Game Night!

Tonight, we had Family Game Night, and played League of Legends. It was much more fun than I'd expected.

Now I'm off to try and crochet a hat.

Links!

• Libraries, Books, & Authors
• New York City’s Municipal ID Will Do Double Duty as a Library Card 
• Happy birthday, Jack London! 
• 'Free our History' campaign pushes for copyright law reform In Scotland - not, sadly, the U.S. 
• Tolstoy’s Macaroni and Cheese and Other Recipes from Classic Authors Related: Paper and Salt Fun!
• What Are the Odds: Bookish Predictions for 2015 
• Lots of great information from the Kids & Family Reading Report. At least check out the Key Findings, if you don't have time to go through it all.
• Misreading a Book 
• The 10 Least Necessary Bibles Ever Published 
• Absolutely gorgeous. 
• Net & Tech
• Lack of home Internet access hinders students with school-provided iPads 
• President Obama just made a big privacy announcement. Here’s what you need to know. 
• Science
• Princeton Study: U.S. No Longer An Actual Democracy "Asking '[w]ho really rules?' researchers Martin Gilens and Benjamin I. Page argue that over the past few decades America's political system has slowly transformed from a democracy into an oligarchy, where wealthy elites wield most power."
• Dear Parents, You Are Being Lied To 
• Why Preschool Shouldn’t Be Like School "Direct instruction really can limit young children's learning. Teaching is a very effective way to get children to learn something specific—this tube squeaks, say, or a squish then a press then a pull causes the music to play. But it also makes children less likely to discover unexpected information and to draw unexpected conclusions....Without a teacher present, children look for a much wider range of information and consider a greater range of options."
• Ted Cruz, Longtime Foe Of NASA And Science, Will Oversee NASA And Science In New Congress Why?? Seriously, why?? "Fellow climate change denier Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) will also chair the Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries and the Coast Guard upon his confirmation." Just shoot me now.
• International
• Nigeria's Horror in Paris's Shadow "Why the slaughter of 17 innocents in France receives more attention than the death of roughly the same number of Nigerians is the kind of question that can result in accusations of indifference, racism, and media bias. But the contrast between the attacks in Paris and the suicide bombing in Maiduguri actually reveals something far more sinister: the ravages of state failure."
• Other
• Miami’s Poor Live on $11 a Day as Boom Widens Wealth Gap "Miami’s Gini coefficient, a measure of income inequality, is the third-highest among U.S. cities after Atlanta and New Orleans. It’s higher than in Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro and mirrors Mexico City’s level." So, income inequality is worse in NOLA; yet another list we don't want to be on, much less top. 
• In good news, though: In a US first, New Orleans finds homes for all its homeless veterans. That's what we want to be known for!
• #FoxNewsFacts Trends Worldwide After Fox 'Expert' Completely Makes Up Fake Story "It was bound to happen. For years, Fox News has been presenting false 'facts' to such an extreme degree that studies find Fox News viewers are less informed than people who watch no news at all. And now, Fox News has been caught – red-handed."
• Hotter Than Lava "Every day, cops toss dangerous military-style grenades during raids, with little oversight and horrifying results."