Photo: Thinkstoc

It was every writer’s dream, followed immediately by every writer's nightmare. The phone call: You’ve been nominated for the National Book Award! I imagine my response would be the same as Lauren Myracle’s: “You’re f***ing kidding me!” The best-selling YA author told Vanity Fair that when she watched the live stream of the announcement of the nominees her “heart was so happy.”  

Then a few days later, she was told that there had been a mistake. A clerical error. The intended nominee was not actually her book Shine, but another novel titled Chime. (As an aside, how on earth does this happen? Does the National Book Foundation communicate via tin can?) She said she “felt gutted. I felt embarrassed, and ashamed that I had the gall to believe that this book was worthy.”

In the end, Myracle stepped down herself rather than forcing the National Book Foundation to revoke the nomination. It was an undoubtedly classy move, and letting go of anger and hurt with such an open spirit sets a good example for the kids reading Myracle’s work (and the rest of us).   As she put it, “I guess I would have to say, just like any bad breakup or any awful thing you go through, if I could go back and have it not happen, I would have it not happen. But some really good things have come of it.”

Actually, she's the one who made sure that some good came of the whole debacle. Since her book is about a violent hate crime against a gay youth, Myracle asked the National Book Foundation to make a donation to the Matthew Shepard Foundation. She described this as "the one unsullied good thing that’s come out of this for me. And that’s more tangible good than a shiny gold sticker any day.” Doesn’t that give you chills? I’m trying really hard here not to make a terrible “myracle” pun, but this lady’s generosity of spirit seems like a bit of a...okay, fine, miracle.

Read the entire Vanity Fair interview for more details about what happened and Myracle's kind words about the judges.

More astounding acts of forgiveness:
A daughter forgives her father's killer
Inspiring acts of absolution
How to let go (and why your life depends on it)

© Virginia McKenna/bornfree.org.uk

A lion cub is purchased from a London department store, raised in a furniture shop, successfully introduced into the wilds of Kenya, and recognizes his human friends when he's reunited with them a year later. Tens of millions of people have viewed the sensational video, but lesser known is the story of Bill Travers and Virginia McKenna, the husband-and-wife stars of the 1966 film Born Free, who facilitated Christian's move to Africa—and housed the lion in their Surrey garden while the details were worked out.

Travers and McKenna met the lion by chance, but the friendship they'd built with George Adamson, the legendary gamekeeper and subject of Born Free, while shooting the film proved essential to finding Christian a home in Kenya. These days, McKenna spends her time working on the foundation she helped found in 1984, also called Born Free, rehabilitating animals that have suffered in captivity and returning them to the wild. She took some time out between tending to the organization's rescue centers in South Africa, India, Malawi and Ethiopia to tell us what she remembers about the lion's journey from cramped London quarters to East African bush.

See the pictures and learn the rest of the story, and tune in to check out episode 14 of Oprah's Lifeclass for more lessons animals have taught us.

Illustration: Thinkstock

Let's try a quick exercise. Think of everything you've done in your professional life for the last three years—every question you've asked, every problem you've solved, every discovery you've made, every breakthrough you've had. Now explain all of it aloud in a way that's understandable and engaging. You have three minutes, starting now. Go. What's that? You're finding this project a bit difficult? Well I said it was quick, I never said it was easy.

The 42 graduate students who participated in The University of Queensland's 3-Minute Thesis (3MT) competition in Australia last month know just how challenging it can be. 3MT asks candidates for advanced degrees to present their thesis ideas to an audience of non-specialists in 180 seconds. The contest, says the mission statement, "is not an exercise in trivialising or 'dumbing-down' research but forces students to consolidate their ideas and crystalise their research discoveries."

Videos from the winning presentations are available to watch online for free, and they're inspiring—not only because they offer anyone an opportunity to educate themselves fascinating subjects in three short minutes, but also because they celebrate a grossly under appreciated skill: communicating the ideas we're most passionate about.  It doesn't only apply to big presentations or speeches; whether you're in a job interview, on a date, pitching your big idea or just trying to persuade your friend that Revenge is a really good show and she should give it a chance, passion is an attractive quality. If you want a role model for using yours in your favor, just watch Matthew Thompson, a psychology student, who managed to turn "Structure and Features of Complex Visual Stimuli: Assisting Identification in Forensics" into "Suspects, Science, and CSI."



Keep Reading
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The most useful communication technique of all time

Photo: Sarasota Country Sheriff's Office

I've always wanted to find a message in a bottle. Or on a balloon string. Or in a tree. Better yet, how about a mysterious man washing to shore, bearing a cryptic message? That's just what happened on Florida beach this week. This stranger-come-to-town is 8 feet tall, 100 pounds, and was found wearing a t-shirt that reads "NO REAL THAN YOU ARE." Oh, and he's a giant Lego. What can it all mean? Did he escape from a giant's playset?

Okay, so it's a publicity stunt/art piece orchestrated by a Dutch artist (or someone) called Ego Leonard (or maybe that's the Lego man himself, no one seems quite sure). That doesn't diminish the wonderful, weird mystery of it. Imagine walking along the shore and discovering this huge Lego fellow. What a moment that would be! Someone went to a lot of trouble all so that Jeff Hindman (or whoever) could happen open this object and experience an instant of an upside-down world, a moment of magic. By turns playful and enigmatic, the Lego man, if nothing else, injects a moment of whimsy into the world.

Read the original article in the Herald-Tribune for "Ego Leonard"'s hilarious response to requests for information.

Men! What are they thinking? We can't always answer that, but we'll be posting our favorite glimpses into their world in this space every Thursday.



* For toy-lovers: The mother of all Hot Wheels tracks. (Devour)

* NPR investigates how we become sports fans, and even if you're consistently getting your heart broken by the team your father saddled you with as a child, take comfort in the fact that "sharing a team with your dad is a point of connection for both sons and daughters." (Krulwich Wonders)

* If sports never caught on with you, but you still want your dad—or uncle or brother or husband—to open up, here are nine easy ways to connect with the men in your life. (Oprah.com)

* "Picture the coolest brasserie in your hometown, that’s what this is. It’s the hottest-looking restaurant in this town. We have to get rid of a few stigmas attached to the word volunteering and making a difference."—Jon Bon Jovi on the pay-what-you-can restaurant his foundation has opened in Red Bank, New Jersey. (Grub Street; Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation)

Photo: Diane Cu and Todd Porter

As promised, I am sharing two recipes a week over the next three weeks for you to try and see if you would like to serve them for Thanksgiving this year. As always I try them out first to make sure that everyone will be pleased. Last week I included the recipes for Scallion Mashed Potatoes and Creamed Spinach. Both dishes are a family favorite and I always include them no matter what. Besides how can you not serve mashed potatoes with your turkey? This week I'm going to skip right to the dessert and give you recipes for an outstanding Pumpkin Cheesecake and Blackberry Cobbler. The cheesecake is a definite crowd-pleaser. It has a creamy, smooth consistency with just the right amount of pumpkin flavor that is surprisingly light. The crust adds just the right amount of crunch thanks to the gingersnap cookies and the warm flavors of ground ginger and cinnamon that adds the perfect touch to what will become a family favorite. And give the cobbler a try. It has an intense blackberry flavor that's juicy and not too sweet. Having something that is too sugary after such a big meal is just too heavy. Serve the cobbler warm with vanilla ice cream or vanilla frozen yogurt. I love the sensation when I take my first bite of the warm cobber with the cold melting ice cream. It's just so good! If you have any left over store in the refrigerator over night. It tastes great right out of the refrigerator cold. I hope you enjoy these recipes (for more, follow me on Twitter @cristinacooks)!

In the era of instant nostalgia—looking at a photo the moment it’s taken and then losing it just as quickly in crowded digital archives—there’s something particularly wonderful about a film like Jeff Altman’s dazzling "Las Vegas 1962".  The saturated colors are Mad Men-gorgeous; the film a reminder of how Vegas used to be—all excitement and fun and Rat-Pack-esque glamor. What was it with the 60s? Was everyone constantly hamming it up, smooching for the camera?

Las Vegas 1962 from Jeff Altman on Vimeo.

But what really gets me about this film is the human element: these people, beautiful and young, destined to be someone’s grandparents. In the footage they are smiling and waving and having a fabulous time, the stars of the movie of their lives.  It reminds me of visiting my grandmother’s humid Skokie, IL, apartment and staring at snapshots of a chic, raven-haired lady who I simply did not believe could be my little Nani. Waving from convertibles? Posing with girlfriends on the beach? Seeing her this way made everything feel different. Surprise—she hadn't always been old.

Photo: Courtesy of Beyond Yoga

Join the fight against breast cancer while treating yourself (or your mother, aunt, or a friend) to something special.

Do your reverse-warrior pose in style with these slimming, two-tone yoga pants. The best part: The high waistband will keep your bum covered so you don't end up flashing any skin during downward-facing dog.

$84, BeyondYoga.com; 25 percent of proceeds goes to Making Strides Against Breast Cancer charity walk

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The Life-Lifter: Out of the rubble, some happy news. More survivors of the Turkish earthquake.