The Year in Housing: The Middle Class Can’t Afford to Live in Cities Anymore

Cities are increasingly populated by lower-income people in subsidized housing and high income people prepared to pay $3,500 a month for a one-bedroom.
Read more: https://www.wired.com/2016/12/year-housing-middle-class-cant-afford-live-cities-anymore/?source=Snapzu

Kids Ages 4, 5 and 6 Allegedly Locked in Room for Months and May Have Eaten Paint to Survive: Prosecutors

Prosecutors say three young children in rural Pennsylvania are lucky to be alive after police recently rescued them from a locked room in their home where they’d allegedly been kept for three months — wasting away — with no heat and little food. “The door to the room was locked from the outside and the paint on the wall was peeled off at the height of the kids,” Dauphin County District Attorney Ed Marsico tells PEOPLE. “We theorize they’d been peeling it off in order to eat it.”
Read more: https://www.yahoo.com/news/young-kids-allegedly-kept-locked-165142078.html?source=Snapzu

Child asthma emergency visits drop after indoor smoking bans

Fewer children visited emergency rooms for asthma problems in the three years after cities banned indoor smoking than in the three years before, according to a new study.
Read more: https://news.brown.edu/articles/2016/12/smoking?source=Snapzu

The most popular books at US public libraries in 2016, mapped by city

Hollywood has been good to Paula Hawkins. Following the release of a movie adapted from her novel, "The Girl on the Train," the book has become one of the most widely read books at US libraries this year. A survey of 14 metropolitan libraries by Quartz shows that "The Girl on the Train" is the most checked-out book at eight of them, and the most checked-out work of fiction at 11.
Read more: http://qz.com/874650/the-most-popular-books-at-u-s-public-libraries-in-2016-mapped-by-city/?source=Snapzu

Canada Takes Next Step Toward National Marijuana Legalization

Even as voters in more U.S. states approved legalized recreational marijuana this November – and 28 states have legalized medical marijuana – the federal government still lists marijuana as an illegal drug. However, just north of the border, Canadian leaders have started moving in the opposite direction. Justin Trudeau, the prime minister of Canada and leader of the Liberal Party, created a committee in the summer of 2016 to look into the issues surrounding making marijuana legal for recreational use across the entire country.
Read more: http://www.newstimes.com/news/article/Canada-Takes-Next-Step-Toward-National-Marijuana-10824971.php?source=Snapzu

Beyond Expectations: Rereading Dickens

Page by page, “Great Expectations” is less hearty than David Denby remembered, and much funnier.
Read more: http://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/beyond-expectations-rereading-dickens?intcid=mod-latest?source=Snapzu

How to Become a Famous Media Scholar: The Case of Marshall McLuhan

Jefferson Pooley on the unlikely career of Marshall McLuhan, and the Luddite message of “The Mechanical Bride.”
Read more: https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/become-famous-media-scholar-case-marshall-mcluhan/#!?source=Snapzu

Watch Where You Click: From Today The Government Is Logging All Of Your Internet Activity

Oh! You better watch out, you better not cry, you better not pout - I'm telling you why: Draconian bulk data collection is coming to Britain. They're making a list, checking it twice, gonna find out who's naughty or nice, because the government is legally mandating ISPs to log your internet activity from today. They see you when you're sleeping, they know when you're awake, they know if you've been bad or good, so surrender your civil liberties for goodness sake!
Read more: http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2016/12/watch-where-you-click-from-today-the-government-is-logging-all-of-your-internet-activity/?source=Snapzu

Hedgehogs Hold the Secret to Preventing Concussions

If you ever find yourself watching hedgehog go about its day, you’ll notice that they tend to fall out of trees — a lot. Wild hedgehogs climb trees as high as 30 feet, looking for insects and food to eat. Sometimes they fall by accident, other times they fall on purpose to evade a predator or because falling is a lot faster than climbing down.
Read more: https://www.inverse.com/article/25760-hedgehog-spine-quills-hedgemon-helmet-concussion?source=Snapzu

Nevada’s new gun background check law ends before it begins

A new Nevada law requiring background checks for private party gun sales was deemed unenforceable Wednesday, days before it was to take effect because the FBI refuses to conduct them and the state lacks authority to do so. The opinion issued by the office of Republican Attorney General Adam Laxalt left gun enthusiasts elated and proponents of background checks reeling from the blow of another setback — the second since 2013 when a bill requiring universal screenings was passed by the Legislature but vetoed by Gov. Brian Sandoval.
Read more: http://www.reviewjournal.com/local/nevada/nevada-s-new-gun-background-check-law-ends-it-begins?source=Snapzu

‘Language at the Speed of Sight’ Fights to Reopen Our Closed Book on Literacy

Mark Seidenberg makes a strong case for how brain science can help in the teaching of reading.
Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/28/books/language-at-the-speed-of-sight-mark-seidenberg.html?source=Snapzu

What is the ideal New Year’s resolution for losing weight?

By David S. Ludwig, Professor in the Department of Nutrition, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and author of "Always Hungry? Conquer Cravings, Retrain Your Fat Cells & Lose Weight Permanently."
Read more: https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/magazine/magazine_article/off-the-cuff-david-s-ludwig/?source=Snapzu

Bruce Lee on the Power of Repose and the Strength of Yielding

“One should be in harmony with, and not rebellion against, the strength of the opponent.”
Read more: https://www.brainpickings.org/2015/09/02/bruce-lee-letters-yielding/?source=Snapzu

What Does Any of This Have To Do with Physics?

Einstein and Feynman ushered me into grad school, reality ushered me out. By Bob Henderson.
Read more: http://nautil.us/issue/43/heroes/what-does-any-of-this-have-to-do-with-physics?source=Snapzu

Considering the Ankara Assassination Photos As History Painting

What makes these pictures so different from all of the other pictures of death that we see? By Jerry Saltz.
Read more: http://www.vulture.com/2016/12/those-harrowing-ankara-assassination-photos.html?source=Snapzu

“Enough Is Better Than a Feast”: Christmas Dinner in the Time of the Great Depression

The authors Andrew Coe and Jane Ziegelman prepare a meal based on their research into what Americans ate in years of privation. By Talia Lavin.
Read more: http://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/enough-is-better-than-a-feast-christmas-dinner-in-the-time-of-the-great-depression?source=Snapzu

Alzheimer's Falls More Heavily on Women than on Men

Distinct biological and genetic factors may shape how it progresses in women—and understanding them could be crucial to prevention, diagnosis and treatment.
Read more: https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/mind-guest-blog/alzheimers-falls-more-heavily-on-women-than-on-men/?source=Snapzu

The Rooms They Left Behind

After the deaths of these 10 notable people, The New York Times photographed their private spaces — as they left them. Photographs by Mitch Epstein.
Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/12/21/magazine/the-lives-they-lived-photo-essay-spaces.html?source=Snapzu

Trans-Siberian Railway: a view from Moscow to Vladivostok – a photo essay

On a 9,288km journey inspired by the centennial anniversary of the railway’s completion in 1916, photographer Annie Ling captures life onboard the Trans-Siberian Railway, and beyond the carriage window.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/travel/ng-interactive/2016/dec/27/trans-siberian-railway-moscow-vladivostok-in-pictures?source=Snapzu

Privacy Win: Once More EU Court Rejects Data Retention

The highest court in Europe ruled this week that "general and indiscriminate" data retention directives are against European Union law. This is a great victory for our right to privacy. It calls into question many recent surveillance laws passed by European Union member states such as the United Kingdom, Sweden and Germany.
Read more: https://tutanota.com/blog/posts/eu-ruling-data-retention?source=Snapzu

After states legalized medical marijuana, traffic deaths fell

Legalization of medical marijuana is not linked with increased traffic fatalities, a new study finds. In some states, in fact, the number of people killed in traffic accidents dropped after medical marijuana laws were enacted. “Instead of seeing an increase in fatalities, we saw a reduction, which was totally unexpected,” said Julian Santaella-Tenorio, the study’s lead author and a doctoral student at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health in New York City.
Read more: http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-health-marijuana-traffic-death-idUKKBN14H1LQ?source=Snapzu

Welcome to America. Now, what’s your Twitter handle?

Privacy advocates condemn US immigration asking for visitors’ social media account names
Read more: https://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2016/12/29/welcome-to-america-now-whats-your-twitter-handle/?source=Snapzu

The Year’s Best Overlooked Books, According to Booksellers

21 titles that deserved more love in 2016.
Read more: http://lithub.com/the-years-best-overlooked-books-according-to-booksellers/?source=Snapzu

The Fighter

The Marine Corps taught Sam Siatta how to shoot. The war in Afghanistan taught him how to kill. Nobody taught him how to come home. By C. J. Chivers.
Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/28/magazine/afghanistan-soldier-ptsd-the-fighter.html?_r=0?source=Snapzu

The Underground Railroad’s Troubling Allure

What do stories about the anti-slavery effort teach us—and spare us from learning—about ourselves and our nation? By Kathryn Schulz.
Read more: http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/08/22/the-perilous-lure-of-the-underground-railroad?source=Snapzu

The teaspoon: measure, stir, display or steal?

There’s one thing that you really need to know about the teaspoon: it is a precision instrument, meticulously calibrated to help ensure an excellent cup of tea. It has moved through many roles in its history: functional, social and ornamental. You wouldn’t expect many design variations on what it basically a long stem with a small bowl at the end, but there’s a surprisingly wide range, from apostle spoons to medusa snakes, trefids, silver kings, leopards, Hildesheimer Rose and crested fiddlebacks.
Read more: https://www.teabox.com/blog/teaspoon-measure-stir-display-steal?source=Snapzu

What will all the ‘stuff’ you own mean when you're older?

Which objects would you choose to tell the story of your life? By Gemma Carney.
Read more: https://theconversation.com/what-will-all-the-stuff-you-own-mean-when-youre-older-69585?source=Snapzu

In Hong Kong's book industry, 'everybody is scared'

Hong Kong used to be a place of relatively free speech in China, but that was before Xi Jinping’s crackdown. Now everybody from writers to booksellers, publishers and printers fear they will be next to ‘disappear.’
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/dec/28/in-hong-kongs-book-industry-everybody-is-scared?source=Snapzu

Think again before you post online those pics of your kids

Many parents love sharing photos of their children on social media. But they should stop and think about how it might affect their children, now and in the future.
Read more: https://theconversation.com/think-again-before-you-post-online-those-pics-of-your-kids-70579?source=Snapzu

California man charged with DUI only tested positive for caffeine.

A California man charged with a DUI wants the case against him to be dropped because the blood test following his arrest came back positive only for caffeine.
Read more: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2016/12/28/California-man-charged-with-DUI-only-tested-positive-for-caffeine/4541482931216/?nll=1?source=Snapzu

See the Nighttime Acrobatics of Montana’s Flying Squirrels

Wintertime in a remote Montana forest heralds the arrival of mating season for the flying squirrel—and one of nature’s most spectacular air shows. By Alexander V. Badyaev and BioGraphic.
Read more: http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/see-the-nighttime-acrobatics-of-montanas-flying-squirrels?source=Snapzu

There will be much less work in the future. Societies need to get ready, now

A war on wheels has been raging in London since Uber started operating there four years ago. Traditional black cab drivers have been up in arms about the new high tech disruptor. Uber has accused London’s Mayor of siding with the black cabs and has taken legal action against Transport for London, which is planning new regulations to limit the number of private hire vehicles. In November, more than 100 Uber drivers mounted a “go slow” protest in London to put pressure on the company to pay the minimum wage.
Read more: https://medium.com/world-economic-forum/there-will-be-much-less-work-in-the-future-societies-need-to-get-ready-now-d424eff9d32#.w47p4qmhs?source=Snapzu

A court has ruled time taken travelling to work should count as work

Time taken to travel to and from work at the beginning and end of each day should count as working time under the law, according to the Europe’s highest court. The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that workers without a fixed office should be able to charge for the time such journeys last, whereas at present they are not allowed to do so. It could mean that companies employing such workers as electricians, gas fitters, care workers and sales reps could be in breach of EU working time regulations...
Read more: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/time-taken-to-travel-to-work-should-count-as-work-according-to-european-court-10494961.html?source=Snapzu

People who don't have children benefit our environment more than any campaign

The global population is growing rapidly, while the resources we depend on to live are dwindling. If you consider the footprint each person makes on the world – in terms of food and water consumed, electricity and gas used, and waste produced – the challenge of improving living standards while protecting natural resources and the environment is striking. The question of human population size is fundamentally one of sustainability, and in that so is the choice to have children.
Read more: http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/people-who-dont-have-children-benefit-our-environment-more-than-any-campaign-its-time-to-celebrate-a7178951.html?source=Snapzu

Mantis by Venom

Spraycans on canvas. :-)
Read more: http://snapzu.com/Maternitus/mantis-by-venom?source=Snapzu

British Asians 'struggle for top jobs despite better school results'

Children of Bangladeshi and Pakistani origin in Britain have outperformed other ethnic groups to achieve rapid improvements at every level of education, but are significantly less likely to be employed in managerial or professional jobs than their white counterparts, according to a study. A report to be published on Wednesday by the government’s Social Mobility Commission says the trend is being driven in part by workplace discrimination, particularly against Muslim women.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/dec/27/british-muslim-womens-school-gains-not-paying-off-in-work-study?source=Snapzu

The Man Box.

How men are socialized
Read more: http://snapzu.com/Gozzin/the-man-box?source=Snapzu

Debbie Reynolds, aged 84, dies one day after death of daughter Carrie Fisher

Hollywood legend Debbie Reynolds has died aged 84, just one day after the death of her daughter, famed actor and author Carrie Fisher. Her death was confirmed by her son, Todd Fisher. Reynolds was taken to Cedars Sinai Medical Center on Wednesday afternoon. She had been in Beverly Hills following the death of Fisher, who reportedly suffered a heart attack on a flight from London to Los Angeles last Friday.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/dec/28/debbie-reynolds-hospital-carrie-fisher-mother?source=Snapzu

Books in 2017: A look ahead

A look at some of the most hotly-anticipated works hitting bookshelves in 2017.
Read more: http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-38265270?source=Snapzu

Tony-Winning Actor George S. Irving Has Died

Tony-winning character actor George S. Irving, a Broadway mainstay, died December 26 at the age of 94. Born on November 1, 1922, in Springfield, Massachusetts, to Abraham and Rebecca Shelasky, Irving made his Broadway debut in the chorus of the original 1943 production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma! He went on to appear in a myriad of Broadway shows including the original productions of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1949), Can-Can (1953), Bells Are Ringing (1956), Irma La Douce (1960), and many more.
Read more: http://www.theatermania.com/broadway/news/george-s-irving-obituary_79523.html?source=Snapzu

Why Crossword Puzzles Are Still Mostly Written By Humans

Computers can write sports articles, replace stock brokers and help diagnose patients. But they can’t write good crosswords
Read more: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/why-crossword-puzzles-are-still-mostly-written-humans-180961518/?source=Snapzu

How Does Alcohol Get You Drunk?

It’s almost time to ring in 2017. And since most New Year’s celebrations include alcohol, Reactions’ latest episode explains the chemistry behind its effects – drunkenness, frequent bathroom breaks and occasionally poor decision-making.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/gladsdotter/how-does-alcohol-get-you-drunk?source=Snapzu

Police seek Amazon Echo data in murder case

Amazon declined to hand over any Echo data, but the case raises bigger questions about IoT privacy.
Read more: https://www.engadget.com/2016/12/27/amazon-echo-audio-data-murder-case/?source=Snapzu

Can a Gun Victim and a Gun Advocate Change Each Other’s Minds?

On his recent trip to New York, Todd Underwood did not pack a gun. This was unusual, the first time in five years that he went anywhere, even to church, without one. Underwood, who is 37 years old and from Kansas City, won’t say how many guns he owns, but “a fucking arsenal” is a fair description. Underwood wasn’t always a gun guy, he told me, though his father, a factory worker, kept a revolver or two under the bed. His interest really took hold in February 2014, when he was laid up, recovering from quadruple-­bypass surgery, with an infant daughter at home.
Read more: http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/12/gun-violence-radical-empathy.html?source=Snapzu

Is That All There Is?

Peggy Lee
Read more: http://snapzu.com/AdelleChattre/is-that-all-there-is?source=Snapzu

Facebook Doesn’t Tell Users Everything it Really Knows About Them

The site shows users how Facebook categorizes them. It doesn’t reveal the data it is buying about their offline lives.
Read more: https://www.propublica.org/article/facebook-doesnt-tell-users-everything-it-really-knows-about-them?source=Snapzu

Actor and comedian Ricky Harris dead at 54

Actor and comedian Ricky Harris has died, aged 54. Harris, who had a recurring role as Malvo in Chris Rock's TV series "Everybody Hates Chris," died on Monday of a heart attack, his manager Cindy Ambers has confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter.
Read more: http://weartv.com/news/entertainment/actor-and-comedian-ricky-harris-dead-at-54?source=Snapzu

Suit: Versace used secret 'code' for black customers

A former Versace employee is suing the company for unfair business practices, and one of the allegations in his lawsuit is that the luxury fashion label uses a secret "code" to alert employees when a black customer enters the store. By Mayra Cuevas.
Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/27/us/versace-code-lawsuit-trnd/?source=Snapzu

Watership Down author Richard Adams dies aged 96

The author of "Watership Down," Richard Adams, has died aged 96, his daughter says. The tale, first told by Adams on a long car journey with his daughters, turned into a best-seller. Adams, a civil servant from Newbury in Berkshire, also wrote "Shardik," "The Plague Dogs" and "The Girl in a Swing." "Watership Down," which he wrote when he was 52, won the Carnegie Medal for children's fiction in the year of publication. Tens of millions of copies have since been sold around the world.
Read more: http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-38446309?source=Snapzu

Why the 'Small Guys' are Putting Nova Scotia on the World Alcohol-Making Map

Nova Scotia is fast becoming known for something other than lobster and lighthouses. Distillers are also making alcohol such as whisky and rum that are being recognized as some of the best in the world.
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/distillery-rum-whiskey-river-john-guysborough-glynn-williams-1.3912833?source=Snapzu