votes the merrier, and there is no limit!
You heard her, folks. Vote early and often. Show the raw power of the Global Spin!
The site is a bit wonky to navigate, but you can watch any of the videos and then click “Vote for your favorite” to go to the voting ‘survey’. ‘Mars Mates Forever’ is the one with the photo of two flight-suit-clad adventurers looking defiantly skyward. It seems to allow you to vote as many times as you wish, so click it a couple dozen times for good measure.
Giving Weight to Childhood Baggage
Families Weight Comments May Harm Girls for Years is the title of the article. This may seem obvious, but I sure wish someone had pointed that out to my parents. You know, diet programs at age eleven are 1) never a very good idea and 2) really hard on one’s self esteem, not to mention waistline. I have heard that kids will self-regulate their eating quite unselfconsciously. Thus, if one presents healthy options — both for eating and excercise — that should be all the “commentary” necessary.