Friday, August 17, 2012

Best of the Week #72


Siiiiiiigh a Friday in August. Don't worry, I'm pretty much the only person in DC at work. (Actually, anyone reading this is probably also having a summer-Friday-style workday too...) So let's amuse ourselves with some Best of the Week links and get to weekend time asap!

Things were a bit touch-and-go crankypants earlier this week in World o'Mollie, mostly due to this whole IT Band Knee Pain (Foam Rolling, Stretching, and Strengthening) situation. But I'm happy to report that the foam rolling, stretching, and strengthening is working and I ran this morning!

This day last year was my last day in India. Crazy that was a whole year ago!!!

Ok well, let's start this off silly: I am far too amused by this.


This is kind of trippy: "13 Stunning Examples Of Tilt-Shift Photography At The London Olympics"
  • Tilt-Shift photography uses a special lens to create a shallow depth of field, and make the subjects of a photo look like toy miniatures. Here are some striking examples from the Olympics. 

Best read of the week: "Where Do Sentences Come From?" is exactly what it is like inside of my head all the time. 1) Be afraid. 2) Anyone else???
  • So experiment a little. Make a sentence of your own in your head. Don’t write it down. Any kind of sentence will do, but keep it short. Rearrange it. Reword it. Then throw it out. Make another. Rearrange. Reword. Discard. You can do this anywhere, at any time. Do it again and again, without inscribing anything. Experiment with rhythm. Let the sentences come and go. Evaluate them, play with them, but don’t cling to them. If you find a sentence you really like, let it go and look for the next one. The more you do this, the easier it will be to remember the sentences you want to keep. Better yet, you’ll know that you can replace any sentence you lose with one that’s just as good.
  • But learn to play with every sentence you make in your head, shuffling words, searching for accuracy, listening for rhythm.
Awesome. My prayers definitely contributed to this: “All Those Months of Praying for Another Snowmageddon Have Paid Off” Remember Snowmageddon? Best week ever.


Thanks to this, "33 Best GIFs of the London Olympics," I now know that handball is a sport.
  • 10. Handball Death From Above (Or Definitive Proof That Handball Is Awesome)

Wow. Just wow. This might make your week.


How’s this for a political violence metaphor? It seems the market needs regulation; the sovereignty bubble needs to be deflated by slowing the pace of recognition and by putting some existing states on notice of the danger of foreclosure.Atop the Sovereignty Bubble
  • Like home ownership, sovereignty brings clear benefits: political independence, access to international aid and development loans, increased foreign investment, a seat at the United Nations, and legal parity with great powers like the United States and China.
  • The problem is that the criteria for granting recognition today rest more on politics and principlesthan on whether a new state can actually govern…
  •  Since 1945, dozens of states without much practical sovereignty have been welcomed into the international community. Their enfranchisement is often born of good intentions….In fact, to curtail the self-serving maintenance of imperialism, the United Nations forbade denying colonies independence on the basis of incapacity to govern.
Random quote provided by Coach George: "It had long since come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things." - Leonardo da Vinci

Good thing toddlers dress better than I do: "Children with Swag."


"Marathoning: The One Olympic Event You Could Compete In (for 4 Minutes)"
  • Long-distance running is the one exception to this paradox. It's a sport where the average person can begin to understand what professionals go through. The last-place finisher in the 2008 Olympics men's marathon was Atsushi Sato of Japan, who completed the race in two hours, forty-one minutes and eight seconds. Several participants did not finish. To achieve that time, Sato averaged an approximate speed 9.77 miles per hour, which is about the equivalent of running a six minute and eight second mile.
  • Most people on this earth can reach a speed of 9.77 miles per hour. Whether on a treadmill, a dirt path, or a track, the average human, when pushed, can achieve that type of speed. It may take a hefty ounce of determination, or an oversized can of Red Bull, but running 9.77 miles per hour is achievable. The average human cannot, however, maintain that speed for anywhere near as long as Mr. Sato of Japan, but by replicating that speed for as long as possible a person can begin to understand the level of fitness Olympic runners possess.
  • While the vast majority of us will never be able to experience the speeds achieved by top sprinters, we can run, for at least a short amount time, at the same speed as Olympic marathoners.
I promise to keep Eat Run Read mostly campaign-free, BUT Paul Ryan fans close your eyes/ears because this is hilarious: @PaulRyanGosling




Alright that's enough.

My weekend plans involve rock climbing, hiking (with a waterfall!) and who knows what else...seeya back on Monday!