Links for 2007-08-22 [del.icio.us]

• BBC NEWS | World | Europe | The secret history of the Nazi mascot
  
  Fascinating story of a Jewish boy who escaped into the forest when the rest of his town was massacred by the Nazis. After he was handed over to police a soldier helped him by introducing him to the other soldiers as a Russian orphan and he was adopted as a kind of mascot:
  
  "To this day, Alex Kurzem has no idea why Sergeant Jekabs Kulis took pity on him. Whatever his motives, it certainly helped that Alex had Aryan looks. And together, they kept the secret.
  
  "'Every moment I had to remind myself not to let my guard down, because if ever anyone found out, I was dead. I was scared of the Russians shooting me and the Germans discovering I was Jewish. I had no-one to turn to.'
  
  "Young Alex saw action on the Russian front, and was even used by the SS to lure Jewish people to their deaths."
• Neither Hip Nor Funky » Freezer Paper T-shirt Tutorial
  
  I've seen so many great freezer paper stenciled projects at flickr, and on various blogs, and would love to have a go myself sometime. This isn't the only tutorial out there, but it looks like a good one so keeping it handy for later.
  
• Simple and Elegant dress
  
  A tutorial for making one of those dresses that's got lines of elastic running around the chest/bust, but using lengths of elastic rather than elastic thread which somehow seems more do-able.
• Techniques with Theresa - Seaming knitting - knitty.com
  
  Seaming is not my strong suit so I figure I can never have enough resources handy when I need them.
• Toddlers are capable of introspection :: UC Davis News & Information ::
  
  Scientists have demonstrated that dolphins, monkeys and even rats can engage in some form of "metacognition," or an awareness of their own thought processes. But developmental psychologists have assumed that human children do not develop this capability before about age 5. Lyons and Ghetti have toppled that assumption by teaching 3- and 4-year-olds to communicate their awareness of their thought processes using pictures rather than words. "We've shown that even very young children can think about their thinking," Ghetti said. "The reason we haven't appreciated it before now is that the studies that have been used to test for it have been too verbally demanding."
  
  This reminds me of reading (and listening to a show on Radio 4) about early childhood memories a while back -- experts say lasting memories aren't formed until a child is verbal and can describe them. However in a survey of people in the UK a huge number of people reported pre-verbal memories. I know people who have really early memories - strong visual images in particular. I suspect the experts don't know everything!
  

All the following links I found via CRAFT:

• » Blog Archive » Winding a skein into a centre-pull ball
  
• Bella Dia: Doodling with Embroidery
  
  I so need to give this a try. Seems as though I could make something pretty a bit at a time without thinking too much -- exactly the kind of crafty project I crave these days!
  
• Naptime Knits: froggy
  cute knit and felted frog pattern
  
• SockPixie: Jewel (Free Baby Hat Knitting Pattern)
  cute little hat with a border of mitred squares
  
• DIY Shrinky Dinks. » Curbly | DIY Design Community
  
• Bella Knitting: Duplicate Stitch Tutorial
  
• How to Make a Gathered Skirt with Knit Waistband
  
• U-handblog: Pricing your bags or other crafts to sell.
  
  I don't know that I'm likely to be in a place to try and make stuff to sell any time soon (or ever) but this seems like a useful reference point if you or I ever are contemplating such a thing.
  
• The Knitting Zone - Easy Sock Blockers / Stretchers
  
  

Links for 2007-08-13 to 18 [del.icio.us]

• Study:Early diet advice for kids sticks - USATODAY.com
  "Teaching children from a young age to eat a low-fat diet can be effective — even as they reach their teens and begin eating more meals away from home, according to a new study.
  "The study of children in Finland found that those who were taught to focus on healthy fats — those found in fish, nuts, seeds and oils from plants — had slightly lower cholesterol levels compared to those who ate an unrestricted diet."
• BBC NEWS | World | Americas | Huge payout in US stuttering case
  "In 1939, the plaintiffs - all orphans in state care - were tormented for six months by Iowa University researchers. "The study was testing the theory that children develop speech impediments because of psychological pressure."
• BBC NEWS | Health | Depression is 'over-diagnosed'
  "Too many people are being diagnosed with depression when all they are is unhappy, a leading psychiatrist says.
  "...
  "But another psychiatrist writing in the journal contradicts his views, praising the increased diagnosis of depression."
• BBC NEWS | Health | Early cord clamping may harm baby
  "Clamping the umbilical cord straight after birth does not benefit mother or baby and may actually be harmful, a UK expert has warned. "Instead, leaving the cord for around three minutes can boost the baby's iron stores, cutting the risk of anaemia."
• BBC NEWS | Health | Fat 'crucial' in children's diet
  "Concerns about their child becoming overweight means some parents put them on low-fat diets, but the Nutrition Journal study said this was misguided.
  "Researchers found children burned substantially more fat than adults relative to their calorie intake.
  "Youngsters needed that fat to grow and thrive, they argued.
  "Over a third of a child's energy intake should be made up of fat, the researchers at Pennsylvania State University said, a recommendation in line with UK requirements."
• Aubrey DoodlePants Knitting Pattern
  A good (and free) knitting pattern for longies (to go over cloth diapers). I've made this pattern several times (with some modifications of my own) but thought I'd save the link here since I'm always having to search for it when I want to make more.
  
• hardrockzombie: Rescued from the Ravages of Time
  "I dug these patterns with considerable difficulty from the belly of the New York Public Library. I'm quite sure they sat untouched for years on their shelves, and would have quietly crumbled to fragments and dust with no one the wiser had I not intervened. As it was, in handling and photocopying them I'm pretty sure I fast-forwarded that destruction by 10 years."
• Instructables Make a diamond-paged book
• Farewell French and Saunders - Times Online
  "After 20 years, French and Saunders are still our most successful, and funniest, female duo. So why are they calling time on their partnership — and coming over all serious about matters of life and death?"
• Pollution Causes 40 Percent Of Deaths Worldwide, Study Finds | Scientific Blogging
  "...environmental degradation, coupled with the growth in world population, are major causes behind the rapid increase in human diseases, which the World Health Organization has recently reported. Both factors contribute to the malnourishment and disease susceptibility of 3.7 billion people..."
• BBC NEWS | Health | Baby growth chart switch closer
  "New child growth charts which reflect the slower weight gain associated with breastfeeding could be soon be adopted in England.
  "Current UK growth charts are based on predominantly formula-fed babies, which tend to grow more quickly.
  "The new charts have been drawn up by the World Health Organization.
  "They have been backed in a report by the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition and the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health.
  "It is hoped that adopting the new standards could stop breastfeeding mothers being worried about their babies apparently failing to put on weight fast enough."
• Identification card for children - ParentDish
  "Ident-a Kid cards are like a driver's license for babies and children. One sturdy, plastic laminated card stores their eye color, height, weight, parents name and address, as well as a thumbprint and recent photograph."

Links for 2007-08-11 & 12 [del.icio.us]

• BBC NEWS | UK | Double-nosed dog not to be sniffed at
• 2007: Accio Quote!, the Largest Archive of J.K. Rowling quotes on the web
  
  I hear I should read this, but not until I get around to reading the last book so I figure I'll save the link here for now.
• Mabel's Labels: Personalized dishwasher safe kids labels Stickers Iron on Shoe Bag tag Camp Clothing Skinny-minis Stickies Allergy Tag-mates Fundraising School Daycare Pre-school
• More Zing, Less Sodium
  
  A list of suggestions of which herbs and spices work well with different kinds of foods/dishes.
• Banana Jam on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
  Go over to flickr for the link to the recipe
• Confabulation in the Kitchen: Homemade Take-Out
  Sesame Chicken recipe
• Soft Pretzels (w/recipe) on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
• BBC NEWS | Scotland | Scots 'mither tongue' goes online
  
  "An archive of the Scots language is now available all over the world thanks to a comprehensive new website.
  
  "Researchers at Glasgow University have completed work on the online resource, which contains more than four million words in Scots and Scottish English.
  
  "As well as meaning and usage, the project also has audio links, allowing people to hear words being spoken."
• Instructables Paper ball ornaments for your Christmas tree
  
  "Recycling paper is one of the many things we can do to protect environment, so instead of dispose our old magazines and the tons of catalogs and paper junk we receive, why don't use it to make some nice ornaments for Christmas? They are original, cheap and safer for your children than the traditional glass balls."

Links for 2007-07-10 [del.icio.us]

• Fish oil may save preemies' vision
  After a study in mice discovered that the omega-3 fatty acids found in fish and other oils may protect against blindness in premature babies, researchers at Children's Hospital Boston are ready to test the results in a clinical trial.

• Do Sunscreens Have You Covered? - New York Times
  '"Most sunscreens are deceptively and misleadingly labeled, most perniciously to give consumers a false sense of security," Mr. Blumenthal said last week. "In my view, the F.D.A.'s failure to act is unconscionable and unjustifiable in any public sense.”

• Williams syndrome - Social Inhibition - Personality - Developmental Disorders - Brain Disorders - David Dobbs - New York Times
  "If a person suffers the small genetic accident that creates Williams syndrome, he'll live with not only some fairly conventional cognitive deficits, like trouble with space and numbers, but also a strange set of traits that researchers call the Williams social phenotype or, less formally, the “Williams personality”: a love of company and conversation combined, often awkwardly, with a poor understanding of social dynamics and a lack of social inhibition. The combination creates some memorable encounters."

• Crazy Kiwis « BitterSweet
  Fun blog post with a pattern for a knitted kiwi bird!

• DollQuiltFront on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
  Cute little quilt with appliqué.

• Björk interview: 'I didn't like being a celebrity. It's a service job. Like washing toilets' | Woman | The Observer

• Johann Hari: Free speech must apply even to the odious - Independent

• BBC NEWS | Health | Sausage additive linked to cancer

• BBC NEWS | Europe | Vatican text angers Protestants
  "Pope Benedict has approved a new text asserting that Christian denominations outside Roman Catholicism are not true Churches in the full sense of the word."