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Book People Unite is a new PSA to promote literacy that stars a colorful cast of characters from childhood classics such as Madeline and Goldilocks and the Three Bears, and LeVar Burton from Reading Rainbow makes a guest appearance so you know this video is the real deal.
It’s produced by The Roots, so the soundtrack is a cut above what you’d usually hear in a PSA, and it made me want to read my brains out! Hooray for literacy!
–via Best Week Ever
If horror writer H.P. Lovecraft were to write an advice column, it would be somewhat less useful than those of Miss Manners of Dear Abby, but much more entertaining. In an imaginary column by James Warner, here is a part of the response to a woman who received a letter from a man she dated once in high school.
Although humankind has a yearning toward whatever is redolent of mystery and allurement, it is well that certain lacunae in our knowledge should remain forever unfilled. Your shadowy correspondent’s mention of the ill-regarded numbers nineteen and three recalls an unutterable experiment performed on sticklebacks by the Swedish icthyologist Dalgaard. I dare not describe his observations, but he concluded that, the longer we can remain innocent of our place in the cosmos, the better it must augur for our mental integrity. He came to understand there was more meaning than is commonly supposed in the nebulous half-inscriptions found on abandoned wharves — while who knows what malign significance underlies the latest findings on the growth of angiosperms, or the cycle of the solar spots?
Oh, that’s just the first letter. They get more bizarre from that point. Read several letters and Lovecraft’s advice at The Bygone Bureau. Link -via Brightest Young Things
(Image credit: Yael Levy)
Photo: Leslie Strauss Travis/The Norman Maclean Reader
A lot of authors get rejected by publishers, but Norman Maclean, author
of A
River Runs Through It and Other Stories
Letters of Note has the eloquent letter that Maclean wrote:
Dear Mr. Elliott:
I have discovered that I have been writing you under false pretenses, although stealing from myself more than from you. I have stolen from myself the opportunity of seeing the dream of every rejected author come true.
The dream of every rejected author must be to see, like sugar plums dancing in his head, please-can't-we-see-your-next-manuscript letters standing in piles on his desk, all coming from publishing companies that rejected his previous manuscript, especially from the more pompous of the fatted cows grazing contentedly in the publishing field. I am sure that, under the influence of those dreams, some of the finest fuck-you prose in the English language has been composed but, alas, never published. And to think that the rare moment in history came to me when I could in actuality have written the prose masterpiece for all rejected authors – and I didn't even see that history had swung wide its doors to me.
The letter ended with this gem:
Read the rest over at Letters of Note: Link... I can now only weakly say this: if the situation ever arose when Alfred A. Knopf was the only publishing house remaining in the world and I was the sole remaining author, that would mark the end of the world of books.
Very sincerely,
Norman Maclean
This succinct yet informative video reveals how old books get that distinctive smell we bibliophiles know and love, and illustrates the tell tale signs of book deterioration.
Watching it immediately brought the smell to mind, and I had to take one of my oldest editions off the shelf for a quick sniff. Yay for reading stuff!
–via Gizmodo
If Katniss and Peeta support something then it has to be good, right? Well, if you believe that then you’d better check out these Hunger Games PSA posters that urge you to spay and neuter your pets, fight bullies and more.
Have you ever wondered what would happen if your favorite children’s authors started working with Nintendo to make delightful books based on your favorite classic video games? Probably not, but it doesn’t make these awesome fake book covers by artist Caldwell Tanner any less cool.
Trish Vickers of Charmouth, Dorset, England, lost her sight years ago, but continues to write in longhand with a system that keeps her lines straight. During a particularly creative streak, she wrote 26 pages of a novel. However, the ink in her pen had run out. Vickers only found that out when her son Simon came to check her work.
Ms Vickers, who used to run the Bridport gift shop Zoot Allures in South Street, said: “We battled with various ideas until we thought of the police.
“We rang them and asked to speak to their fingerprint section. They said if there was anything they could do they would be happy to help.
“I was gobsmacked and so happy.”
Her son drove her and the blank pages to Dorset Police HQ at Winfrith and waited to see what would happen.
True to their word officers in the department worked in their spare time, during breaks to try and crack the puzzle and Mrs Vickers got her manuscript back last week.
She said: “I think they used a combination of various lights at different angles to see if they could get the impression made by my pen. I am so happy, pleased and grateful. It was really nice of them and I want to thank them for helping me out.”
The police said they enjoyed the story as they deciphered it. Vickers usually writes only as a hobby, but may send this novel to a publisher when it is completed. Link -via Arbroath
Taking a look at the Fictional Character Birthday Calendar, I see that I share a birthday with Scott Pilgrim, who was born in 1981. Maybe I should see that movie. The calendar at Flavorwire has birthdays of your favorite movie, TV, comic book, literature, and game characters on each day of the year -and you didn’t even know fictional character had birthdays! They do, they’re just fictional birthdays. Which one is your fictional birthday buddy? Link
Maggie Koerth-Baker, the science editor at BoingBoing, has just published an amazing new book called Before the Lights Go Out: Conquering the Energy Crisis Before it Conquers Us, about the very hard choices we face in powering our lives without doing ourselves in. It’s adroitly written with wonderful research behind it and some very warm, yet no-nonsense Midwestern charm, as she ties many of the problems our society is facing with personal stories from growing up and living in and around the real farmvilles.
We’re going to give away TWO autographed copies of the book at the end of the interview, so be sure to read it thoroughly to better your chances of scoring one of them. Believe me: This is a book you want on your shelves, packed with insight into, perhaps, the biggest problem facing the modern world.
Q: Throughout the book, I found myself becoming incredibly depressed about the future and then, alternately, incredibly optimistic about it. Is this sort of how you felt, both in the research and writing of the book? I mean, talk of doomsday scenarios due to global warming and massive energy shortages can’t be too uplifting to study, yet the realm of possibilities surrounding alternative energy are way exciting to think about, especially as you get further into them. You even write in the book: “I have to admit that when I think about all of the coordination, education, and nonpartisan (not only bipartisan) decision making that needs to happen, I get the urge to go back to bed and hide under the covers.” Have you been on an emotional roller coaster these past couple years working on the book?
A: Oh, definitely. Or, rather, I’m not sure I’d call it an emotional roller coaster, because it’s not linear like that. It’s more like an emotional scrambler. I’d find myself collecting all this information–knowing that every possible solution was going to have downsides and risks, and that the risk of doing nothing were even worse–and then kind of had to sift through it all and figure out a way to talk about it that emphasized both sides of that coin. And that’s hard. There are lots of times when you feel both deflated and optimistic at once. And it really goes against the dominant narratives on energy: Which are either that we don’t need to change anything, or that we need to change and that those changes are inherently ideal things that will have no risks or downsides whatsoever. Both perspectives are wrong.
Q: In the intro, you write: “This is a book about what we’ll have to deal with and the changes that will have to happen, because we really have no other choice.” What does the choice to do nothing result in?
A: The choice to do nothing will result in change. The choice to do nothing is risky, riskier I think than trying to do something even if that something is flawed and imperfect. I can’t emphasize this enough. We have aging infrastructure that wasn’t built in any ideal way to begin with. We have climate change playing out in front of our faces. We have limited supplies of fossil fuels so that, even the stuff we have lots of still–natural gas and coal–are projected to only be enough for 100 or 200 years. (And that’s at current levels of demand. And if you don’t change anything, then demand always goes up.)
All those things are happening, whether we ignore them or not. As they play out, they will force changes to the way we use energy, the way we make it, and the way we live. They will force us to spend lots and lots of money.
So what we have isn’t a choice between spending a ton of money or not, between changing or not. It’s a choice between different kinds of changes. Do we want the kind of change where we spend money upfront to save it in the long run and have some control over how we address these issues? Or do we want the kind of changes that just happen to us, whether we like them or not, and cost us dearly down the road? I know my answer.
Q: With regard to energy solutions in the future, you write: “Nobody gets everything he or she wants.” Of all the interested parties, who gets most of what s/he wants and who gets the short end of the stick?
The Lands of Ice and Fire is the perfect gift for the nerd that has everything, and will make you a big hit at your next Cartographer’s Society meeting.
It’s loaded with beautiful, full color maps based on George R. R. Martin’s original designs, and is so drool worthy that it should come with a bib.
Here’s the ultimate sales pitch for this book:
The centerpiece of this gorgeous collection is guaranteed to be a must-have for any fan: the complete map of the known world, joining the lands of the Seven Kingdoms and the lands across the Narrow Sea for the first time in series history. But this is just one of many unique maps that aren’t available anywhere else. There is an alternate version that tracks the movements of the series’ protagonists throughout their vast world…
So tear down all your old posters and sit tight until Lands is released in October, and your map-loving life is changed forever.
Just in time for the news that Game of Thrones was renewed for a third season, here’s a delicious line up of pizzas proudly bearing the four crests of the four houses from the series. They look like mushrooms, olives, ham and peperoni…so they’re almost certainly as tasty as they are awesome.
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In an alternative galaxy far, far away, Darth "Luke, I am your father" Vader is just another Dark Lord trying his best to raise a kid in the Galactic Empire.
If you're looking for a clever and wonderfully drawn geeky children's
book, the upcoming Darth
Vader and Son
Comments Off With the second season of A Game Of Thrones finally on the air, it’s time for the indomitable empire known as Geekdom to celebrate, and what better way to show our love for GOT than by making a Minecraft version of Westeros!
Enjoy your tour of this square and rather flat textured fantasy kingdom, but beware the Creepers!
–via Kotaku
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When Encyclopedia Britannica announced they would end the production of print encyclopedias, it spurred a flurry of sales. Of the 4,000 sets of the 2010 edition they had in stock, all but 800 have been purchased.
“We were averaging about 60 sets a week and the next thing we knew, we were selling 1,050 a week,” Britannica spokesman Peter Duckler said Thursday. “When people thought they were going to be around forever there was no rush to buy one and then suddenly, boom, and now there is a scarcity and it’s a collector’s item.”
Company officials estimate that the remaining encyclopedias will be sold by the end of this month. Link -via Consumerist
The first appearance of the character Peter Rabbit was not in a book, but in a letter! A wonderfully illustrated hand-written letter that survives to this day.
In September of 1893, at 26 years of age, Beatrix Potter sent the following illustrated letter to Noel, the five-year-old son of her friend and former governess, Annie Moore. The letter contained a tale of four rabbits, and in fact featured the first ever appearance of Peter Rabbit; however it wasn’t until 1901, eight years later, that Potter decided to revisit her letter to Noel and develop the idea.
The resulting story, The Tale of Peter Rabbit, was published in 1902 by Frederick Warne & Co, and has since become one of the most popular children’s books of all time.
See the original with drawings, and read the full transcript at Letters of Note. Link
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G is for Gonzo P is for Pepe and U is for Uncle Deadly. I don’t know about you guys, but I desperately need to download this font. Of course, if you prefer Harry Potter, The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or Pixar movies, then there are other alphabets that you might suit you better.
Link Via Geekosystem
If you got a kick out of The Hunger Games By Any Other Director, check out this re-imagining of The Hunger Games book by other bestselling authors! Artist Ray Kampf gave it the mashup treatment in book jacket form, using the style of other bestsellers. Imagine what the dialogue would be like if this story really was written by Jacqueline Suzann or Jackie Collins! Link
You know what the Hunger Games needs? More explosions, or maybe more romance-based comedic scenes. Whatever your favorite Genre, EW probably has a poster translating the young adult novel into a film you’re certain to enjoy. As a non-Michael Bay fan, I love their take on his take of the movie.
Warning: probably contains spoilers, I don’t know. The Hunger Games, performed by Beanie Babies. -via Buzzfeed
Comments Off This was the first year that the WonderCon (Comic-Con’s little sister) was held in Anaheim instead of San Francisco, unfortunately, that didn’t mean that the weather was any better. In fact, it was pouring the better part of the weekend. While the poor weather and smaller size of the convention meant there were far fewer cosplayers than at Comic-Con, the diversity and quality of the costumes was definitely impressive. Here are a few of the best costumes as photographed by Zeon and myself.
There are always a lot of Batman costumes at any convention, but with The Dark Knight Rises coming out this summer, there were even more than usual -including this sexy group of cosplayers. There was also a matching Harley Quinn, but I didn’t get a good picture of her. Sorry boys.
Cat Women and Riddlers were particularly popular at the convention.
Harley Quinn was also a pretty popular costume, which is interesting since they still haven’t put her character into a movie yet. Nolan, maybe you should take note of that fact.
Cross-play was also a pretty big trend and this adorable Robin and Green Arrow did a great job at adapting their costumes accordingly.
more …
Talk about a cool kid’s room set up. One amazing parent made this cool Narnia-themed playroom for her 9 year-old daughter where the only entrance is through the wardrobe. I want one for myself; what a great place to write Neatorama articles!
Link Via BoingBoing
Red is a retelling of Little Red Riding Hood that avoids the cliches and delivers a dark little tale told mostly via silhouettes. Created by Jorge Jaramillo and Carlo Guillot, with music composed by Manuel Borda, Red is a stylish adult fairy tale that’s bloody good fun to watch.
–via Cartoon Brew
Mike Baboon designed an alphabet that kids who are just learning to read will love. Oh, and their parents and grandparents who learned to read with Dr. Seuss books will love it, too! Can you name all the characters from A to Z? The answers are at Mike Baboon Design. There are prints for sale, too. Link -via Buzzfeed
Comments Off If you haven’t already heard, thanks to all the non-stop commercials and serious internet buzz, The Hunger Games just hit theaters today. In honor of what is already the biggest book/movie series since Harry Potter, here are some fun and fantastic arts and crafts based on the series.
I have to admit that my favorite fan art creations were those created by Etsy seller PurpleCowPosters. Just look at the simplistic design and the great use of texture on this poster and it’s easy to see why.
In fact, I couldn’t just pick one design from PurpleCowPosters, so I thought I’d include this design for District 12 just to show off the serious skills used in their creations. In fact, even if you don’t really dig The Hunger Games, I highly recommend visiting their store where there are over 100 cool posters for a variety of movies and TV shows available for sale.
What happens if you mix the Obama campaign posters by Shepard Fairey with The Hunger Games? You get this fantastic Snow poster by Tumblr user Pixhunter.
With the subtle tree imagery in the background and the shockingly bright mockingjay front and center, this poster, by Bart Van Ackooij is as beautiful as it is striking.
Yes, it might look like a manga cover than a poster for the upcoming film, but regardless of what the design actually looks like, there’s little debate as to the quality of art in this great piece by RatGirlStudios.
In
J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, the Gollum presented Bilbo with a set of
riddles. Can you solve them?
The thing all things devours; Birds, beasts, trees, flowers; Gnaws Iron, bites steel; Grinds hard stones to meal; Slays King, ruins town, and beats high mountain down.
Alive without breath, as cold as death; Never thirsty, ever drinking, all in mail never clinking.
It cannot be seen, it cannot be felt. Cannot be heard, cannot be smelt. It lies behind stars and under hills, and empty holes it fills. It comes first and follows after. Ends life, kills laughter.
A box without hinges, key or lid. Yet golden treasure inside is hid.
Answers over at Walyou: Link
The following article is from the book Uncle John’s Heavy Duty Bathroom Reader.
The Beats were America’s first hipsters. But what were they, like, really about, man?
THE OTHER SIDE OF AMERICA
One night in 1948, two students at new York’s Columbia University, John Clellon Holmes and Jack Kerouac, were hanging out talking about what they thought was wrong with the modern world -the constant threat of nuclear war, the hollowness of suburbia, and the stifling academic mainstream. At one point, Kerouac remarked, “This really is a beat generation.”
What did Kerouac mean? It was something he’d heard a few years earlier from someone he’d met in Times Square, a street hustler named Herbert Hunche. According to Kerouac, Hunche told him that “beat” meant that “you’re exhausted, at the bottom of the world, looking up or out, sleepless, wide-eyed, perceptive, rejected by society, on your own, streetwise.”
Holmes’ and Kerouac’s clique consisted of a handful of equally disenchanted artists, writers, and academics, all with (un)healthy interests in drugs, booze, and urban culture, including poet Allen Ginsberg and novelist William S. Burroughs. This was the Beat Generation, and they found their escape in the underexplored and often seedy side of American life. And they expressed it in what would come to be highly influential written works.
SEX, DRUGS, BEBOP
Hal Chase, Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, and William Burroughs
The Beats thought the way to enlightenment and artistic fulfillment was to go out and experience the world, especially the fringe elements. They hitchhiked around the country, befriending (and emulating) hobos and outlaws (like Hunche), and they experimented with marijuana, Benzedrine, and morphine.
more …
Photo: Foko
A book filled with text that says "Blah, Blah, Blah"? Lithuanian designer Gogelmogel must've gotten a hold of my college textbooks! Link - via Design Milk
In this age of the celebrity chef, recipes and cookbooks are cranked out constantly, at a pace no single chef can keep up with. So they have a retinue of cooks, writers, and other support staff who work behind the scenes. Julia Moskin writes about what it’s like to stay in the shadows, and talks with other ghost writers.
In his first assignment, another writer I know had to produce a book on Japanese cuisine based on two interviews with a chef who spoke no English.
“That,” he said, “was the moment that I realized cookbooks were not authoritative.”
“Write up something about all the kinds of chiles,” one Mexican-American chef demanded of me, providing no further details. “There should be a really solid guide to poultry,” a barbecue maven prescribed for his own forthcoming book. (After much stalling, he sent the writer a link to the Wikipedia page for “chicken.”)
At the most extreme level, a few highly paid ghostwriter-cooks actually produce entire books, from soup to nuts, using a kind of mind-meld that makes it possible not only to write in the voice of another human but actually to cook in his or her style — or close enough. One recent best-selling tome on regional cooking was produced entirely in a New York apartment kitchen, with almost no input from the author.
Link -via Metafilter
(Image credit: Owen Smith)
All My Friends Are Still Dead, the new illustrated book (no, not a children’s book) by Avery Monsen and Jory John is the sequel to their very successful book All My Friends Are Dead. Link -via Laughing Squid
This reading of Maurice Sendak’s classic children’s book Where The Wild Things Are by Christopher Walken isn’t meant to amuse kids, but rather to make us grown folks chuckle while we imbibe our bubbly adult beverages. And whether this is Walken or an impersonator doesn’t really matter, because the narrator’s descriptions of what’s going on in the illustrations are comedy gold.
–via Geek Tyrant
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