Midweek musings: What we're reading on a wonderful, post-win Wednesday.
Weight and race: Mennonite College of Nursing at Illinois State University professor Elaine Hardy studies how race relates to how much people exercise, especially in black women between the ages of 40 and 65. "If you say 'exercise' to black women, they have a preconceived notion that you have to join a gym, dress in a certain way, and have to be in there so many times in a week," Hardy tells the university's news service. "It's not the person walking around the track: That's not what they consider exercise." Hardy says she avoids using the word exercise and instead encourages them to "get active," which can include yard work or taking the stairs.
Another of Hardy's findings is how black women define ideal weight, with African Americans more willing to "accept curves." Says Hardy: "They're not obsessed with the scale."
Can You Really Track Your Dog's Emotions? DogStar's TailTalk, a $120 (or $99 for Indiegogo backers) smartband that fits snugly around a dog’s tail to measure and analyze every movement promises to give pet owners insight into their dog's emotional state using "a proprietary algorithm," Slate.com reports. Writer Rachel Gross said it's easy to see the appeal of such a device, though she wasn't convinced it was a good idea. "Sometimes you have to wonder, to be uncomfortable, to sit in the not-knowing. Does your dog really love you, or is he just putting on the charm that gets him his next bowl of kibble? Some questions can’t be quantified. Not everything is data," Gross says.
Live The Blackhawks Life In This Mansion: Want to feel like a winner from the moment you wake up? There's no better way (other than, you know, hard work and finding your own success) than to live in the mansion of a Stanley Cup champion. Reporter Ariel Cheung has learned from Time Out Chicago that Patrick Sharp is putting his Lakeview mansion up for rent now that he's been traded to the Dallas Stars. For a mere $10,500 per month, you can relish the taste of victory in your six bedrooms, five bathrooms, spa bath and two roof decks. (Stanley Cup not included.)
No Section 8 or Minorities: The note at the bottom of a Craigslist ad with those exact words sparked a WBEZ investigation into housing discrimination. WBEZ found some blatant examples of discrimination in an examination of more than 2,800 ads posted to Craigslist during the month of June. Of the 2,800 ads that mentioned Section 8, housing choice vouchers or other variants of those terms, 135 of the Chicago listings were discriminatory. More than 25 percent of the suburban Cook County ads were also found to be discriminatory. The most common offense was explicitly rejecting vouchers, which is illegal. The report found than anti-Section 8 ads were found all over the city including in Rogers Park, Lakeview, Logan Square, Gold Coast, River North, Bronzeville, Garfield Park, Woodlawn and more.
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