The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal’s Islands of Adventure just sold its millionth butterbeer, which creates a nice segue into two burning questions about the Hogsmeade brew of choice: Does it contain butter? Does it contain beer? No on both counts. Having a son who’s ragingly allergic to dairy, I shook down several […]
Continue ReadingMost people of my generation and the one which has come after have acted out scenes from Star Wars, or made up their own. Light sabers have been prominent parts of those scenes. Often robes have been worn. Spoken, Yoda language has been. Admit it. Done it, you have. The Lim family went a few […]
Continue ReadingStarting this Friday, February 4th, is the second season of NBC’s wonderful show, Who Do You Think You Are?, put together by Executive Producer Lisa Kudrow. It’s a genealogy show, with each episode tracing a branch of one famous person’s family tree. As a very amateurish genealogist myself, I loved watching the first season, seeing […]
Continue ReadingTraditionally, science-fiction revolves around action rather than drama, humour rather than tragedy. Whilst deaths are commonplace in a genre filled with space battles and horrifying creatures, truly emotional moments are much harder to come by, but that’s not to say they do not exist: far from it. Below is my personal top ten tear-jerking moments […]
Continue ReadingWhen we heard (nearly a year ago) that Jake Shimabukuro would be presenting at TED Talks we didn’t know that we’d have to wait this long to actually see his performance. But it was worth the wait. The recently released video proves once again that the possibilities for the ‘ukulele are almost endless. Case in […]
Continue ReadingInspired by the White House’s “Educate to Innovate” campaign, the Joan Cooney Ganz Center issued this challenge: design a mobile app that engages kids while teaching them the STEM skills: Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. Developers were invited to enter prototypes to win the National STEM Video Game Challenge, with a prize of $50,000 towards […]
Continue ReadingI am a voracious reader and am always on the look out for new books that I can read. I tend to gravitate toward the same kinds of books however, and am trying to expand my horizons beyond historical ficiton, vampire novels, and Harry Potter. A friend of mine recently recommended the Divine series by […]
Continue ReadingAs a new mum and a compulsive reader, I’m beginning to feel concerned about the lack of cool moms “role models” in literature, especially geeky literature like fantasy, comic books and so on. Are you feeling the same? Even in books I love, even with authors who build great female characters, I find very few […]
Continue ReadingDesign a planet with the help of NASA.
Continue ReadingAmy Chua’s latest book has certainly been causing quite a stir, hasn’t it? I’ve come across several opinion and editorial articles on CNN.com. Ms. Chua herself has been making the rounds through the media trying to provide some clarification in the wake of a very controversial Wall Street Journal essay, which brought the world’s attention to the book just […]
Continue ReadingCorrina Lawson has signed a contract with Samhain Publishing to publish her book, Phoenix Rising, a modern-day superhero adventure story with a dash of romance. It will be out later this year. More information on the book and her other writings can be found at her website, www.corrinalawson.wordpress.com. Amy Kraft helped design the new Scholastic […]
Continue Reading“I’m hoping you can love me for the nerdy girl I am and accept all my unconventional quirks.”
Continue ReadingMy son is an avid reader and loves to recommend books for me. I have a love of young adult novels, so I’m usually happy to hear his recommendations and give them a try. Several months ago he insisted I read Life As We Knew It. When I picked it up, though, I felt like […]
Continue ReadingWonder Woman, the Amazon warrior princess, defined female power decades before Xena became a pop-culture phenomenon. As beautiful as she is strong, Wonder Woman is also known for her extraordinary mental powers, including wisdom, profound scientific insight, and fluency in all languages, including Martian. (Who knew? A little quick research revealed she’s also been known to speak caveman.)
Continue ReadingAnand Giridharadas, a columnist for both the International Herald Tribune and New York Times Online, was a guest on Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show recently to promote his new book, India Calling. The book chronicles first-generation-American Giridharadas’ changing attitude toward India–how a country that he once looked upon as “a place that it felt better […]
Continue ReadingA Present for Milo takes full advantage of the iPad’s interactive playground, perfectly blending story, animation, sound, and game-like exploration. The good news for readers is Milo is helping define an emerging art form, the story app.
Continue ReadingI’m not sure what kind of geeky conversations go on in your households, but a common lament in my house is the lack of quality zombie apps on the market. Rather than listening to this diatribe yet again, I suggested that my son write it all down. Here’s his take on the state of the […]
Continue ReadingGet busy with snow-related science, art, history, and silliness.
Continue ReadingThe mouse dioramas in Dinner For Schmucks led me to learn more about anthropomorphic taxidermy.
Continue ReadingEver wondered how filmmakers create the sound effects for movies? I mean, those zombies can’t really be ripping out someone’s stomach, right? Film sound designer Tim Prebble demonstrates some techniques in this completely G-rated video. I just hope he composts all of his “victims.” Via Good
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