Crystal's DataBASE

Egypt: If You Can, Please Visit

Mon, 18 Jun 2012 10:48:00 -0400

I took a seven-day trip to Egypt in late May. Here’s a pre-trip post I did for WordPress.com and a post-trip reflection from this past week.

Of the 1,094 photos I captured during the trip, 424 made it to Flickr. You can link to them below. Some of my favorites from the bunch include the one above and the five to follow. ENJOY!

wwnorton: FIRST LINES FROM NEW BOOKS OUT TODAY: MAY 14,...

Mon, 14 May 2012 14:01:45 -0400

wwnorton:

FIRST LINES FROM NEW BOOKS OUT TODAY: MAY 14, 2012

“Frances turned around and waved to the gray-haired couple standing in the doorway. She smiled happily, her palm moving energetically through the sticky afternoon air. The elderly Millers had finally agreed to an offer for their home. It was her first sale in a year, and Frances was anxious to fax their acceptance and make it a done deal.”
The Invitation: A Novel by Anne Cherian

“On a brilliant, sunny afternoon in late September 1969, fifty thousand Californians wrestled unseasonable heat and anticipation while waiting to hear southern preacher Billy Graham deliver the old-time gospel. The occasion was the first Sunday meeting of the evangelist’s Southern California Crusade, a ten-day religious revival held in Anaheim’s ‘Big A’ baseball stadium.”
From Bible Belt to Sunbelt: Plain-Folk Religion, Grassroots Politics, and the Rise of Evangelical Conservatism by Darren Dochuk

“Pictorial journalism came of age in America during the Civil War. To satisfy a growing demand for pictures of the conflict, newspaper publishers relied upon salaried, freelance, amateur, and professional illustrators sent into the field to sketch the action. Called Special Artists or just “Specials,” they became the first generation of pictorial war correspondents.”
Civil War Sketch Book: Drawings from the Battlefront by Harry L. Katz and Vincent Virga

“The surname Churchill is an honoured one, legendary in our time, owing to the vision and achievements of one of history’s greatest men, who sprang from a ducal line and, though born without a title, was always conscious of his aristocratic heritage.”
The Churchills: In Love and War by Mary S. Lovell

“Many people experience back pain from time to time. Whether this pain is severe and chronic or mild and short-lived, it often causes misery and curtails everyday activities. Why practice yoga for back pain? Yoga has been associated with healing through the millennia. It is without cost, self-administered, and silent, and it demands no equipment beyond a pillow, a belt, or a chair. Yoga relieves pain and promotes calm to endure any pain that remains.”
Yoga for Back Pain by Loren Fishman and Carol Ardman

millionsmillions: [Image via Jared Fanning]

Thu, 10 May 2012 19:02:00 -0400

millionsmillions:

[Image via Jared Fanning]

Imagine you’re the lead character in a movie about an African-American high school student from...

Fri, 04 May 2012 18:37:15 -0400

Imagine you’re the lead character in a movie about an African-American high school student from DC’s Ward 8 or the Williamsburg area of Brooklyn, NY with a talent and winning streak for chess – a game that is purported to have origins dating back to 600 A.D.

Your residential surroundings might not be ideal, but your parents and teachers recognize your desire to live a less than ordinary life and overwhelmingly give their support and time to help you walk this path. Your character – the quintessential protagonist – has one best friend who also shares your dream, another who serves as relentless roadblock, and a love interest whose commitment to you has started to waiver.

What would you want the soundtrack of this movie to sound like?

Read more at “You, Two Rooks, and a Tight Hip-Hop Hook” courtesy of http://crystalsdatabase.wordpress.com. And be sure to check out more photos like the one above at Google+.

If you love children’s books, you’ll love this new...

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 11:18:58 -0400

If you love children’s books, you’ll love this new and adorable PSA from Reading is Fundamental. The video and song are titled “Book People Unite”. The track was produced by The Roots a features vocals from Jack Black, Chris Martin, John Legend, Jim James, Jason Schwartzman, Nate Ruess, Melanie Fiona, Carrie Brownstein, Regina Spektor and Consequence.

Learn more at http://bookpeopleunite.org/index.html.

I’m an English professor, and I spent the first 15 years...

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 23:09:00 -0400

I’m an English professor, and I spent the first 15 years of my career trying to write like one. You might be surprised by what that’s like. We don’t emulate the fiction writers we most admire. We too rarely practice what we preach to our composition students — namely that good writing is simple and direct. In fact, we’re notorious for maze-y sentences and ugly jargon. The point seems less to attract readers with clear prose than to smack them over the head with a sign that says, “Aren’t I smart?” A few years ago, I decided that I wanted to start writing for general readers, not just my fellow Ph.D.s. To do so, I knew I needed to unlearn my worst academic habits while studying the best techniques of great writers. Here are three fun-to-read books that helped my writing. ~ Jonathan Gottschall

The 2012 Pulitzer Prize Winner for History was awarded to...

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 14:02:00 -0400

The 2012 Pulitzer Prize Winner for History was awarded to “Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention,” by the late Manning Marable (Viking), an exploration of the legendary life and provocative views of one of the most significant African-Americans in U.S. history, a work that separates fact from fiction and blends the heroic and tragic.

Read more at http://www.pulitzer.org/citation/2012-History.

While I attended the Politics & Prose Book Store recent edition of Pitchapalooza! and do have...

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 09:01:00 -0400

While I attended the Politics & Prose Book Store recent edition of Pitchapalooza! and do have dreams of New York Times Best Seller grandeur, I was glad to be a spectator and passed on tossing my John Hancock into the overflowing fishbowl of eager pitch-ready writers.

Of the close of two dozen Pitchapalooza! entries that were offered, three were my favorites. I’ll reveal later on which was designated the overall winner by the panelists. Feel free to guess beforehand, but try not to scroll ahead. I’m about to tell you what I learned from this event and the panelists.

5 Tumblr Tips for Writers

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 16:52:22 -0400

5 Tumblr Tips for Writers:

galleycat:

Some useful advice from Tumblr literary outreach Rachel Fershleiser.

Instagram: Instagram for Android -- Available Now

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 11:43:00 -0400

Instagram: Instagram for Android -- Available Now:

Today, we’re excited to bring you Instagram for Android^TM. We’ve already seen more than 30 million people join Instagram to create and share beautiful photos on their iOS devices, and now we’re thrilled to offer a way for Android users to join their iOS friends on Instagram to share…

Awesome! I’m an Android user.

waxwane: Unsung Icons of Style: Gordon Parks

Sun, 18 Mar 2012 13:34:52 -0400

waxwane:

Unsung Icons of Style: Gordon Parks

The photo above is the cover of “Hear Me Howling!: Blues,...

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 12:23:00 -0400

The photo above is the cover of “Hear Me Howling!: Blues, Ballads & Beyond as Recorded by the San Francisco Bay by Chris Strachwitz in the 1960s” - Authored by Adam Machado, 2012 Winner of the Grammy Award for Best Album Notes.

If he were actually real, he’d probably be less than happy to have his name evoked in an effort to preserve the future of an item that’s made of paper and could potentially lead to the destruction of more trees, but I’m channeling my inner Lorax today by paying homage to the under appreciated art form that is music’s liner note.

Not familiar with this object? Read more at WordPress.com.

The New York Times has added a whimsical new tentacle to its...

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 18:07:00 -0500

The New York Times has added a whimsical new tentacle to its digital and social reach with a Tumblr blog dedicated to photographs from the Gray Lady’s storied past. The Lively Morgue, as the new Tumblr is called, launched Monday with a black and white photo of news images being sorted in the paper’s physical photo “morgue,” where millions of pictures are stored in filing cabinets and manila folders. Read more at Mashable.com.

Jan Berenstain, who with her husband wrote and illustrated...

Mon, 27 Feb 2012 23:31:00 -0500

Jan Berenstain, who with her husband wrote and illustrated the Berenstain Bears books, gentle best-sellers that enlightened preschoolers for half a century with simple lessons about kindness and tidiness, and reasons not to be afraid of the doctor, died on Friday in Solebury, Pa. She was 88. Read more at NYTimes.com.

‘Reading Rainbow’ to make return as an app The host...

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 13:20:00 -0500

‘Reading Rainbow’ to make return as an app

The host of the popular children’s educational show “Reading Rainbow” wants to bring it back as an app. Read more at WTOP.com

*Absolutely LOVED this show when I was younger.*

“Neglected New York City Phone Booths Converted into...

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 16:24:00 -0500

“Neglected New York City Phone Booths Converted into Communal Libraries”

The 13,569 NYC phone booths were in competition with 17 million cellphones; posing the question of whether they were “an anachronism or an opportunity. Read the full story at TreeHugger.com.

"Social media is all about relationships. If you want to find people’s relationships, an address book..."

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 13:35:00 -0500

“Social media is all about relationships. If you want to find people’s relationships, an address book is the best place to go. It’s like if you want to rob a bank, go where the money is.”

- Joseph Turow, on why social media apps were gathering information from address books on iPhones.

Yesterday’s New York Times piece on the reemergence of new...

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 14:59:00 -0500

Yesterday’s New York Times piece on the reemergence of new museums and cultural centers showcasing the historical achievements of African Americans and their battle for civil rights caused me to flashback to an interesting period in my professional career and I hope what I’m about to write is never held against me by a hiring committee.

NPR Valentine: I want you to be my Valentine, but first…...

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 10:22:28 -0500

NPR Valentine: I want you to be my Valentine, but first… the news.

We all know of the recent travesties at Penn State University,...

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 09:55:00 -0500

We all know of the recent travesties at Penn State University, its famed former and dearly departed football coach, and the impending trial of its accused sex offender, but not all of us know an actual Nittany Lion who has lived, rooted for and unconditionally loved Penn State, its football coach and its history.

Johanne is a Penn State alum and these are her words.