Creating Characters People Want to Spend Time With
<I>The Blackwing Diaries</I> makes a few points about characterization. This blog has become a regular stop for me.
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Steam Powered Aeroplane
A (very) short history. You mean it wasn't just a John Hartford song?
Graceful Curves and Strong Lines
I've mentioned, <a href="http://blog.stereophile.com/stephenmejias/033106success/">here</a> and <a href="http://blog.stereophile.com/stephenmejias/040306crimson/">there</a>, the lovely and romantic collaboration between Mark Lanegan and Isobel Campbell, <i>Ballad of the Broken Seas</i>. I should tell you that, when I first heard this album, my face went sour and my high hopes fell far and flat. It wasn't what I expected. It struck me as being a bit odd and aloof, foggy and cold; I wanted it to be easier, gentler.
Why Are Some Animals So Smart?
Carl van Schaik says it's the culture. They learn from one another. I sure learn from the people who read stuff I write.
How Many Folk Musicians Does It Take to Change a Lightbulb?
I guess that depends on the era.
It's a Good Story, But . . .
The story of Carl Friedrich Gauss' schoolboy triumph over a manipulative teacher is well-known, but Brian Hayes discovered a more interesting tale—and a moral.
Eye of the Beholder?
As far as color perception goes, it's in the brain. Maybe. Probably.
Eureka!
Charting that "A ha!" moment.
When Rarity Trumps Authenticity
I saw this article about a counterfeit antique coin last week and didn't give it a second thought. <I>So what?</I> I muttered. <I>It just shows scammers were ever with us.</I>
Cockroach Dance
I told no one about this, I swear, yet everyone seems to know. Word spreads like vermin. All eyes are up to the ceiling. As we walk down the halls of our Madison Avenue office, we hold a suspicious and trembling view of the dirty gray panels which hang, tentatively, above us. We are wary and watchful, cautiously anticipating the sudden fall.