What Fell Out

Time to Suspend My Tumblr Account

There’s nothing wrong with Tumblr, it is a perfectly good blogging tool. The problem is that my experiement with Tumblr has negatively affected my more established web property, Mike’s Musings, which I have been writing, using Blogger, since 2004.

I had originally started this tumble blog as a place to put things deemed too small for a formal blog post. But the nature of blogging is changing. Shorter items, photos, qoutes, links to other content are becoming more common and long-form article-writing has waned.

Twitter has emerged as the go-to tool for quick thoughts and links. Facebook is where we place personal notes. I need to go back to more frequent, if shorter, blog posts on my main site.

Sarah Brady calls for stricter gun regulations

Mrs. Brady says the type of large-capacity magazine used by the gunman, Jared Loughner, was previously prohibited under the Brady Law that also banned assault weapons. The legislation enacted during the Clinton administration was allowed to expire in 2004 during the presidency of George W. Bush.

“To think that in a matter of seconds, 20 people were shot, six killed, is just amazing,” Brady says.

“It’s not a matter of banning guns by any means, or of taking away peoples’ right to keep and bear arms,” Mrs. Brady says. “It’s just a matter of regulations.”

She would, however, like to see a ban on large-capacity gun magazines restored. “For goodness sakes, how many people need more than three or five rounds in a weapon?” Mrs. Brady asks.

Fox News: The No. 1 Name in Murder Fantasies

Bill O’Reilly’s recent “joke” about decapitating Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank was only the latest example of a demented Fox News culture that permits on-air personalities to fantasize about assassination and other forms of violence against those deemed enemies of the station, its personalities or their worldview.

New Year’s Resolution from Oliver Sacks: This Year, Change Your Mind

The neurologist argues for exercising the mind in new and different ways in the new year:

Music is an especially powerful shaping force, for listening to and especially playing it engages many different areas of the brain, all of which must work in tandem: from reading musical notation and coordinating fine muscle movements in the hands, to evaluating and expressing rhythm and pitch, to associating music with memories and emotion.

Whether it is by learning a new language, traveling to a new place, developing a passion for beekeeping or simply thinking about an old problem in a new way, all of us can find ways to stimulate our brains to grow, in the coming year and those to follow. Just as physical activity is essential to maintaining a healthy body, challenging one’s brain, keeping it active, engaged, flexible and playful, is not only fun. It is essential to cognitive fitness.