This is: The 182nd anniversary of the day Noah Webster copyrighted his American Dictionary of the English Language and introduced the United States to standardized spelling. To celebrate, play any of the word games at Merriam-Webster Online. (via Wikipedia)
Spirit food: "All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson
Brain food: Can anyone really know how tall Mount Everest is? (via The Rachel Maddow Show)
Young adults today...: are "not reckless spendthrifts." According to this piece from a UK investment news website, young adults "have begun to recognise the need to save earlier, prioritise debt repayments and give more thought to planning their financial future." (via EveryInvestor)
A joy: I try very hard not to get political in this space---and I also try not to post my own personal joys---but hope you'll indulge me just this once as I report with great happiness that conservative commentator Glenn Beck, who encouraged listeners of his radio show to "run" from any church with the words "social justice" on its website, was barraged last week via Twitter (by Jewish Funds for Justice) with a day-long "haiku storm" of protest: Samples include "Do unto others..." / If that's not social justice / I don't know what is" and "Do you have to check / your church website for justice / to know that it's there?" (via Huffington Post) (An interesting aside: in this clip from an episode of his TV show aired in early April, Beck wonders how President Obama may have been affected by the fact that his grandparents once attended the East Shore Unitarian Church in Bellevue, Washington.)
A concern: This past Friday, a 33 year-old nurse, Torry Hansen, sent back to Russia the little boy she adopted last September because she felt she could no longer care for him. The boy, named Artyom, is now being cared for in Moscow, but it's not clear what will happen to him next. Hansen is not yet speaking to the authorities. Please keep them both in your hearts. (via The Moscow Times)
Churchy things: "Are College Professors Less Religious than the General Population?" (via Sociological Images --- thanks to Victoria for the link!)
Unchurchy things: Especially for those of us from the BCD and MBD---the producers of MTV's Jersey Shore are currently casting Wicked Summer, a show about "the hottest girls and proudly buff guys from Massa-freakin-chusettes who believe in God, Family, The Red Sox and partying!!" (Editorial note: is it prissy of me to note their misspelling of our state's name?) If you're interested in applying to be on the show---they say they're accepting all kinds, even "preps from Wellesley [...] if they got what it takes"---you can click here. (via Slate, whose Jessica Grose predicted back in January that this show would be forthcoming.)
Young adult(s) of note: 33 year-old composer Sean Chapin seeks to "document the LGBT movement in song." (to learn more, Visit his YouTube channel or the website promoting his album, More Equal Union.) (via JoeMyGod)
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