The Sound of Music is an all-time movie musical classic first released in 1965. It starred Julie Andrews playing the part of Maria von Trapp. You likely know the story’s premise of Maria, a young Austrian woman, who is studying to be a nun. She is sent to the home of a widowed military officer to be the governess for his seven children. All sorts of delight and drama ensue. The songs in the …

Today’s Fun Friday asks you to write in the comment section! (Gasp! Writers have to write? The horror!) Dan Balow found a fascinating article about the 1891 census in the United Kingdom published in Spectator magazine. What made it fun were some of the unusual occupations given by those who were counted. Stick polisher, owler, clod hopper, cowleech, slubber doffer, lum swooper, potato …

Your mobile phone is a pocket full of sound if you want it to be. Today’s series of videos is an acapella group, MayTree, which recreates the sound that emanates from your mechanical device, using their voices. Amazing. And clever! Video one is for iPhone users.Vidoe two (brand new last Friday) is for Mac computer users.Video three is for long-time Samsung Galaxy users.Video four is for …

Virtuoso is almost too easy of a word to describe the artist in today’s video. Alexandr Hrustevich + Vivaldi + ACCORDIAN??? You will have one of two reactions to this genius in relation to your own talent: (1) Aspire to greatness. (2) Crawl under a blanket and ponder your existence. Just kidding. I’d rather you do the first. Take a moment to contemplate the hours of practice and the …

When it comes to singing, I’m a bass. When listening to music, I’ll often pick out the bass line and sing along. With today’s video, I could keep up for the first couple of verses; and then Geoff Castellucci sank lower than thought humanly possible with his voice and made it sound effortless! I’ll let you try to come up with a metaphor to writing. I’m still trying to …

I claim no originality. Nor do I claim responsibility for any groans, hiccups, or spitting of coffee. Enjoy! Twenty Corny Word Puns to Brighten Your Day When is a door not really a door? When it’s really ajar. How do you organize an astronomer’s party? You planet. What do you call a factory that sells generally decent goods? A satisfactory. I went on a once-in-a-lifetime vacation. Never again. You …

This dance performance is one of the most poignant visual representations of the writing life I’ve ever seen. Of course, the music is perfect–one of my all-time favorite compositions. But it is the creativity of the choreography and the flawless execution of the dancer that had me from the start. Your thoughts?

If it is your birthday today or this week, you are in luck! Today’s fun video is a delightful reimagining of the famous song by pianist Nicol Pesce. Taking something very familiar and producing something new is one of the things each of you have to do with your writing. There is such joy in creativity! (Be sure to watch to the end for something unexpected.) [If you cannot see the embedded …

Today’s video is a beautiful expression of ice dancing by Oona and Gage Brown who are part of Team USA. The precision is amazing when seeing it so close and from ice level. While you should enjoy this video, there are a couple of things to note.First, it was 6:45 a.m. when recorded. You read that right–in the morning.Second, it is outside–in November, in Bryant Park Winter …