I wanted to let you know about three great resources I’ve come across that I haven’t written about yet.

Shakespearances

If you go to see Shakespeare any chance you get, this site will save you an awful lot of Googling. You can see a list of where’s playing what if you want to look up your town, or anywhere that you’re visiting. Or, if you want to go on a special trip to see Troilus and Cressida or All’s Well That Ends Well, check out the list of what’s playing where.

Geek Feminism Wiki Resources For Therapists

The geek feminism wiki is a treasure trove of information, and this new resource for therapists has been put together to get therapists up to speed on the background, issues and incidents relating to gender issues in tech, gaming and other related fields that are unfortunately rife with bullying, harassment and misogyny. Even though the resource is intended for specifically for mental health professionals, I think it’s a really good primer to get anyone up to speed. If you are writing about these issues or are just curious, I’d really recommend taking a look.

Reachable

Reachable is a great resource for trying to track down a decision maker or someone else you want to meet, using social media profiles, provided that you’re okay getting intros to intros to intros until you meet someone who can introduce you to the person you’re trying to reach.

Welcome to the Variety Hour, where you will find random posts about things I think about regularly, along with things I don’t ever think about. Variety is the spice of life!

If you’re looking for stuff I wrote, just go to http://yaelwrites.com/2013/03/24/stuff-i-wrote-cool-trophies-social-media-tips-making-complex-topics-accessible/.

Love and Marriage…

• Getting Married? 5 Things Your Wedding Probably Doesn’t Need. A great post by Susan Johnston.

• Diamonds Are Bullshit. I love my conflict-free diamond from Brilliant Earth, but I agree with the sentiment behind this piece. Hat tip to the amazing Leo Babauta.

The R Word

• Was That a Rape Scene in Girls? One of my fave new writers, Amanda Hess, talks about ‘gray rape’ and the limits of verbal consent.

• The Shortest PSA on How to Handle Drunk Girls Passed Out On Your Couch-EVER. This video should go without saying… but it’s great. Thanks, Upworthy!

• My Inappropriate Relationship. On Salon, Jillian Lauren discusses her fling with a camp counselor–she was 12, and he was 20. Great writing about a complex and nuanced situation.

• Why Railing Against CNN for the Steubenville Coverage is a Waste of Time. This Poynter piece by Kelly McBride offers some good food for thought.

• Life After Steubenville. Amy Davidson of the New Yorker explains why she thinks juvie was the right punishment for the crime in this instance.

Fitness

• Let’s Get Physical: The Psychology of Effective Workout Music. Scientific American’s Ferris Jabr discusses the latest research on music and exercise in this interesting piece.

• Becoming the All-Terrain Human. Times writer Christopher Solomon writes about Kilian Jornet Burgada, “who has won dozens of mountain footraces up to 100 miles in length and six world titles in Skyrunning.”

Sketchy

• Meet the Most Suspect Publishers on the Web. AdWeeks’ Mike Shields write about “the rise of ghost sites, where traffic is huge but humans are few.”

• The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks: The Sequel. I wouldn’t want my family’s genetic information posted online without my knowledge, let alone consent–would you?

Video of the Week

• Kids React to the Harlem Shake (Video) This hilarious video, shown to me by a 6-year old, made me feel less old about not getting the whole Harlem Shake thing. Check it out.

This week’s Variety Hour is short and sweet–six links that piqued my interest.

Wealth & Poverty

• Viral Video Shows The Extent Of U.S. Wealth Inequality. It’s worse than you thought.

• To Spot Kids Who Will Overcome Poverty, Look At Babies I’m not posting this to imply that some kids are doomed to failure, but because it provides scientific evidence for a difference in temperament.

Medical Treatment

• To Cover Medical Bills, the Uninsured Get Creative. Interesting post by Susan Johnston.

• Scientists Report Cure of HIV In a Child; Say It’s a Game Changer. Reported by NPR

Writing Biz

• A Day In the Life of a Freelance Journalist. An interesting exchange between Nate Thayer and an editor who wants him to work for free.

BJJ

• It’s The Art: How An In-The-Moment Decision Continues To Pay Dividends. Val Worthington shares some tremendous insights on the positive outcomes of decisions made on the mat that continue to reverberate.

It’s that time again, when I corral my favorite posts from the week, do my best to put them in neat categories, and share it with you! Enjoy these links–something for everyone, I hope.

Tech, Culture and Gender Politics 

• How Men Can Remove Their Data From LuluVise. That really creepy app… well, you can read about it.

• Sexism In Tech: We’re Not Making It Up. Being accused of presenting at a conference to market one’s body for sexual attention is, in a word, uncool.

• What Your Culture Really Says. In Silicon Valley or elsewhere.

• Marissa Mayer Has Made A Terrible Mistake. The Yahoo! CEO has banned telecommuting at the company.

We Frickin’ Love Science 

• Increasing Public Access to the Results of Scientific Research. This makes me so happy.

Writing, Craft Of

• Want to Be Taken Seriously? Become A Better Writer. Dave Kerpen explains how on his LinkedIn post.

• Breeding Unicorns and Building Off of OthersNieman Journalism Lab shares some lessons learned from the Journalism Interactive conference… namely, that journalists need to learn how to be nimble and adaptable, and able to learn things on their own.

• How To Work Like A Writer Some humor on the Pessimist.

Writing, Business Of

• Why Doesn’t The Huffington Post Pay Writers? Great video interview.

• On Getting Paid (And Knowing Your Worth)

• Infographic: A 5-Year Look at Magazine Editorial Salaries. (Hint: men get paid more.)

• Why The Resume May Be Dead. If anyone wants to hire me on twitter, I’m down.

• Amazon, Big 6 Publishers Face Antitrust Suit From Indie Bookstores over eBook DRM. So there’s a class-action lawsuit trying to prohibit limiting books to specific apps or devices.

Fitness

• Neck Strength Predicts Concussion Risk. Good to know! Neck exercises it is.

• Lies You Tell Yourself In the Gym. Sorry, folks, this one ain’t free (unless you subscribe to the Performance Menu). Just my piece on gym lies, in a stacked issue with articles on everything from handstand walking to functional fitness to PEDs… plus the answers to the age-old questions of how much you should be able to lift, and how to make group training work for you. $6.95 for the issue.

Mixed Martial Arts 

• Beating the Odds: UFC 157. My latest for Sherdog; the underdogs who won.

• Weekly Women’s MMA Wrap-Up The last one for a while.

• Invicta FC’s Kaitlin Young: Sponsor Owes Money, Merchandise From Previous Fights.  Not cool.

Food For Thought

• The Man Who Killed Osama Bin Laden… Is Screwed. Eye-opening piece in Esquire.

Welcome to this week’s Variety Hour, where I look at the five hundred bazillion posts I’ve perused over the past week or so, and try to put my favorites in categories. I hope you find something you like.

Tech

• Should Journalists Learn To Code? I spoke with Josh Benton of the Nieman Journalism Lab and Regina McCombs of the Poynter Institute to get some insight on this.

• Aaron Swartz Protesters Take Over Government Website; Install Asteroids. Win. Story from Slate.

• Why Don’t Women Use Hook-Up Apps? They’re Made By Men. A very smart person pointed out that the problem is bad design, not male design, but I still think this Slate piece by Amanda Hess has some great points.

• Women in Tech and Empathy Work. For the record, I am female and do not consider myself terribly empathetic–interpersonal skills are something I have had to work hard at. And I also know many men who are excellent with people. However, I thought this post by Lauren Bacon had some good food for thought.

• Your Company’s Computer Guy. This video made me laugh.

Writing

• Writing Headlines: Write the Best Headlines with the Least Amount of Brain Power. A YouTube vid by Neville Medhora.

• 5 Essentials To Bridging the Gap Between Experienced Editors and Inexperienced Writers. A great post by Tom Mangan.

• Ouch! Atlanta Reporter Gets Punched in the Face Live on Air. Poor kid.

• Should Journalists Learn To Code? Oh wait, I already posted that in tech. Damn categories.

Biz

• Harnessing Entrepreneurial Manic-Depression: Make the Roller coaster Work For You. Few things Tim Ferriss writes are as insightful and useful as this piece. 

• The No-Brainer Scenario. Trying to decide whether to take on a new client or switch positions? Victoria Brouhard’s post always helps me when I’m stuck in this situation. Oldie but goodie: I refer clients and friends alike to this post at least twice a week.

MMA

• Beating the Odds: UFC 156, Which underdogs rocked it last Saturday night?

• A Night of Tweets: UFC on Fox 6. Sherdog writers live tweet during events, and one of my tweets from UFC on Fox 6 made it into this wrap-up. Find out which one. 

• Weekly Women’s MMA Wrap-Up is my recap of news, fight results, etc. in women’s mixed martial arts, over on Fightergirls.

Truly Miscellaneous

• Free 20-Piece Zombie Apocalypse Survival Kit. I’m giving one away on TakeOurStuff.com.

• Man With 4th Amendment Written on Chest Wins Trial Over Airport Arrest. Good for him. From WIRED.

• Cupid’s Undie Run. If someone’s gonna run in their underwear for charity…how can you not donate?

• Motivation, Inspiration and Stabbing. Matt Foreman has some great insight on, uh, different coaching styles.

• Performance Menu: Journal of Health and Athletic Excellence. Issue 97, yours for $7 (or as part of a subscription, which is a way better deal), not only includes my interview with weight loss coach Adam Gilbert, but also some stellar articles on weightlifting, metabolic conditioning and more.

• Why Did Men Stop Wearing High Heels? Some fascinating history, right here. (For the record, I think all people should be spared.)

• Dangerous Elegance: A History of High-Heeled Shoes. More on the same.