The Storytelling Animal: 4 questions for Jonathan Gottschall
Have you heard the one about . . . ? Chances are, by the time you’ve reached this blog post, you’ve already heard dozens of stories in your day. Before you go to sleep, you’ll encounter dozens more. And you might desire some of these stories so deeply that you’ll pay for them. As a […]
Games, not grades!
If you’re interested in education, motivation, or doing right by our kids, you owe it to yourself to watch this Edutopia interview with James Paul Gee.In eleven minutes, he offers an array of compelling insights, including: How games, unlike schools, avoid the mistake of separating learning and assessment, Why we should use textbooks the same way […]
Telling stories in new ways
Did Tomas Nilson just tell the entire Little Red Riding Hood story using nothing but infographics?You’re damn right he did. Just watch below. (via Flowing Data)
Six-word stories: An invitation
Last year, in a Pink blog entry on the fabulous book
Are you ready for the 50-word challenge?
Daily Lit is one of my favorite sites. Sign up for a free subscription — and DL will send bite-sized installments of literature to your email, RSS, or mobile phone.But now the folks at Daily Lit have challenged their readers to also become writers by crafting “mini-sagas” — short stories that are exactly 50 words […]
The six-word Inaugural Address
First came six-word autobiographies. Now Smith Magazine and the National Constitution Center are teaming up to collect suggestions for six words to inspire President-elect Obama and perhaps to include in his Inaugural Address. Here are some possibilities, both my own and selections from the Smith web site: Today the American story begins anew. We can, […]
Now *this* is a viral video
Earlier tonight, Drayton Foltz sent me this video. (Some of you might have received your own version of it, too.) It’s one of the most brilliant pieces of marketing I’ve seen this year.
Four words, no waiting
First came six-word autobiographies. Now come even more succinct movie reviews.The web site, The Four Word Film Review, is collecting opinions and summarizes of your favorite flicks rendered in no more than a quartet of words. Here are two reviews of “The Incredibles,” (one of the very few kids’ movies I actually enjoyed): Liability issues ground superheroes. The Simpsons in […]
Six word stories can say lots.
Sometimes when I go out and talk about the ideas in AWNM, I have time do some exercises with the audience. And one of my new favorites is the six-word memoir,which helps demonstrate and hone the power of story. The idea comes from the endlessly entertaining book, Not Quite What I Was Planning, in which people famous […]