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classicalliberalleague · 8 years ago

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@NAC you had a list of books on your old page of recommended readings...but I can't find it now. Could you repost it?

I assume you mean this one ( I have this list on my web page with links included for the public domain stuff I could find…I try to keep it updated as I think of new things or find new ones.)

Young adult/childrenThe Little Prince by Saint-ExuperyWhere the sidewalk ends by SilversteinElla Minnow Pea by DunnSophie’s World by GaarderThe Great Good Thing by TownleyThe Jungle Book by Kipling Bridge to Terabithia by DiamondThe Westing Game by RaskingLillies of the Field by BarrettFlowers for Algernon by KeyesThe Wrinkle in Time Series(Wrinkle In Time, Wind in the Door, A Swiftly Tilting Planet) by Madeleine L’EngleThe Dark is Rising Series by Susan CooperThe Tripod Trilogy by John ChristopherThe Hobbit by TolkienCoraline by Neil GaimanEyes of the Dragon by Stephen KingThe Original Shanara Trilogy (Sword, Elfstones, Wishsong) and Landover (Magic Kingdom for Sale, SOLD!, The Black Unicorn, Wizard at Large, The Tangle Box) by Terry Brooks by Elizabeth GeorgeThe Witch of Blackbird PondAdventures of Tom Sawyer by Twain

Literature Winter’s Tale, A Soldier of the Great War, Freddy & Frederika by Mark HelprinShakespeare (Especially Othello, King Lear, Much Ado About Nothing, Twelfth Night, Tempest, Henry IV parts 1 & 2, Henry V, sonnets) Iliad Odyssey by Homer (I like the Fagles translation)Sophocles–Oedipus Trilogy , , Philoctetes , Women of Trachis Orestia by Aeschylus Medea by Euripides Victor HugoLes Miserables The Hunchback of Notre Dam by Hugo A Tale of Two Cities by Dickens To Kill A Mockingbird by LeeWuthering Heights by Emily Bronte Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte Complete works of Faulkner ( esp.The Sound and the Fury, Light in August) by FaulknerHoward’s End by Forster Diary of a Young Girl by FrankThe Scarlet Letter by Hawthorne Catch 22 by HellerGone with the Wind by MitchellFrankenstein by Shelley The Portrait of Dorian Gray , Importance of Being Earnest , An Ideal Husband by WildeThe Time Machine by Wells A Raisin in the Sun by HansberryNight by WieselThe Glass Menagerie by WilliamsThe Devil’s Disciple by ShawA Man for All Seasons by BoltCyrano de Bergerac by Ronstad (unless you speak French only the Hooker translation)Dracula by Stoker Inherit the Wind by Lawrence and LeeMagnificent Obsession by DouglasSilas Marner by George Eliot Decameron –Boccaccio A Modest Proposal—SwiftSelf-Reliance, The American Scholar, Experience—EmersonUp from Slavery—Booker T. Washington

PhilosophyA History of Knowledge by Van DorenThe Cave and the Light by HermanPlato (Euthyphro , Apology , Gorgias , Crito, Phaedo , Symposium , Republic )Aristotle (Metaphysics , Nicomachean Ethics , Eudemian Ethics , Politics , Rhetoric , Poetics )The History of Philosophy by CoplestonDiscourses on Livy by Machiavelli Ethical and Political Writings of St. Thomas AquinasAristotle for Everybody, 10 Philosophical Mistakes, The Great Ideas, How to Read A Book by AdlerCicero (On the Gods , On Duties , 1st and 2nd Philippics Superheroes and Philosophy edited by MorrisBuffy The Vampire Slayer and Philosophy edited by South

HistoryHistory of the Ancient World, Medieval World, Renaissance World by Susan Wise BauerThe Forgotten Man, Coolidge by ShlaesHistory of the Peloponnesian Wars by Thucydides John Adams by McCulloughFrom Dawn to Decadence by BarzunPlutarch’s Lives Cicero, Augustus by EverittLetters of John and Abigail Adams Washington by Ron ChernowThe Glorious Cause by Robert MiddlekauffLost Enlightenment by StarrReagan’s War by SchweizerPatriot’s History of the United States by Schweikart and AllenThe closing of the Muslim Mind by ReillyThe Rise and Fall of the Third Reich

Economics/PoliticsWho Really Cares and The Road to Freedom by Arthur BrooksThe World is Flat by Thomas FriedmanDave Barry Hits Below the Beltway by BarryDemocracy in America by de Tocqueville The Law by Bastiat The Upside of Down by McArdkeSpirit of the Laws The Federalist Papers Adam Smith (Theory of Moral Development , Wealth of Nations )My Journey by BlairThe Conscience of a Conservative by GoldwaterLocke (Second Treatise of Government , A Letter Concerning Tolerance )Parliament of Whores, Eat the Rich, On Wealth, Peace Kills by O’RourkeIn Defense of Globalization by BhagwatiNovus Ordo Seclorum by McDonaldBasic Economics, Civil Rights by SowellThe Next 100 Years by FriedmanThe Mystery of Capital by de SotoThe Road to Serfdom by HayekCapitalism and Freedom and Free to Choose by FriedmanNew Threats To Freedom edited by BellowA Philosophical Enquiry into the Sublime and Beautiful; Reflections on the Revolution in France by BurkeThe General Theory by KeynesThe Origins of Political Order, Political Order and Decay by FukuyamaBourgeois Virtues, Bourgeois Equality, Bourgeois Dignity by Deirdre McCloskeyCapital by Marx The Conservative Mind by Kirk

Other nonfictionPower of Myth by Joseph CampbellThe Universe in a Nutshell by HawkingFreakanomics by Levitt & DubnerThe Art of War by Sun TzuScratch beginnings by ShepardThe Tao of Physics by CapraShadowplay by AsquithHuman Excellence by MuarryThe Better Angles of Our Nature by Pinker48 Laws of Power by GreeneThe Story of Western Science by Bauer

Pleasure readingMan in the High Castle by DickBeat to Quarters, Ship of the Line, Flying Colours by ForesterThe Road to Gandolfo, Bourne Trilogy by LudlumBig Trouble by BarryEaters of the Dead, State of Fear by CrichtonRed Storm Rising by ClancyI, Claudius by GravesThe Walking Drum by L’AmourGates of Fire by PressfieldThe Scarlet Pimpernel by Ozcry It and The Green Mile by KingThe Agony and the Ecstasy by StonePillars of the Earth by FollettThe Historian by KostovaGrail Quest by CornwallThe Thirteenth Tale by StterfieldLamb, The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove, Vampire Trilogy, The Stupidest Angel and Fool by Moore

Sci fi/Fantasy Mists of Avalon, The Forrest House by Marion Zimmer BradleyThe Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan (et. al)Dune Series by Frank Herbert (et. al)The Sword of Truth Series by Terry GoodkindWorks of Robert Heinlein (esp. Stranger in a Strange Land, Puppet Master, Starship Troopers, Moon is a Harsh Mistress, and Double Star)Good Omens by Gaiman and PratchettWatership Down by AdamsEnder’s Game by CardAmerican Gods by GaimanAnthem, Atlas Shrugged by RandHitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Adams1984 by George Orwell2001–Clarke

Spiritual The Robe by DouglasLost Horizon by HiltonGod Talks with Arjuna: The Bhagavad Gita by YoganadaThe Second Coming of Christ by YoganandaThe Tao Te Ching (best to read at least two translations)The Alchemist, Veronica Decides to Die by CoelhoAutobiography of a Yogi by YoganandaEvidence of the Afterlife by LongA Course in MiraclesThe Messengers by IngramThe Celestine Prophecy by RedfieldLife before Life by TuckerJonathan Livingston Seagull and Illusions by BachSiddartha by HesseKoranThe Book of CertitudeHoly BibleBook of Mormon

PoetryThe Prophet, The Broken Wings, Song of Man by GibranLeaves of Grass by Whitman (esp. Preface, Song of Myself, I hear America Singing, Corinna’s Going A-Maying,When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer, O Me! O Life!, O Captain! My Captain!)Works of Tennyson (especially The Lady of Shalott, Ulysses, Charge of the Light Brigade, For I dipped into the Future, In Memoriam A.H.H., Crossing the Bar, Ulysses)Works of T.S. Eliot (especially The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, Wasteland, Hollow Men, Preludes-, Four Quartets)Divine Comedy by Dante (I like the Mandelbaum translation) Metamorphoses by Ovid Hesperides and Nobel Numbers by Herrick (esp. To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time, Argument of his book, Delight in Disorder, To His Conscience, Upon Julia’s ClothesFaust by Goethe Part I Part II Works of Sappho, Hafiz, Rumi, Li Po, Tu Fu (best to read several translations)Tagore (esp. Gitanjali)Spencer– Amoretti (Sonnets 1,8, 10, 35, 37, 67,68, 70,75, 79)Sidney —Astrophil & Stella (Sonnets 1,6,9,15, 31,39,45,52,69,71,72,87,89,108)The Passionate Shepherd to His Love—MarloweThe Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd—RaleighShakespeare’s Sonnets (all them)Meditation 17, Holy Sonnet 10, The Bait—DonneTo a Mouse, To a Louse, Auld Lang Syne. A Red Red Rose–BurnsThe Lamb, The Tyger—BlakeRime of the Ancient Mariner, Kubla Khan—ColeridgeShe Walks in Beauty Like the Night, When We Two Parted, Darkness, We’ll Go No More A Roving, When A Man Hath No Freedom to Fight for at Home—ByronA Little Learning is a Dangerous Thing—PopeThe Measure of a Man—UnknownInvictus–HenleyPrayer of St. Francis of Assisi—Unknown (but probably not St. Francis)Ozymandias, The Flight of Love, To—, —ShellyOde on a Grecian Urn, La Belle Dame Sans Merci—KeatsSea Fever–MasefieldMy Last Duchess, Andrea del Sarto, Soliloquy of the Spanish Cloister—BrowningSonnet 43—Barret BrowningRemember, Up-hill, Echo, Promises like Pie-Crust, Lord thou thyself art love,—C.G. RossettiSudden Light, The House of Life, Soul’s Beauty—D.G. RossettiThe New Colossus–LazarusSecond Coming, Sailing to Byzantium, When you are Old, Lake Island of Inishfree—YeatsDo Not Go Gentle Into that Good Night—ThomasWork—Angela MorganThe Highwayman–NoyesCasey at Bat—ThayerJabberwocy, Walrus and the Carpenter, The Hunting of the Snark–CarrollDream Deferred, I too sing America– HughesThe Road Not Taken, Birches, Mending Wall, Fire and Ice, Out, Out–Frost

Short StoriesWilde (The Carterville ghost , The model millionaire , The nightingale and the rose )Poe (Masque of the Red Death . Tell tale heart , Cask of Amontillado , Fall of the house if of usher , The Purloined Letter ,The Thousand and Second Tale of Scheherazade , Pit and the Pendulum , Mertzengerstein , The Duc De L’omlette , The black cat , The Murders of the Rue Morgue , Van Kempelen and his discovery , Mesmeric revelation )Hawthorne (My Kinsman Major Molineux , Young Goodman Brown , Rappacini’s Daughter , Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment , The Snow Image , The Minister’s Black Veil , The Maypole of Merry Mount , The Celestial Railroad , Sister Years , The New Adam and Eve , The Artist of the Beautiful )O. Henry ( Lickpenny Lover , The Gift of the Magi ,After Twenty Years , The Last Leaf , The Cop and the Anthem , The Clarion Call , The Skylight Room , The Buyer from Cactus City , The Duplicity of the Hargraves , The Furnished Room , Witches loaves , The Third Ingredient , Spring time a la Carte , The Green Door , By Courier, The Romance of the Busy Broker, One Thousand Dollars, Tobin’s Palm)Lovecraft—(The Cats of Ultar , The Outsider , Beyond the wall of sleep , Hypnos , The call of Cuthulu , Dunwich horror , Dagon)EM Forrester (The Other side of the Hedge , The Machine Stops )Edith Wharton –The fullness of life Collins–Mr. Lismore and the Widow Bradbury—Exiles, Sound of thunderHans Christian Anderson –( In a thousand years , Little mermaid )Ambrose Bierce–Occurrence at owl creek bridgeConnell–The most dangerous game Thousand and One nights–Aladdin and his magic lamp The necklace by Maupassant Anthony Hope–The Philosophy in the Apple Orchard Doyle (The Red Headed League , Scandal in Bohemia)Gilman–The Yellow Wallpaper Harrison Bergeron by VonnegutThe story of an hour by Kate Chopin The Lottery by Shirley Jackson Rikki tiki tavi by KiplingThe ones who walk away from Omelas by Le Guin Bartley the scrivener by MelvilleThe lady or the tiger by Frank Stockton Abbot–FlatlandJericho Road by Henry van dyke Henlein– (The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag, All you zombies, By his bootstraps, Waldo, Beyond this horizon)Philip K. Dick (We can remember it for you wholesale, Paycheck, Second Variety, The Minority Report, The Golden Man, Variable Man)William Faulkner (A Rose for Emily, The Tall Men, Shingles for the Lord, Shall not Perish, Elly, Uncle Willy, That will be Fine, That Evening Sun, Red Leaves, A Justice, A Courtship, Lo!, Ad Astra, All the Dead Pilots, Wash, Mountain Victory, Beyond)Mark Twain (The celebrated jumping frog of Calaveras County, Diary of Adam and Eve)Washington Irving (Sleepy Hollow, , The Devil and Tom Walker )Gelett Burgess–The number Thirteen , The MacDougal street affair Lord Dunsany– The bureau d’exchange de Maux , The Exiles club , The Sword of Walleran The mortal immortal byMary Shelly The Adventure of the Snowing Globe By F. AnsteyThe Sleeper and Spindle by GaimanMark Helprin (Katherine comes to yellow sky, Ellis island, Tamar)

PodcastsThe History of Rome, Revolutions

#books #book recommendations #literature #reading #book lovers

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elleleuthold · 8 years ago

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Get to know the writer:

I was tagged by @caffeinewitchcraft in the Writer’s info meme. Thanks, this was fun!

1. Name?

Elle. It’s been a nickname for a while, and is now a penname.

2. Five words that describe your writing?

A mess of character emotions.

3. Literature / art / films you’d recommend?

I always have trouble with this question. But if you like history, I recommend Lies My Teacher Told Me by James Lowen for American history, and I just got Rejected Princesses for Christmas and am quite enjoying it. In fiction, I heartily recommend the Discworld series (don’t feel like you have to go chronologically) and Every Heart A Doorway (<3 multiple worlds and an ace protagonist). For classic fantasy, I go Belgariad for the cleanest, clearest hero’s journey I have ever read, and for classic sci-fi I’ll say the Ender’s Game series, because it was the first to really open my eyes to the ways adult actions and popular narratives shape children/the future. If I had to choose only one book to read over and over forever it would be Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. My favorite short stories are You, an Accidental Astronaut by Sonja Natasha (@heysonjanatasha), and How to Become a Robot in 12 Easy Steps by A. Merc Rustad (just go read all their stuff). My favorite poet is Richard Siken; Crush destroys me every time I pick it up.

I’ve also read a lot of good books this fall (I started following @lgbtqreads, @disabilityinkidlit and @richincolor which are great if you’re looking for more diverse options). Lies We Tell Ourselves is a really impactful story about desegregation, racism and lesbian coming-of-age in the South; Not Otherwise Specified is Contemporary YA about a black bi girl in Nebraska and I loved it to pieces, and I’ve been reading the Wings of Fire series at work, which is a highly-addictive kids series about dragons and prophecies.

Gah, this is turning into an essay, um. I like a lot of art, but I am terrible about remembering pieces or artists. The stuff I like best usually has evocative linework and minimal, but bright, colors. For film, I’ll say Avatar: The Last Airbender, Ghost in the Shell (the anime, subbed), Steven Universe and the first two seasons of Elementary. Also Life, by NBC (it’s on Netflix), which is the best detective show I have ever seen, hands down. Characters, writing, plot, music, cinematography, everything is amazing. I also play a lot of Dragon Age and Mass Effect, which are games where you fight against injustice and other threats the government refuses to acknowledge exist, and also you can kiss love interests of whatever gender you feel like.

4. Images, symbols, and settings you associate with your work?

Smooth, damp rocks by the riverside, a blank sketchbook page and a cheap pen, too many research tabs in the browser, worn book spines, copper glinting in sunlight and the wind in my face. Also, I seem to write a lot stories that involve escaping various types of prisons for some reason.

5. Themes / concepts you are hesitant to write about?

Abuse and assault, and also non-mainstream-American/English/Japanese cultures, mostly because I’m afraid of getting things wrong. I very much want to write a multiplicity of situations and cultures but am still mostly in the research stage. On the abuse and assault topic, I am also squeamish.

6. What would you tell someone who’s nervous about starting out?

Everyone’s nervous. The greatest writers you idolize have self-doubt. You gotta start anyway, because no one else can tell the stories you can. Start with whatever your favorite pet idea is. Frame it in words. Get it on paper. But don’t confine yourself to that. Write it when it’s fun, and write other stuff the rest of the time. You might need to practice more to really do it justice, and that’s okay. Take prompts, write sprints and drabbles and fanfic and poetry. Do NaNo, enter challenges with daunting deadlines. But above all else, finish a story. However long, however short. Finish something. I learned more from finishing one piece and editing it than writing 100 unfinished snippets, and each successive piece I finish adds to that knowledge.

And if you’re comfortable, post it. If you’re not, share it with someone, even if it’s unfinished and you’re just stuck. An alpha reader, a beta editor. Ask your friends and followers to look at a carefully controlled google doc. Ask me. If I can’t look something over for you myself I’ll do my best to put you in touch with someone who can. Writing gets about 1000 times more fun when you’re not doing it in a vacuum.

7. Three of your writings you’d recommend to people who’d like to know more about you?

Well, I haven’t posted much here yet! But this faerie snippet is based on my favorite fairy tale ever, The Ballad of Tam Lin (the original has some skeevy bits but I have a few novel adaptations I adore), bridesmaid is probably the most personal of what I’ve posted so far, and Exit Arc is the most polished piece. I’ve been writing in fandom for years (Heroes, Doctor Who, Marvel, Band of Brothers, etc), but I’m trying to keep this account just slightly separate from my fanworks. If you’re interested in my fics, I’d be happy to share that info via ask or message.

8. What pushes you to keep writing?

I’ve learned in the last few years that words are even more important than I realized, and stories are on a whole level above that. I spent a few years in academia, and a few years in magazine editing, and while I still loved words in the end, those experiences conspired to convince me that words were infinitely mutable and no story could be true in any lasting way. But then I started working in schools, with kids of every age between six and 18, and I could see, again, how important words were, and how much impact stories could have. I started reading more nonfiction and stories other than fanfiction again. And I looked at the state of published fiction and determined that most of it is not a vision of the world I want those kids to grow up with. Most published fiction I see on shelves and in magazines doesn’t even represent my own generation, let alone theirs. Things are getting better, more inclusive and representative, but a lot of publishing companies are run by people like my old boss, who gladhand around in an exclusively white, straight and male club and think that trying new things and helping people achieve their dreams should take a distant backseat to making money.

So I guess what I’m saying here is that what drives me is a desire to see more stories that reflect a world I want to live in, where people who haven’t been traditionally recognized in popular literature not only exist, but go on adventures and save the world, because everyone should have access to that dream. I want more stories about hope and friendship and the importance of taking care of ourselves and standing up for each other, because we need more of that in the world. I want to see more stories that break genre barriers and refuse to follow the same old patterns, and stories that actively criticize those patterns, because those are the stories that teach people to think outside prescribed lines. And I can’t sit here, feeling these things, and not contribute.

and i will tag... @fontess, @mm-mendell and @eggletine (only if you feel like it, of course!)

#about elle #tag meme #about writing

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hellosaltysaladcollectionstuff · 6 years ago

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WHAT CAN MOVIES teach us about writing?

I think about this question a lot, in part because I have the unique luck to teach a graduate workshop called Creative Critical Writing in the Media Arts + Practice program in the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California. The intention of the class was to loosen up our PhD students as they embark on their dissertations. Faced with an immense project that requires integrating critical theory with their own particular art practice, my students sometimes freeze, especially with regard to the writing portion of the endeavor. Even bold artists are prone to headlong retreat, letting a sea of other voices overwhelm what they might have to say about their own work.

The writing workshop shakes things up a bit. It is willfully impractical and playful; I refuse to discuss how to make an argument, cite a source, or review the literature. In place of citation, we shamelessly borrow and steal. And rather than consider bolstering a disciplinary system through proper academic behavior, we revel in undoing, unmaking, unraveling. We talk about voice by whispering and screaming. We feel the punch of punctuation. We chant our favorite words until they dissolve into meaninglessness. We get a little feral and we write and write and write.

And, because we are within the cinematic arts, I bring out the movies. This is one of the best parts of the workshop. Below, I offer a few examples of how we borrow techniques from moving images to catalyze and even reimagine our writing practice.

Erase!

“Automatic Writing” | William Kentridge | 2003 | 3:00

South African artist William Kentridge has created a series of short animated films in which he draws a scene with charcoal, then smudges and erases portions of the picture, captures a film frame, and then redraws over the rubbed out image, before capturing yet another frame. Through this painstaking process of sketching, erasure, and redrawing frame by frame, a world emerges and then fades away, only to materialize again, but changed. Traces of the past remain in the flux of marking and making.

Our example in class is Automatic Writing, Kentridge’s beautiful 2003 film in which we watch the play of appearance and dissolution as the artist conjures buildings, a fountain, a living room, and a nude woman, among other things. Images and scenes appear and then dissolve into the next sequence, the black marks rubbed to a dull gray. At one point, the only movement in a room stuffed with furniture comes from the flickering fins of fish in a bowl. The film also includes abundant amounts of handwriting — words, scribbles, diagrams — and it is as if we are moving through the quickly paced reveries of a distracted mind.

After viewing Automatic Writing, the participants in the workshop talk about the artist’s process, which suggests the messiness of writing, to be sure. We also discuss the technique of automatic writing, derived from Surrealism, in which writers register their thoughts without pausing for a set amount of time, allowing the unconscious to reveal itself. But more than either of these motifs, the film seems to embody the mercurial flow of writing, the ways in which writing can only be achieved through the fundamental act of putting pencil to paper (or fingers to keyboard). Further, while we may sit down to write something — a poem about love, perhaps — if we let it, the writing will scurry elsewhere. Kentridge may know where he is going, but moment by moment, the drawing is in a state of becoming indelibly tied to what was previously on the page. And it is this becoming-writing that is so magical. Finally, the film underscores the idea that erasure may be as significant, if not more so, than the writing itself. This is a challenging lesson for academic writers, who are encouraged to go long and dense. But elision and cutting away can render a lean, or perhaps elliptical, piece.

Limit!

“A Man and His Dog Out for Air” | Robert Breer | 1957 | 2:00

The flowing contour drawing created by American animator Robert Breer in his extraordinary 1957 short film A Man and His Dog Out for Air restricts its perspective to a small area of the screen, revealing only a tiny bit of the world at a time. As the constantly moving, black hand-drawn lines morph and twist, they begin to disclose an entire streetscape, and slowly, we glean that there is indeed a man and a dog out for air. However, the setting and our characters appear only through a limited point of view, ever so gradually.

The visual illustration of how to restrict point of view is another welcome tool for writing. Breer cleverly narrows the horizon in his film to pique our interest; we are called on to solve the mystery of the story unfolding before us. In fiction, this technique can bring us in close to characters as we witness only what they see and hear. In nonfiction, we can be limited to the view of our narrator, and to powerful effect. The world becomes quite close and intimate.

Look!

“Hand Movie” | Yvonne Rainer | 1966 | 8:00

Filmmaker, dancer, and choreographer Yvonne Rainer has made an extraordinary collection of films, the earliest of which is simply titled Hand Movie. Created as an experiment, the eight-minute piece was shot in 8mm black-and-white film in 1966 by fellow artist William Davis and features footage only of Rainer’s hand held up in front of the camera. The hand begins to move, with the fingers bending, wrapping, pushing, and rubbing throughout the full duration of the film. The hand gradually transforms from a familiar body part to some strangely contorted and even grotesque shape before resolving back into its simple hand-ness. It is nearly impossible to watch Hand Movie without feeling the hand’s movements in your own body.

Inspired by Rainer’s focus, what can you discern through absolute attention to one thing? It may be a part of your body, or it may be some other material object. Can you bring discipline and extreme patience to the act of looking at what is before you and writing what you perceive? Can you let go of assumptions, names, and categories and let the thing’s thingness become strange and new to you?

Stop and Circle!

“Play>>” | Liisa Lounila | 2003 | 5:00

One of the most dazzling cinematic techniques in recent film history involves slowing time down in order to circle a specific moment. Time, in a sense, becomes space. Known as bullet-time, the filmmaking technique was perhaps most famously used in The Matrix in 1999, when Neo (Keanu Reeves) dodges a bullet, which he sees coming toward him in slow motion, while the camera arcs up and around him in a balletic swoop. To create the bullet-time effect, filmmakers stage an array of cameras around the scene to be filmed, often in a semi-circle. The cameras are triggered simultaneously, capturing an instant on each. Then, in post-production, the images from each camera are stitched together and — voila! — a single moment in time can be moved through spatially. We travel around the scene, sweeping through the space of a moment.

Bullet-time has a rich history prior to The Matrix, from the sequential images captured by photographer Eadweard Muybridge to the playful distortions of time and space in the music videos of Michel Gondry, but for our purposes, it serves as yet another visualization of a writing technique. In class, I use the work of Finnish video artist Liisa Lounila, who has made a handful of intriguing bullet-time short films using pinhole cameras. In Play >> (2003), for example, the camera seems to prowl through a gathering of young revelers carousing at a party. However, the celebration remains eerily suspended in time. We move, but nothing else does in the scene; through this meandering, however, we have time to learn more about the quiescent scene around us.

Translating bullet-time to our writing, we can analogously stop a scene and move through it more slowly, stepping outside the flow of the narrative in order to reflect and elaborate. We can also shift our attention, moving from one topic or object to another, or shift point of view, examining the world from changing narratorial perspectives. Imagine walking through the scene in slow motion and looking around the slowed unfolding of the event: what else might be visible?

Steal!

Removed | Naomi Uman | 1999 | 7:00

In her 1999 film Removed, filmmaker Naomi Uman took a segment of found porn footage, painted nail polish over everything but the images of the nude female bodies, and then doused the polished footage in bleach, thereby removing only the unpolished imagery. The result is a porn film in which the body of the woman disappears. In its place is a writhing, pulsing washed-out shape, the absence that conditions the rest of the image. Removed lets us see the footage anew; things that we may have ignored in the unadulterated imagery now become visible.

How can we use this technique in our writing? Of course, appropriated texts provide rich resources, and the borrowed form is a well-known device in both fiction and nonfiction. In addition, Uman’s clever play of covering one portion of the image and then dissolving a different segment suggests a manner of both safeguarding and destroying our source material. If you appropriate a piece of text, what elements can be “covered” and the rest “dissolved”? And how does removal forever change what remains?

Many writers cheerfully sit down and write without a problem. However, some of us can use a little help in the form of techniques that defamiliarize the writing process. Through tactics culled from fellow artists, we can step outside of our habitual approaches and play a bit, and perhaps see the world — and write it — anew.

Holly Willis teaches classes in writing, film, and new media in the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California.

Banner image from Automatic Writing.

The post Teaching with Film appeared first on Los Angeles Review of Books.

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how2to18 · 6 years ago

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WHAT CAN MOVIES teach us about writing?

Erase!

“Automatic Writing” | William Kentridge | 2003 | 3:00

Limit!

“A Man and His Dog Out for Air” | Robert Breer | 1957 | 2:00

Look!

“Hand Movie” | Yvonne Rainer | 1966 | 8:00

Stop and Circle!

“Play>>” | Liisa Lounila | 2003 | 5:00

Steal!

Removed | Naomi Uman | 1999 | 7:00

Holly Willis teaches classes in writing, film, and new media in the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California.

Banner image from Automatic Writing.

The post Teaching with Film appeared first on Los Angeles Review of Books.

from Los Angeles Review of Books https://ift.tt/2FDTHNh via IFTTT

#Blogger

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topmixtrends · 6 years ago

Link

WHAT CAN MOVIES teach us about writing?

Erase!

“Automatic Writing” | William Kentridge | 2003 | 3:00

Limit!

“A Man and His Dog Out for Air” | Robert Breer | 1957 | 2:00

Look!

“Hand Movie” | Yvonne Rainer | 1966 | 8:00

Stop and Circle!

“Play>>” | Liisa Lounila | 2003 | 5:00

Steal!

Removed | Naomi Uman | 1999 | 7:00

Holly Willis teaches classes in writing, film, and new media in the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California.

Banner image from Automatic Writing.

The post Teaching with Film appeared first on Los Angeles Review of Books.

from Los Angeles Review of Books https://ift.tt/2FDTHNh

#Los Angeles Review of Books #topmixtrends

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johnchiarello · 8 years ago

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Thursday

THURSDAY

Isaiah 13:2 Lift ye up a banner upon the high mountain, exalt the voice unto them, shake the hand, that they may go into the gates of the nobles.

Motorcycle crash-

https://youtu.be/UQ8v1U0jp2U

http://wp.me/a4V5qQ-EI

Acts 14:2

But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles, and made their minds evil affected against the brethren.

Trumps history on race-

https://youtu.be/EQHJqrc8qGY

https://ccoutreach87.com/8-17-17-turmps-history-on-race/

Micah 6:9

The Lord's voice crieth unto the city, and the man of wisdom shall see thy name: hear ye the rod, and who hath appointed it.

Good view-

https://youtu.be/DaKTKnKBYms

https://ccoutreach87.com/8-17-17-good-view/

Genesis 1:2

And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

Rockport criminal cop backed by Mayor and Police force-

https://youtu.be/4NLzLBbiMm8

https://ccoutreach87.com/8-17-17-rockport-cop-mayor-and-police-chief-defend-the-criminal-cop/

NEWS LINKS- [Verses below]

http://www.kztv10.com/story/36154278/aransas-county-da-dont-accept-cases-from-rockport-police-department

http://www.kiiitv.com/news/local/ccpd-motorcycle-officer-involved-in-accident-on-spid/464870913

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Marx

http://www.nationalreview.com/article/450498/domestic-terror-threats-media-mislead-alt-right-leftists-anti-cop-jihadists

http://www.inquisitr.com/3364881/is-donald-trump-actually-racist-or-does-the-media-just-paint-him-that-way/

http://www.timesgazette.com/opinion/10253/hillarys-health-trumps-racism

http://www.cnn.com/2017/08/17/europe/barcelona-spain-van-latest/index.html

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/08/17/injuries-reported-after-vehicle-hits-people-in-barcelona-plaza.html

NOTES-

The big news today was the terrorist vehicle killing in Barcelona- as of now I haven’t done a video talking about that one. If I do- it will be on here when I post. I added some news links above on it- and if you simply look at the front page of the various news sites- it obviously is huge world news- TERROR! TERROR STRIKES!

Now- what would the news be if someone in a car accidentally drove into a crowd- and killed 13 people?

You would have heard about it- but that would be it.

Yet on talk radio- on all the news outlets- this story will be huge for days.

The market lost a ton of money today- down about 270 points.

I actually tried to google ‘how much money did the market lose- today’. No results.

Then I added today’s date- still nothing.

Hmm?

I’m sure I could find it straight from a financial site- but figured the financial world does not want the public to know- that millions/billions of your dollars can be lost- if one affiliated terrorist simply kills people with his car.

In a way- we- the media- have empowered radical groups to control the world financial markets- by simply killing people with a car- which is quite an easy thing to do.

We have shown them- that if they do it- it will rock the world for days.

They no longer need planes flown into buildings- or bombs snuck into a airport.

No- all they have to do- is drive a van into a crowd of people- and it will shake the world.

Something- isn’t it?

Yes- lets all pray for the families of the victims- lets also pray for the many Africans- kids as well- who die on a daily basis by groups like this.

Or those who are dying as migrants trying to escape civil wars in their own countries.

Or those in Venezuela who are on the brink of collapse as I write.

Yes- pray for all the families of victims all over the world- the many that never even make it into the fine print of the paper.

Yes- remember them too on this day- while the world media will be doing non stop coverage of the Innocent victims who died in Barcelona on this tragic day.

And sad to say- because of this coverage- you can be sure it will happen again.

TRUMP- Though not a ‘Trump supporter’ [I did not vote for him] I have found it sad to see so many in the nation think he is one of the worst racists- ever.

I have told some of these people that as a political observer- Trump is much more ‘liberal’ than many establishment Republicans. I have tried to explain to them that Trump is viewed as more of a north eastern Republican than what some deem ‘the good old southern boys’ [to many- the southern Republicans are seen as racist].

So- I find it sad that the main stream media simply ignores their past track record on Trump. The media themselves have seen Trump as a ‘non-racist’ person in the past. I add the section below just so you could read Trumps past record with the media themselves.

Despite current accusations to the contrary, President Trump has an over 30 year record of rejecting racism.

1986: Trump, Rosa Parks, Muhammad Ali Receive ‘Ellis Island’ Award

As the New York Times reported on October 16, 1986:

Eighty Americans from 42 ethnic groups were named yesterday as recipients of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor by the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation.

The medals will be presented to the recipients, all either naturalized or native Americans, at a ceremony Oct. 27 on Ellis Island. That is the day before the 100th anniversary of the dedication of the Statue of Liberty, the final event of the 1986 Liberty Centennial observances.

The National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations presents the awards based on “integrity, passion, gravitas, humanitarian and ethnic heritage.”

If Trump’s a racist, why would he accept an award alongside civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks?

1991: Trump “Hates Seeing” What David Duke Surging in Politics Represents

In an interview on Larry King Live on November 19, 1991, Trump said he “hated seeing” what the strong political support of white nationalist David Duke meant in Louisiana, which was suffering a deep depression at the time.

KING: Did the David Duke thing bother you? Fifty-five percent of the whites in Louisiana voted for him.

Mr. TRUMP: I hate –

KING: Four hundred New Yorkers contributed.

Mr. TRUMP: I hate seeing what it represents, but I guess it just shows there’s a lot of hostility in this country. There’s a tremendous amount of hostility in the United States.

KING: Anger?

Mr. TRUMP: It’s anger. I mean, that’s an anger vote. People are angry about what’s happened. People are angry about the jobs. If you look at Louisiana, they’re really in deep trouble. When you talk about the East Coast – It’s not the East Coast. It’s the East Coast, the middle coast, the West Coast –

KING: If he runs and Pat Buchanan runs, might you see a really divided vote?

Mr. TRUMP: Well, I think if they run, or even if David Duke- I mean, George Bush was very, very strong against David Duke. I think if he had it to do again, he might not have gotten involved in that campaign because I think David Duke now, if he runs, takes away almost exclusively Bush votes and then a guy like Cuomo runs- I think Cuomo can win the election.

KING: But Bush morally had to come out against him.

Mr. TRUMP: I think Bush had to come out against him. I think Bush- If David Duke runs, David Duke is going to get a lot of votes. Whether that be good or bad, David Duke is going to get a lot of votes. Pat Buchanan – who really has many of the same theories, except it’s in a better package – Pat Buchanan is going to take a lot of votes away from George Bush. So if you have these two guys running, or even one of them running, I think George Bush could be in big trouble.

A Feb. 16, 1989, article from the New York Times explained more:

With a runoff election set for Saturday to fill a seat in the state House of Representatives, David Duke, the 38-year old former grand wizard of the sKnights of the Ku Klux Klan, and John Treen, a 63-year-old long active in the Republican Party, are both predicting victory.

[…]

On the surface, the race in this New Orleans suburb may look like a throwback to an uglier era of racial politics in the South. In fact, almost everything is strikingly contemporary about Mr. Duke – from his ease in front of the television cameras, to his blend of carefully couched racial issues and antitax fervor, to the deep-seated frustrations he is tapping amid Louisiana’s depressed economy.

If some of his support reflects blatant racism, much of it comes from working people convinced that politics as usual has failed to serve the white working class.

It’s ironic how the New York Times was more fair to David Duke than Trump was.

1997: Anti-Defamation League Praises Trump

On April 30, 1997, the Wall Street Journal reported on Trump’s purchase of the famous Mar-a-Largo club in Palm Beach, Florida, and how he opened up the club to Jews and African-Americans, putting him at odds against rival clubs in Palm Beach:

The culture clash began to approach a climax last fall, when Mr. Trump’s lawyer sent members of the town council a copy of the film “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner,” a film that deals with upper-class racism.

Mr. Trump then approached the town council about lifting the restrictions that had been placed on the club. He also asked some council members not to vote on the request because their membership in other clubs created a conflict of interest.

Last December, after the council refused to lift the restrictions, Mr. Trump filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Palm Beach, alleging that the town was discriminating against Mar-a-Lago, in part because it is open to Jews and African-Americans. The suit seeks $100 million in damages.

The former head of the ADL, Abraham Foxman, showered Trump with praise, as the WSJ reported:

Mr. Foxman seems pleased that Mr. Trump has elevated the issue of discriminatory policies at social clubs.

“He put the light on Palm Beach,” Mr. Foxman says. “Not on the beauty and the glitter, but on its seamier side of discrimination. It has an impact.”

In recent weeks, Mr. Foxman says, the league has received calls from Jewish residents telling of how Palm Beach clubs are changing.

2000: Trump Calls David Duke “a Bigot, a Racist and a Problem”

During a NBC interview aired on Feb. 14, 2000, Trump blasted Duke when explaining why he was leaving the Reform Party:

MATT LAUER: When you say the Party is self-destructing, what do you see as the biggest problem with the Reform Party right now?

Mr. TRUMP: Well, you’ve got David Duke just joined–a bigot, a racist, a problem. I mean, this is not exactly the people you want in your party. Buchanan’s a disaster as we’ve, you know, covered. Jesse’s a terrific guy who just left the Party. And he, you know, it’s unfortunate, but he just left the Party. He’s going to be doing his Independence Party from Minnesota. And he’s a terrific guy and a terrific governor, and he’s got a great future. And I’ve always said, Matt, that I would run if I thought I could win, and in order to win…

LAUER: Not only the nomination, but the presidency.

Mr. TRUMP: …the whole thing. I don’t want to get 20 percent of the vote, I think I could, and I know I could get the nomination. New York wants me. Texas wants me. Many of the states want me. And they’re, you know, they’re rather devastated because they don’t like the alternatives. I always said, and I said to you if you can win the whole thing, you can only win the whole thing with a totally unified party.

2008: Trump Helps African-American Jennifer Hudson After Her Family is Murdered

Jennifer Hudson, a singer who rose to prominence after an an appearance on American Idol, suffered an immense tragedy when three of her family members were murdered.

In the aftermath, Trump offered to put up up at the Trump International Hotel & Tower in Chicago free of charge, as reported by NBC:

“They are safe,” Trump told People on Monday night. “She’s a great girl and we’re protecting them well.”

According to E! Online, Hudson has been staying at the hotel since arriving in Chicago on October 24 – the day her mother, Darnell Donerson, and brother, Jason Hudson, were found murdered, and her nephew, Julian King, was found missing.

Since checking into the hotel, the Oscar winner and former “American Idol” star has rarely left the hotel.

“She is still in shock,” a source told E!. “She hasn’t gone out much at all and has a lot of security around her.”

2015: Trump Doesn’t Want Duke’s Support

About two months into Trump’s campaign for the White House, he publicly said he didn’t want Duke’s support.

According to CBS:

Trump was asked Wednesday about Duke’s praise, and he distanced himself from the white supremacist.

“I don’t need his endorsement; I certainly wouldn’t want his endorsement,” Trump said during an interview with Bloomberg News on Wednesday. “I don’t need anyone’s endorsement.”

When he was asked whether he would flat-out reject Duke’s support, Trump replied, “Sure, I would if that would make you feel better.”

He wasn’t surprised by Duke’s kind words, however.

“A lot of people like me,” Trump explained. “Republicans like me, liberals like me. Everybody likes me.”

2016: Trump Disavows Racist Elements of so-called “Alt-Right”

Not long after winning the presidency, Trump disavowed the racist elements of what the mainstream media termed the “alt-right.”

From CNN on Nov. 23, 2016:

“I don’t want to energize the group, and I disavow the group,” Trump told a group of New York Times reporters and columnists during a meeting at the newspaper’s headquarters in New York.

“It’s not a group I want to energize, and if they are energized, I want to look into it and find out why,” he added, according to one of the Times reporters in the room, Michael Grynbaum.

There you go, an exhaustive list of how President Trump has disavowed racism over three decades, as documented by contemporary mainstream media outlets.

Ironically, establishment “fact checking” sites, ran by opinion journalists larping as objective reporters, have tried to downplay the examples above, but all they’ve done is ruin their own credibility.

“…Most ‘fact-checkers’ are merely liberal journalists looking to prove their preconceived narrative,” wrote the Washington Times’ Kelly Riddell. “They cherry-pick the statements to ‘fact-check’ and then decide which data to back it up with.”

“Statistics can be manipulated — for every study coming out of the Brookings Institute, the Heritage Foundation can have a counter argument, depending on the methodology and surveys used. Moreover, much of what they decide to ‘fact-check’ is subjective at best… nothing that can be pinned down with undisputed data.”

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RealKitDaniels

VERSES-

Isaiah 13:1 The burden of Babylon, which Isaiah the son of Amoz did see.

Isaiah 13:2 Lift ye up a banner upon the high mountain, exalt the voice unto them, shake the hand, that they may go into the gates of the nobles.

Isaiah 13:3 I have commanded my sanctified ones, I have also called my mighty ones for mine anger, even them that rejoice in my highness.

Isaiah 13:4 The noise of a multitude in the mountains, like as of a great people; a tumultuous noise of the kingdoms of nations gathered together: the LORD of hosts mustereth the host of the battle.

Isaiah 13:5 They come from a far country, from the end of heaven, even the LORD, and the weapons of his indignation, to destroy the whole land.

Isaiah 13:6 Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.

Isaiah 13:7 Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man's heart shall melt:

Isaiah 13:8 And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames.

Isaiah 13:9 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.

Isaiah 13:10 For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.

Isaiah 13:11 And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.

Isaiah 13:12 I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.

Isaiah 13:13 Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.

Isaiah 13:14 And it shall be as the chased roe, and as a sheep that no man taketh up: they shall every man turn to his own people, and flee every one into his own land.

Isaiah 13:15 Every one that is found shall be thrust through; and every one that is joined unto them shall fall by the sword.

Isaiah 13:16 Their children also shall be dashed to pieces before their eyes; their houses shall be spoiled, and their wives ravished.

Isaiah 13:17 Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, which shall not regard silver; and as for gold, they shall not delight in it.

Isaiah 13:18 Their bows also shall dash the young men to pieces; and they shall have no pity on the fruit of the womb; their eyes shall not spare children.

Isaiah 13:19 And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.

Isaiah 13:20 It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation: neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall the shepherds make their fold there.

Isaiah 13:21 But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there.

Isaiah 13:22 And the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate houses, and dragons in their pleasant palaces: and her time is near to come, and her days shall not be prolonged.

MY SITES

www.corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com [Main site]

https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5?ref=bookmarks

https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ4GsqTEVWRm0HxQTLsifvg

https://twitter.com/ccoutreach87

https://plus.google.com/108013627259688810902/posts

https://vimeo.com/user37400385

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https://www.linkedin.com/home?trk=hb_logo

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https://medium.com/@johnchiarello

http://ccoutreach.over-blog.com/

https://www.reddit.com/user/ccoutreach87

https://ccoutreach.yolasite.com/

https://ccoutreach87.jimdo.com/

Note- Please do me a favor, those who read/like the posts- re-post them on other sites as well as the site you read them on- Thanks- John.#

#bible #Religion

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blogdccollaborative · 8 years ago

Text

NMAAHC Field Trip

Submitted by: Katie Greer, DC Collaborative Programming and Marketing Intern; and Rebekka Nickman, DC Collaborative Development and Communications Coordinator Tickets courtesy of: Dorothy McSweeney February 15, 2017

Visiting the National Museum of African American History and Culture

DC Collaborative interns Katie and Rebekka were able to visit the brand new Smithsonian - The National Museum of African American History and Culture. The tickets were generously provided by DC Collaborative Board Member Emeritus Dorothy McSweeney. If you haven’t been able to get tickets yet, don’t worry! (Limited amounts of same-day tickets are released at 6:30am every day. Check here for availability). Here is an overview of their visit and some helpful tips for getting the best out of your experience!

“The African American experience is the lens through which we understand what it is to be an American.” - Lonnie G. Bunch III, Founding Director, NMAAHC

View from the main level lobby

Tip #1: Start on the Bottom Floor, Work Your Way Up

The lower three levels of the museum are organized chronologically. To begin, a large elevator transports guests back in time to the early 1400s. The exhibits progress from early European slavery to American colonization, through the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, the Civil Rights Movement, all the way to present day.

The upper levels of the museum celebrate African American culture through sports, music, dance, and all different forms of art. The second floor had an interactive education space and classrooms for workshops. Overall, the museum was filled with people of all ages, genders, and ethnicities. There was a sense of community and interest, as well as excitement and reflection.

Sensitivity and Age Suitability

“The Early Childhood Education Initiative (ECEI) at the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) seeks to empower, enrich, and educate young children, from birth to eight years old, and provide resources and support to the parents, caregivers, and educators of early learners. The ECEI seeks to promote positive identity development with all children and begin age appropriate conversations on race. Programs will introduce American history through the African American lens to our youngest visitors through the museum’s collection and content” -NMAAHC

This museum has an clear and evident commitment to making their exhibits suitable for all ages. On our visit, we encountered many young children with their parents and saw people of all ages engaged and participating. Click here to view the NMAAHC’s Early Child Education Page.

Educational Potential

Here are our ideas for what types of school field trip experiences could be best for certain student age groups:

PreK-3rd:

Pre-visit classroom lesson on African American history

Short guided tour of lower levels

Supervised time on upper floors with guide

3rd-5th:

Pre-visit lesson of African American history

Bottom floors with an established tour guide

Age appropriate show at the Oprah Winfrey Theater

Supervised free time on the upper floors

6th-12th:

Integrated or scheduled coinciding with school history curriculum

Bottom floors with educational worksheet to be filled out

Significant free time on the upper floors

Post-visit reflection writing, presentation, or project

School Topics and Curriculum

This museum has tremendous educational potential. To overcome the time constraints of a field trip and make the most of your visit, we would suggest focusing on a specific topic, era, or movement to create a more in-depth educational experience.

This museum offers educational opportunities for elementary school, middle school, high school, and even undergraduate or graduate students.

History: The bottom floors provide excellent content for many diverse time periods and movements relating to African American history. Example topics: European Slavery, Colonization of America, and Civil Rights

Sports and Culture: The Michael Jordan Hall contains Olympic history, jerseys, and all different types of sports paraphernalia. There are also TV, news, and popular culture exhibits with videos, pictures, and in-depth historical information. Example topics: The Olympics, Men and Women in Sports, Physical Fitness, Journalism, and Hall of Fame

Art History: An art gallery on the top floor features works and installations by African American artists of all different time periods. Example topics: Abstract Expressionism, Diversity in Art, and Art & Politics

Theater and Dance: The top floor contains features of African Americans starring in movies, musical theater, broadway, and dance. Example topics: Diversity on Broadway, Alvin Ailey, Musical Theater, and Diversity in Cinema

Music: The top floor highlights music in both a historic and contemporary context. An interactive music room allows guests to search through thousands of recordings and a music mixing station encourages creativity. Popular music from different eras plays throughout the exhibit. Example topics: Motown, Jazz, Hip Hop/Rap, and Classical Music

Diversity: Overall, this museum provides a comprehensive look at African American history and culture and a unique perspective that is both informative and interactive for all guests. Example topics: Race & Ethnicity, Discrimination, Feminism, Right to Protest, and Censorship

Telling Their Stories

Artifacts, video projections, and interactive stations illustrate the stories of well-known civil rights activists such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks among many others.

From past to present, guests can view artifacts such as a plane flown by Tuskegee Airmen, a bar stool from the 1960 Greensboro North Carolina Sit-In, a dress that was handmade by Rosa Parks, to the latest videos from the Black Lives Matter Movement.

“There was so much to see and read! In the interest of time, I found myself having to pick and choose what I focused my attention on. Otherwise, I would have been there all day.” -Katie

Culture and the Arts

There is a distinct shift of tone and atmosphere in the upper levels. Visitors can explore the popular culture, music, and dance of bygone generations. Featured artists like Sam Cooke, Michael Jackson, and many more incite a feeling of nostalgia and excitement.

Guests can sift through old record albums and play their favorite tunes, watch an excerpt from Alvin Ailey’s Revelations, marvel at a sparkly red dress worn by Whitney Houston, and the list goes on...

For the sports lovers, there is an entire exhibit dedicated to African-American Achievement in sports. In the Michael Jordan Hall, guests can see jerseys worn by Babe Ruth, watch highlight reels of the best plays in the NFL, see a leotard worn by Olympic gold medalist Gabby Douglas, and reminisce on some of the greatest African-American athletes in history.

Tip #2: Don’t Just Look, DO!

Throughout the museum, there are opportunities for people of all ages to interact and learn. In the image pictured above, visitors of all ages are invited to learn how to Step. A video teaches you the basics and you can follow along on the provided dance floor.

In another exhibit, two large sound boards give you the opportunity to mix your own music and play it back. Visitors decide to be either the musician or the engineer and work together to create a melody.

Upstairs there is a room with an activity called “Issues on the Table.” This room provides a safe space for you to write on a piece of paper and place it in a slit in a box to be read and potentially put on display. They prompt guests with questions like: “What issues matter most to you, your family, and your community?” and “What actions would you propose to create change?”

Not only does this museum engage guests in new ways, it also facilitates a dialogue aimed to help solve problems in our communities.

Tip #3: Notice the Architecture

This museum’s architecture is extremely unique. Hidden corners of the museum provide stunning views of the National Mall and Monuments. From every side, enormous windows flood the top and main floors of the museum with natural light and provide panoramic views of DC.

The museum has a flow from the bottom going up, and while it is easy to get focused on the exhibits, don’t forget to look up and appreciate the beautiful building!

*Note: Sunset happens around 5:30-6pm*

Pictured above: Pulled Pork BBQ Sandwich, Cole Slaw, Mac & Cheese, and Pumpkin Cheesecake Brownie

Tip #4: Experience the Food!

Have lunch or dinner at the Sweet Home Cafe, the newest Smithsonian culinary experience. Guests have the option to pick between four different regional offerings: The Agricultural South, The Creole Coast, The North States, and the Western Range. There is something for everyone whether you want fried chicken, shrimp and grits, or a cupcake treat for desert.

“I didn’t realize how hungry I was until I was sitting down with a large plate of southern comfort food in front of me. The cafe is a great place to sit down after you’ve been walking around the museum all day and enjoy some delicious food before you leave!” -Katie

The Mobile App

For tech savvy museum-goers, a NMAAHC Museum Mobile App is available for free download. It contains a map of the museum, current shows, and exhibit information. It functions as an extended mobile brochure for your visit and it can help provide assistance while deciding what to do or see first. For people with younger visitors, the “Stories for Families” section provides age- appropriate language about exhibits as well as thought provoking questions. Use the app to check ahead of time to see what is going on in the museum that day!

Final Takeaways

In short, this museum lives up to the hype. It provides guests of all ages a new lens through which to see our nation’s history. It educates and appropriately addresses sensitive material, and it creates a safe space for everyone to learn.

The museum does not currently offer any school field trip experiences with the DC Collaborative Arts and Humanities for Every Student Program. However, a potential partnership may be on the horizon. Stay tuned!

In the mean time, check out the educational opportunities the NMAAHC currently provides for students and families.

Quick Links

NMAAHC Website

NMAAHC Early Childhood Education Page

Smithsonian Website

DC Collaborative Website

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