You can now buy our latest book on Amazon!

Published in About Us → Write a comment!

Facebook Del.icio.us

Exciting news! Liam Davenport, one of the talented authors found in Documenting the Unseen, has published his own book! The Marching Band Emporium is available for sale on Lulu.com. The description:

Intriguing, though-provoking and occasionally dazzling, The Marching Band Emporium is a personal selection of pieces from the first year of the innovative literary blog of the same name.

Alongside a rich crop of drawings, mini sagas, poetry, short stories and a healthy dose of twisted logic, the curious reader will find the brand-new genre of the Excerpt from Lost Novels, taking you into a world of half-lit scenarios and mesmerising characters from imagined books.

All this, and more, from The Marching Band Emporium.

Grab a copy of a compilation written by this truly talented and insightful author.

Published in Announcements, Things We Found → Write a comment!

Facebook Del.icio.us

There is something about seeing music live, especially music that I will forever adore (or, I plan on adoring), that causes me to act in a way that I never do at any other time in my life. Never wanting to be “one of the crowd” on any other day, I inevitably forget all about such a standard as my favorite band walks onto the stage and I commence screaming along with thousands of other fans. The lead singer says something clever between songs and I do my best to not find him the wittiest of people, but still cannot help somehow being impressed. I notice that some of the songs that are performed are songs I could have written myself if I had half a mind to, and yet I comment aloud that I am so impressed with the musicality of the band members, the simple yet effective use of certain melodies and instrumentation.

Confetti is shot out of a cannon to my right, and sparkly, colorful paper butterflies fly through the air. I resist the urge to find them magical and beautiful, and consider smothering my childish wonderment, but seconds later I put my hands up and grab some, and in moments I have secured several blue ones and a shiny purple one. Pleased with my triumph, I carefully put the paper butterflies in my pocket as plans for my scrapbook take hold in the back of my mind.

And despite the fact that the band’s number one song has been playing in my car for months, when I hear it, it is as if I am hearing it for the first time and tears come to my eyes. The music, oh, the music! So dramatic! So full of artistry! So powerful!

What is it about live music that can influence so many … is it just the theatrics powered by millions of dollars, is it the clever marketing and free giveaways, is it the good looks and impeccable style of the band, or is it really and truly the music that moves me to behave as if I’m another version of myself? The easy answer might be a combination of all of those things.

But regardless what it is, and despite all of my efforts to not fall into a marketing scheme, I’d see Coldplay in concert again in a heartbeat.

Published in Thoughts → 1 Comment (add yours!)

Facebook Del.icio.us

Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one’s definition of your life; define yourself. –Harvey Fierstein

Published in Things We Found, Thoughts → Write a comment!

Facebook Del.icio.us

So much for cozy soups and hot chocolates … it’s been getting downright hot and sunny here in the DC area lately, which means that it’s time for strawberries! There are so many things to do with strawberries … jam, bread, on ice cream, in a milkshake, in boring grain cereal … and in strawberry shortcake, which I am eating in this very moment.

It’s so easy to make. I cheat, I guess, and use Bisquick. There’s a recipe on the box for the delicious lumps of dough, and all you need besides that are fresh strawberries (maybe six or seven sliced up), sugar, and milk.

Step 1: Place a warm lump of dough in a bowl. It looks homely and alone, doesn’t it? On to step 2 for the solution to this unsightly problem!

Step 2: Add the sliced strawberries. They incorporate color and cheerfulness into an otherwise colorless, carbohydrat-ey concoction.

Step 3: Because strawberries aren’t sweet enough on their own (tee-hee), you should add some sugar. What I do is dump a sizable amount of sugar on top. Maybe an eighth of a cup. More sugar than you should ever put in something, is the amount you should put in here.

Step 4: If the dough turned out to be a little burnt in the oven or you’re afraid they might be dry, do not fear, for the milk that you will add last will be absorbed into everything and you won’t even notice. Add enough milk to be absorbed, and then add a little more.

And …Voila. A sweet and vaguely healthy breakfast, lunch, dinner, or snack. It’s comfort food, it’s togetherness food, it’s lazy food, it’s filling food. It’s one of the best parts about strawberry season.

Welcome, Spring, and all of your fruit and veggie bountifulness!

Published in About Us → Write a comment!

Facebook Del.icio.us

… She prized the frank, the open-hearted, the eager character beyond all others. Warmth and enthusiasm did captivate her still. She felt that she could so much more depend upon the sincerity of those who sometimes looked or said a careless or a hasty thing, than of those whose presence of mind never varied, whose tongue never slipped.

–from “Persuasion” by Jane Austen

Published in About Us → Write a comment!

Facebook Del.icio.us

What is success? Who measures it? Is success simply a question of relativity, defined by circumstance? Why are some achievements better than others? 

Published in Thoughts → 3 Comments (add yours!)

Facebook Del.icio.us

This is your long-awaited announcement: Documenting the Unseen, the first book by Mind Sprocket, is published! Simply go to our homepage to get your copy!!

Documenting the Unseen is the end result of over a year’s hard work and dedication by the whole Mind Sprocket staff, and was made possible by a host of committed individuals who, without their generous donation of time and talent, this book would not have been possible. I am forever indebted to Luke Atkinson, Jacqueline Johnson, Lindsey Anderson, Anatole Upart, and Lacey Anderson.

But there’s no sense in dilly-dallying: go get yourself a copy of Documenting the Unseen!

Published in Announcements → Write a comment!

Facebook Del.icio.us

–Oasis

Published in Thoughts → 2 Comments (add yours!)

Facebook Del.icio.us

http://www.chrisjordan.com/current_set2.php

These photos are visual creations of the actual things represented by statistics.

“My hope is that images representing these quantities might have a different effect than the raw numbers alone, such as we find daily in articles and books. Statistics can feel abstract and anesthetizing, making it difficult to connect with and make meaning of 3.6 million SUV sales in one year, for example, or 2.3 million Americans in prison, or 32,000 breast augmentation surgeries in the U.S. every month.”

– Chris Jordan

Published in About Us → Write a comment!

Facebook Del.icio.us

Yesterday, the final print draft of Documenting the Unseen was shipped! We should have it in our hands by Monday at the latest, Saturday at the earliest.

If this version is printed without a problem, then we’ll publish it and put it up for sale immediately! The first people to know when Documenting the Unseen is published and available for sale will be those on our e-mail list. Sign up if you haven’t already!

Now it’s time to cross my fingers and wait with excitement!

Published in About Us, Announcements → Write a comment!

Facebook Del.icio.us

Lily girl told her mother she didn’t know place,
that place marked a spot to stand.
She said, “Mama, you can find grits anywhere,”
and took off West.

Weeks later Mama’s standing in the kitchen
Filling Lily’s spot with extra dishes,
a letter comes from California
and she’s begging for a package:
“Grits, biscuits, and honey, please.
Mama, the people are real nice,
but they can’t understand me here.
All I know Mama, about place,
well, this isn’t it.”

Published in About Us → Write a comment!

Facebook Del.icio.us