weekend outlook:

two whole days off! i have a few things to do around the house, and i am helping peace child with a group orientation on saturday evening. and then sunday is reserved for lounging and sleeping. i can’t wait.

my favourite photo from the week:

i have a few from this week, so just bear with me…

interesting things from around the interwebs:

why americans need to get with the program and embrace bidets. i’ve never used a bidet, but i love my health faucet in india and actively miss it when i am in the states.

this video about the generosity of the new york city ballet. it made me cry.

if you’re looking for a news brief to start your day off with and have not yet checked out theskimm, now is the time to do so. it’s how i stay up-to-date on the happenings around the world.

have you heard about this story of two sets of identical twins in colombia? one twin from each set got swapped in a hospital, so the four grew up as two sets of fraternal twins. i’m still wrapping my head around all of it.

which college majors are most likely to marry people from the same major. apparently history majors only marry each other 7% of the time, so it looks like my options are still pretty wide open.

a library in ontario was offering a boys-only robotics summer program, so a 9-year-old girl started a change.org petition and got them to open the program to all children. and yes, this happened in the year 2015.

a fantastically written story about one of the original members of the runaways – the band that launched lita ford and joan jett – and why she ended up leaving the band. i knew lots of crazy shit went down during the 80s, but this story is out of this world.

another rhodes student-athlete honoured — sarah johnson, starting point guard for the lady lynx basketball team, has been nominated for the 2015 ncaa woman of the year award. way to be awesome, fellow rhodent.

rosa’s pizzeria in philly has been doing a lot to help the homeless community in philly, and this story deserves to be shared. i love the final line: business can thrive on kindness. so very true.

this video of a baby getting glasses is adorable. that look on her face when she can finally see is everything.

7 rejection letters that airbnb’s founders received when they first pitched their idea to investors. great reminder that even the biggest companies faced their share of setbacks when starting out.

interesting article on how to handle difficult conversations at work. i repeat these to myself on a weekly basis.

people who purposely park incorrectly annoy me to no end, so this slideshow of those drivers getting exactly what they deserve cracks me up.

memphis got a shout out on nomadic matt’s list of 28 favourite places to visit in the states. i always love it when outsiders visit and see the beauty that everyone in memphis sees.

love this story of the mississippi junior high teachers who painted unused lockers in their school to look like books. i would have loved something like this in my school growing up.

caitlyn jenner’s speech when she accepted the arthur ashe award for courage at this year’s espy awards. think what you want about her, but that was a great speech.

an infographic showing what your handwriting says about you.

kudos to nike for taking a letter from a 16-year-old with cerebral palsy to heart and designing a shoe for him and for others with physical disabilities. a great move from a brand that is not always seen as being very inclusive.

did you guys know that in this year’s tour de france, the race’s first two black african riders are participating?

i want all of these colouring books for adults.

i really liked this article on why travel is essential but so is staying still for a while.

in case you missed it:

reminiscing about my drive on the blue ridge parkway last summer [this post has lots of pictures!]. and revisiting my obsession with thomas jefferson at monticello.

xx