What I Read this Week

Every week, I curate a list of the best links and articles to make you think and keep you informed. Enjoy

My Writing

One year ago: I want Stan Lee to be My Adopted Grandpa and other musings on Dallas Comic Con 2015 (Popery, Pens, and Paperbacks): This was such a fun weekend. So good to remember it!

What I read this week:

Popery (Catholicism/Spirituality/Religion):

• Perhaps We’ve Misunderstood the Lady (Steel Magnificat): This is a really great article that questions the way that a popular quote from Fatima is used. I think this is a great read even for non-Catholics. What are the "fashions" today? 

• Popular priest touched lives far and wide (San Antonio Express News): I never knew this priest, but reading his obituary made me sad I never met him. Rest in peace, father. 

• The Tragedy of Patriotic Worship, or: We Have a Different Memorial Day (Ponder Anew): It always confused me as a kid that we would sing "America the Beautiful" at Mass. This article is really great and makes wonderful points that many in my circle and in the Church should consider. 

• The Decline and Fall of the Pro-Life Movement (Catholic Authenticity): A great reflection over the current situation within the "Pro-Life" movement. 

• I am No Longer Pro-life (Through Broken Roses): I think that this is a great article explaining that you can be pro-life outside of the movement and that, really, being pro-life requires you to leave the movement. 

Social Justice: 

• It costs $150 to buy a dozen eggs in Venezuela right now (LA Times): Ridiculous. 

Pens/Pencils/Stationery:  

• Love for Traveler's Notebook with Patrick Ng (5/19/16) (Baum Kitchen): Patrick Ng, a traveler's notebook connoisseur, is pretty cool. Wish I could have been there!

• April in the Midori Travelers Notebook (Fountain Pen Physicist): I love my Midori, but because I use my Field Notes for everything, I haven't really used it. I'm reading up on other people using theirs for research. Maybe I'll crack mine open this summer. 

• A Micro Review: On The Fly with a Fisher Space Pen (From the Pen Cup): I got one of these pens a little while back and have barely used it. It lives in my purse for events such as this, though!

• The Write Tools (From the Pen Cup): I'm falling in love with this company. The Lenore series? To die for! 

• The Lure of the Limited Edition (The Finer Point): This is something I struggle with for sure. As I've mentioned a hundred times, I come from a family background of collectors/hoarders and so the limited edition thing pulls at my strings, no matter how hard I try to ignore it. I have resisted several of the things Jenny mentions, though. Every time I encounter the Lamy Dark Lilac, I am grateful that I resisted purchasing it. It's just not as pretty in person and I DON'T need another Lamy!

Paperbacks (Reading, Books, and Writing):

• English Teacher Re-Titles Classic Poems as Clickbait in Last-Ditch Effort to Trick Students into Learning (Excuse the Bananas): This. Is. Awesome. I want to think of something similar for my students. I know this is a satire, but seriously brilliant. 

• The Case for Journaling (Writer UnBoxed): When I was a kid, I kept a diary. My cousin read it and told everyone in our small, parochial school what it said. Hence, I don't journal much as an adult. I don't like being vulnerable. But, this author makes some good points. Maybe I should try to start again?

Life in General:

• 22 things every woman needs in her life (The Art of Simple): Usually, I roll my eyes at lists like this, but this one is different. I think every women needs a lot of these things and some might identify with all of them? My favorite--a signature pen. I immediately thought of my Pilot Vanishing Point (in white and rodium) with Waterman Inspired Blue inside. <3

• Boring Conference (All Things Stationery): Isn't this super cool? I would be so good at leading things at a boring conference. 

Tough and Awkward Topics: 

• So I've Gained Weight. SO WHAT? (Ravishly): This strikes home with me so much now. I have gained back a lot of the weight I lost before my 4-month bronchitis battle and it's hard to deal with emotionally. I love Jes' way of dealing with it. 

• What Drilling (and Fracking) Is Doing to Texas Water (Esquire): Don't drink the water! 

• PSA to The Odyssey: Feminism isn’t about hating men (The Tab): God, I'm so tired of people misusing the word "feminist" to mean something it doesn't. All humans should be feminists. Period. 

• The Pain of Watching Your Country Fall Apart (The World Post): I can't imagine. 

Academia, Education, and Teaching: 

• The High Cost of Low Teacher Salaries (NY Times): I think that this article has a good balance of factual evidence and emotional appeal. I particularly enjoy references to the treatment of teachers in other countries: "The study compared the treatment of teachers here and in the three countries that perform best on standardized tests: Finland, Singapore and South Korea. Turns out these countries have an entirely different approach to the profession. First, the governments in these countries recruit top graduates to the profession. (We don’t.) In Finland and Singapore they pay for training. (We don’t.) In terms of purchasing power, South Korea pays teachers on average 250 percent of what we do." Imagine what would happen if we did these things. 

• Why do so few tenured professors get fired? Because it is really hard to get tenure. (Isthmus): A lot of my friends don't get what the whole tenure-ing process looks like. It's hard. It's hell. It is an extraordinary task. This article helps explain what the process entails and why it means you can't be fired (or, usually means that). 

• Who Is Your Warm Demander Role Model? (EduTopia): I think that this is a really great explanation of being a good teacher and leader. 

• 7 Reasons You Might Not Want to Teach Anymore (Huffington Post): I don't necessarily relate to this because I'm in a University setting, but absolutely this connects with what my friends tell me about their lives. 

• Teaching kids philosophy makes them smarter in math and English (Quartz): I was talking yesterday with the young woman who works for the graduate program about the need for an ethics course in the core. I think this goes alongside that. 

Simplicity and Minimalism:

• Decluttering clothes, beauty stuff, & books (The Art of the Simple): As I'm moving, I'm reading more decluttering and minimalism articles, trying to clear out my belongings instead of taking excess crap into the new apartment. What do you need to get rid of?

Parenting: 

• Moms, Quit Trying to Sell Each Other Stuff (Mom.Me): FOR REAL THOUGH.