Famous Short Story

When it comes to film and TV, Matthew Gray Gubler doesn't just thrive in front of the camera — he also enjoys getting behind the camera, too. In fact, over the years, the actor directed a total of 12 episodes of "Criminal Minds." He has also directed several music videos and short films in his time, too. For Gubler, directing is one of his "main loves in life." The first time he directed "Criminal Minds," Gubler was slightly overwhelmed. "The first time around, I was so overly prepared, I was not prepared to act in my own episode," he recalled to Entertainment Weekly. "I was like, 'What the hell?'" However, over the years, Gubler became more and more comfortable in the director's chair. After all, Gubler had initially wanted to be a director, not an actor. In fact, he trained at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts' film school and only got into acting by chance. "My peers knew I liked acting, so they'd ...

Mark Crawford , an alumnus of the University of Toronto Mississauga, says he's grateful to be part of the ensemble cast for  Harry Potter and the Cursed Child , which is currently playing at Toronto's CAA Ed Mirvish Theatre. The acclaimed actor and playwright says being in the cast of Harry Potter offers some stability in a volatile industry that still hasn't fully recovered from the pandemic (the CAA Ed Mirvish Theatre raised its curtain earlier this year for its first full season since 2020). "The thing about being a theatre artist is that you're a gig worker," Crawford says. "This means that, most of the time, you're working in five- or six-week intervals, piecing together contracts as you go. "Apart from the opportunity to work on a fantastic play and as part of a wonderful team, being in Harry Potter has granted me stability, which is something I've learned not to take for granted." While Harry Po...

After a 20-year drought, Dune fans suddenly have more than one game to look forward to playing. After announcing Dune: Spice Wars in 2021, Norwegian publisher Funcom revealed at this year's Gamescom that it's creating a new MMO set in Frank Herbert's seminal sci-fi universe. The trailer the company shared during the event didn't showcase gameplay.  Instead, we see a character, possibly the game's version of Paul Atreides, watch a sandworm devour a spice harvester while reciting Dune's famous "fear is the mind-killer" mantra, with the eventual title card promising an open-world survival experience. The game's Steam page provides a few more details about the project. Players will have the chance to explore the desert planet while in search of spice. You'll need to protect your harvester from opportunistic raiders and the occasional sandworm. Funcom did not announce a release date for Dune: Awakening, but the game's website invites...

Whether you're gearing up for a big career change, or you're just looking to learn something new, free online courses can help jump-start your journey. What is the value of free online courses ? Well, they can't replace a traditional educational program, but these courses still offer a variety of benefits. Our guide explores a selection of the top top free online course providers to help you choose a new educational experience (without breaking the bank). Let's get started. What Are the Benefits of a Free Online Course? One of the best parts of a free online course is that it's—well, free. When you don't have to weigh the cost, there's less risk involved with trying out a new subject. You can relax, enjoy and explore. Free online courses can rekindle the joy of learning. They can also help you take concrete steps toward professional or educational goals. Learners can use free online classes to sample a new career field, build skills for a promotion o...

Whether you're gearing up for a big career change, or you're just looking to learn something new, free online courses can help jump-start your journey. What is the value of free online courses ? Well, they can't replace a traditional educational program, but these courses still offer a variety of benefits. Our guide explores a selection of the top top free online course providers to help you choose a new educational experience (without breaking the bank). Let's get started. What Are the Benefits of a Free Online Course? One of the best parts of a free online course is that it's—well, free. When you don't have to weigh the cost, there's less risk involved with trying out a new subject. You can relax, enjoy and explore. Free online courses can rekindle the joy of learning. They can also help you take concrete steps toward professional or educational goals. Learners can use free online classes to sample a new career field, build skills for a promotion o...

Almost Midnight Rainbow Rowell, Simini Blocker (illustrator) Macmillan Children's Books 2017, 161p eBook from my local library/BorrowBox Blurb {from the publisher/Goodreads.com}: Midnights is the story of Noel and Mags, who meet at the same New Year's Eve party every year and fall a little more in love each time . . . Kindred Spirits is about Elena, who decides to queue to see the new Star Wars movie and meets Gabe, a fellow fan. Midnights was previously published as part of the My True Love Gave to Me anthology, edited by Stephanie Perkins and Kindred Spirits was previously published as a World Book Day title. Brief blurb for some brief stories! I'm an unabashed Rainbow Rowell fan – I've read all of her full length titles and it was only this and  Pumpkinheads that has eluded me so far so when I spotted this scrolling through one of the apps my library uses to lend eBooks and audiobooks, I knew I had to snatch it up. There are times when y...

In celebration of the 120th anniversary of Beatrix Potter's The Tale of Peter Rabbit, Cath Kidston have revealed a new collection based on the characters of the book. The unique collection features hand-drawn illustrations and story-telling prints across bags, clothing and homeware. In a statement the fashion retailer said: "Cath Kidston's print design team were inspired by Beatrix Potter's life as an artist, scientist, painter, and author. "Each print created lovingly embraces Beatrix Potter's sketches from this classic story, originally drawn in letters to her friend and former governesses' young son, plus other cherished characters, and stories, including The Tailor of Gloucester and Jemima Puddle-Duck." Some of the items available in the Peter Rabbit collection (Cath Kidston) Holly Marler, Creative Director of Cath Kidston, said: "It is a joy to design the Beatrix Potter collection, to...

[unable to retrieve full-text content] Raven's Hollow Trailer: Edgar Allan Poe Visits a Ghost Town    Collider

When Yanina Bellini Saibene began her career in data science at the National Institute of Agricultural Technology in La Pampa, Argentina, she was not fluent in English. She had learnt a little English at secondary school, but her family couldn't afford the extra courses she would have needed to master the language, and at university she focused on science. That lack of English mastery, she says, held her back. English is the universal language of science, yet Bellini Saibene was limited to publishing in Spanish-language journals, making her work largely invisible to a wider audience. "Sometimes I wonder how much humanity loses because we are redoing things that aren't published in English," she says. Her early efforts at written English often landed poorly. The comment of one reviewer for an English-language journal, suggesting that she "go back to school", left a particularly nasty sting that lingers 15 years later. At the time, her only recourse was to ask...

In his first collection of eight stories, Stories from the Tenants Downstairs , Sidik Fofana launches a chorus of distinctive voices who share a setting—Banneker Homes, a Harlem highrise—and the threat of eviction as they all face a rent increase. These are complicated characters, blending humanity, brutality, tenderness, allure and street wit. Fofana has an MFA from New York University, was a fellow at the Center for Fiction, and currently teaches in a public school in Brooklyn. All three are tremendous educations, Fofana says. "No matter where you go, from superstar professors to emerging writers to your students telling the darndest tales, you are surrounded by stories everywhere and people instinctively equipped to tell them. In grad school, I was in an environment of instant validation and half-court seats with my favorite authors. It's where I submitted my stories 'Young Entrepreneurs' and 'The Okiedoke' and where Lorrie Moore took me under her wing. At...

The Department of Writing invites students to enroll in Technical Writing (WRTG-21300-01, CRN 21130) this semester. Designated Writing Intensive (WI) for the Integrated Core Curriculum (ICC), this course will be offered at 1:10 PM, Tuesday-Thursday, in Smiddy 114. Technical Writing teaches the fundamentals for communicating technical, medical, and scientific information to general and specialized audiences. Students cover the foundations of technical writing, various formats and applications, context-specific writing strategies, basic visual design, and ethics. They also address such practical challenges within the field as job-hunting, group work, institutional demands, and market forces. Whether students take this class to complete the Writing major's Professional Writing concentration, to fulfill a requirement in another major, or to earn WI credit for the ICC, exposure to technical writing will benefit them, professionally and intellectually. Indeed, studying technical writin...

[unable to retrieve full-text content] Walmart's book club launches with a romance - Bizwomen    The Business Journals

[unable to retrieve full-text content] How 'Nancy Drew' Taught Me to Embrace My Differences    Collider

Suffolk Constabulary A photo has been released of a pair police want to find two years after the remains of a man were discovered in two bin bags in a river. The bones were found in the River Stour in Sudbury, Suffolk, on 27 August 2020, sparking a murder inquiry. The couple were seen on 19 August of that year walking two dogs and pulling a shopping trolley bag on Melford Road. Suffolk Police said the pair were potential witnesses and not suspects in the case. Det Supt Mike Brown said officers were "committed to solving this complex case and obtaining justice for the victim". The latest tests revealed the man was white, about 5ft 9in (1.8m) tall, of medium build and of North European heritage. Previous tests revealed he died between 2008 and 2012, was in his late 50s or early 60s and of an "athletic or muscular build", but no cause of death has been established. 'Bags of bones' victim's date of death revealed Man arrested over human bones found in river ...

[unable to retrieve full-text content] Ghosts and Good Books! Celebrate With These Spooky Stories to Read on Halloween    jacksonprogress-argus

The Kids News Short Story Competition has unearthed some amazing new writing talent and given a past champ another chance to shine. The judges were wowed by stories of Covid, family, friendship and animals that all skilfully conveyed important messages and meanings. The winners rose to the top from a record field of more than 4600 entries. Judge and award-winning author Jackie French said she wished she could have selected more stories for recognition. "I am totally blown away by the quality of the entries, their grasp of narrative and most of all the originality," she said. "They may have been written by young people, but they are enchanting for any age." HarperCollins children's publisher and fellow judge Lisa Berryman said the stories showed there was "no doubt genuine writing talent abounds in our schools". Victorian student Livinia Buchan, 7, was the youngest winner, taking out the Kindergarten-Year 2 category with her story, The H...

Her bold choices for "Into the Woods" have garnered the 22-year-old actress critical acclaim and a Broadway debut. Conventional wisdom has it that actors should not audition in costume. But Julia Lester did so anyway — fashioning a red cape out of a circle skirt — when she videotaped her audition for the part of Little Red Riding Hood in the Encores! production of "Into the Woods" this spring. Two weeks later — without even a callback — she heard from her agent: "Stephen Sondheim wants you to play Little Red." Indeed, it was her many bold acting (as well as sartorial) choices for the fabled girl bound for grandmother's house — her raised eyebrow, brassy willfulness and wry sophistication — that captured the attention of critics in May and catapulted Lester to a Broadway debut at just 22 years old after the show transferred there this summer. (The Broadway run has just been extended through Oct. 16.) "In Lester, we witness a major new comedic talen...