Here in Chicago, the kids have off from school today to honor the great Polish Revolutionary War hero Casimir Pulaski.
For me, it’s a good excuse to listen to one of my favorite Sufjan Stevens songs.

And of course, I get to share the latest batch of mental-health news with you.
- The always-reliable World of Psychology has an excellent commentary on when to use psychotropic medicines to treat depression. The anti-psychiatry Scientologists seem to get all the media attention, so it’s great to see Dr. Ron Pies give a calm take on why people may need these medicines — and why they may not.
- Public universities in Florida are considering charging more fees so they can hire more mental-health staff and improve the ratio of counselors to students, according to the Orlando Sentinel (via the Chronicle of Higher Education). Obviously, no one likes to pay more for college, but this plan sounds like it could be worthwhile.

And if that Sufjan song made you sad (it always has that effect on me), cheer yourself up by watching my classmate Brenna Ehrlich’s lesson on “how to dust for fingerprints” and my classmate Paul Dailing’s tutorial on “how not to buy stuff.”