That Old Black Hole

Love this video of a second grader asking Neil deGrasse Tyson about black holes colliding:

I like that he takes the question seriously and talks about how cool the physics of this situation would be without condescending to this boy. Kids at that age are just starting to learn about the universe, and it’s a great time to get them inspired by astronomy. I remember doing an astronomy unit in second grade and it was the best. More funding for science and space research/education, please!

Also, now I have this song in my head:

Do the black hole, everybody!

(via swissmiss)

Stories That Will Never See the Light of Day: Writing from High School

In this video, YA author John Green talks about the stories he wrote when he was in high school–which, of course, made me think of my own high school attempts at fiction.

Like John says about his early work, none of mine was good. Most of it was knock-off versions of what I was reading or watching at the time. A few highlights from the past fictional files:

  • a girl who likes art and has run-ins with the popular crowd
  • a coven of high school witches
  • a Robin Hood-esque girl hero in a vague fantasy world (plus half a sequel)
  • a series of linked short stories about a group of friends; everyone took walks and thought about stuff but never did anything

Pretty sure none of this will ever see the light of day. (Actually, not sure if I could track most of this down; it might be in my parents’ basement or it might have gotten tossed when they were tossing a lot of stuff from aforementioned basement.) But I am so, so glad I wrote these horrific stories. After each one, I’d learned more about writing and was excited to move onto the next project. I got to try different genres and styles without the pressure of having to show these stories to anyone in particular.

Also, they primed me for taking writing seriously as an adult. Working on my thesis novel wasn’t so bad because I knew I’d written “novels” before and would eventually get to the end through a lot of hard work and perseverance. I know that sometimes projects don’t work out, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t keep the general idea or characters tucked away for future projects.

My theory: writing is never a waste. Maybe it won’t pay off like you think it will (somehow that girl hero never landed me on the Today Show like I imagined), but it always teaches you something. And at the very least, maybe you can tell your legion of fans about it via Youtube video.

Make Good Art and Other Thoughts From Neil Gaiman

Neil Gaiman talks about making a life as an artist in his address to the 2012 graduating class of University of the Arts:

I really like the idea of constantly walking toward the mountain of your own success and hopes. Also, must remember that mistakes mean you’re “out there doing something,” especially when the mistakes or disappointments have just happened.

PS–I had problems getting this video to play at first, then went to the main page and skipped ahead a couple seconds, and it played fine after that.

(via readergirlz)