Tag Archives: category-artsentertainment
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There’s A Word For Why Adele’s Music Makes Us Cry
Year after year, one thing remains constant with Adele’s music: it makes the tears flow. You may think her soulful lyrics are the reason songs like “Hello” and “Someone Like You” turn on the waterworks, but there’s a whole lot more going on in Adele’s music. What is the word for why Adele’s music makes us cry? Surprisingly, it’s not the lyrics that are really …
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Hidden Meanings Of “Ring Around The Rosie” And Other Rhymes
Though written for children, nursery rhymes often conceal references to historical events. These hidden stories behind three popular nursery rhymes may not be well known but they certainly make “Humpty Dumpty” a little more interesting. What is the origin of “Humpty Dumpty”? Humpty Dumpty was not originally an egg, as immortalized by John Tenniel, illustrator of Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass in 1871. But the …
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Where Does The Word “Hobbit” Come From?
Bilbo Baggins, Frodo Baggins, and Samwise Gamgee—we all know J.R.R. Tolkien created these beloved hobbits for his Hobbit (1937) and Lord of the Rings (1954–55) books. Hobbits are an imaginary race similar to humans, but they are short and have hairy feet. But, while Tolkien conjured up these memorable creatures, did he also the invent word hobbit? Where did hobbit come from? As you may have …
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7 Bands Who Were Inspired By Literature
Do you ever feel so inspired by a good book that you want to sing? Many bands and recording artists have acted on that impulse by working elements of their favorite novels, short stories, or poems into their musical repertoires. Here are a few of our favorite salutes to literature in popular music. The Doors The band name The Doors is a nod to Aldous …
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Who Put The $ In Ke$ha? Where Did The $ Come From?
From the California dance band !!! to MIA spelling out her name in dashes, musical artists seem to love putting symbols in their names. Perhaps none more extravagant than pop star Ke$ha, who differentiates herself with a single letter substitution. Born Kesha Rose Sebert, the singer/songwriter/rapper simply exchanged the S in her first name with a $ (or dollar sign). The artist initially made the …
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What Does “Super 8” Mean?
J.J. Abram’s “Super 8,” an homage to the work of Steven Spielberg, grossed $260 million in 2011. Millions of people have seen this film, but it’s doubtful they know what the title means. Released by Eastman Kodak in 1965, Super 8 became one of the preferred film formats of the motion picture industry during the 1960s and 70s—alongside 35 mm film. The name is an …
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What Is Negative Capability?
On December 21, 1817, the poet John Keats wrote a letter to his brother in which he expressed and named a quality of human existence that’s tricky to articulate. Keats’ formulation has been adopted by philosophers, poets, and others ever since. How did Keats make up a new concept? Keats wanted to name our ability to simultaneously acknowledge the unpredictable nature of events and conduct ourselves with confidence and …
