Mullings & Musings

• "The Bilingual Advantage" (I found this very, very interesting...)

"...I didn’t start trying to find out whether bilingualism was bad or good. I did my doctorate in psychology: on how children acquire language. When I finished graduate school, in 1976, there was a job shortage in Canada for Ph.D.’s. The only position I found was with a research project studying second language acquisition in school children. It wasn’t my area. But it was close enough.

As a psychologist, I brought neuroscience questions to the study, like “How does the acquisition of a second language change thought?” It was these types of questions that naturally led to the bilingualism research. The way research works is, it takes you down a road. You then follow that road."

• "Meningitis Cases Dramatically Down" (I understand those who are hesitant about vaccinations... and chemicals - like chlorine bleach, insecticides... and all of the "unnatural" stuff we use in this day and age. But I also think some of these modern tools are gifts of God and they prevent many deaths, especially when used carefully and in moderation.)

"The roll-out of a revolutionary meningitis vaccination in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger has dramatically cut transmission rates, according to the World Health Organization (WHO)..."

• "Bullet Holes and Lost Livelihoods" (Sheltered Americans... we really have no clue what life is like in the rest of the world. If we did, we'd show more gratitude for the amazing provision we enjoy.)

“ 'The most pressing need is food, then mosquito nets.'

'Generally families take one meal a day - usually `garba’ [fish and cassava],' 28-year-old nurse Albertine Anoh told IRIN.

'For the moment we cannot live as we did before,” she said, explaining that no money is coming in after her husband lost several public transport vehicles in the fighting...' "

• "Thinking God will Run Out of Welcome Home Banners" (Do you ever need to hear words like these...?)

"I saw Jordan [Michael] walking to his car in the parking lot. I ran out after him as fast as my little seventh grade legs would carry me and said, 'Excuse me Mr. Jordan, can I please have your autograph?'