Welcome to this week's edition of our Friday Quality Linkage column. Please enjoy this week’s collection of interesting and entertaining links. Brew a fresh cup of coffee, find a comfortable place, and relax.
Photo: Jonathan E. Chen
Live Slowly »
Jonathan E. Chen got a lesson from an old friend on the importance of stopping to smell the roses:
As we sat there continuing our conversation, at times marked by quiet yet welcoming pauses, I started embracing the message she was trying to convey, about living life more slowly. There’s a peace in the mundane and the silence and the immediacy of the moment that brings about questions I never thought to ask myself, having always been caught up in the hustle and bustle of modern life. I stopped making time to take life more slowly, to see things more clearly, to spend time more casually. I stopped living at the cost of my happiness. Why do I always need to be going somewhere? Why do I always need to be doing something? Why is it that I never slow down every once in a while to enjoy my life?
I think we can all relate.
Photo: The Fred Rogers Company
Walking the Beat in Mr. Roger's Neighborhood »
NPR shares the charming story of how Francois "Officer" Clemmons and Mr. Rogers met and became friends:
He says he'll never forget the day Rogers wrapped up the program, as he always did, by hanging up his sweater and saying, “You make every day a special day just by being you, and I like you just the way you are.” This time in particular, Rogers had been looking right at Clemmons, and after they wrapped, he walked over.
Clemmons asked him, “Fred, were you talking to me?”
“Yes, I have been talking to you for years,” Rogers said, as Clemmons recalls. “But you heard me today.”
"Let Her Teach You" »
Patrick Rhone learned an interesting way to encourage his daughter to practice violin:
Walking into [the Luthier's] shop was immediately stirring. Violins, violas, and the random cello were everywhere. The smell of old wood and off-gassing lacquer filled my nose. all of this coupled with a gentle greeting by the Luthier gave one the immediate sense that this was a kind of chapel. A sacred temple for the practice, care, and continuation of an ancient art.
[...]
He said, gently, “You should play. Not just for yourself, but for her. But, more than that, you should let her teach you. If you let her teach you what she is learning, because of your age and past experience, you’ll catch on quickly and it’ll make her feel like a good teacher. It will empower her and make her feel in control. This will make her a more confident player. Then, practice will no longer be drudgery but something fun you do together.”
(I just had to include that first paragraph because it's so evoking.)
You Needn't Look Professional »
Eric Karjaluoto on the increasingly outmoded idea of "professional" appearance:
I spent a long time believing that if I looked the part, success would follow. In retrospect, this was a mistake on my behalf (that wasted a lot of time and money). Truth of the matter is that no one really cares about your fancy title or the way you present yourself. What they care about is what you can do for them.
Photo: X-ray: NASA/CXC/UCL/W.Dunn et al; Optical: NASA/STScI
Solar Storms Ignite X-Ray Auroras on Jupiter »
NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory discovered something cool happening on Jupiter:
Solar storms are triggering X-ray auroras on Jupiter that are about eight times brighter than normal over a large area of the planet and hundreds of times more energetic than Earth’s "northern lights," according to a new study using data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory. This result is the first time that Jupiter's auroras have been studied in X-ray light when a giant solar storm arrived at the planet.
Chandra captures lots of fantastic images so check those out too.
Photo: He Len Myanmar, 2nd place, Myanmar, National Award, 2016 Sony World Photography Awards
Photo: Eduardo Minte, Winner, Chile, National Award, 2016 Sony World Photography Awards
Winners of the 2016 Sony World Photography National Awards »
Now in its 4th year, the hugely successful National Award programme works across 61 countries, from Australia to Argentina, Russia to Vietnam, and is unique in its scope and reach.
For this year’s competition, an expert panel was tasked to uncover and honour the best single image taken by a photographer from each National Award country, entered into any of the ten Open categories of the 2016 Sony World Photography Awards.
Some absolutely stellar photography in this collection, which can be viewed by individual country. Congratulations to all the winners!
The Color Blind Artist Who "Hears" Color »
Neil Harbisson is an artist who was born completely color blind. He eventually decided to have an antenna surgically implanted into his skull that enables him to "hear" color. It's not just some gadget for him, but a true "sense" that can't be turned off.
Every color the antenna points to corresponds to a particular musical note, and because of this, he has some fascinating insights about the world most of us would never think of. I know it sounds weird and gross, and to an extent it kinda is, but watch the video and you'll see why I found it worth sharing here.
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