Anythink blog
Team W writes again
Oct 4 2018
I would like to put in a good word for The Glass Ocean, the new novel written by Team W – Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig and Karen White. Sure, these three authors don’t need any words...
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The mysterious Monsieur Maigret
Aug 29 2018
Before I started reading the Maigret books by Georges Simenon, I never really understood the appeal of mystery series.
To be fair, I’m ambivalent on series in general, and have written on this blog before about my enjoyment of self-...
Lenses: Upgrade your mobile phone gear
Aug 21 2018
When it comes to teaching photography in The Studio, we focus heavily on the mobile side of the photography spectrum, mostly because phones these days are so portable, accessible, and their camera specs have improved in leaps and bounds....
Personalized audiobooks and bedtime stories
Jul 30 2018
As we all know, it’s summer, and ever since the public school system as we know it was instituted some 150 years ago, one of the pillars of childhood has been to escape from the classroom as quickly as possible when the school year ends. With summer vacation comes travels away from home, either as...
Summer reads: 'Mostly Void, Partially Stars'
Jul 30 2018
The heat of our fiery sun tends to weaken me this time of year. It's because of this that I harken back to a show I've long loved. It features "a friendly desert community where the sun is hot, the moon is beautiful, and mysterious lights pass overhead while we all pretend to sleep."
Welcome, my...
The Beales still fascinate in 'That Summer'
Jul 30 2018
Three years before the groundbreaking documentary Grey Gardens was released, footage of the now iconic Beales was taken for another project. In the summer of 1972,...
A beginner's guide to Kanopy
Jul 25 2018
The last time I searched for “classic movies” in Netflix I got less than 40 results, and many of the available titles weren’t exactly what I’d consider cinematic masterpieces.The outcome was hardly better when I searched for foreign films. And while Netflix has a decent selection of documentaries,...
Borrowing blue: 4 new picture books
Jul 10 2018
Blue colors the pages of four new picture books in compelling and beautiful ways. In these stories and illustrations, blue is the color of sky and moon, day and night. Notably, it is not really a color associated with sadness here, but rather, one used to express something joyful. Borrowing blue...
Spend your summer under the stars
Jul 2 2018
The summer is my favorite time to stargaze. The winter may offer crisp, clear nights and stunning constellations like Orion and the Pleiades, but in the summer the Milky Way arcs overhead, meteor showers stripe the sky and the balmy temperatures mean all you need is a light jacket to step outside...
Creating double exposure photos with PicsArt
Jun 28 2018
For those of you unfamiliar with the term, a double – or even multiple – exposure is made when a photographer superimposes one negative over another to create a single image. If you’ve ever seen an antique photograph of a transparent, ghostly blur hovering beside someone, then you’re already...
Summer reads: Elmore Leonard
May 31 2018
As the seasons change, so do my reading habits. Dickens is...
Poetry Picks: 'Wild Geese' by Mary Oliver
May 3 2018
The Canadian geese are calling, and I am listening. Their sounds from above recall me to the here and now, to the ground below my feet. The poetry of wild geese in flight has long called out to me, in this way: it reminds me of the present moment and restores me to it. The singular poem, “Wild...
Poetry Picks: 'All' by Bei Dao
Apr 24 2018
Back before my time at Anythink, I was a real nerd. After spending a single hour trying my best not to over-celebrate the fact that I was touching books Benjamin Franklin had set the type for, I realized I needed a job handling this kind of material. And I wanted it right then. And after walking...
Poetry Picks: 'The Wren from Carolina' by Mary Oliver
Apr 20 2018
Like much of Mary Oliver’s work, The Wren from Carolina (text below) speaks to that voice inside all of us that cries out on occasion in soft gratefulness: for the first signs of spring, or the unspoken kind gesture, or perhaps for the comfort of a great book on one’s lap. This poem always makes...
Poetry picks: ‘Daddy’ by Sylvia Plath
Apr 18 2018
I don’t recall the first time I read Sylvia Plath‘s poetry, but I do know that I was likely in my late teens/early 20s and already an enthusiast of the form. I was even a dabbler myself, though the moody and...
Appreciating John Muir
Apr 16 2018
For anyone who likes to see the forest from the trees, stories about John Muir are likely to be a source of interest and inspiration. A bold and attentive naturalist, Muir traveled in and wrote about many of America’s wild places during the second half of the 19th century and the start of the 20th...
5 tips to improve your mobile photography skills
Apr 13 2018
It’s no secret that the digital age has transformed all of us into shutterbugs, which has created an explosion of amateur photojournalists and news anchors across social media. This is a wonderful, beautiful thing, no matter how the naysayers may grumble about the finer points of the subject. The...
Poetry picks: 'Totally' by Tony Hoagland
Apr 10 2018
Throughout April Anythinkers are sharing their favorite poems in honor of National Poetry Month. To start things off, I will discuss one of my all-time favorites: “Totally” by Tony Hoagland.
I first encountered Tony Hoagland’s work in...
Mobile learning: Lynda.com on-the-go with your Anythink card
Apr 9 2018
By now, you may know about one of Anythink's most amazing resources: Lynda.com, a leading online learning platform that helps anyone learn business, software, technology and creative skills to achieve personal and professional goals. Lynda....
'Score': Listening to movies
Apr 2 2018
Try to imagine the shower scene in Psycho without shrieking violins. Or Jaws without the accelerating two-note theme that signals the arrival of the shark. Or Star Wars without blazing brass playing over the main title crawl.
Music and film, according to the recent documentary...