Image: Chip Somodevilla/Getty
In what is sure to be great news for fans of literature the world over, author Harper Lee will publish a second novel this summer, entitled Go Set a Watchman. The manuscript, which Ms. Lee wrote in the 1950s and set aside, is a continuation of her classic To Kill a Mockingbird. The novel features many of Mockingbird's characters, including protagonist Scout Finch, who is written as an adult looking back on her childhood experiences.
The intensely private author, now 88 years old, said in a statement that she wrote Go Set a Watchman first, but was asked by an editor to rewrite the story from young Scout's perspective. Lee's rewrite became To Kill a Mockingbird, her Pulitzer prizewinning story that went on to be one of the most widely read books of all time, selling 40 million copies worldwide.
Read more on this story at the New York Times. See this article for descriptions of and links to Lee's five published pieces of nonfiction, four from magazines and one written for the Alabama Heritage Festival.
Lisa Marcus's Blog Posts
Once again, it's Kimmel's "Mean Tweets," Music Edition. The clip features Josh Groban, Drake, Lady Gaga, Sam Smith, Jessie J, Blake Shelton, Haim, Wiz Khalifa, Ed Sheeran, Iggy Azalea, Pitbull, Sia, Childish Gambino, Britney Spears, Ariana Grande, Jason Aldean, 5 Seconds Of Summer, Katy Perry and — my favorite reading by far — Psy. As usual, the video is profanity laden (with beeps over the profane words). -Via Tastefully Offensive
New York Times film critic A. O. Scott takes a look at the animated short films that are currently nominated for Academy Awards. As examples of the nominees roll, Scott discusses Me and My Moulton by Torill Kove, Feast by Disney Animation Studios, A Single Life by Job Roggeveen, Joris Oprins and Marieke Blaauw, The Bigger Picture by Daisy Jacobs and The Dam Keeper by Robert Kondo and Dice Tsutsumi, covering what makes their styles unique. It's enough to get excited about seeing each of the shorts, clips of which are shown below. -Via Laughing Squid
Trailer for Me and My Moulton
Vimeo Link
Clip of Disney's Feast
YouTube Link
Trailer for A Single Life
Vimeo Link
Trailer for The Bigger Picture
Vimeo Link
Trailer for The Dam Keeper
YouTube Link
Images: Winter_named_ Winter on Instagram
In what could easily be a storyline in an episode of Portlandia, Instagram junkie and Los Angeles blogger Summer Allen was, as she puts it, "spending too much time on Instagram" when she made an odd discovery about the readers of Portland-based "slow lifestyle" magazine Kinfolk. Allen writes,
"A pattern quickly revealed itself: covers of Kinfolk magazines, wood, American flags, lattes, etcetera.
These similarities popped up without even trying to look for them specifically. And so, a project was born. Not out of spite, but out of the redundancy of almost identical subject matter.
Four images. One Instagram account per set. A whole lotta the same sh*t.
Welcome to the Kinspiracy."
Allen started a Tumblr devoted to documenting the Kinspiracy. For awhile she worked the project anonymously, yet recently she's outed herself. As the word of Summer's Tumblr spreads, there are likely to be spoof accounts on Instagram. But as it stands, its present content would be almost concerning if it wasn't so amusing. -Via Laughing Squid
Images: Meganjennifer on Instagram
Images: Maurastoffer on Instagram
Source: Twitter
If you worked in advertising and were tasked with creating an ad campaign for a condom company, what would your brainstorming session look like? You could go at it from a number of angles, but like the first part of this sentence, everything you wrote would be suspect as a double entendre. Thus, a little would go a long way. A little imagery, a little creative wording... less would be more. That is, unless more was more.
Without keeping you on the edge of your seat, here is a collection of clever advertisements for condoms. Hopefully you'll be momentarily amused as you check them out. Your mileage may vary, however. As they say, give some people an inch...
Source: Bored Panda
Source: Bored Panda
Los Angeles-based musician Andy Rehfeldt (previously at Neatorama) remixed Black Sabbath's “Paranoid” with the guitar from A Flock of Seagulls' “I Ran (So Far Away).” Rehfeldt arranged, performed and recorded the remix. The result is a union so pleasing that it's easy to imagine Ozzy's mischievious grin is a sign of his approval, instead of just some good drugs. -Via Laughing Squid
Meet Atchoum. He's a cat with a health condition called Hypertrichosis, a hormonal disorder that causes abnormally fast and abundant hair growth. The condition strikes humans as well; it's actually responsible for people referred to as "werewolfs" and similar wolf/human hybrid terms in the freak shows of late nineteenth and early 20th centuries.
But Atchoum makes Hypertrichosis look cute. At worst, he looks like a dog from certain vantage points (which, though probably a cat's worst nightmare, isn't so bad). Atchoum's internet popularity seems to be on the rise. Perhaps in the future, he'll be the poster cat for Hypertrichosis, starring in worldwide ad campaigns to raise awareness about the disorder. But if he's anything like most cats, he'd likely rather take a nap.
Atchoum lives with his French-speaking human Natalie in Quebec. As far as I can tell, his name means "Achoo" in French. (Though the Facebook "translation" tool changes his name to "Sneezy.")
See additional glamour shots of Atchoum here, and check out his Instagram and Facebook pages as well.
A pregnant Salt Lake City woman was dropping off her six-year-old son at her mother's house on Saturday when she felt contractions starting. Devi Mariah Ostler, a thirty-two-year-old mother of two, calmly began driving herself to the hospital. Soon, however, Ostler realized that she wasn't going to make it there before her baby made an appearance.
Once she felt the full force of her labor, Ostler dialed 911; her call was answered by operator Brittney Chugg. Ostler was traveling 75 miles per hour in the fast lane on Interstate 15 when she told Chugg that her water broke. According to the Associated Press, Ostler said,
"I'm trying to get over into the other lane — I need to push! The baby is coming!"
Ostler was able to pull over to the side of the interstate while Chugg talked her through the delivery procedure and Utah Highway Patrol trooper Josh Carr raced to the scene. Only a minute after the officer arrived, Ostler gave birth to a healthy, nearly 10-pound baby boy. Highway noise could be heard on the recording in the background as the newborn was swaddled in a sweatshirt. Officer Carr said of the incident,
"He came right out in my hands. It was very emotional. Probably next to my own children's' birth, it was a very satisfying moment in my career."
Ostler said later at the hospital,
"I knew the baby was coming and it doesn't help to panic. So, I just stayed calm and said, 'Well, if I deliver it on my own then I deliver it on my own. If somebody gets here, somebody gets here. The baby is here. There's not much more I can do about it.'"
Congratulations to such a strong, level-headed lady! Visit this AP article to read more on this story.
Image: AP
In what seems a natural progression to him becoming one of the most revered filmmakers in history, Stanley Kubrick worked as a photographer. This series is one he shot for LOOK magazine over a two-week period in 1946. These shots of the New York City subway are intimate to the point of feeling voyeuristic, giving viewers glimpses of loving couples, families and commuters of both sexes and all types. The photographs were just a sample of the 15,000 he shot during 129 assignments for the magazine.
See more pictures from Kubrick's subway series here.
Vila Madalena | Image: globalstreetart.com
It could be argued that murals such as the ones shown here have more impact on people than any other art form, given that it's a part of the viewers' environment. It's not necessary to visit an art museum or gallery to be affected by such a piece; one only needs to take a walk down the street.
This grouping of thirty large-scale street art murals located all over the world is worth the few minutes it will take readers to peruse. After all, how often does one get the chance to take a virtual art walk down the streets of so many countries in such a short time?
Berlin, Germany | Image: Aksnipil
Lisbon, Purtugal | Image: sam3
For his series entitled "The Light Inside," Romanian photographer Radu Zaciu started with vegetables and fruits and carved out their centers, replacing them with light bulbs. There was a fine line when it came to how much of the insides to remove. Zaciu explained,
"Not every fruit or vegetable transmits the light properly and some need more, while others need a less powerful light source. Carving into the fruit needs to be done carefully and not more than necessary to place the light source somehow central. For harder vegetables a drill is ideal to carve a symmetrical channel of an ideal size."
The resulting photographs make the foods look more appetizing. I've never seen a ripe strawberry that I didn't want to eat, but a shining strawberry is almost more temptation than one strawberry lover should have to bear.
See more of Zaciu's series, plus interesting photos of the lighting process and the tools he used, at Design Boom. See much more of the photogrpher's work — including stunning wildlife photography — at his Flickr account, and follow him on Facebook.
Image: edgeoftheplank.com
Otters have expressive faces that seem to communicate joy and amusement. In fact, according to sources such as Otter World, otters are quite the playful species. The animals are often observed constructing and sliding down waterslides and playing with stones and twigs that they treat as toys.
Otters are social animals who are "chatty" with each other, to the point that observing a number of them interacting can appear loud and chaotic. Like so many other animal species, experts believe that otters have their own sort of language, consisting of a variety of sounds that others in their social groups seem to recognize and comprehend.
How can one look at these pictures — particularly of those that show them interacting — and not think they have a true fondness for others of their social group? Their affinity for each other is palpable.
See the delightful collection of 25 otter photos from which these have been taken here.
Image: newshopper.sulekha.com
Image: sites.psu.edu
Image: tehcute.com
This video is actually a trailer for a documentary film called Dogs On the Inside. The documentary, which was filmed in a Massachusetts prison, follows the story of stray dogs in the community who were rescued and placed with prisoners at a minimum security prison. Before their rescues, the dogs were likely on a path to be euthanized in shelters. The goal of the program is for the prisoners to develop empathy and loving feelings toward the dogs, who in turn learn to trust humans in spite of any troubled histories they may have suffered. It seems to be situation benefiting both the dogs and the inmates.
Read more about the film Dogs on the Inside here.
Black Cherry Wood Burl with Turquoise Inlay
From deer antlers to meteorite to copper, this collection of 36 wedding rings for men is full of unique pieces made of materials that stray from the norm. For those who like something masculine with a tiny bit of bling, there are some options with tiny black diamonds, which are eye-catching without appearing feminine. What do you think, married men? Do you wear your wedding ring all of the time? Describe it for us in comments.
See all thirty-six unconventional wedding rings for men here.
Copper Inlay
Modern Recycled Silver with 14K Gold
Meteorite
Three Black Diamond Ring
The results of a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center in collaboration with the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) that were released yesterday highlighted the differences in public and scientists' opinion on thirteen scientific topics.
The disparity between respondents of the American public and the members of the AAAS on thirteen topics was notable, at times indicating wide gaps between opinions of the two populations on scientific issues. While a difference of opinion between scientists and the public could be expected by most, the percentages of the findings may be of interest to learn and ponder.
The biggest divergence of opinion is shown in the graphic above. There was a 51 point difference between the public and AAAS members on the topic of whether genetically modified (GMO) foods are safe to consume. Marked differences between public and scientific opinion existed on topics such as pesticides, nuclear power and offshore oil and gas drilling as well.
The Pew Research Center's summation of the findings is here. See each of the thirteen survey topics and the result percentages at this interactive page. Click on the percentages and the data will expand. The survey summary of the AAAS is available at their site.
Via Minneapolis Star Tribune | Image: Pew Research Center