(Part 2) Top products from r/philadelphia

I love me some George Orwell.

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/fa/fd/39/fafd395c1b25b95e8706a7a71cbc9bae.jpg


Why Orwell Matters, by Christopher Hitchens

"In this widely acclaimed biographical essay, Christopher Hitchens assesses the life, the achievements, and the myth of the great political writer and participant George Orwell. In true emulative and contrarian style, Hitchens is both admiring and aggressive, sympathetic yet critical, taking true measure of his subject as hero and problem. He examines Orwell and his perspectives on fascism, empire, feminism, and Englishness, as well as his outlook on America, a country and culture towards which he exhibited much ambivalence. Whether thinking about empires or dictators, race or class, nationalism or popular culture, Orwell's moral outlook remains indispensable in a world that has undergone vast changes in the fifty years since his death."

https://www.amazon.com/Why-Orwell-Matters-Christopher-Hitchens/dp/0465030505

Here's another novel idea... Since you're talking about crystals and crystallography, just give the presentation on minerals, symmetry, and the differences in crystalline structures. Here's a great source... this was the textbook from my mineraology class. https://smile.amazon.com/Manual-Mineral-Science-22nd-Mineralogy/dp/0471251771/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1519408780&sr=8-8&keywords=mineralogy

Just make it a geochemistry presentation, it would be HILARIOUS.

Or make absurd claims about how alpha quartz, beta quartz, tridamyte, and cristoballite all have different healing properties due to different pressures/temperature of formation (Show the phase diagram from the book), and how the earth imbues different quartz species with magical powers based on geologic depth of burial. And then you could also talk about how different colors of quartz (Caused by chemical impurities) have different "powers" due to iron, chromium, and other chemicals present.

I'd be very interested to help you make up scientifically founded pseudo-science to make the whole thing look ridiculous through sattire... I have a degree in geology with a specialization in geochemistry, so I could help you make up some very sweet bullshit. Since any source you may cite is of questionable verifiability (Meaning not peer reviewed), to me it seems like you can use peer reviewed materials to come to questionable conclusions and still be in the right.

Or just say "___ is believed to be a healing crystal" and talk about the mineralogy and petrology of it and nothing else.

It's even worse than that. They are not giveaways, they are extortion payments by politicians of taxpayers money. Judith Grant Long at Harvard studied it and wrote a book. The owners say build us a stadium or we'll move the team to another jurisdiction. The city then issues bonds the taxpayer's are responsible for paying the money back, the owner's franchise becomes more valuable and the city gets taxes from maybe a few more concession jobs, maybe some parking revenue. The kicker is that most of the people that can afford tickets come from the suburbs. So the main beneficiaries are team owners and out-of-towners. The only thing the average city taxpayer gets is pride in the team they can only afford to watch on TV.

You gotta be smarter about it. Applying to positions through the same old job sites likely won't get you very far. You gotta read something like What Color is Your Parachute and learn how to separate yourself from everyone else ... otherwise you'll be spinning your wheels.

Work smarter not harder.

What are you reading right now? I wish I could just pick one up and finish it but my brain isn't working.

Island on Fire, about volcanos and specifically the Laki disaster in the early 1700s in Iceland.

I Contain Multitudes, super wonderful look at our relationships with microbes.

Being Logical, a primer on symbolic logic.

I finished 5 books so far this year, my goal is 15 so I need to step it up a notch.

This is a better book.

Saw the author and illustrator at The Rosenbach back in May. Got myself a signed copy. There's a recipe for Fish House Punch inside. The lecture event had some, it was strong but good.

That's cool! You ever read Founding Fish about shad in the rivers? Awesome

I almost forgot, I just read a book some of you might like. It's called The Devil All The Time and it was so good I read it in less than 24 hours. If you like Cormac McCarthy, Faulkner/Flannery O'Connor etc you'll love it- and I've read a lot of authors who ~wish~ they were them.
It's about messed up people/families/small towns, dark humor during horrific happenings, redemption/destruction etc. My description isn't even giving it justice. It's not for everyone but I recommend it highly.

add this to your holiday wish list. its a great book called "deep history and the brain". it pulls from the study of history, biology, and neuroscience, but the dude is a compelling writer, so you won't feel swamped by fact after fact. its actually a bit of an assault on the practice of history. traditionally, historians only start with written language, and leave pre-literate civilization to anthropology or archeology. he wants to challenge that (first part of the book) and then tie that into modern history (second part of the book) by showing that instead of focusing on the written word for creating a historical narrative, we can start with biology and the brain to construct one that goes much deeper (i.e. "deep history") and therefore can be more illuminating in ways a traditional account of historical unfolding cannot.

so you've got your science/STEM in there, and your history. I think you'd dig it.

This book has a recipe for it.

City Tavern would be your best bet but looking on the website now, it doesn't seem to have it.

Also ask the folks at Art in the Age this book is recent from them and they might know more.

Reading God Save Texas by one of my favorite writers, Lawrence Wright. But I'm halfway through and it's awfully boring. I got it because I thought it would be based on his absolutely fantastic reporting from last year about the Texas legislature's ideological gridlock (right-wing conservatives vs. insane right-wing nut jobs). But so far, it's just ruminations about Texas culture that are totally underwhelming.

https://www.amazon.com/101-Uses-Dead-Simon-Bond/dp/0517545160

I don't have personal experience with this. But I seem to recall a reality tv series that might be applicable -

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teach:_Tony_Danza

He apparently also wrote a book about his experiences -

https://www.amazon.com/Like-Apologize-Every-Teacher-Ever/dp/0307887871

There are devices that will detect dogs barking and emit a high pitched noise that only dogs can hear and it trains them to stop barking.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07XK7HDTK/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_WlJRDbPSHWQRV

The book about this was riveting and horrifying https://www.amazon.com/What-Made-Maddy-Run-All-American/dp/0316356549

Ok. You lose.

A Chicago University Study
 revealed that states which passed concealed carry laws reduced their murder rate by 8.5%, rapes by 5%, aggravated assaults by 7% and robbery by 3%

The average number of people killed in mass shootings when stopped by police is 14.29 according to the FBI Crime Data.

The average number of people killed in a mass shooting when stopped by a civilian is 2.33. Which then do not "qualify" as a "mass shooting" so do not get reported by the media.

Another fun fact.

Conceal carry owners nationwide have a 3% error rate when correctly identifying and shooting the bad guy.

The police? 11%.

Facts hurt don't they?

You just got schooled son.

Your safe space is ---------> way