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Cool Story, Bro: The Business of Storytelling Explained The attention we’re giving the term ‘storytelling’ these days is certainly well deserved, but the sheer amount of it simultaneously pushes us closer and closer to that cruddy umbrella-shaped place where words can mean both everything and nothing. And so, to clarify: the purpose of traditional storytelling is to create engagement by conveying events and messages through words, images or sounds. I’d argue that the same goes for the so-called “business of storytelling” (hat tip to @goonth for that one), but with a strategic twist: engagement, ultimately, as a means of building brand affinity. We Like You! People like brands they feel connected to, and lately cultural relevance seems to be the key to that connection. “[It encourages] people out there to go to this cool page where they can understand a little more about what’s going on with pop culture and get them connected a little easier,” explained Jonas in a recent interview with Mike Ragogna. Written in the Stars Tell a Good One Related

Extraordinary Useful Life Hacks « The Bored Ninja - Fun, Interesting, and Cool Stuff on the Internet 20 obsolete English words that should make a comeback | Matador Network | Page 2 Photo: Katherine Hodgson If we all start using them, these words can be resurrected. DURING MY UNDERGRADUATE studies as a Linguistics major, one of the things that struck me most is the amazing fluidity of language. New words are created; older words go out of style. The following words have sadly disappeared from modern English, but it’s easy to see how they could be incorporated into everyday conversation. Words are from Erin McKean’s two-volume series: Weird and Wonderful Words and Totally Weird and Wonderful Words. 1. Verb trans. – “To confuse, jumble” – First of all this word is just fun to say in its various forms. 2. Verb intr. – “To take one’s pleasure, enjoy oneself, revel, luxuriate” – Often I feel the word “enjoy” just isn’t enough to describe an experience, and “revel” tends to conjure up images of people dancing and spinning around in circles – at least in my head. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. For 10 more interesting obsolete words, go to the next page.

50 Most Influential Books of the Last 50 (or so) Years In compiling the books on this list, the editors at SuperScholar have tried to provide a window into the culture of the last 50 years. Ideally, if you read every book on this list, you will know how we got to where we are today. Not all the books on this list are “great.” The criterion for inclusion was not greatness but INFLUENCE. All the books on this list have been enormously influential. The books we chose required some hard choices. We also tried to keep a balance between books that everyone buys and hardly anyone reads versus books that, though not widely bought and read, are deeply transformative. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 45.

- StumbleUpon Eating 10 hot dogs in 6 minutes and belching the national anthem may impress your friends, but neither of those feats will do much for your body—at least not much good. Instead, why not train yourself to do something that may actually pay off? We're not talking bench presses and interval training (though those do help). You can teach your body to cure itself from everyday health ailments—side stitches, first-date jitters, even hands that have fallen asleep. Just study this list, and the next time your friends challenge you to an ice cream eating contest, chow down: You know how to thaw a brain freeze—and 17 other tricks that'll make everyone think you're the next David Blaine. Do Them Right: To mazimize your workout, good form is a must. Cure a Tickling Throat When you were 9, playing your armpit was a cool trick. Experience Supersonic Hearing If you're stuck chatting up a mumbler at a cocktail party, lean in with your right ear. Overcome Your Most Primal Urge Need to pee? Feel No Pain

The Quick 10: 10 Ways Shakespeare Changed Everything In honor of William Shakespeare’s birthday tomorrow, we’ve teamed up with Uncommon Goods to create a printable party kit to celebrate the Bard! (Oh, and we're reposting some of our favorite Shakespeare stories to get you in the mood.) The basic thesis of Stephen Marche’s How Shakespeare Changed Everything becomes obvious very early on (as in, it is expressed in the title). According to this fun, lyrically written and well-researched book, here are just ten of the many ways that Shakespeare changed everything: 1. He gave us a lot of new words Just say some words real quick and you’ll probably say one he coined – nearly 10% of his 20,000-word vocabulary was new to his audiences. 2. 3. His statue in Central Park is covered in pigeon droppings, and strangely it's kind of his fault. In March of 1860, Schieffelin released a mere sixty starlings into the Central Park air as a part of his effort to introduce every bird mentioned in Shakespeare to North America. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Big time. 10.

Nicole Krauss quotes “If I had a camera," I said, "I'd take a picture of you every day. That way I'd remember how you looked every single day of your life." "I look exactly the same." "No, you don't. You're changing all the time. "If you're so smart, how did I change today?" "You got a fraction of a millimeter taller, for one thing. "They did not!" "Yes, they did." "Did NOT." "Did too." "What else, you big pig?" "You got a little happier and also a little sadder." "Meaning they cancel out each other, leaving me exactly the same." "Not at all. "How do you know?" "Think about it. "I guess not. "And have you ever been sadder?" "No." "It isn't like that for everyone, you know. "What about you? "Of course I am." "Why?" "Because nothing makes me happier and nothing makes me sadder than you

Let's Close Out April Fool's With This Unbeatable Minecraft Office Prank Closing out this April Fool’s Day is a prank that is 100 percent truthful in its awesomeness. At Ann Arbor, Mich.-based Greenview Data, the co-workers of one Minecraft-addicted employee, Matt, converted his cubicle into a Minecraft cave anyone could be proud of, in game or in real life. It wasn’t as simple as taking 62 boxes and painting them with grass and stone textures (though the textures are well done); support mechanisms also had to be built in. Matt’s reaction is a little subdued. New Office for Matt – Boxcraft? The Ultimate Guide to Writing Better Than You Normally Do. Writing is a muscle. Smaller than a hamstring and slightly bigger than a bicep, and it needs to be exercised to get stronger. Think of your words as reps, your paragraphs as sets, your pages as daily workouts. Procrastination is an alluring siren taunting you to google the country where Balki from Perfect Strangers was from, and to arrange sticky notes on your dog in the shape of hilarious dog shorts. The blank white page. Mark Twain once said, “Show, don’t tell.” Finding a really good muse these days isn’t easy, so plan on going through quite a few before landing on a winner. There are two things more difficult than writing. It’s so easy to hide in your little bubble, typing your little words with your little fingers on your little laptop from the comfort of your tiny chair in your miniature little house. It’s no secret that great writers are great readers, and that if you can’t read, your writing will often suffer. Available in print withThe Best of McSweeney’s Internet Tendency

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