Interview: Anne Fadiman, author of Ex Libris, talks about her latest 'confessions', words like 'whiffling', and perfect literary dinner guests | Books | The Observer
If, in the early New Year, you should happen to see an elfin, almost girlish-looking, middle-aged mother of two buying liquid nitrogen at a medical supplies shop in western Massachusetts, don't panic. It's only Anne Fadiman, essayist and literature professor, indulging her passion for home-made ice-cream. (We'll come to that in a minute.) To those who have read her work, Anne Fadiman is the object of cultish devotion. Her writing first appeared in Britain in 1999, with the publication of Ex Libris , a rare and enchanting celebration of bibliophilia; one woman's salute to words like 'sesquipedalian', 'apopanax' and 'goetic', to the romance of flyleaf dedications, and to the joy of reading aloud. Since then Anne Fadiman has continued to follow her literary nose. Such statements are of a piece with her heritage. She also celebrates the bookishness of books. So Anne Fadiman is happiest to be an editor/teacher, the unobtrusive observer, and perhaps a part-time muse.
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The power of perceptions: Imagining the reality you want
Can you guess which colored dots are the same on both panels? For the answer, watch the TED talk video linked below. We have the power to choose our responses, Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl saidThe power of our perceptions can be seen with the placebo effect during clinical trialsThe way we perceive even the most basic of our senses is dependent on interpretation (CNN) -- Viktor Frankl was a Jewish psychiatrist who spent three years during World War II living under unspeakable circumstances in several of the most notorious Nazi concentration camps. While imprisoned, Frankl realized he had one single freedom left: He had the power to determine his response to the horror unfolding around him. And so he chose to imagine. He imagined his wife and the prospect of seeing her again. Frankl survived and went on to chronicle his experiences and the wisdom he had drawn from them. But human perceptions, and their ramifications, are very real and potentially life-changing. The fiction of reality
GutenMark, a Project Gutenberg markup program
Books marked preliminary are likely to be of reduced (or even much-reduced) quality, and are in the process of being revised. To view the books, you may need to download the free Acrobat Reader software, if you don't already have it. See also: "The Unofficial Tom Swift Home Page" . Jane Austen (1775-1817) Northanger Abbey (1803, published posthumously; 715K; 391 pages) Sense and Sensibility (1811; 1.1M; 596 pages) Pride and Prejudice (1813; 1.1M; 635 pages) Mansfield Park (1814; 1.4M; 755 pages) Emma (1816; 1.4M; 784 pages) Persuasion (published posthumously; 746K; 402 pages) James Matthew Barrie (1860-1937) L. See also: 221bakerstreet.org and www.bakerstree221b.de . Albert Einstein (1879-1955) Relativity: The Special and General Theory (1920; 596K; 221 pages), translated by Robert W. See also: The Jerome K. If you feel the urge to help, I'd simply ask the following:
100 Amazing How-To Sites to Teach Yourself Anything
Posted by Site Administrator in Online Learning May 7th, 2009 Learning new skills and expanding your knowledge doesn’t have to cost you an arm and a leg. There are loads of free resources on the Web that can help you find instructional videos, tutorials and classes to learn a wide variety of skills from fixing basic car problems to speaking another language. With 100 sites to choose from, you’re bound to find something here that will help you learn just about anything you could want. General Tutorials These sites offer a wide range of tutorials and videos. Around the House Want to know how to fix that broken cabinet or hang up some great wallpaper? Business and Management If you feel like you’re seriously lacking on business and management skills at work, no need to worry. KnowThis? Language and Writing Those who want to learn a new language, improve their writing skills or just learn more about literature will be well-served by these instructional sites. Technology Math S.O.S. Science Creativity
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Being Human: Perception & Sensations
Bio Richard Davidson Neuroscientist Richard Davidson was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine in 2006. His research focuses on correlating emotional states with the brain activity underlying them. Davidson has reached the conclusion that our brain circuitry isn't set in stone: though our emotions are evolved responses, they are remarkably plastic and can be shaped over time. As he says, "I think that what modern neuroscience is teaching us is that, in fact, there is a lot of plasticity, that change is indeed possible, and the evidence is more and more strongly in favor of the importance of environmental influences in shaping brain function and structure and even shaping the expression of our genes." R. Beau Lotto is founder of Lottolab, a hybrid art studio and science lab. Beau Lotto's color games puzzle your vision, but they also spotlight what you can't normally see: how your brain works. V.S. V.S. Encyclopædia Britannica Article human nature