Lauren Collister, University of Pittsburgh

When it comes to texting, the period, full stop, point – whatever you call it – has been getting a lot of attention.

People have begun noticing slight changes to the way our smallest punctuation mark is deployed, from declarations that it’s going out of style to claims that it’s becoming angry.

What they’re actually noticing is written language becoming more flexible, with texting possessing its own set of stylistic norms (sometimes informally called “textspeak” or “textese”).

The period is merely one example of this shift, a change that has opened up new possibilities for communicating with written language. Just as we have different styles of speaking in different situations, so do we have context-dependent styles of writing.

Reading between the periods

Though periods can still signal the end of a sentence in a text message, many users will omit them (especially if the message is only one sentence long). This tendency now subtly influences how we interpret them.

Because text messaging is a conversation that involves a lot of back-and-forth, people add fillers as a way to mimic spoken language. We see this with the increased use of ellipses, which can invite the recipient to continue the conversation. The period is the opposite of that – a definitive stop that signals, as linguistics professor Mark Liberman has explained, “This is final, this is the end of the discussion.”

Continue reading →

Social media is lighting up with reports from Nevada, Utah and California of a small fireball streaking across the sky. People were tweeting photos and videos of the small fiery dot in the sky from northern and southern California as well as Nevada and Utah. 

Officials from Nellis Air Force Base in southern Nevada claim that the light seen Wednesday night was actually a meteor breaking up. Dr. Ed Krupp, director of the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles, claims it may have been a meteor from the Delta Aquarids Meteor Shower, which is peaking on Wednesday night. 

Interestingly enough, we have also heard conflicting reports that it may be a Chinese missile that was being tested.

Here is a clip from NowThisNews. What does it look like to you?

(h/t to WFLA News)

Life seems to be a cycle of falling down and getting up again. A process of gaining knowledge and learning lessons. As humans, we are not built to be perfect. Most of us will even make the same mistake over and over again. Yet we do contain the ability to learn from our mistakes which teaches us how to grow as a person.

Some lessons are more profound than others. These we call life lessons. This type of knowledge is a very valuable package we try to carry with us, always. Yet sometimes, some people tend to forget this and they need to be reminded.

Most of the knowledge of life lessons, is purely to help and inform yourself. Maybe others can benefit from it at some point via you, but primarily this knowledge is there to aid you and only you. Forgetting those will only create more difficulties and probably some negative outcomes along with it.

So, even if it has only the slightest chance to make life just a tiny bit easier, then it’s worth it. For your own sake then, rather do not forget these 5 life lessons ever again.

1. Life is what you make of it

There is a reason why this saying is being repeated so often, it has a lot of truth to it. You are the director of your own life. That is the part people often tend to forget.

Not everything is within our own control, some people would rather focus on the things they can’t control than the things they can, such as their own actions. Setting yourself in a victim role and blaming the whole world for the position you are in, seems to be an easy option. Continue reading →

Isn’t it ironic? Most of us live each day doing things we don’t want to do, waking up each morning to go to a job we secretly hate, forgetting about all the things and people that make us happy because we have barely enough hours in a day left to do what we actually want to do?

And then, once we reach retirement age not only are we too old and unhealthy to do the things we loved when we were young, but we end up looking back regretting how we lived, regretting not making the time for ourselves, and thinking about how we would do things differently, if we had another chance.

We need a reminder before it is too late, what is important to YOU? You still have the time to do life your way! These are the most common regrets people have when the look back at their lives, when it’s too late to go back and change it:

Not being courageous enough to be themselves

Of course, in today’s society who is real? Who is really themselves? Pretending to be who we are not, just to fit in. Doing things they felt they should do rather than the things they wanted to, or loved to do.

Staying in an unhappy job and not taking risks

While similar to number one, this regret is based on our careers, many of which are chosen for us by pressurizing parents, or, if things did not go well, we end up in a job just to have one.

Usually one we really don’t enjoy. Working 40+ hours a week, having a less than a month off in a year to vacation, our jobs are clearly a massive part of our lives. Continue reading →

Pay attention to whom you share your intimate energy with. Intimacy at this level intertwines your aural energy with the aural energy of the other person. These powerful connections, regardless of how insignificant you think they are, leave spiritual debris; particularly within people who do not practice any type of cleansing. Physical, emotional or otherwise.

The more you interact intimately with someone, the deeper the connection and the more of their aura is intertwined with yours. Imagine the confused aura of someone who sleeps with multiple people and carries around these multiple energies? What they may not realize is that others can feel that energy which can repel positive energy and attract negative energy into your life.

“I always say, never sleep with someone you wouldn’t want to be” – Lisa Chase Patterson

I believe the original author of the above passage is Lisa Chase Patterson. How she described the intimate nature of exchanging energy with another during sex is something that I’ve been lecturing friends about for years. It was nice to see someone else discussing it as well.

We are all physical beings, but we are also so much more than that, including ‘energetic beings’. When you get intimate with anyone you merge with their energy. It doesn’t matter if it is OBE (astral) sex, physical sex, or oral sex — anytime you are intimate with another person (or people) you absorb some of their energy and they absorb some of your energy.

If you have sex with positive, loving, uplifting people – that wonderful energy is absorbed and uplifts you. If you have sex with negative, pessimistic, unstable, depressive people – that energy will have you crashing down and uninterested in day-to-day life. (Among other ways. We are all unique after all) Keep in mind that if this person sleeps with a variety of people, they absorb their energy. A married man or woman has absorbed their spouses energy and will mix it with your energy if you are the other man or woman. It’s vice versa. Continue reading →

Jonathan Wai, Duke University; Brad Bushman, The Ohio State University, and Yakup Cetin, Fatih University

The past few weeks have been full of several unfortunate violent events: the massacre in Orlando, the killing of black men by police officers, the sniper attack in Dallas, the Bastille Day attack in France, the violent coup attempt in Turkey and the shooting in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

While many of us may not have been directly affected by these events, we watched the news as it unfolded on broadcast and social media. Witnessing such violence on media can take a severe toll on us even when our near and dear ones are not directly affected.

Surprisingly, what research is beginning to uncover is that impact on young children – especially young gifted children – can be worse.

Impact of violence on adults and children

A large body of research has demonstrated a link between exposure to violent media and aggression and violent behavior across multiple countries and cultures. A synthesis of this literature found different reactions in adults and children. The short-term impact of watching violence on screen was greater for adults, while the long-term effects were greater for children.

Research specifically related to children has shown that violent media events like the ones we are currently seeing can frighten and worry them. Scholars have discussed how witnessing violence harms children’s mental health. Continue reading →