“Books. People never really stop loving books,” said the Doctor in BBC’s hit show Doctor Who. In this episode, the Doctor and his companion travel hundreds of years into the future to the universe’s biggest library and find that, even in the future, we still love reading and sharing knowledge and ideas. And those people who love libraries and love reading also love [...]
If you’ve ever tried to read one of George R. R. Martin’s books in his Song of Ice and Fire series, then you know it’s going to take some time, as the books are typically over a thousand pages long. Even reading newspaper articles or Facebook updates, let alone full–length novels, can be difficult to fit into a busy schedule. With so many [...]
In recent years, The Hunger Games’ “girl on fire” has quickly replaced Harry Potter’s “the boy who lived” in popularity. And, let’s not forget, in between these there was Twilight’s “the vampire who sparkled.” While fantasy and teen paranormal romance are still selling books (the Harry Potter books have just been released with new cover designs ) the current trend in novels has [...]
“Come with me.” These are the words that Carl Sagan told us on his PBS miniseries Cosmos: A Personal Voyage as we set off on an adventure to discover what mysteries lie in the depths of space, the earth and humanity. Sadly, Sagan passed away in 1996, but he made his mark. Sagan took us on a journey to educate people on complex scientific matters [...]
When I was a kid, the best days in school were always the days we would build something in science class. I still remember the day we learned about solids and liquids by making Oobleck, a non-Newtonian fluid. The concoction was a cornstarch-and-water mix that was a solid when you rolled the mess in between your hands but turned into a liquid as soon [...]
The Great Recession of 2008 that rocked the United States for more than a year made many aspects of life difficult for Americans, including the decision to attend a four-year college program. With college tuition prices mounting, it was helpful for many that there was also an increase in the amount of federal aid offered during the time of and right after the [...]
In 2010, Kentucky was the first state to implement the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) into its classrooms. Since then, students have had to adapt to a new way of learning, and for some, this adaptation isn’t happening fast enough, causing some reservations and confusion about CCSS. While CCSS does mandate a standard of education across the states that are adopting it, it is [...]
A recent game developed by No Crusts Interactive and released on the iTunes App store is an endless runner that is a little different than your average smartphone app. Stride & Prejudice combines the mechanics of an endless runner with the entire text of Jane Austen’s beloved Pride and Prejudice. The player controls the character, Elizabeth Bennet, as she runs across the screen. Below her, also scrolling sideways [...]
Whenever my father gives a book as a gift, especially if the book’s recipient is a fan of the author, he will write something funny on the book’s title page and sign it as if it is from the author. While no one who receives these books is fooled by my father’s joke, the recipient still appreciates the idea of the author signing [...]