Every other weekend, MDO staff picks articles of interest to share with our readership. These articles range from serious political issues to updates on celebrity life and everything in between. We hope you enjoy these further readings!

Science

• All these silent letters were a mistake after all. These are some of the words that originally made sense in their spelling, but transformed over time.

http://theweek.com/article/index/269691/5-words-that-are-spelled-weirdly-because-someone-got-the-etymology-wrong.

• Darek Fidyka is a man who was once paralysed from the chest down due to a knife attack in 2010. He can now walk with a walker because of a cell transplantation.

• Ellen Langer, a well-known psychologist, has been studying the effects of attitude on health since her initial experiment in 1981; after ruminating on the concept that believing in your well-being can pull up your health by its figurative bootstraps for several decades, Ms. Langer is attempting to put her ideas into practice in more research facilities.

Politics

• Turkey will aid Kurdish forces in the fight against ISIS.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/21/world/middleeast/kobani-turkey-kurdish-fighters-syria.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&version=LedeSum&module=first-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0

• A 51st State? Southern Florida wants to become, well, South Florida.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/os-state-of-south-florida-20141021-post.html 

• This Friday, President Obama’s credit card was declined at a New York restaurant, and First Lady Michelle Obama graciously picked up the tab. Sign of Congressional overspending or fraud security measure? One can never be too safe.

http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/6004754

• There’s not another man alive that I would rather have leading my country.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2014/10/21/mr-president-dont-touch-my-girlfriend/?tid=pm_pop

News

•  Seniors hazing and abusing freshmen football players force Sayreville High School to cancel their football season.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/20/nyregion/in-new-jersey-young-players-recall-hazing.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&version=HpSum&module=first-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-new

• The once phenomenal Olympic amputee, Oscar Pistorius has officially been sentenced to five years in prison for the murder of his girlfriend, Reeva Stenkamp. The supposed “fastest man with no legs” will not be running again anytime soon. To read more, check out the link below.

Arts and Entertainment

• Rapper ‘Logic’ drops his long awaited first full-length release. The Maryland native’s raw flow and extensive vocabulary give the rap game a breath of fresh air in 2014. Worth a serious listen.

http://www.vibe.com/article/album-stream-logic-under-pressure

• YouTuber couple Mark Miller and Ethan Hethcote share their relationship with nearly half a million subscribers. Interviewed on this, they talk about being gay and their effect on others.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andrew-gelwicks/the-relationship-you-wish_b_5986770.html

Technology

• Trying to reduce the time you spend on your phone? Here are some reasons why you should and how you can:

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/10/18/trying-to-live-in-the-moment-and-not-on-the-phone/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_php=true&_type=blogs&mabReward=RI%3A12&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&region=CColumn&module=Recommendation&src=rechp&WT.nav=RecEngine&_r=1&