Okay, technically The Silkworm is written under JK Rowling's pseudonym, Robert Galbraith. Rowling published her first crime novel, The Cuckoo's Calling, in 2013 under this pen name. The Cuckoo's Calling received rave reviews when it was first published; critics claimed it was 'hard to believe this is a debut novel' and named Galbraith as an 'author to watch'. When news finally got out that The Cuckoo's Calling was actually Rowling's work, the novel immediately became the number 1 bestseller in the UK.
Now, Rowling is releasing The Silkworm, sequel to the wildly successful The Cuckoo's Calling. This novel will continue to follow the story of Cormoran Strike, a rough and disgruntled (but very loveable) private detective. Strike is called in to investigate the disappearance of a novelist who has just completed a manuscript detailing the life-ruining secrets of everyone he knows. When the novelist is found brutally murdered under bizarre circumstances, Strike must hunt down a unique and ruthless killer.
This sequel to The Cuckoo's Calling will simply be a must-read summer novel. I was never a huge crime/thriller/mystery reader, but anyone who has read the Harry Potter series will know that JK Rowling is a tremendous storyteller. She has an incredible ability to give life to the most unusual but believable characters, and craft make-believe worlds that seem only just beyond our reach. As a Rowling fan, The Cuckoo's Calling and The Silkworm are a must-read. I loved The Cuckoo's Calling because it delved deeply into human character and psychology, focusing equally on the murder mystery at hand and on the lives of those involved. Rowling is also able to command a large cast of unique characters with ease, and the most appealing of these is certainly Cormoran Strike. An Afghanistan veteran and the forgotten illegitimate son of a 70's rock star, Strike is gruff, intimidating, and awkward but as loveable as a teddy bear.
The Silkworm will be released on June 19 in the UK and on June 24 in the US, and is available for pre-order at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
My master's degree graduation is just around the corner, which means there is now less than a month until I will no longer be a student for the first time in my life. Entering the job market and taking on the completely new role of "career woman," as many of our readers know, is one of the largest transitions we make in our lives. Lucky for our generation, we live in an era when there are few barriers to working anywhere in the country or, really, anywhere in the world. At the very least, we can apply for any job in the world we feel we are qualified for. It can be kind of overwhelming, the sheer number of possibilities out there for someone fresh out of school, with few or no major tethers. But it's also so exciting.
Anyways, as my job search continues, I just thought I would share the long list of fantastic job boards that I have encountered. This list is particularly useful for anyone interested in working abroad in fields related to foreign affairs, international relations, conflict resolution, development, or the nonprofit/NGO sector.
As the spring weather starts to wane, and the summer sun gradually breaks through those moody days of cold rain, I have a fantastic novel recommendation.
The novel Orkney by Amy Sackville will whisk you away to a barren island in the farthest northern reaches of Scotland, where an old university professor and his white-haired, pelagic young wife (once his student) hole up in a wind-battered cabin for their honeymoon. While the girl spends her days on the shore, staring out to see, her doting husband watches her more and more frantically, trying to maintain an already-fragile hold on this mysterious woman whom he loves to obsession.
The author's saturated imagery makes the novel seem like poetry in disguise. You will find yourself getting lost in the sound of wind, waves, and water. The voice of the narrator will suck you into his mental web of unquenchable-fixation; and the young woman he has claimed as his own will quickly become just as spellbinding to you as she is to him.
Just to get a sense of Amy Sackville's gorgeous, vivid writing style, here are a couple choice quotes that really lingered with me while I was reading this book:
"She falls asleep instantly; these few nights I have spent with her, she has swum deep before I have even steadied my breath. And as she dreams her submarine dreams I lie beside her, a whale's carcass, a wrecked ship, a vast ribcage in the dark blue deep; and she is a tiny luminescent silver fish, picking me clean, in and out of all that's left of me, bare bones long since freed of flesh or rigging." (61)
"Out at the sea's edge, the water churns over, a static rolling like horses pawing the ground; it comes to her feet in a wash of foam and fret. She is a kind of orphan, a ragged orphan, out there on the beach, as if abandoned. Wilfully abandoned. The forsaken mermen remain in their chariots, observing their daughter, withholding, squinting into the strange glare." (159)
IFP/Chicago and Amnesty International USA invite you to a screening of the critically acclaimed documentary, Beneath the Blindfold, on Monday, April 21, at 7PM at the Claudia Cassidy Theater in the Chicago Cultural Center.
Matilde de la Sierra, whose story is featured in the film, along with Chilean human rights activist and survivor Mario Venegas and Chicago-based filmmakers Ines Sommer and Kathy Berger, will be present for a post-screening Q&A. The event is free and open to the public. No RSVP is required.
Beneath the Blindfold tells the stories of four torture survivors who are among the more than 500,000 survivors who live in the United States. The documentary was heavily lauded in its initial release, with Ben Sachs of the Chicago Reader calling it "The Best Political Documentary of 2012."
Join IFP/Chicago and Amnesty International USA for this powerful documentary and the thought-provoking Q&A that will follow. For more information visit www.ifpchicago.org or emailinfo@ifpchicago.org.
Monday, April 21
Claudia Cassidy Theater at the Chicago Cultural Center
(78 E. Washington St., Chicago, IL 60602)
Doors open at 6:30 PM and screening will begin at 7:00 PM.
At noon, from Petrin Hill you can look out over the city of Prague and listen to its hundreds of bell towers clanging simultaneously. The city of a thousand spires, it's called. The architecture evokes provincial France or Italy, with red shingled roofs and labyrinthine streets that invite you to wander until you completely lose your bearings. Along the river Vltava, however, the colorful, ornate buildings, trees, and hefty old bridges lined with time-blackened sculptures could fool you into thinking you're in Paris. Prague often feels like Paris' shadow-city, a sombre and stubborn city that has remained more intact over the centuries than almost any other city in Europe. Spared the brunt of WWII bombings, it was instead subjected to mental oppression under Communist rule from 1948 to 1989.
Today the Museum of Communism is located right behind a McDonalds. But if you want my pick for the best museum in Prague, go check out the Alfonse Muchy (Alphonse Mucha) Museum. This Czech artist lived an amazing life and defined the style of Art Nouveau, a style which can be spotted all around the city. When you get hungry, if it's early in the day go to Cafe Slavia for breakfast or brunch. In Prague you sit yourself and wait for a waiter or waitress to come to you, so pick a seat by the window. Order their pear crepes (prepare yourself for heaps of whipped cream) and an espresso and sit contemplating the universe for a while. For coffee or an afternoon treat, try either Grand Cafe Orient or Cafe Louvre (the latter was a favorite spot for both Kafka and Einstein). Don't forget to say thank you - "Děkuji."
Of course the Old Town Square and the Astronomical Clock are worth a look, but these places are often packed with tourists and pickpockets so don't linger too long. Wander north from there to find yourself in what used to be the Jewish ghetto, now one of the wealthiest areas of town. The Spanish Synagogue, with its golden Moorish interior, is one of the most beautiful synagogues in Europe and is also a museum where you can learn a great deal about the history of of the Czech Jewish community, including the Nazi occupation and the post-war decades. The Old Jewish Cemetery is right down the road. It contains almost 12,000 tombstones (though the number buried here is over 100,000 - Jews were not allowed to be buried outside the ghetto, so the dead had to be buried on top of one another, up to ten layers deep).
After those incredibly sobering spots, you'll likely just want to walk and be alone with your thoughts. The Knihkupectví Franze Kafky is right across the street from the corner of the Jewish Cemetery, and here you can browse the literature that has come out of Prague over the past century. I bought two of Milan Kundera's books and then walked to Petrin Hill. The park is very, very steep, but the view in the orchards at the top is spectacular. The precisely-lined trees are a bit eerie, especially for those of us who recall Teresa's dream in the book The Unbearable Lightness of Being. But it's a beautiful, peaceful spot meant to be lingered in.
Either before or after Petrin Hill, explore the West Bank near Kampa Island. Kampa itself is beautiful, green, and the site of an interesting art museum with a free outdoor sculpture garden. It includes some giant bronze babies without faces, quite creepy, by the very outspoken Czech artist David Černý. His art is scattered all over the city as urban installments. Back on the mainland, you can walk a bit north to the Franz Kafka museum, outside of which there is another statue of his: a fountain made of two men pissing on the Czech Republic.
Due west of Kampa Island is the Lennon Wall, which should not be missed. It's in a beautiful neighborhood, so take your time. The Lennon Wall is constantly changing as new layers of graffiti are added to it. If your'e lucky, you might get a live performance of "Let It Be" by a random street musician. Prague is quite safe to wander after dark, so take your time finding a place for dinner. Don't be afraid to deviate from your intended path at any point, because the most beautiful corners of this city are the ones you stumble accidentally upon.
I have always wanted a dog that looks like a wolf. Not a wolf-hybrid (because wild animals belong in the wild and not in human homes), but a fully-domesticated breed that simply looks the part. Wouldn't you know it, such breeds exist and are becoming more prevalent by the year! Here are three gorgeous potentials I've discovered:
- Saarloos Wolfhound
Dutch breeder Leendert Saarloos invented this breed in 1935 when he crossed a German Shepherd with a female European Wolf from the Rotterdam Zoo. They need a lot of exercise and the ability to run around on a daily basis. Their "pack instinct" means they'll always try to stick with you, and hate being left alone. This also means they are protective of their owners and shy around strangers. And one last odd trait - they tend to like women more than men!
Tamaskan
This sleddog breed originated in Finland. Though they have no recent wolf ancestry (instead it's related to Siberian Huskies and Alaskan Malamutes), they are a highly intelligent, athletic breed. They are friendly and great with families. They are loyal to their owners and hate being left alone. They were bred to pull sleds, but unlike huskies it doesn't take too much training to get them to stop pulling on the leash and to return when called.
Czechoslovakian Vlcak
This is my favorite of the three. It's a relatively new breed that goes back to a 1955 experiment where German Shepherds were bred with Carpathian wolves. The result? A breed that has the temperament, loyalty, and trainability of a German Shepherd, but looks like a wolf! Originally engineered to be used in military Special Ops, they have garnered more recent attention as search and rescue, herding, tracking, and hunting dogs. In 1982 they were officially recognized as a breed in Czechoslovakia.
I love food blogs. Especially those that are managed by individuals with epic photography and photo editing skills, and who cultivate a cozy, artsy corner emphasizing food presentation and enjoyment. It also helps if the recipes are simple and made up of ingredients you can find in any kitchen.
SOUS STYLE
This is a food snob's version of FoodGawker - the recipes collected here are gorgeous, fancy, delectable, creative, or just plain heavenly to behold. DELICIOUSLY ELLA
"It's all about embracing the incredible foods that your body loves and what you can do with them. It’s truly amazing to see what you can do with these simple ingredients and how you can so easily create an incredibly healthy version of a typically unhealthy dish, from brownies to cheesecake and even pizza!"
MY NEW ROOTS
Natural, healthy eating. And what a gorgeous blog! I love the aesthetic. I also love how she sorts her recipes by season - so great!
THE FIRST MESS
Very laid-back recipe blog that is bursting at the seams with recipes for rainy days.
LOVE AND LEMONS
So much personality! The best part are her graphics - photos adorned with helpful or cheeky text. Love her smoothie recipes! And check out some of her recipe "sets," like easy pita lunch ideas and his and hers sandwiches.
THE FOREST FEAST
"After several years in the big city, I moved to a cabin in the woods of Northern California. Inspired by local ingredients I create simple, beautiful, healthy recipes anyone can make."
TOP WITH CINNAMON
This blogger obviously puts a lot of time and effort into her posts. The result? GIFs that make even this recipe for croissants completely dummy-proof!
A COUPLE COOKS
These recipes will literally make you feel like a Michelin five-star chef! Innovative combinations of everyday ingredients yield easy but impressive results! Fool your friends into thinking you're a professional chef.
101 COOKBOOKS
Pretty much the Bible of food blogs. It speaks for itself.
WHAT KATIE ATE
She's already got two published books of her recipes, so this one kind of speaks for itself. Classic and creative American fare. Great for summer recipe inspiration.
PINCH OF YUM
Cute, bright, upbeat, and also very healthy recipes that are easy and great for entertaining. Most recipes feed a lot of people, so whether you're cooking for family or friends, if there's more than four invited, dig into this blog!
NATURALLY ELLA
Seasonal, easy vegetarian recipes and beautiful photography. I love being able to search by season, and then by ingredient. Beautiful layout.
HAPPYOLKS
This woman just understands me. All of her preferred ingredients are personal favorites of mine, and the recipes area all straightforward yet mouth-watering and original! SCANDI
Recipe indexes in both English and Finnish? I'm sold. Offers loads of traditional Scandanavian recipes, such as Finnish Tippaleipä.
MANGER
This is one you're going to have to work your way up to. Mimi's recipes, coupled with her husband's professional photography, will intimidate the heck out of you. More likely you'll end up immersed in reading her blog posts about life in provincial France and just end up sobbing into a bag of chips.
ALEXANDRA'S KITCHEN
There is so much color to her recipes! If you want something simple but with incredible aesthetic appeal that will impress your friends, look no further! Excellent meat dishes, great for entertaining!
WHAT SHOULD I EAT FOR BREAKFAST
It's my favorite meal of the day too, Marta. :) Also a great guide to eating in Berlin and Barcelona.
THE KITCHN
Single-handedly the most organized in terms of finding a recipe. Some very creative recipes as well - Chilean papaya soup, anyone? PASTRY AFFAIR
This blog is the bane of my existence. The aesthetic, the straightforward ingredients, the photography mixed with inspiring quotes... This is the place I discovered the recipe to end all recipes: this Chocolate Pomegranate Tart.
The 2014 Oscar nominations are live, and we are so excited! There has seriously been an obscene number of fantastic film this year - not that we're complaining! I'm going to try to watch the Oscars from Sweden, which is going to be a pretty ridiculous process as the time difference means they begin at 1am and end at 4:30am on a Monday. HA! Challenge accepted! Here's our shortlist of the awards to pay attention to! I didn't see enough of this year's films to take a swing at guessing the winners. All I can say is this: if "Let It Go" wins the Oscar for Original Song, I will consider the night a success. It would be great as well if the new Hobbit film took the Oscar for visual effects, because I absolutely loved how they created Smaug. Also so so incredibly stoked to see Ellen D. host again!
FILM
12 Years A Slave
American Hustle
Captain Phillips
Gravity
Dallas Buyers Club
Her
Nebraska
Philomena
The Wolf Of Wall Street
DIRECTOR
Steve McQueen - 12 Years A Slave
David O. Russell - American Hustle
Alfonso Cuarón - Gravity
Alexander Payne - Nebraska
Martin Scorsese - The Wolf Of Wall Street
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Eric Warren Singer, David O. Russell - American Hustle
Woody Allen - Blue Jasmine
Bob Nelson - Nebraska
Craig Borten, Melisa Wallack - Dallas Buyers Club
Spike Jonze - Her
ACTOR
Bruce Dern - Nebraska
Chiwetel Ejiofor - 12 Years a Slave
Christian Bale - American Hustle
Leonardo DiCaprio - The Wolf of Wall Street
Matthew McConaughey - Dallas Buyers Club
ACTRESS
Amy Adams - American Hustle
Cate Blanchett - Blue Jasmine
Meryl Streep - August: Osage County
Judi Dench - Philomena
Sandra Bullock - Gravity
SUPPORTING ACTOR
Barkhad Abdi - Captain Phillips
Bradley Cooper - American Hustle
Michael Fassbender - 12 Years a Slave
Jonah Hill - The Wolf Of Wall Street
Jared Leto - Dallas Buyers Club
SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Jennifer Lawrence - American Hustle
Julia Roberts - August: Osage County
Lupita Nyong'o - 12 Years a Slave
Sally Hawkins - Blue Jasmine
June Squibb - Nebraska
ANIMATED FILM
The Croods
Despicable Me 2
Ernest & Celestine
Frozen
The Wind Rises
ORIGINAL SCORE
Philomena - Alexandre Desplat
The Book Thief - John Williams
Gravity - Steven Price
Saving Mr. Banks - Thomas Newman
Her - William Butler, Owen Pallett
ORIGINAL SONG
'Alone Yet Not Alone' - Alone Yet Not Alone
'Happy' - Despicable Me 2
'Let It Go' - Frozen
'The Moon Song' - Her
'Ordinary Love' - Mandela: The Long Walk To Freedom
COSTUME DESIGN
American Hustle - Michael Wilkinson
The Great Gatsby - Catherine Martin
The Invisible Woman - Michael O’Connor
The Grandmaster - William Chang Suk Ping
12 Years A Slave - Patricia Norris
VISUAL EFFECTS
Gravity - Tim Webber, Chris Lawrence, David Shirk, Neil Corbould, Nikki Penny
The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug - Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton, Eric Reynolds
Iron Man 3 - Bryan Grill, Christopher Townsend, Guy Williams, Dan Sudick
Star Trek Into Darkness - Ben Grossmann, Burt Dalton, Patrick Tubach, Roger Guyett
The Lone Ranger - Tim Alexander, Gary Brozenich, Edson Williams, John Frazier
Today, Zabelieth officially reached 10,000 total views! We are elated and humbled! Thank you all so much for visiting us and reading all about our endeavours. Eli and I have so much fun writing for Zabelieth, and through this blog, we have the opportunity to explore many diverse topics and ideas. Thank you, readers, for your support, and please come back for more!!
I don't know if it's just me getting older, or if it's actually a trend, but it seems like showing less skin is increasingly sexy! One-piece swimsuits are making a comeback, being perceived as a classier, sexier alternative to the now-commonplace bikini. Though they may not help with tan lines (with some of the cut-out swimsuits, you'll get some quite interesting patterns!), one-piece swimsuits are the top choice in beachwear this summer.
Here are a few of our favourite styles. Some are designer suits (and therefore quite expensive) and others are fit for everyday use.
This is an incredible book. It completely lacks the traditional structure of a novel - the reader is taken into story after story in abrupt bursts, and then becomes the protagonist of the story himself/herself! The feeling of being drawn into a tale, only to have it abruptly taken away without giving you an ending or any resolution whatsoever... this is just one of many odd psychological tricks Calvino pulls on his readers. Ultimately this novel is about reading, about the relationship between readers and their novels. Sounds like it would give you a headache, but it's actually an absolute thrill to read! I have to share my favorite quotes from this must-read. Enjoy! "...then a kind of weariness settles on her, perhaps only the shadow of their weariness (or my weariness, or yours). They have known her since she was a girl, they know everything there is to know about her, some of them may have been involved with her, now water under the bridge, over and done with; in other words, there is a veil of other images that settles on her image and blurs it, a weight of memories that keep me from seeing her as a person seen for the first time, other people's memories suspended like the smoke under the lamps." 19
"This is how you have changed yesterday, you who insisted you preferred a book, something solid, which lies before you, easily defined, enjoyed without risks, to a real-life experience, always elusive, discontinuous, debated." 32
"But how to establish the exact moment in which a story begins? Everything has already begun before, the first line of the first page of every novel refers to something that has already happened outside the book. Or else the real story is the one that begins ten or a hundred pages further on, and everything that precedes it is only a prologue. The lives of individuals of the human race form a constant plot, in which every attempt to isolate one piece of living that has a meaning separate from the rest--for example, the meeting of two people, which will become decisive for both--must bear in mind that each of the two brings with himself a texture of events, environments, other people, and that from the meeting in turn, other stories will be derived which will break off from their common story." 153
"If one wanted to depict the whole thing graphically, every episode, with its climax, would require a three-dimensional model, perhaps four-dimensional, or, rather, no model: every experience is unrepeatable. What makes lovemaking and reading resemble each other most is that within both of them times and spaces open, different from measurable time and space." 156
"At other times, on the contrary, I seem to understand that between the book to be written and things that already exist there can be only a kind of complementary relationship: the book should be the written counterpart of the unwritten world; its subject should be what does not exist and cannot exist except when written, but whose absence is obscurely felt by that which exists, in its own incompleteness." 172
"If a book truly interests me, I cannot follow it for more than a few lines before my mind, having seized on a thought that the text suggests to it, or a feeling, or a question, or an image, goes off on a tangent and springs from thought to thought, from image to image, in an itinerary of reasonings and fantasies that I feel the need to pursue to the end, moving away from the book until I have lost sight of it. The stimulus of reading is indispensable to me, and of meaty reading, even if, of every book, I manage to read no more than a few pages. But those few pages already enclose for me whole universes, which I can never exhaust." 254
The world of beer is diverse and complex, and yields an incredible range of tastes, flavours, and varieties. However, if your beer history is limited to Michelob Ultra and Budweiser, you're only experiencing a teensy portion of the beer universe. And, quite frankly, a very poor sampling of the beer universe! Mass-produced beers are meant to appeal to everyone, so they are usually extremely drinkable and cheap. Most have very little flavour or body. Instead of trudging over to grab the usual, boring six-pack of Miller Lite at a gas station, why not expand your beer knowledge a little bit? As opposed to the mass-market beers produced by corporate Anheuser-Busch and the like, craft beers are developed in small quantities by independently owned microbreweries. Craft beers are extremely diverse, encompassing every brewing style and flavour, so you are guaranteed to find something you like! Anything is possible with craft beers. As opposed to beer giants, craft breweries love to experiment with unique flavours: from blueberry wheat to oyster stout to banana bread beer, there are some weird but delicious options out there.
However, craft brews may be more difficult to find and more expensive than corporate-brewery beers. Grocery stores (especially specialty stores and Trader Joe's) and wine/beer shops are your bets for finding good craft beer. I get most of my new and unusual beers from a small wine shop in town. But don't be deterred! It's definitely worth the hunt to discover delicious new brews!
Here I've included a brief guide to developing a taste for craft beer. If you're used to drinking something commonplace, I recommend the types of beer that may appeal to your taste, but will offer more variety and flavour. The availability of individual craft beers is going to depend on where you are, but just keep an eye out for the type that you're interested in, with an unknown and unusual label! Be adventurous! Many 'lite'-beer drinkers may be pleasantly surprised by some of the 'heavier' beers further down on the scale. The darker beers (brown ales, bocks and dobbelbocks, and some porters and stouts) are actually very smooth and easy to drink. Some are a little sweet! Don't be intimidated by the colour of the beer. In fact, the most 'difficult to drink' (bitter) beers - pale ales - are very light in colour.
If you usually drink Bud Lite, Miller Lite, Michelob Ultra... Try a LIGHT LAGER, KOLSCH, PILSNER, or WITBIER.
If you usually drink Stella Artois or Corona... Try a PALE ALE, INDIA PALE ALE, or ENGLISH BITTER. My favourites: Lagunitas Sucks Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA (very bitter!)
If you usually drink Blue Moon... Try a SAISON, HEFEWEISSEN, or WEISSBIER.
If you usually drink Guinness... Try a STOUT (flavoured stouts include smoked stout, cream stout, oatmeal, and espresso), PORTER (flavoured porters include chocolate, vanilla, chocolate milk, etc.), SCHWARZBIER, or DOPPELBOCK. My favourites: New Holland Dragon's Milk Stout Williamsburg Alewerks Coffeehouse Stout Starr Hill Snow Blind Doppelbock Warning: these darker beers usually have a significantly higher alcohol content than lighter beers (many average around 9-12% ABV), so be careful if you're accustomed to drinker a large amount of 'lite' beer! In addition, a fun app to check out is Untappd, which allows you to 'check in' and rate any new beers you've tried. The app will recommend new brews that you may like depending on your taste, and tell you where you can find them! Enjoy!!
Could you do it? It's unbelievable how heavily today's social interactions rely on this website. A theme of 2013 has been the invasion of privacy, but what's interesting is how much people freely give up their own information. How much is the NSA gathering that we don't already post for the world to see on websites like this? Social media is fantastic, but when your current boss can see all of your photos from high school... that's a little weird. Rather than spend hours fiddling with privacy settings and figuring out what friends should have access to what, I've made it my first task of 2014 to disconnect completely from Facebook. From now on I will reach out to friends personally to find out what's going on in their lives. I'll hear their life updates from their own lips. Instagram and Twitter will suffice for sharing photos, big news, and random links. The rest will be up to me, using good old phone and email to keep in touch with friends. For those bold (some would say crazy) souls who want to get out of Facebook as smoothly as possible, here you go:
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STEP 1: Do a sweep of your Friends list. This is the most time-consuming step, but I feel it's necessary. When I decided to delete my account, I had over 600 friends which spanned more than a decade of my life. In about two hours I was able to halve that number. You know how you look on Facebook and get a little ego boost when you see how many friends you have? Yeah, that's really not accurate, it turns out. Because half of these people were people I (1) rarely, if ever, had an entire conversation with, (2) knew briefly but not well because they were just part of the wider group I was in, or (3) couldn't even remember the names of... seriously, I had no recollection of about 35 people's names and faces. I even had (I kid you not) two Facebook accounts for people that don't even exist... one was for a giant Barbie doll. So, it's not hard to get your friends down to a more manageable number. The great part of this exercise is that you'll end up with a fantastic list of the people you really do care about keeping in your life (imo, quality is always better than quantity).
STEP 2: Explain how you're not going to fall off the face of the earth. Your remaining friends deserve a head's up, and if you want to make sure that they'll still be able to reach you, this step is vital (Isn't it crazy to think how many people we would have no way of getting in touch with if Facebook didn't exist?). It might be easier to divide who's left into groups based on how you know them. I found it easiest to send a message to all my high school/hometown friends first, then college, etc. Explain why you're closing your Facebook out, because if you don't you're going to get asked by everyone. More importantly, let them know how you can still be reached. In my message, I said that I hoped they would all connect with me on LinkedIn, gave them both my professional and personal email addresses, and also gave them my Skype username.
STEP 3: Leave notice on Group boards. Were you in a sorority in college? Do you have a Facebook group for your classmates from your semester abroad? It's definitely worth it to take a moment to leave a quick "Hey, just a head's up I'm deleting my Facebook account, you can reach me here and here now, and I hope you'll reach out." It just says that you still want to be in the loop, that you don't want to lose the friendships and connections you've cultivated there. If there are individuals you really want to make sure you can stay connected with, then be sure to reach out to them on an individual basis - a group board isn't the place to do that. For group boards, just think of it as leaving a change of address notice. ;) STEP 4: Download all your information. Download all your information. Facebook has this nifty feature I just discovered. Under General Account Settings there is a small, nondescript link that says "Download a copy of your Facebook data." You'll get an email with a link and then you'll spend about 15 minutes to half an hour or more waiting for a giant file with ALL your Facebook information to download. I literally mean ALL: it includes your chat/messages history; everything you've ever posted or liked or even hidden; all your photos, friends (including requests and even removed/deleted friends), and phone numbers; anything that was ever posted or liked by others on your Wall; anything you ever shared or searched; and all your status updates and recent activity. The one thing it doesn't include is photos you're tagged in that belong to other people, but you can grab every photo you're tagged in with PhotoGrabber.
STEP 5: Delete your account. The moment is here! If you have trouble finding the button to delete your Facebook, you can just click this link and it will take you there directly (once you're logged in). Remember, this is not the same as deactivating your account, which is what you should do if you just want a break from the website. If you're having major doubts at this point, definitely consider just deactivating, because once you delete your account, you'll have to completely start from scratch should you decide to return. Not that starting fresh on Facebook is a bad thing; in fact, that might be just what you need!
STEP 6: Give your social media a makeover. You now have the ability to completely reevaluate how and through what social media you wish to network yourself. Why not write a long email, or even a handwritten letter, to a friend you realized you hadn't talked to in ages while you were going through your Facebook friends. Meanwhile, update your LinkedIn and make sure that you've reconnected with any business-related Facebook friends. When it comes to your public face, keep Tweets, Instagram photos, etc. professional. It's a clean slate; just think how much more personal you'll be now that you have to do a little extra work to maintain connections - perhaps it seems like you're going back to basics, but in the long run you'll end up with deeper, more lasting personal and professional relationships than you would be just clicking "Add."
The Van Cleef & Arpels line of watches has awed me for some time now, and with each new collection, my obsession only grows. I was lucky enough to view their showroom at Harrod's in London this summer; I always have to remind myself that they actually produce fantastic jewellery as well as watches, but for me, the watches take centre stage. There is nothing on Earth like them.
For example, the watch on the left is the Midnight Planetarium Poetic Complication watch, which displays the planets of the solar system as they orbit the Sun. Each of the planets rotate exactly as they do in their actual orbits: this means that it will take nearly thirty years for Saturn to make one round of the dial! The time of day on Earth is shown by a shooting star on the edge of dial. This masterpiece costs $245,000-330,000 (depending on whether you want diamonds or not), so start saving now.....
Van Cleef & Arpels was founded in 1895 in Paris and is known for its whimsical use of precious stones in fine jewellery and watches. They've been producing some of the most imaginative wearable works of art possible for more than a hundred years. They're also known for perfecting the 'Mystery Setting' technique, where individual stones are hand grooved to fit into a mesh of gold or platinum (rather than prongs). To me, it simply has to be magic, because I can't understand how human hands can produce things this beautiful.
Below are a few of my favourite individual watches and collections. You'll see the Five Weeks in a Balloon watch, in which the hot air balloon's anchor swings around the dial to indicate the time; the Midnight in Paris watch, which displays the night sky in Paris; the Palais de la Chance collection (which was inspired by luck and the zodiac, as you will see); and the Polar Landscapes collection. There are many, many more, but I find these the most breathtaking.
This is a video describing the movement of the Poetic Wish watches, in which a young man and woman indicate the time of day by moving forward towards the Paris sky to make a wish.
So even though I may never be able to afford any of these (most cost around $100,000), I just can't help but feel awed that such beautiful miniature works of art can be made by hand. These little pieces have moved watch-making to a new, wondrous level, and as an artist, I find them so inspiring!
The skill, depth, and scope of JRR Tolkien's masterful writings are known worldwide. Tolkien is commonly acknowledged as one of the best fantasy authors in history, and his stories are cherished by millions. Eli and I certainly count ourselves among his most ardent fans. But even I didn't realise until recently that, on top of his skill as a writer, Tolkien was an incredibly accomplished artist as well.
Before my trip to the United Kingdom last summer, I was only ever familiar with Tolkien's map-making skills (which are awe-inspiring, particularly to a writer who tried to draw her own fantasy maps!) and the few rough sketches I had seen in various editions of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. However, when Eli and I were wandering around Oxford University last August, we happened across a dark little gallery featuring the original artwork of JRR Tolkien, CS Lewis, and Philip Pullman... and at once my eyes were opened to Tolkien's extraordinary skill as an artist.
Tolkien (who lived from 1892 to 1973) grew up and spent most of his life in England. He was deeply interested in languages, storytelling, and artwork even as a small child, and he self-illustrated his stories from a young age. He sketched little scenes for his children as an adult, and we see the culmination of this skill in the artwork dedicated to Middle Earth, his creative masterpiece.
Eli and I were able to see several hand-painted originals in the gallery at Oxford, including 'Conversation with Smaug', 'Bilbo and the Eagle', 'The Trolls', and the 'Map of the Wilderland'. The most spectacular moment for me, though, was standing before the hand-drawn original covers that Tolkien designed for the Lord of the Rings trilogy. In the slideshow below, you'll see all of these pieces, along with many other illustrations that allowed Tolkien to express Middle Earth as he saw it.
Tolkien's preferred medium was watercolour, though even his ink-drawing of The Trolls is fantastic. If you're interested in a comprehensive review of Tolkien's artwork, check out JRR Tolkien: Artist and Illustrator (published by HarperCollins and Houghton Mifflin in 1995). As ever, my respect and awe of JRR Tolkien continues to grow.
You probably wouldn't guess that the movie to surpass The Lion King as the highest-grossing Disney-produced film of all time, win a Golden Globe, and knock Beyonce out of the number 1 spot on Billboard 200-album sales chart was a little-advertised 2013 film about two sisters living in Norway. But here it is, and Frozen has far surpassed expectations worldwide. In fact, it's now competing with Toy Story and Finding Nemo in terms of gross earnings and popularity.
Frozen is loosely based on the traditional fairy tale of 'The Ice Queen.' It is set in a small kingdom amidst the beautiful Nordic fjords. Two sisters, Elsa and Anna, are young princesses; the elder, Elsa, is heir to the throne. The two are best friends as children and have a deeply caring relationship. However, Elsa was born with the power to create ice and snow, and the sisters' relationship is shattered when Elsa almost kills little Anna on accident when they are playing. As they grow up, Elsa withdraws, keeping herself as far from Anna as she can, in fear that her powers will hurt Anna again. The rest of their story follows Anna's attempts to reforge her relationship with her sister and find true love.
There are two main themes that the film imparts to its viewers in this story. The first is shown through Elsa's internal battle with her inherent powers. Because they once hurt Anna, she believes they are a terrible curse and does everything she can to hide them. But eventually, Elsa's powers grow stronger, and she can't keep them hidden. When the truth finally comes out, Elsa is forced to abandon her home. Once in exile, Elsa sees for the first time that this integral part of her, which she always believed was a curse, can actually be incredibly beautiful and life-giving. In Idina Menzel's fantastic musical number, we see Elsa embracing her gift and coming to terms with who she is after years of anguish and self-hatred. This theme impresses upon viewers one of life's most important lessons: no matter what society and your peers believe, you are who you are, and you can only find happiness and love when you embrace this. Don't try to hide the things you are afraid of, or think are embarrassing, or that may set you apart. This aspect might be the most beautiful part of yourself, the thing you are most passionate about. 'Let it go' and be who you truly want to be!
'Let It Go' by Idina Menzel
The film's second theme deals with Anna, as a young woman, trying to find true love. Possibly my favourite part of the film comes when Anna meets and instantly falls for handsome Prince Hans. In typical Disney princess fashion, the two catch each other's eye, get to know a teensy bit about each other via musical number, and then believe they are desperately in love and wish to be married at once. Anna and Hans immediately go to Elsa to ask for her blessing, to which Elsa realistically responds: 'You can't marry a man you just met.' And later, when Anna teams up with down-to-earth mountain-man Kristoff, he splutters: 'Wait, you mean to tell me you got engaged to someone you just met that day?! Who marries a man they just met?!' After decades of the true-love-at-first-sight/first-kiss rubbish from Disney, and in an age when many young people consider true love and marriage without a second thought, this blast of reality is brilliantly refreshing. And it doesn't stop there. Anna discovers that Kristoff, who is ungainly, relatively unattractive, and rough around the edges, may actually be the man for her instead of 'perfect' Prince Hans. I like that this encourages children and young adults to see beyond people's appearances and place value in personality and character. Maybe the best person for you isn't necessarily the most handsome or suave one. And that's fine!
The critical point of the film centres around 'true love's kiss'. Anna finds herself once again in mortal danger, and believes that only an act of true love can save her life. And here's a SPOILER: though Anna turns first to Prince Hans, then to Kristoff, to find true love, she ultimately discovers that the love she feels for her sister Elsa, which remained under the surface after many years of separation and misunderstanding, is the true love that is strong enough to save her. I honestly believe that this message, that 'true love' can be felt for your family or even friends, is the most important lesson of the film. This message comes during a time when sex and attracting others is the predominant theme across every type of media, especially for young adults and even (less directly) for children. My little sisters, who are eight and nine, often have to have a boyfriend or husband or Prince Charming involved as they're playing. I remember being boyfriend-husband-prince oriented as a little girl too. But why does a child need a Prince Charming at that age? In fact, why do you need a Prince Charming at any age? Yes, I believe people can derive great happiness from finding a partner to share their lives with. However, childhood development should not be oriented around attracting the opposite sex. Children - and adults - should focus on overcoming their weaknesses, honing their strengths, loving those around them, and discovering and embracing who they are. This is just what Frozen reminds us to do. And Elsa and Anna's relationship tells us that true love does not have to just be found through Prince Charming, but for friends and family too.
On top of these more serious themes, Frozen is great fun to watch overall, for kids and adults alike. The setting and animation is beautiful. The secondary characters are wonderful. The silly snowman Olaf gives kids plenty of laughs but imparts some wisdom, too: 'Love is putting someone else's needs before yours.' To me, the most hilarious interactions are between Kristoff and his loyal reindeer buddy, Sven. There's also a conspicuous side-villain (the major of Weaseltown, obviously) and a overly-friendly family of trolls.
I haven't heard a bad thing about this film yet - there have been rave reviews from children and adults alike. In Frozen we find more wisdom and truth than most other animated children's films put together. Hands down, this is the best story Disney has come out with in quite a while, so please go and see for yourself!
Frozen will be released in the US on DVD/Blu-Ray on March 18.
