Compendium of Links #17

Yeah. I don’t get online all that much (except if I’m at work—maybe someday I’ll compile a work-links compendium). But real life is more rewarding: hitting the 8,000-word mark for NaNoWriMo last night; listening to the sports editor try to stuff as many Tootsie Rolls as possible into his mouth; walking down Main Street (or rather, the local equivalent) on a sunny November afternoon; talking to the pastor over the back fence.

Dr. Randy Carlson, radio speaker and author of The Power of One Thing, has a website devoted to teaching people how to achieve their goals, and the neat thing is that it’s Biblically based. I heard about him and the book via a Boundless podcast and he sounded like he was right on target, though the cheesy language on the website made me giggle a bit.

Speaking of Boundless, they had a post on what to do (and what not to do) on a blind date. Because meetings through mutual friends still surpass online dating as the number one way that couples meet.

Child sacrifice is a bustling business in Uganda. (Via Gene Veith, I think.) And I had no idea until a couple days ago:

Schoolchildren are closely watched by teachers and parents as they make their way home from school. In playgrounds and on the roadside are posters warning of the danger of abduction by witch doctors for the purpose of child sacrifice.

The ritual, which some believe brings wealth and good health, was almost unheard of in the country until about three years ago, but it has re-emerged, seemingly alongside a boom in the country's economy.

The mutilated bodies of children have been discovered at roadsides, the victims of an apparently growing belief in the power of human sacrifice.

The world’s most popular books, compiled into a top-100 list! I’ve read several of these and enjoyed them. Maybe I’ll pick up a few of the ones I haven’t read. One of these days I really will read Rebecca. Same goes for Cien Años de Soledad (One Hundred Years of Solitude).

The Atlantic magazine reports that bullying might be better stopped by teaching the victims healthy resistance behaviors:

Though it wasn't astounding to find out that half of the children reported being the object of taunts, gossip, or intimidation, how they reacted to their harassers was. The key to anticipating victims' responses, it turns out, is to figure out their motivations for interacting with their peers in the first place. That is, kids who wanted to be popular and feel superior tended to retaliate impulsively. Those who wanted to appear cool by avoiding criticisms were more likely to pretend like nothing happened. And those who were genuinely interested in fostering friendships tended to react in healthful, positive ways. They asked their teacher for advice, sought emotional support, and found means to solve the tension with those who harassed them.

And for your listening pleasure: the talented Annie Moses Band. They are summarily added to my Christmas wish list.

If I were at my apartment instead of the library, I would set this on “repeat” and dance around behind the privacy of the curtains!!