On NovemÂber 19, 1863, AbraÂham LinÂcoln delivÂered one of the best-known speechÂes in hisÂtoÂry: The GetÂtysÂburg Address. To pay homage to it, designÂer Adam Gault and illusÂtraÂtor SteÂfanie AugusÂtine have renÂdered the immorÂtal words in beauÂtiÂful black-and-white typoÂgraphÂic aniÂmaÂtion that visuÂalÂly capÂtures the essence of LinÂcolÂn’s words as they are spoÂken.
For more on The GetÂtysÂburg Address, the Library of ConÂgress has a fasÂciÂnatÂing exhiÂbiÂtion of mateÂriÂals relatÂed to the address, includÂing the earÂliÂest known draft and a short video on how the speech came to be. And for anothÂer visuÂal treat, we recÂomÂmend Jack LevÂin’s AbraÂham LinÂcolÂn’s GetÂtysÂburg Address IllusÂtratÂed — a poignant and powÂerÂful selecÂtion of images which, couÂpled with LinÂcolÂn’s equalÂly poignant and powÂerÂful words, are bound to put a lump in your throat.
Maria PopoÂva is the founder and ediÂtor in chief of Brain PickÂings, a curatÂed invenÂtoÂry of eclecÂtic interÂestÂingÂness and indisÂcrimÂiÂnate curiosÂiÂty. She writes for Wired UK, GOOD MagÂaÂzine, BigÂThink and HuffÂinÂgÂton Post, and spends a disÂturbÂing amount of time curatÂing interÂestÂingÂness on TwitÂter.
For decades, the BBC has interÂviewed legÂendary British novÂelÂists, askÂing them how they creÂate their memÂoÂrable charÂacÂters, paint their evocaÂtive setÂtings with words, and develÂop plots that keep us turnÂing pages. Now, these audio interÂviews appear online in a colÂlecÂtion called In Their Own Words. The archive takes you back to 1937, to a conÂverÂsaÂtion with VirÂginia Woolf, then moves you forÂward to interÂviews with Aldous HuxÂley, JRR Tolkien, Doris LessÂing, MarÂtin Amis, VS Naipaul, and Salman Rushdie, to name just a few. These recordÂings sit niceÂly alongÂside a giant archive of litÂerÂary interÂviews recentÂly pubÂlished online by The Paris Review. (More on that here.) So, if you want to get into the “how” of litÂerÂaÂture, you can now tap instantÂly into the colÂlecÂtive wisÂdom of the litÂerÂary greats.
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Let me set the scene: Not long after the attack on Pearl HarÂbor, Japan invadÂed BurÂma, a “backÂwaÂter of the British Empire,” hopÂing to put the ChiÂnese and British at a strateÂgic disÂadÂvanÂtage. (Get more details here.) IniÂtialÂly the JapanÂese camÂpaign met with sucÂcess, and, in earÂly 1942, the British and local allies beat a retreat, tryÂing to escape over the borÂder to India. But when they reached the borÂder, they found rivers, floodÂed by monÂsoons, blockÂing their way. That’s when a British tea planter named Gyles MackÂrell stepped in and moved 200 refugees across the borÂder using the only means availÂable to them — eleÂphants. This amazÂing stoÂry is now being told for the first time, thanks to the CenÂtre of South Asian StudÂies at the UniÂverÂsiÂty of CamÂbridge and its short film (13 minÂutes) shown above. You can read more about the great eleÂphant escape here.
I can’t vouch for the claims being made in this “fun facts” song. (Nor do I know what’s up with the Jesus imagery.) But the video has some enterÂtainÂment valÂue, if not some good trivÂia. So enjoy…
Just a quick fyi: If you head over to the HarÂvard UniÂverÂsiÂty Press web site, you can grab a free copy of MarÂcus Boon’s new book, In Praise of CopyÂing, which makes the case that “copyÂing is an essenÂtial part of being human, that the abilÂiÂty to copy is worÂthy of celÂeÂbraÂtion, and that, withÂout recÂogÂnizÂing how inteÂgral copyÂing is to being human, we canÂnot underÂstand ourÂselves or the world we live in.” Boon is a writer, jourÂnalÂist and AssoÂciate ProÂfesÂsor in the EngÂlish LitÂerÂaÂture departÂment at York UniÂverÂsiÂty, ToronÂto. You can downÂload a free copy of his book in PDF forÂmat straight from this link. (Note that the text is forÂmalÂly released under a CreÂative ComÂmons license.) Or you can always purÂchase a printÂed copy online.
P.S. The UniÂverÂsiÂty of ChicaÂgo Press is offerÂing up a free e‑book of its own: The BourÂgeois Virtues (632 pages) by Deirdre N. McCloskey. Head here to get a copy.
Every NovemÂber 2nd, MexÂiÂcans celÂeÂbrate the Day of the Dead. CloseÂly assoÂciÂatÂed with othÂer Catholic holÂiÂdays (All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day), the Day of the Dead gives parÂticÂiÂpants a chance to pray for and rememÂber dearÂly departÂed famÂiÂly memÂbers and friends. And it’s often carÂried out in a fesÂtive spirÂit, not one marked by melanÂcholy. As CarÂlos Fuentes, one of MexÂiÂco’s most celÂeÂbratÂed writÂers, once said about death: “We MexÂiÂcans don’t advance towards death, we return to it, because death is not the end but the beginÂning, the start of everyÂthing: we descend from death.”
PerÂhaps you’re accusÂtomed to downÂloadÂing free lecÂtures and coursÂes on iTunes U. Now, you have a new option. Last week, Apple began introÂducÂing free eBooks to its media colÂlecÂtion. And, to kick things off, they’re givÂing users access to 18 free textÂbooks sponÂsored by ConÂnexÂions (a Rice UniÂverÂsiÂty project); a series of 100 ebooks proÂduced by the Open UniÂverÂsiÂty, and then, courÂtesy of Oxford UniÂverÂsiÂty, the comÂplete colÂlecÂtion of ShakeÂspeare’s plays from the First Folio of 1623. You can downÂload all of these texts in the open ePub forÂmat. And if you have an iPad (or an iPhone with a copy of iBooks), they easÂiÂly sync to the device, and make for a great readÂing expeÂriÂence. But you’re not necÂesÂsarÂiÂly limÂitÂed to using the iPad. I was able to read the texts in ebook readÂers creÂatÂed by StanÂza and Barnes & Noble (the makÂer of the new colÂor Nook). And, using this free online serÂvice and then folÂlowÂing these genÂerÂal direcÂtions, I easÂiÂly conÂvertÂed the ePub files to AmaÂzon’s .mobi forÂmat and uploaded them to my KinÂdle. The botÂtom line? You can expect iTunes U to become a handy resource for free ebooks as the serÂvice matures – one best suitÂed to the iPad, but cerÂtainÂly not limÂitÂed to it. And, speakÂing of the iPad, you should give this stoÂry a read. “IPad Opens World to a DisÂabled Boy.” It’s a great way to start the week…
Note: If you want a simÂple html verÂsion of ShakeÂspeare’s colÂlectÂed works, don’t miss MIT’s invaluÂable web site.
PubÂlished first in 1921, then again in 1944, VirÂginia Woolf’s short stoÂry, “A HauntÂed House,” runs a mere 692 words – which makes it a HalÂloween treat that is short and sweet. We give you an approÂpriÂateÂly somber readÂing of Woolf’s stoÂry above, with the accomÂpaÂnyÂing text here. Or you can find an mp3 verÂsion in our colÂlecÂtion of Free Audio Books. H/T to Mike, and enjoy the day.
NowaÂdays, any well-roundÂed stuÂdent must learn to masÂter readÂing, writÂing and math. And then add someÂthing new to the mix: learnÂing to code. If you didÂn’t learn to proÂgram softÂware in school, not to worÂry. Free mateÂriÂals abound on the web, and we have made them easy to find. Above, you can start watchÂing the first lecÂture of an MIT course (IntroÂducÂtion to ComÂputÂer SciÂence and ProÂgramÂming) that assumes no speÂcial knowlÂedge of proÂgramÂming, and it sets out to teach you to think like a comÂputÂer sciÂenÂtist. (Find the full set of lecÂtures on YouTube, iTunes and MIT’s webÂsite.) Or alterÂnaÂtiveÂly, you can spend time with anothÂer course – IntenÂsive IntroÂducÂtion to ComÂputÂer SciÂence Using C, PHP, and JavaScript – taught by David Malan at HarÂvard ExtenÂsion. (Get it in mulÂtiÂple forÂmats here.) And then don’t forÂget that StanÂford UniÂverÂsiÂty offers sevÂerÂal introÂducÂtoÂry coursÂes, all found under the StanÂford EngiÂneerÂing EveryÂwhere umbrelÂla.
Once you have a good founÂdaÂtion in place, you can move in a variÂety of direcÂtions. WithÂin our colÂlecÂtion of Free Online CoursÂes, we have listÂed 27 comÂputÂer sciÂence coursÂes where you can learn all about operÂatÂing sysÂtems, comÂputÂer graphÂics, artiÂfiÂcial intelÂliÂgence, buildÂing web sites, designÂing iPhone apps and beyond. The coursÂes are all free. They’re availÂable 24/7 on the web. You can get going any time…
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