<ul><li>Retro-futurism can be summarized as the future seen from the past, though sometimes it also incorporates the notion of past seen from the future. </li><li> Sometimes, retro-futurism becomes a sort of “faux nostalgia” — a nostalgia for a future that never happened. </li><li>It is a way to envision how different world designs could look like. </li><li> It works as a retrospection for our society but also often leads to new creative ideas.</li></ul>

What is Retro-futurism? 

<ol><li>Cyberpunk</li><li>Atompunk </li><li>Alternate Histories</li><li>Steampunk</li></ol>

Types of Retro-futurism

Cyberpunk depicts a dark and dystopian retro-future with all the advanced technologies we can ever imagine. The world is controlled by evil organizations and is filled with pain, misery, and chaos. This genre is heavily explored in video games, comics, and popular movies like Blade Runner, Tron, etc.

Cyberpunk

Atompunk adds interesting elements to the retro-futuristic version of the 1950s. The industries are shown running on clean nuclear power, and the city life is faster than ever with bullet trains. Most popular depiction of atom punk is found in Fantastic Four comics, James Bond films, and cartoon shows such as Dexter’s Laboratory.

Atompunk

Alternate history explores changed versions of real historical events and reveals the connected consequences. For example, "What if Einstein is erased from history?", "How would our lives have been without the internet?"﻿﻿Books like Stephen King’s 11/22/63 and Kim Stanley Robinson’s Years of Rice are based on this intriguing idea.

Alternate History 

The 19th century marks an era that drastically transformed the human lifestyle. Steam engines ran and new industries emerged. Steampunk refers to a future that is based in 19th-century settings with grand steam-powered machines (such as steam aircraft, steam cannons, etc) at play.

Steampunk

It it said that the concept was first discussed in a late 1960s book "Retro futurism" by T.R. Hinchliffe. However, there isn't enough evidence to back this up. In the year 1983, an ad about Bloomingdale’s jewelry got published in the New York Times which said “silverized steel and sleek grey linked for a retro-futuristic look”. This was one of the earliest use of the term. Retro-futurism has been an active theme for artistic creation and products. For example, Back to the Future II, or the launch of the first iPhone in 2007, many fictional and real events depict retro-futurism.

The origin and cultural influence of retro-futurism

As an avid fan of retro-futuristic art I think it helps us to discover the limitless possibilities of what our society could be like which we could draw inspiration from. It also furthers the understanding of world we live in and helps us critic and praise it. 

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Science Fiction

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Society, Arts & Culture

Retro-futurism and why it matters: a foray into alternative futures seen from the past

<ol><li>Utilize various media channels: They all attract a slightly different demographic.</li><li>Develop a consistent online personality</li><li>Get to know the technical stuff</li><li>Flush out your profile details: The audience likely want to know you better.</li><li>Post regularly</li><li>Interact!</li></ol>

Core Steps to Approaching People Online as a Writer

In the modern, digitized world, writers are still undoubtedly creative people. No matter what subject a writer might cover or what work they might pursue, creativity is extremely important when it comes to producing quality content. 

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Marketing & Sales

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Business

6 Steps to Building Your Social Media Profile as a Writer

Community marketing is the process of designing and implementing programs to engage the customer, company, and other groups in a mutually beneficial way.
Today's businesses attempt to grow their social media following but only consider half the picture. Instead of trying to gain followers, they should connect with people beyond transactional relationships. It's an indirect way to promote your business without using a 'push' marketing strategy.

Building a community around your brand

<ul><li>Start a Facebook group. You can start a private group where content is only visible to members. You can connect your audience to a support network and share files and resources.</li><li>Email marketing is a low-cost, personal way to reach your customers by providing engaging content in their inboxes. You can engage readers by asking them a question at the end of the email.</li><li>Create a membership site where only registered users can communicate with each other.</li><li>Host events and meetings with the help of online conferencing tools.</li><li>Create live videos.</li></ul>

How to build your community

Indirectly promote your business with community marketing.

Discover the world of business and economics.

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Economics

Why Your Business Needs Community Marketing

Bel canto (Italian for "beautiful singing" or "beautiful song" )—with several similar constructions (bellezze del canto , bell'arte del canto )—is a term with several meanings that relate to Italian singing.

What is Bel Canto

Since the bel canto style flourished in the 18th and early 19th centuries, the music of Handel<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handel"> </a>and his contemporaries, as well as that of Mozart and Rossini, benefits from an application of bel canto principles. Operas received the most dramatic use of the techniques, but the bel canto style applies equally to oratorio, though in a somewhat less flamboyant way. Nonetheless, singers needed to keep the emotional drama moving forward, and so they used the principles of bel canto to help them render the repeated material in a new emotional guise.

When bel canto appeared

Two famous 18th-century teachers of the style were Antonio Bernacchi<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonio_Bernacchi"> </a>(1685–1756) and Nicola Porpora<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicola_Porpora"> </a>(1686–1768), but many others existed. A number of these teachers were castrati. Singer/author John Potter declares in his book Tenor: History of a Voice that:"For much of the 18th century castrati defined the art of singing; it was the loss of their irrecoverable skills that in time created the myth of bel canto , a way of singing and conceptualizing singing that was entirely different from anything that the world had heard before or would hear again."

Bel canto teachers

One reason for the eclipse of the old Italian singing model was the growing influence within the music world of bel canto's detractors, who considered it to be outmoded and condemned it as vocalization devoid of content. To others, however, bel canto became the vanished art of elegant, refined, sweet-toned musical utterance. Rossini lamented in a conversation that took place in Paris in 1858 that: "Alas for us, we have lost our bel canto".<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bel_canto#cite_note-FOOTNOTEOsborne19941-11"> </a>

Why bel canto disappeared

Franz Sieber wrote: "In our time, when the most offensive shrieking under the extenuating device of 'dramatic singing' has spread everywhere, when the ignorant masses appear much more interested in how loud rather than how beautiful the singing is, a collection of songs will perhaps be welcome which – as the title purports – may assist in restoring bel canto to its rightful place."

Franz Sieber on bel canto

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Personal Development

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Communication

Bel canto

Gone are those days when creative careers weren’t in the purview of ‘decent’ and ‘career-driven’ people. Now, creative careers are all in. With the saturation of science based fields, more and more people are channelling their inner creativity into a source of livelihood. If you’re someone who has a deep and abiding passion for any sort of creative art, it is possible to hone your talent and become successful in your field. Here are 7 creative career options you can choose

7 Creative Career Options You Can Choose

If you’re someone who has a deep and abiding passion for any sort of creative art. Here are 7 creative career options you can choose.

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Reading & Writing

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Problem Solving

7 Creative Career Options You Can Choose - GoBookMart

“Stupidity is a more dangerous enemy of the good than evil.”

“The power of the one needs the stupidity of the other. The process at work here is not that particular human capacities, for instance, the intellect, suddenly atrophy or fail. Instead, it seems that under the overwhelming impact of rising power, humans are deprived of their inner independence, and, more or less consciously, give up establishing an autonomous position toward the emerging circumstances. The fact that the stupid person is often stubborn must not blind us to the fact that he is not independent.

“In conversation with him, one virtually feels that one is dealing not at all with a person, but with slogans, catchwords and the like that have taken possession of him. He is under a spell, blinded, misused, and abused in his very being. Having thus become a mindless tool, the stupid person will also be capable of any evil and at the same time incapable of seeing that it is evil.”

“It is a particular form of the impact of historical circumstances on human beings, a psychological concomitant of certain external conditions. Upon closer observation, it becomes apparent that every strong upsurge of power in the public sphere, be it of a political or of a religious nature, infects a large part of humankind with stupidity.”

“When your deepest convictions are challenged by contradictory evidence, your beliefs get stronger.”

“The sick individual finds himself at home with all other similarly sick individuals. The whole culture is geared to this kind of pathology. The result is that the average individual does not experience the separateness and isolation the fully schizophrenic person feels. He feels at ease among those who suffer from the same deformation; in fact, it is the fully sane person who feels isolated in the insane society.”

“The mass of people are so stupid, so gullible, because they want to be misled. There’s no way to make them not want it. You have to work with the human race as it exists, with all of its flaws. Getting them to see reason is a fool’s errand.”

“But these thoughts about stupidity also offer consolation in that they utterly forbid us to consider the majority of people to be stupid in every circumstance. It really will depend on whether those in power expect more from people’s stupidity than from their inner independence and wisdom.”

“In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule.”

Takes a deep dive into the mind and stupidity.

“Stupidity is a more dangerous enemy of the good than evil,” wrote Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German theologian. Penning this sentence ten years after the accession of Adolf Hitler to supreme power…

Understand yourself and those around you.

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Psychology

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Philosophy

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History

Bonhoeffer’s Theory of Stupidity Explains The World Perfectly

Why did his winning adversaries choose to isolate him on an island? Twice. At the time, killing a king (which the French just did during the Revolution) was considered dangerous. It created unrest in the population and would give "bad ideas" to the mob. Napoleon's adversaries were monarchs who cared for the second-order effects of his execution.But why did they think of Napoleon as a king? He was a commoner after all, even though he declared himself Emperor. Mainly because Napoleon was still loved by the French people, especially the military. They didn't want to stir another rebellion.

Why wasn't Napoleon executed?

Now that I think of it, I was always curious about it. But somehow never got to ask...

Napoleon Bonaparte, thought to be one of the most influential and polarizing men in history, was, after his abdication in 1814 and again in 1815, exiled rather than executed. One might wonder why? On the surface the monarchies of Europe did have their reasons to do so. After all he was the man who sought to bring the British economy to its knees, implementing the so called Continental system, the man who on more than one occasion embarrassed the Austrian and especially the Prussian military, thought to be at the time the mightiest land army in the world, he was a person first admired by tsar Alexander but would later be branded as a tyrant and an enemy of the orthodox faith by the same man. Not the mention the countless lives lost, the destruction of Moscow as a consequence of Russia’s scorched earth policy, and the invasion of Spain who was at the time an ally of France. But above anything else he was a man that completely disrupted the balance of power in Europe. He would endanger the hegemony of the British empire up to that time. And while he was alive there was always a possibility that he would to do so again. But, on closer inspection, it isn’t quite as simple as it seems, and a more nuanced approach is necessary. 00:00 Intro 01:09 Factual background 03:45 Why didn't they kill him? 06:00 Why was Napoleon loved? Reading material: - Napoleon, A Life by Andrew Roberts - Price, Munro. Napoleon: The End of Glory. New York: Oxford University Press, 2014. - Dwyer, Philip G. Citizen Emperor: Napoleon in Power. New Haven : Yale University Press, 2013 - Woloch, Isser. Napoleon and His Collaborators: The Making of a Dictatorship. New York: W.W. Norton, 2001. Relevant Wikipedia articles - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Fontainebleau_(1814) - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdication_of_Napoleon,_1815 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hundred_Days - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gebhard_Leberecht_von_Bl%C3%BCcher Twitter profile: https://twitter.com/HistorySeek

Napoleon Bonaparte, thought to be  one of the most influential and polarizing men in history, was, after his abdication in 1814 and again in 1815, exiled rather than executed. One might wonder why? On the surface the monarchies of Europe did have their reasons to do so. 

 After all he was the man who sought to bring the British economy to its knees, implementing the so called Continental system, the man who on more than one occasion embarrassed the Austrian and especially the Prussian military, thought to be at the time the mightiest land army in the world, he was a person first admired by tsar Alexander but would later be branded as a tyrant and an enemy of the orthodox faith by the same man. 

Not the mention the countless lives lost, the destruction of Moscow as a consequence of Russia’s scorched earth policy, and the invasion of Spain who was at the time an ally of France. 

But above anything else he was a man that completely disrupted the balance of power in Europe. He would endanger the hegemony of the British empire up to that time. And while he was alive there was always a possibility that he would to do so again. 

But, on closer inspection, it isn’t quite as simple as it seems, and a more nuanced approach is necessary. 


00:00 Intro
01:09 Factual background
03:45 Why didn't they kill him?
06:00 Why was Napoleon loved?



Reading material:
- Napoleon, A Life by Andrew Roberts
- Price, Munro. Napoleon: The End of Glory. New York: Oxford University Press, 2014.
- Dwyer, Philip G. Citizen Emperor: Napoleon in Power. New Haven : Yale University Press, 2013
- Woloch, Isser. Napoleon and His Collaborators: The Making of a Dictatorship. New York: W.W. Norton, 2001.

Relevant Wikipedia articles 
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Fontainebleau_(1814)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdication_of_Napoleon,_1815
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hundred_Days
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gebhard_Leberecht_von_Bl%C3%BCcher


Twitter profile: https://twitter.com/HistorySeek

With every video I try to bring true history to light.

I hope you find my videos helpful and educational.

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Why was Napoleon exiled and not executed?

<ol><li>The Teaser (Minutes 1-3)</li><li>The Trouble (Minutes 3-8)</li><li>The Muddle (Minutes 8-13): </li><li>The Triumph/Failure (Minutes 13-18): The plan drawn up a few minutes ago to tackle the main plot is put into action, but it can’t work or the episode would be over already.</li><li>The Kicker (Minutes 19-21): There is usually an “outro” (sometimes while the credits are rolling), which shows the protagonist in the aftermath of that episode’s action.</li></ol>

Overview

After signing up to write a script for Croatian television, I learned that virtually all TV comedies, from Seinfeld to South Park, follow a simple formula.

Cracking the Sitcom Code - The Atlantic

<ol><li>Vary your sentence structure</li><li>Combine sentences</li><li>Have more agents</li></ol>

"Alex was breathing so hard that his chest was burning. He didn’t dare look over his shoulder as he ran. He just kept putting one foot in front of the other and hoped he wouldn’t trip. He was still being chased by the monster."[Subject][verb]. Each sentence follows the same formula, which is probably the main cause of pronoun overuse. "Alex was breathing so hard that his chest was burning. Not daring to look of his shoulder, he ran. Right now it was more important to avoid tripping, so he just kept putting one foot in front of the other. Behind him, the monster still followed."

Vary your sentence structure

"Alex was breathing so hard that his chest was burning. He didn’t dare look over his shoulder as he ran. He just kept putting one foot in front of the other and hoped he wouldn’t trip. He was still being chased by the monster.""Alex was breathing so hard that his chest was burning. Not daring to look over his shoulder, he kept putting one foot in front of the other and hoped he wouldn’t trip. He was still being chased by the monster."

Combine sentences

Remove the filter words and give the environment some agency."Alex was breathing so hard that his chest was burning. The rich smell of soil rose up from the forest floor, which was cool and soft between his toes. With no moonlight filtering through the forest canopy to illuminate the ground, he didn’t dare look over his shoulder. What if he tripped? Behind him, the monster crashed through the undergrowth, its hideous odour the harbinger of death."

Have more agents

Have you ever read through your work and found that he said this, she did that, he walked over there and then you realised you were using too many pronouns?

3 Ways to Avoid Using Too Many Pronouns

<ol><li>The most difficult writing problem to fix is narrative flow</li><li>Opening with an action-heavy scene won’t have an impact unless the reader cares about the characters</li><li>A single difference in a sea of sameness can elevate a novel</li><li>Writers must recognize their own potential</li></ol>

Overview: 4 Lessons

Writers must recognize their own potential

<ul><li>I can’t understate the importance of having an exciting feature that becomes the essence of the work﻿</li><li>It’s better to write a memorable-yet-flawed book rather than one that’s polished but resembles a hundred other stories.</li></ul>

A single difference in a sea of sameness can elevate a novel

<ul><li>﻿Readers are often attracted to contradictions, like a character who’s a kindergarten teacher shoplifting from a candy store</li><li>Try showing something personal about the character that only the reader gets to see</li><li>Open with a situation where the protagonist is pitted against their flaw</li><li>Scale down the problem the character is facing in the opening as a way to put the focus on smaller, more relatable struggles</li></ul>

Opening with an action-heavy scene won’t have an impact unless the reader cares about the characters

<ul><li>The writer should be confident about what they’re putting on the page and try to evoke a unique idea</li><li>The writer needed to develop a sense of pacing and voice on a sentence level</li><li>Engagement is about creating that liminal zone between reader comfort and uncertainty</li></ul>

The most difficult writing problem to fix is narrative flow

Writing contests are a lot like dating: you have to put yourself out there and brave rejection, but in the end, the most important thing is that you love who you are. To cultivate that sense of…

4 Writing Lessons from a Novel Contest Judge

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