Three anti-social skills to improve your writing - Nadia Kalman
AdultsArtBooksCreativity...You need social skills to have a conversation in real life -- but they're quite different from the skills you need to write good dialogue. Educator Nadia Kalman suggests a few "anti-social skills," like eavesdropping and muttering to yourself, that can help you write an effective dialogue for your next story.
The world's most mysterious book - Stephen Bax
AdultsBooksHistoryLanguageDeep inside Yale's Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library lies a 240 page tome. Recently carbon dated to around 1420, its pages feature looping handwriting and hand drawn images seemingly stolen from a dream. It is called the Voynich manuscript, and it's one of history's biggest unsolved mysteries. The reason why? No one can figure out what it says. Stephen Bax investigates this cryptic work.
LITERATURE - George Orwell
AdultsBooksCreativityHistoryGeorge Orwell is the most famous English language writer of the 20th century, the author of Animal Farm and 1984. What was he trying to tell us and what is his genius?
LITERATURE - Voltaire
AdultsCreativityHistoryPhilosophy...Voltaire was one of the wisest, funniest and cleverest people of the 18th century. He continues to have lots to teach us about toleration, modesty and kindness.
Why should you read Tolstoy's "War and Peace"? - Brendan Pelsue
AdultsBooksCreativityCulture..."War and Peace." A tome. A slog. The sort of book you shouldn't read in bed because if you fall asleep it could give you a concussion. Right? Only partly. "War and Peace" is a long book, sure, but it's also a thrilling examination of history populated with some of the deepest, most realistic characters you'll find anywhere. Brendan Pelsue shares everything you need to know to read this classic book.
How did Dracula become the world's most famous vampire? - Stanley Stepanic
AdultsBooksCreativityHistory...Over a hundred years after his creator was laid to rest, Dracula lives on as the most famous vampire in history. But this Transylvanian noble - neither the first fictional vampire, nor the most popular of his time - may have remained buried in obscurity if not for a twist of fate. Stanley Stepanic explains how a critical copyright battle catapulted Bram Stoker's character into literary renown.
How to build a fictional world
AdultsCreativityPhilosophyBooks...Why is J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy so compelling? How about The Matrix or Harry Potter? What makes these disparate worlds come alive are clear, consistent rules for how people, societies -- and even the laws of physics -- function in these fictional universes. Author Kate Messner offers a few tricks for you, too, to create a world worth exploring in your own words.
Fabled Whiskers
AdultsBooksCreativityTom's back and this time found a book that has quite an effect on him.
The wars that inspired Game of Thrones
AdultsBooksFilmHistory...Beginning around 1377, medieval England was shaken by a power struggle between two noble families, which spanned generations and involved a massive cast of characters, complex motives and shifting loyalties. Sound familiar? Alex Gendler illustrates how the historical conflict known as the Wars of the Roses served as the basis for much of the drama in Game of Thrones.
Exploring other dimensions - Alex Rosenthal and George Zaidan
AdultsPhysicsScienceBooks...Imagine a two-dimensional world -- you, your friends, everything is 2D. In his 1884 novella, Edwin Abbott invented this world and called it Flatland. Alex Rosenthal and George Zaidan take the premise of Flatland one dimension further, imploring us to consider how we would see dimensions different from our own and why the exploration just may be worth it.
Are Elvish, Klingon, Dothraki and Na'vi real languages?
AdultsBooksFilmLanguage...What do Game of Thrones' Dothraki, Avatar's Na'vi, Star Trek's Klingon and LOTR's Elvish have in common? They are all fantasy constructed languages, or conlangs. Conlangs have all the delicious complexities of real languages: a high volume of words, grammar rules, and room for messiness and evolution. John McWhorter explains why these invented languages captivate fans long past the rolling credits.
The Barbecue Book
AdultsBooksFoodCookingThe Barbecue Book takes readers through the entire barbecue process. There is a page in the book that is made of charcoal while other pages are a firestarter, apron, knife sharpener and fan. Each chapter of the bible covers a different grilling process and comes with everything including a cutting board which serves as the cover for the book.
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
AdultsFilmMarketingEntertainment...The second in a trilogy of films adapting the enduringly popular masterpiece The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien, "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" continues the adventure of the title character Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) as he journeys with the Wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellen) and thirteen Dwarves, led by Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage) on an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor.
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug - Official Teaser Trailer [HD]
AdultsFilmMarketingAdventure...The second in a trilogy of films adapting the enduringly popular masterpiece The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien, "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" continues the adventure of the title character Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) as he journeys with the Wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellen) and thirteen Dwarves, led by Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage) on an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor.
Li Hongbo | Out Of Paper
AdultsArtCreativityBooks...The former book editor whose fascination with one material has gone to artistic extremes.