That's What SHE Said - Rage Against The Minivan

Here are some of things I read this week that made me think. (These are just snippets – click on the title to read the whole thing).

From Across the Country, Gifts of Tiny Houses Arrive for Standing Rock from Jane at Yes! Magazine

“Winter was on its way. The Standing Rock community’s tents and summer tipis would not work in 20-below weather. A call went out from the Red Warrior Women’s Media Collective for donations of winter housing, something the rural Oregon forest community knew it could provide.”

What It’s Like To Go Without Complaining For A Month from Jessica at FastCompany

“Griping comes naturally for us. During an average conversation, we lob complaints at each other about once a minute, according to research. There’s a social reason for that. ‘Nothing unites people more strongly than a common dislike,’ says Trevor Blake, author of Three Simple Steps. ‘The easiest way to build friendship and communicate is through something negative.’”

Students Have ‘Dismaying’ Inability To Tell Fake News From Real, Study Finds from Camila at NPR

“Many assume that because young people are fluent in social media they are equally savvy about what they find there,” the researchers wrote. “Our work shows the opposite.”

A Syrian reality check, from IKEA by Karla at CNN

“In the middle of an Ikea store in Norway, between displays of comfortable, modern furnishings stood a strikingly small, almost empty room with naked cement walls. The display, only 25 square meters, was meant to transport customers thousands of kilometers away, to Damascus – to the world of Rana, a Syrian mother raising four children, as war rages around her.”

An Ivy League professor says there are only three types of friendships we make from Amy at QZ

‘McCabe used mathematical models to examine the friendship structures of 67 students on a Midwestern college campus, aiming to figure out how those structures influenced success in the classroom. In doing so, she also drew out three distinct models of friendship—unlikely to be limited to college students alone. According to McCabe, people tend to be one of the following three types of friendship-makers….”

An Honest Museum Audio Tour from River at The New Yorker

“Here it is, the “Mona Lisa.” You woke up early for this. You waited in line for almost an hour. You’re now surrounded by seventy people, all trying to catch a glimpse of it. One of them just elbowed you while taking a photograph of it. It’s behind a lot of glass. It’s not very big. What I’m trying to say is: it’s O.K. to feel disappointed.”

My Credit Card Debt Isn’t a Secret, I Just Don’t Discuss It from Haley at Man Repeller

“Once I was at a Thanksgiving party and everyone was complaining about their hired help and how much it costs. Someone asked me how much I paid and I was like, “I don’t have a housekeeper.” I felt so much rage. I remember thinking, “You guys are so insanely clueless that you would assume everyone in this room could afford help.” They aren’t bad people – they’re good people! But they have no concept. No knowledge of what my financial situation would even be like.”