on character

good snack for thought with morning coffee

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/25/character-and-its-discontents/?hp

next year, statistics

we can begin to prepare for that with this entertaining article:

http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/2012/03/18/a-fun-diy-science-goodie-proof-yourself-against-sensationalized-stats/

re power

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/21/science/the-snails-of-war-and-other-robotics-experiments.html?_r=1

I'm hoping the scientists and engineers perfect the electric snail before the electric cockroach... our local water bugs strike me as plenty energetic already.

Heroic Imagination Project

I happened upon this Wired article about a Stanford professor's project to teach middle schoolers about social psychology and create the next generation of American heroes. It's an interesting take on developing heroism in young people.

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/12/the-hero-project/

Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey

I just watched this fantastic documentary about Kevin Cash, the puppeteer responsible for the character of Elmo. It is a fascinating story about the journey he took to actualize his childhood dream of becoming a puppeteer on Sesame Street. I was completely transfixed the entire time. Beautiful and truly inspiring.