5 Fascinating and Thought-Provoking Links

Just what the title says... links I've found in the last couple months that made me happy or made me think.

Source

Steam-punking a back brace to look like cosplay armor. AKA why it is awesome to be a geek/have geeky friends. This definitely got me thinking about the intersection between creativity, the Maker Movement, and the eminently practical ways in which we love on people in everyday real-life situations.

Shut Up, I'm Amazing. A fantastic reminder that our internal voices matter. Serious food for thought on the reality that we have both the power and the responsibility to be intentional about how our words - spoken and unspoken - shape our lives.

What Color Lightsaber Would You Wield Quiz. I am delighted to report that (like my new hero Mara Jade) I got purple, which means I am unapologetically "more morally ambiguous" than your average Jedi. Or, as Mara puts it, "I fight exactly as fair as my opponents" and have an "undiminished capacity for mayhem."

How Do You Define Strong? "So what is strength? Well it depends on our sport, lifestyle, and goals."
This is a somewhat technically oriented article written by a strength trainer, but I really appreciated the message at it's bottom line (and written between the lines): arbitrary fitness standards, goals, and measurements are largely pointless. What matters is how you define strong for your personal body and life. If what you're doing or measuring doesn't serve to bring you closer to strong as you define it for yourself, give it up, throw it out, and replace it with something that does. 

How to Move (and Fly) A Body. "Because, well, we seldom die where it’s most convenient." A random and fascinating look at the kinds of realities and logistics that are surprisingly relevant and entirely predictable, yet rarely considered until the worst possible time.

Bonus link: The Fictitious Pregnancy of Mara Jade.
This is a short, hysterical non-cannon story from the Star Wars universe in the tradition of Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest.  It isn't the best edited, or the best in-character portrayal of everyone, but it's so funny and well put together that it more than makes up for what it lacks.