Is Bigfoot really out there or is this tall hairy, hominid the result of fantasy, the product of wishful thinking, and imagination projection? This feature attempts to unravel fact from fiction.
For years, I have been fascinated by the crime-fighting, extraordinarily perceptive Allison Dubois, the person upon the television series, Medium, was based. This was partly because I too experience the occasional prophetic dream. Read on.
Today, more scientists than ever are acknowledging the links between good health and sufficient sleep. Sleep leads to dreaming and dreams are open to interpretation. This article outlines the principles that I lay out in my book, Dreams: Exploring Uncharted Depths of Consciousness.
Laid out by writer Vita Sackville West and her diplomat husband, Harold Nicolson, this attraction is a delight for lovers of both formal gardens and of untamed nature. Situated in the lovely Weald of Kent, it makes a great day out for adults and children.
Dublin is an ancient city in Ireland, filled with places that mark its significant events. Find out which sights give visitors an overview of its fascinating and turbulent history.
Though Dublin is an ancient city, filled with a number of old and ancient buildings, its modernistic structures are significant and reflect the changing times.
Did you realize that many famous writers have hailed from Ireland? Unsurprisingly, several of them were born and/or lived in Ireland's capital, Dublin, which boasts its own Writers' Museum. Learn more about some of these famous Nobel Prize-winning scribes.
Phoenix Park in Dublin, Ireland, is among the largest enclosed grassland areas in Europe. It encompasses a variety of smaller areas, six of which are described here.
Dublin is a small city, with a population of about one million, but a city that bears a number of surprising facets. This article outlines a number of the ways in which Dubliners and Dublin-based institutions have contributed to the scientific knowledge of the world.
Writing an academic essay is a discipline, requiring skills that develop over a lifetime. This article provides a framework for the most salient aspects of writing an academic paper.
'Marnie', by Alfred Hitchcock, is not an obvious noir film. Aside from the central female character, as distinct from the usual male, bright colour imbues the screen instead of monochrome. This article explores how Hitchcock used the devices of film noir to create an enduring and memorable movie.
"Rebecca" is a multi-layered work with intriguing themes. Many critics have described the novel as a gothic tale, meaning it combines elements of horror, mystery and romance.
If you write for a living or just want to increase your word power and improve your writing style, then following these exercises routinely will hand you the keys to mastery with words.
Product catchphrases fill the commercial world, phrases so ubiquitous and sunk into folk memory that many people are aware of a phrase even if they never use the product. This article explores these devices and brings you through a catchphrase creation exercise.
Writing a good advertisement is both a craft and an art. Perfecting it takes time, and it's never too soon to begin practising. Follow these tips to increase customers and revenue in your business.
In today's world, blogging is the way to spread the word about your marvellous service or product range. However, many people do not know how to begin, progress or end a blog. This article explains how to identify the story of your product, and to tell it to the world in a lucid and engaging way.
The 1985 film, "A Room With a View," has a current of darkness running through an otherwise sparkling narrative. Learn which tensions between opposing forces are highlighted.
Between 1602 and 1603, Queen Elizabeth I of England's health deteriorated suddenly, and she died. Learn how she may have been a victim of the quest for the fashionable ideal of her day.
Guildford in the county of Surrey, England, is a hub of history and beauty on the banks of the River Wey. This article summarises its main attractions, including the Castle Keep, and mentions supernatural activity.
Accounts of identity theft have grown more and more hair-raising in recent years. As a victim of this type of fraud, I explore the current situation and look at measures that the ordinary person can take to guard against identity theft.
English, as we know it, has been in use since about the 1400s. However, much of its vocabulary derives from a much older form of the language. This article traces the ways in which we still use Old English today.
With its landscape, geological features and fauna, Iceland is a fascinating country to visit. This article outlines a number of the country's lesser-known fun facts.
Learning Greek? If you speak English, you know more than you think already. English is a fascinating cocktail of other languages, both modern and ancient. In this article, I take a light-hearted look at how the world of ancient Greece affects our vocabulary today.
The Lay of the Nine Herbs was an ancient poem, outlining the most popular herbs in Saxon times. In my article, I chart the nine herbs in most use today, exploring their uses in cooking and medicine.
The National Botanic Gardens in Dublin is over 200 years old. Join me on this walking tour of the grounds and enjoy these lovely and witty photographs.
Fairytale and mythical elements appear in many popular movies and stories. This is an analysis of how these elements work together in Now, Voyager (Irving Rapper, 1942), making it a great movie.
All over the world, people are encountering phenomena that we regard as supernatural. Why is this happening?
A light-hearted look at the the concept of the noble savage, and of how he provided the prototype of the romantic male hero on the pages of our most popular writers.
The bust of Nefertiti has not been outside of controversy since Ludwig Borchardt found it, in 1912. What are the debates surrounding the bust, and why?
Use this feature to decide whether you are a happy-go-lucky Dionysus or an all-controlling Apollo.
Why the ancient Greeks chose this feminine goddess to ensure health and prosperity
Like many people, I love a good horror yarn. All too often, I find movie directors using the same, tired devices, over and over. What are they, and how can movies be better?
The wolf in nature, myth and legend
An exploration of the vampire in folklore, literature and in our modern world
A comprehensive guide to the world of the paranormal, supernatural entities and the people who deal with them.
An exploration of why the humble olive has been prominent in medicine and mythology since ancient times.
The Ten Books on Architecture by Marcus Vitruvius Pollio are ancient texts that have endured through time, and these are the reasons why.
The English garden is remembered in history and fable, drama and romance. I recount a number of facts and stories, with special reference to William Shakespeare.
Today, many people believe that chronic tiredness is inevitable, something they have to "put up" with. I show that tired-ness is neither inevitable or inconquerable.
How to translate the wonderful Greek legend into computer art, using the references of Roy Lichtenstein
An account of my attempt to live a tidy, well organised and conflict-free life
Investigating how Ray Lichtenstein created still lifes
How awareness of the changing perspective of time in his world enriched the language of William Shakespeare
How to create beautiful, rainbow-hued images using computer technology
The fascinating way that astronomy has infiltrated our culture since ancient times
The Greatest Ghostbusting Group of Our Times
The significance of ritual in dealing with the supernatural
Roy Lichtenstein used certain conventions when creating his images. What are they and how can you create Lichtenstein-type images using modern computer graphic software.
Nicholas Roeg made Don't Look Now in 1973. It has intrigued cinema-goers ever since.
Regent's Park, London, has been in existence since medieval times. Follow its fascinating history in this hub.
A description of how light energy and chemistry works in harmony to create life on our planet.
The Wallace Collection boasts a trove of beautiful and historical timepieces that combine the craftsmanship of the day with skill, and the fine arts.
Pandora's Box is the latest novel by author Mary Phelan, the story of a young woman whose whole life changes when she becomes fascinated by Greek mythology.
Where’s the poet, show him! Show him! Muses nine, that I might know him (from The Poet, by John Keats. Many people often wish that they were “better” at doing something, be it math (for helping children with homework, possibly),...
Hayao Miyazaki's multiple award-winning movies is a thing of beauty; it's a work of art with a storyline that has definite themes and meanings. This article explores some of these.
An exploration of the crossover between art and optical physics in the seventeenth century
An exploration of two, great plot puzzlers in Pride & Prejudice, Jane Austen’s most popular novel.
An exploration of the twinning of man with horology, and of how it has infiltrated our language and literature.
A summantion of the social and cultural trends that led to Mithraism in ancient Rome
An exploration of the possible fates of the famous Princes in the Tower
There are some who love the mountain, and some who love the sea but the brown, bubbling river is the dearest thing to me... ran a poem I remember from childhood. Sadly, I cannot find any attribution either online or off - maybe a reader can help? In...
A summary of the ways in which arnica can help people who suffer from arthritis
The current series of Paranormal Witness on Really television channel (UK) is just about to conclude. Once more, I am shocked by the vivid accounts of eerie and horrible happenings as told by credible witnesses. Again, my mind is at work, trying to...
I love the Bible story of Noah. I love the idea of a middle-eastern gentleman who lived about five and a half thousand years ago, building a large boat and filling it with paired animals of all kinds to save them and mankind from a flood. Many...
In the 1970s, I read about an experiment that took place in a department store, where the management played a subsonic tape repeating the words I am honest, I will not steal, in addition to the normal in-store music. At the end of a definite period,...
On November 30, Mike Newell’s production of Great Expectations is opening in London cinemas. It is a fitting tribute to Charles Dickens, the “Inimitable” in the final months of his bicentenary. Though I have seen many screen and television...
Early one morning (about 1 am) in January 2008, I was sitting up reading in bed when it began to rock from side to side. At first, I thought that it was my imagination working overtime, but soon realised that it was for real. Who is there? I...
Very few people, men or women, can imagine getting through a normal day without looking at least once in a mirror. Modern self-consciousness means that we must see ourselves as others see us. A mirror is a polished surface, usually of amalgam-coated...
Perhaps the most famous espouser of the manual methodologies of the Middle Ages was William Morris, Victorian writer, designer and craftsman. According to Professor Baldwin G Brown, the work of Morris was inspired by Giorgio Vasari's book, Vasari on...