I love artist Kent Rogowski’s Everything I Wish I Could Be, which uses self-help books to explore communication and development. An example from this collection:
Make sure to check out the rest of the collection as well. I also really like Rogowski’s Bears, which uses inside-out teddy bears.
(via Design Crush)
You know how you can sit in front of your computer, struggling to figure out how to get your main character from point A to point B, and then it hits you when you’re in the middle of brushing your teeth that night? A new study confirms you’re not alone.
Apparently, study participants were given a challenging task. Some participants were allowed to have a break, and others weren’t. The ones who had a break performed better at the task afterward than the ones who had to work straight through the allotted time. This suggests that breaks are actually helpful in getting your mind working in new ways.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that you can skip the work, just take breaks, and expect results:
“The implication is that mind-wandering was only helpful for problems that were already being mentally chewed on. It didn’t seem to lead to a general increase in creative problem-solving ability,” says [research team leader Benjamin] Baird.
So get to work, but also feel free to give yourself a little time away from the desk if you’re stuck on a particular issue.
Love this use of books as decor:
It reminds me of an old laboratory or curiosity shop. Very cool!
(image: Therese Maring for Apartment Therapy)
When I was in eighth grade, I went to Montreal on a class trip. While I was there, I got a necklace–a simple chain with a book charm. It was really cheap, but the book opened so I was infatuated. “That’s perfect for you!” my friend said. I quickly parted with a few Canadian bills. Now I had a necklace that showed off how much of a writer I was. The world would know!
Obviously I’m still not quite over that, because I dig these book necklaces by Peg and Awl.
I love the red tie around this one. Plus you can actually write in the pages–just in case a story idea strikes and your regular notebook is elsewhere.
(image: Peg and Awl)
This is way cooler than my high school English projects. Deerfield Academy student Peter Krasznekewic has constructed 34 small houses, all made from sustainable materials and all bearing a line from an Emily Dickinson poem. His “Little White House Project” is featured on the grounds of the Emily Dickinson Museum in Amherst.
Jane Wald, executive director of the Dickinson museum, says:
“When Peter first came to me, it was clear he was thinking about the wider Pioneer Valley. Part of the concept was integrating it with the bigger landscape…The museum has been working to figure out how to connect Emily’s poetry to other art forms and artists, and maybe find an edgy way to do that.”
So excited to hear that teens like Peter and looking for ways to both appreciate art and create their own, while also connecting to their communities. The exhibit will be up until June 30; it’s free and open to the public. Good excuse to make the trip out to Amherst!
Read the rest of the article for more info on Peter and his project.
(H/T: NCBLA)(image: Emily Dickinson Museum)
It’s easy to look down on something. You tell me your favorite book is by Nicholas Sparks or James Patterson, and I judge you as a particular kind of reader. This happens a lot for people who love YA. Even though I’d go to the ropes with anyone over whether or not there is excellent writing in YA (of course there is!), a lot of times adults talk about reading YA as if it’s something they should be ashamed of. And even if you’re not reading the most cutting edge, well crafted novel, shouldn’t that be okay too? Why can’t we let people read what they want to read?
At Stacked, Kelly has a fantastic post up about taking away the judgment in book choices. Really, I want to quote half her post here, but I’ll limit myself to one part I liked in particular:
“I have a huge problem with the notion of a guilty pleasure. If something brings you pleasure, there should be no guilt associated with it. The reason people find themselves talking about guilty pleasures is because someone has taken their right to enjoyment from whatever it is that they like doing. It’s because someone has asserted themselves as an authority, as a person with privilege, and cast judgment upon an activity.
No one has the right to tell you what you should or shouldn’t like.”
I love that Kelly takes issue with the idea of guilty pleasure reading. Not everything you read has to be some impressive tome or work of experimental fiction. Sometimes you’re in the mood for something a little fun and lighthearted. Heck, maybe all the time you’re in the mood for something a little fun and lighthearted. Maybe the rest of your day involves caring for your ailing grandparent and when you get home, all you want to read about is sparkly vampires. Or maybe you just enjoy sitting on the porch with a glass of lemonade and an action-packed pseudo-spy novel. That’s okay, too. Not everyone needs to love Infinite Jest.
It’s kind of like not everyone has to love baseball. Or curling. Or sports in general. Why impose such harsh moral judgments on what is, for most people, a leisure activity? Again, I’m guilty of book judgment. I think we all are. But it’s so important to remember that your history, likes, goals, and values as a reader aren’t the same as anyone else’s.
Make sure to check out the full post for lots of other de-shaming goodness. Do you ever feel judged for your reading choices?
Voice is essential to writers, so I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s interested in regional dialects. An accent can say so much about someone’s background and environment, and you can use accents to reinforce or break down stereotypes. From now until July 15, you can watch American Tongues, a documentary about dialects in the US, on the PBS website. (Note: some strong/offensive language is included.)
The film first premiered in 1988, and I’d be really curious to see how dialects have changed since then due to a greater prevalence of television and the internet.
If you want to get super nerdy about it (who doesn’t?!), you can check out this interactive map of regional dialects in the US.
Under the heading of generally awesome, a series of life-size whale sculptures in the forests of Argentina:
The project, My Family Dead is by Argentinian artist Adrián Villar Rojas. I feel like this would be an awesome inspiration for a story.
(via Colossal)(via Design Crush)
I don’t tend to listen to audiobooks (my mind wanders too much) but this clip of Alan Rickman singing in French from the audiobook version of The Return of the Native may change my mind:
Click through for a list of other cool audiobooks to take with you on summer travels.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer aired its first episode when I was in 7th grade. I was shy and insecure and didn’t quite know how to grow up. Buffy, with its quips and demonic high school drama, helped me maneuver into young adulthood. As a result, Joss Whedon has a very special place in my heart. Then I find out he did a version of Much Ado About Nothing and I want to scream “Stop making me love you, Joss!” From the press release:
“Filmed in just 12 days entirely on location in exotic Santa Monica, the film features a stellar cast of beloved (or soon to be beloved) actors — some of them veterans of Shakespearean theater, some completely new to the form. But all dedicated to the idea that this story bears retelling, that this dialogue is as fresh and intoxicating as any being written, and that the joy of working on a passion project surrounded by dear friends, admired colleagues and an atmosphere of unabashed rapture far outweighs their hilariously miniature paychecks.”
Whedon meets the Bard? So awesome! And he cast includes Whedon-verse veterans like Alexis Denisof and Nathan Fillion. It looks like the film is set to release this year, but not a lot of details about where/when exactly. But with Whedon’s recent Avengers success, I’m hoping this might get a wider release and appeal to teen viewers. Shakespeare is way cool, guys.
If you want even more on Whedon, check out this interview.
(The picture: me getting to meet Joss Whedon a few years ago. I think I said “Thanks so much for making awesome stuff and doing this presentation,” and managed to stay fairly calm. But inside it was like “YOU GOT ME THROUGH MIDDLE SCHOOL, I LOVE YOU.”)