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Guilt trip
[podcast]http://edwardwillett.com/wp-content/upLoads//2009/08/Guilt.mp3[/podcast] Guilt has gotten a bad reputation in recent years. People talk about being “plagued by guilt” as if guilt were some kind of mental illness. But in fact, guilt is a very useful emotion. People who are entirely guilt-free have no constraints on their behavior. They can cheerfully commit all kinds of mayhem, from bullying to petty vandalism all the way up to rape, robbery and murder, and never feel a qualm: we call them sociopaths. Guilt, then, plays an important role in keeping civilization civil. But where does it come from? And how does it interact with that other important civilizing mechanism that scientists call “effortful self-control”—the ability to suppress impulsive behavior that might hurt yourself or others? New York Times science ...Children’s tastes in food
When I was a kid, my mother will confirm, I was a picky eater, the sort of kid who ordered a hamburger and fries at a Chinese restaurant, hated to have different kinds of food touching each other on the plate, and wouldn’t touch spinach, broccoli or Brussels sprouts with a ten-foot fork.My own daughter is a tad on the fussy side herself, preferring pasta-and-cheese-hold-the-tomato-sauce over anything else. (Although unlike her father at her age, she also loves veggies--even broccoli.)We all have anecdotes of what we as children or our own children did, didn’t, will or will not eat. Anecdotes don’t help much when it comes to understanding children’s food preferences scientifically, however. For that you ...Photo of the Day that was Actually Taken on Father’s Day: Me and My Girl
More photos here."Science is easy!"
My daughter received a Webkinz for her sixth birthday last week. Webkinz are stuffed animals which come with a code that provides access to a website where kids can play games, buy things for the online version of their animals, etc.Among the Webkinz activities are quizzes about various topics. Among the topics: science. Which, I'm pleased to note, is the topic my daughter chose over all others when we decided to do quizzes yesterday."Science is easy!" she said.That's my girl.Queen for a Day
No, the title doesn't refer to my upcoming performance in drag as the Mother in Class Act Studio's production of La Fille Mal Gardée, which is their annual ballet recital this year. (What, I haven't mentioned that upcoming performance? Well, now I have: June 27, June 28, Riddell Centre, 7 p.m. Don't miss it. I'll be a sight to see, and the dancers will be wonderful.)Queen for a Day is the children's operetta I've been directing for the Regina Conservatory of Performing Arts's "Operatunities" program. It's a somewhat fractured version of the Sheherezade story, set in a fictional "ancient Balkan kingdom" called Volcania, where the new king has decreed that, since he's required ...Ain’t it the truth…
A great quote posted at About Last Night which seems particularly apropos since I'm in the throes of rehearsing Oklahoma! (I'm playing Jud) with Regina Lyric Light Opera:"Modern kids are raised with the understanding that people don't spontaneously burst into song at crucial moments in their lives. And isn't that a horrible thing, to remove such evidence of grace on earth from their belief system? Of course there are people who start tap-dancing at unexpected moments, or improvise a tune while plucking lyrics from the air. They're called children, and if you spend any time with them, you'll witness life as a musical forty times an hour." - Ty Burr, The Best Old Movies for FamiliesEye, eye, sir!
It’s not very often that one runs across a scientific study whose methodology consisted largely of watching the Fox TV show COPS.But that was how Mardi Kidwell, assistant professor of communication at the University of New Hampshire, went about her research on “the role of gaze in the interactional management of hysteria by the police,” recently published in the journal Discourse Studies.Kidwell analyzed more than 35 hours of footage of police confronting hysterical people, and found that holding eye contact (“gaze”) is one of the most effective calming methods police have.In one segment discussed in detail in Kidwell’s paper, officers trying to calm a woman whose grandson has been shot use increasingly more ...What’s real, and what’s pretend?
My five-year-old daughter just received her first visit from the Tooth Fairy. Soon, of course, she’ll be visited by Santa Claus.Being the scientifically minded parent that I am, I’m always providing my daughter with information about things like why it’s dark now when she gets up in the morning when it used to be light and why the sky is blue. But not everything I tell her has, shall we say, the same basis in reality.No, I don’t lie to her...exactly...but I sometimes tell her certain traditional childhood fables without necessarily making it clear they are, in fact, fables. And so, naturally, I wonder, just how does she distinguish between reality and fantasy?Jean Piaget, ...IQ
Are kids today smarter than kids 30 or 40 years ago? (In other words, their parents?) The kids would say so, but then, every generation thinks it's smarter (not to mention way cooler) than its parents. However, today's kids just might have a leg to stand on: there's been a steady increase in scores on IQ tests over the last century. In fact, people who scored in the top 10 percent in the early 1900s would score in the bottom five percent today. Of course, how significant this is depends on how accurately IQ tests measure intelligence. Charles Darwin's The Origin of Species provided the impetus for intelligence tests by suggesting that human capabilities could be ...The Saskatchewan Science Centre
Our world is largely shaped by science and technology. (Consider television!) The pace of such science-driven change is astonishing--and accelerating. Today's young people will face a world we can barely imagine, and to do so successfully, they must be comfortable with and knowledgeable about science and technology. But are they? Comfortable, maybe, but knowledgeable? Hardly. In fact, young people are turning their backs on science. Enrolment in university science courses is declining. A study in an Ontario university showed that more than three times as many students select a liberal arts program as a science program. Science is perceived as hard, boring, or irrelevant. A lot of high school students don't take science because it ...
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Magebane
“Spectacular” – Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Evil wizards, multi-level conspiracies, hidden kingdoms…Lee Arthur Chane…has done a marvelous job…Magebane is a very entertaining book and well worth the time.” – A.M. Donovan, Night Owl Reviews
I happily recommend Magebane and I’ll certainly give Chane’s next novel a try based on this one.” —Bill Capossere, Fantasy Literature
“…an original and delightful tale of epic fantasy and magic, steampunk science, adventure, tragedy, and love…” – Errant Dreams Reviews
Eight centuries ago, the world changed. A devastating war swept the lands, and the MageLords, who had long ruled by virtue of their spell powers, were driven to a distant place, separated from those they had ruled by a magical Barrier. With magic banished from the rest of the world, the MageLords became mere legend and people turned to science to improve their lives. But if one man has his way, all that is about to change….
Written as Lee Arthur Chane (the middle names of my older brothers, Jimmy Lee and Dwight Arthur, and myself, Edward Chane Willett).
Marseguro
Winner of the 2009 Prix Aurora Award for Best Long-Form Work in English
Water world Marseguro is home to the Selkies, a water-dwelling race created from human DNA. When an unmodified human seeks revenge on a Selkie by activating a distress beacon taken from the remains of the original colony ship, a strikeforce is sent from Earth to eradicate the genetic abomination. Yet Marseguro will not prove as easy to conquer as the Earth force anticipates…
Terra Insegura
Finalist for the 2010 Prix Aurora Award for Best Novel in English
Marseguro, a water world far from Earth, is home to a colony of humans and the Selkies, a water-dwelling race created from modified human DNA. For seventy years the colony has lived in peace. Then Earth discovers Marseguro, and a strike force is sent to eradicate this “abomination.” But Marseguro has created a genetically tailored plague to use against Earth’s Holy Warriors. With the enemy defeated, the people of Marseguro feel they are safe. But Chris Keating, the traitor who signaled Marseguro’s location to the Holy Warriors, has fled to Earth, unknowingly carrying the deadly plague within him. The people of Marseguro feel they must send a ship to Earth with a life-saving vaccine. Only time will tell what awaits them when they reach their destination.
Lost in Translation
Kathryn was a human empath whose world and life had been destroyed when the alien S’sinn slaughtered her parents before her very eyes. Jarrikk was a young S’sinn, an unproven warrior who’d seen his flight mates slaughtered by the humans who’d sought to colonize his world.
As humans and S’sinn found themselves on the brink of war, these two Translators had to work together to find a common ground and avert catastrophe. But whether their Translators’ oath and training could overcome the enemies leagued against them was very much in doubt…
Archives
Song of the Sword
My new YA fantasy novel from Lobster Press
Before the Lady called her, Ariane’s life was a mess. Two years ago, her mother disappeared. She bounced around different foster homes until her aunt finally took her in. The meanest clique at her new high school has decided to make Ariane their prime target. And to top it all off, she is having frightening premonitions, and they are becoming more intense. The moment water touches her skin, she sees visions of a lake, a lady, and a sword. When a staircase opens up in the middle of Wascana Lake and the water begins singing to her, she has no choice but to answer the call….
Historic Walks of Regina and Moose Jaw
Ten walks to points of historic and architectural interest in the cities of Regina and Moose Jaw (eight walks for Regina, two for Moose Jaw).
Johnny Cash: The Man in Black
When country music legend Johnny Cash took the stage at Folsom State Prison in 1968, he solidified the public’s perception of him as a rebel who followed his own path. Born in Arkansas during the Great Depression, Cash endured poverty, the death of his older brother, and a difficult relationship with his father. He turned to gospel and country music to express the pain, and after many years of struggling, his songs of hardship and hope would finally reach the ears of those waiting for an artist who represented them, ordinary people fighting to survive.
Andy Warhol: Everyone Will Be Famous for 15 Minutes
“Paintings are too hard. Machines have less problems…” In the 1960s, Andy Warhol became the most famous creator of a new style of art called pop art, which transformed mass-produced items of popular culture into fine works of art. From Campbell’s Soup cans to photographs of Marilyn Monroe, Warhol’s willingness to use anything and everything from the mass media in his work expanded the range of subject matter available to artists. His avant-garde films, artistic usage of American icons, and unconventional social life made him a controversial figure, both greatly admired and deeply reviled. A trendsetter rather than a trend-follower, a dispassionate observer of both the seamy and celebrity sides of life, Warhol was a true American rebel.
Disease-Hunting Scientist
The true stories of six real disease hunters. Epidemiologists travel the world trying to keep us safe from deadly diseases—from high-tech labs in Canada to remote villages in Africa. Learn how these “disease detectives” are coming up with new ways to fight disease, and find out if you have what it takes to become an epidemiologist, too!
The Bounty Mutiny
The Bounty was a British ship visiting Tahiti in 1789 when some of the crew overthrew the captain, William Bligh, and set him adrift in a tiny boat with sailors loyal to him. The mutiny resulted in a number of trials–both of the men who mutinied and of Bligh for losing command of his ship. These fascinating events have been the source for numerous Hollywood movies, most recently The Bounty. The Bounty Mutiny: From the Court Case to the Movie explores the famous case and the movies it inspired.
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