Anythink blog
Review: 'The Devil's Rooming House' by M. William Phelps
Dec 20 2018
I have quite a soft spot for the elderly. Possibly it's because I had the pleasure of growing up with regular contact with both sets of my grandparents (who were amazing people). I also think it's because I was taught to see the value in those in the older generation. They have lived through...
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Must-See Movies of 2018
Dec 17 2018
It’s nearly the beginning of a new year, and that means it’s time to reflect on the past 12 months. Namely, what were your favorite films of 2018?
As Spirit,...
Smith: the best Dickens novel Dickens never wrote
Nov 30 2018
Director Stanley Donen's Charade, the Cary Grant-Audrey Hepburn globetrotting thriller, is often called “...
Death, the Universe, and Everything
Nov 30 2018
A year ago, I lost my father. I don’t mean he was misplaced or that he’s wandering about in a hedge maze or anything – he died. It wasn’t a surprise, he’d been sick for a while. But it was terribly sad. Obviously. In the year since, my family and I have grieved his loss and celebrated his life in a...
Hope and Other Luxuries
Nov 30 2018
"Over the years, my worst fears for my daughter have crystallized into a terrifying daydream, a daydream so frightful that I have never told it to a single human being until now. My daydream is this: I am receiving The Call. A voice is saying, 'I'm so sorry. It's about your daughter,' and I...
Writers on writing
Oct 30 2018
Writers, according to Stephen King, “must do two things above all others. Read a lot and write a lot.” With National Novel Writing Month just around the corner, plenty of people are going to be writing a lot in the coming weeks. But what should they read?
King recommends getting your hands on...
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...
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...