Back in 1970, all the students in a fifth-grade class at Hawthorne Elementary School in Beverly Hills, California, were asked to write a letter to someone they truly admired, asking "What makes a good citizen?"… Continue Reading
The American poet and abolitionist Ralph Waldo Emerson is considered a leading light in the Transcendentalist movement of mid-19th Century. In April of 1854, Emerson wrote a letter to his daughter Ellen (who was 15)… Continue Reading
Back in 2010, on the social news and discussion site Reddit, the topic arose of "What word or phrase did you totally misunderstand as a child?" A user named Lard_Baron has this charming reply which,… Continue Reading
A team of researchers led by Professor Masato Sakai of Yamagata University in concert with Peruvian archeologist Jorge Olano has uncovered 168 new geoglyphs on the Nazca Pampa. Using drones and aerial photography, the group… Continue Reading
The Other Tiger I think of a tiger. The gloom here makes The vast and busy Library seem lofty And pushes the shelves back; Strong, innocent, covered with blood and new, It will move through… Continue Reading
To a Cat Mirrors are not more silentnor the creeping dawn more secretive;in the moonlight, you are that pantherwe catch sight of from afar.By the inexplicable workings of a divine law,we look for you in… Continue Reading
36 Rules for Writers 1. Avoid alliterations, even if they’re manna for morons. 2. Don’t contribute to the killing of the subjunctive mode, I suggest that the writer use it when necessary. 3. Avoid clichés:… Continue Reading
20 Rules for Writers 1. First write for yourself, and then worry about the audience. “When you write a story, you’re telling yourself the story. When you rewrite, your main job is taking out all… Continue Reading
Pale Blue Dot Look again at that dot. That’s here. That’s home. That’s us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out… Continue Reading
A Towering Monolith Reminiscent of the Film "2001" Recently, employees from the Utah Department of Public Safety happened upon a silver monolith in the remote desert while doing an aerial survey. The structure, almost 12-foot-tall,… Continue Reading