The Yes! Digest -- July 1st, 2010

This is: Canada Day! Celebrate Canada's birthday by checking out Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's annual (and awesome) Canada Day posts at her blog, Yarn Harlot. Also, please take a minute to visit the site of the Canadian Unitarian Council!

Spirit food: "Somewhere someone dreams of your smile, and finds in your presence that life is worthwhile, so when you are lonely remember it's true; somewhere, someone is thinking of you." -- Dr. Seuss (Thanks to Hana!)

 Brain food:

• The science behind "morning breath." (via The Washington Post)
• Did Michelangelo paint a human brain stem on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel? (via Boing Boing) 
• Why is Facebook's Farmville so popular? Because it "entangles users in a web of social obligations." (via Mental Floss)

Today's young adults:

• "Are blindingly self-aggrandizing and entitled"; lack empathy.
• Sure do talk funny. (via BuzzFeed)

UU news:

"After seven months of talks, Meadville Lombard Theological School and Andover Newton Theological School have agreed to join forces." The two seminaries, which serve students preparing for Unitarian Universalist ministry, will unite to form a "new interreligious 'university-style' theological institution" to be opened in June 2011. (via UU World)

UU voices: Is Unitarian Universalism a sort of Western Taoism? James at Monkey Mind explores what this might mean.

A joy:
 
"Electrolux, the world's second largest home appliance maker, said on Tuesday it will harvest bit of plastic from floating garbage islands in the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans, as well as from three European seas, and use the material to manufacture six showcase vacuum cleaners." (via GOOD)

A concern:

"According to the U.N., there were over 15 million recognized refugees around the world at the beginning of 2009, and another 826,000 asylum seekers. More than half of the world's refugees are in Asia and another 22% are in Africa; both regions where many governments are ill-equipped, legally and economically, to handle the volumes of people requesting protection in their borders." (via Time)

Good question!: Why do we dream? (via Live Science) Bonus question: What do our dreams mean? Consult this list of the most common ones to find out. (via Bits & Pieces)

Churchy things:

• Contrary to popular belief, most scientists are not hostile to religion. (via HuffPo)
• Pope Benedict XVI announced this week that he will create a new office at the Vatican to "fight secularization and re-evangelize the West." (via AP)

Curiosities (formerly known as 'Unchurchy things'):

• Your weekly dose of Muppet: What kind of bird is Big Bird, anyway? One Ph.D student decided to find out. 
• Were you thinking of naming your child Stallion? If you live in New Zealand, you can't---it's against the law. (via Mental Floss)
• Alex Trebek + Auto-Tune technology = One amazing Jeopardy! category (via Joe. My. God.)

How to: "Make Friends In The Post-Collegiate World" (via Jezebel)

Young adults of note: Thanks to founder Micki Krimmel, NeighborGoods.net has now gone national! Sign up to help the people in your community save money and make friends by lending and borrowing!

The Yes! Digest -- June 24th, 2010

This is: International Fairy Day. Celebrate magic by perusing this Flickr photo set of natural and made fairy homes.

Spirit food:               

Hey you

        begin again

            Again?

again    again    you'll see

it's easy    begin again

                        -- Grace Paley

Brain food:

• What can Nicaraguan Sign Language (NSL) tell us about how human beings think and learn? (via Discover Magazine)
• It turns out that allergies evolve as technology does: people are suffering from cell phone dermatitis as their skin reacts to the nickel in tech devices. (via Boing Boing)
• This piece in New Scientist examines why humans are so adept at lying. 

Today's young adults:

• "Trust technology heavyweights such as Apple, Google and Microsoft more than social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter." 
• Are "not safety-conscious," at least in England.
• Abuse Adderall? According to this piece at the Huffington Post, up to 30% of college students use the ADHD drug inappropriately and/or without a prescription.

UU news: General Assembly 2010 is taking place in Minneapolis through this Sunday, June 27th! To watch GA events live (including the bridging worship for youth and young adults, which will be at 7:30 PM central time tomorrow) visit the UUA's streaming video page.

A joy: Craft Hope organizes people all over the world to use their best creative impulses and their hands to help people in need. Get involved with their latest project by visiting their website or joining their Facebook group.

A concern: Times are tough for young adults in need of work, and it seems they might be getting even harder: according to this piece from The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review some companies are specifying that only people who are currently employed may apply for jobs with them. (Wondering what it's really like out there? To read about one recent college graduate's search for employment, check out this Diary of an Unemployed Class of '10 Philosophy Major in New York City at The Awl.)

Churchy things:

• "What Is Religion?" The show at this online art gallery explores the possibilities.
• Why are some young adult Christians reluctant to identify as "evangelical"?  (via ABC News)

Unchurchy things:

• Your weekly dose of Muppet: Watch Grover and friends dance to "The Song of Wonder," a 70's-era movie theme from Pakistan. (Bonus: Will the bad economy spell doom for Sesame Street? "Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-CO) has proposed legislation that will end federal funding for PBS." (via Joe. My. God.))
• John Waters has some advice for you. 
• The longest tennis match ever (ten hours and counting) will continue today at Wimbledon. (via BBC)

How to: Cook authentic Nepali food.

Young adults of note: Emily Hammond, a student of public health and epidemiology at Boston University, has spent the spring serving people and doing research in Kenya. She is chronicling her experiences at her blog, Another World.

The Yes! Digest -- June 17th, 2010

This has been: International Fathers' Week. Looking for a creative way to honor your dad? Take some inspiration from these families' traditions and then check out New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof's list of non-necktie, make-the-world-a-better-place Father's Day gifts.

Spirit food: "What is the basic nutrition for the soul? For some air, night, sunlight, and trees are necessities. For others, words, paper, and books are the only things that satiate. For others, color, form, shadow, and clay at the absolutes. Some women must leap, bow, and run, for their souls crave dance. Yet others crave only a tree-leaning peace." -- modified slightly from Clarissa Estes

Brain food (juice edition!):

• Can drinking 8 ounces of apple juice daily help people with Alzheimer's disease feel less agitated? (via Science Daily)
• And can pickle juice keep athletes from getting muscle cramps?  (via The New York Times)

Today's young adults are:

• "Falling behind on traditional milestones," "ritualistically infantalized." 
• Better at saving money than the average American.

UU news: The sixth video in the UUA's series "Unitarian Universalism: A Commitment For Our Time" tells the story of how one congregation---the First UU Church of San Diego---started a successful young adult ministry program and became truly multigenerational. (Thanks to Peter for the link!)

A joy: These little pellets---called seedbombs---can help make your city or town a greener, more beautiful place. Sponsor a seedbomb vending machine visiting Kickstarter. (via The Daily What)

A concern: "A California environmental group found levels of lead in children's juice products that far exceed state law---and in some cases also exceed federal levels for young children."(via NPR)

Good question!: "Can whale poop stop climate change?" (via Mother Jones)

Churchy things: Back on April 12, I posted about a piece in the Boston Globe that examined the phenomenon of "non-believing clergy." This paper from Tufts University asks ministers who no longer subscribe to the creed of their faith about the evolution of their religious beliefs. (via The Washington Post)

Unchurchy things:

• Want your 20s to be a roaring success? Learn from these people. (Already out of your 20s? Write your younger self a letter!)
• Your weekly dose of Muppet: Back in the late 1960s, Kermit and friends made training videos and advertisements for computer giant IBM. (via Elizabeth McCracken)
• We now all have words for the peculiar sadnesses of modern life. Behold: The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows.

How to: Clean an oiled pelican, step by step. (via BuzzFeed)

Young adults of note: Zach Anner became an instant internet celebrity when he posted his audition tape for Oprah's "Your Own Show" competition on YouTube this week. If he wins, Anner (who has Cerebral Palsy) will host a travel show "for people who never thought they could travel." Vote for Zach at the link!