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Index:A. QuoraB. RedditC. Youtube ChannelsD. Other websitesE. Blogs for MBA studentsF. Various interestsG. Short StoriesH. Wikipedia articlesA. Quora(Each link is a separate answer)Best questions on QuoraBest answers of 2015Best answers of 2014TechnologyMoviesEntrepreneurshipLiteratureBooksBook RecommendationsWritingComicsHinduismTravelCookingGoogleMarketingMilitaryHarry PotterB. RedditI. Have a question?AskReddit : The mother of all "ask" multi-reddits. Any question you have, shoot it to this 20 mn + community.AskScience : For questions pertaining to science. No bullshit tolerated. Answers generally contain authentic and credible sourcesAskScienceFiction : How can Superman fly at speed > c? Feel a disturbance in the force? Wanna become Batman? What about some Wizarding world's natural rules? A host of intriguing questions and equally incredible answers.AskAcademia : For academical pursuitsAskEngineers : For when you need stuff to get repaired. Or broken completely.AskHistorians : To take a look back in timeHomeworkHelp : When you are too lazy.ask_gender : For the socially awkwardtipofmytongue : Ever been confounded by something that you know but can't remember the name? May be a movie you saw when young? Or that song they played at the pub yesterday?what_is_this___ : Click a photograph. And the community will let you know what it isII. Wanna learn something?Explain Like I'm Five : A simple, layman explanation of even the most intriguing questions.Today I Learned (TIL) : A compendium of things/facts people stumble across on a daily basis.Life Pro Tips (LPT) : Stuff they don't teach you in school or collegeLifeHacks : Stuff they don't teach you in school or college. Part 2You Should Know (YSK) : Sort of like TIL but with a purpose. Stuff that you should know to lead a better life.HowTo : Learn how to do simple stuffDIY (Do It Yourself) : Learn how to build simple stuffUniversityofReddit : Probably an underrated sub. People actually take classes here. Sort of like Reddit Coursera.IWantToLearn : Wanna learn something? Ask. And someone will come along and teach you the same.III. Some really good, intense or offbeat stuff here:DepthHub : A collection of some of the best, in-depth conversations on Reddit.RedditThroughHistory : If Reddit existed way back, what kind of posts would the front page have.Futurology : The pseudo-counterpart to RedditThroughHistory. Discussions on upcoming technologies and the evolution and future of mankind.Foodforthought : Something to stimulate and excite your neurons. Things to ponder on.TrueReddit : Started off by some users when they saw that the quality of posts on reddit was declining. Almost all upvoted submissions are of wonderful quality.IAmA : The flagship community of reddit. Celebrities and unusual people come and field questions from the community. People like Obama, Bill Gates, Buzz Aldrin, Neil DeGrasse Tyson etc have done one.Here's the Google Calendar they use to track and notify users of upcoming AMAs:IAmA Scheduleblowit : Space for people to share stuff that is "mind-blowing" in a sentence of two.trees : for Marijuana lovers.UpliftingNews : Who doesn't need a dose of some good news in these times of distress. Witness people doing wonderful stuff, businessmen giving back to society, people reaching out to each other etc. A must-read for when you are feeling down.IV. Need some fun?Today I Fucked Up (TIFU) : People doing stupid shitShowerthoughts : People thinking stupid shit while showering.FanTheories : A place to speculate about stuff from books, movies, TV shows, anime etc. The reasoning and logical construction of some is brilliant.nottheonion : A collection of news that look like they belong to The Onion but are actually true.ExplainLikeImCalvin : The parodied version of Explain Like I'm Five. If you had a kid like Calvin, and he asked you a question, how would you tackle it.V. Can't sleep at night?All Things Horror: The umbrella sub.NoSleep : People posting original, long, detailed stories. Posted as "true" accounts and treated as the same.cryosleep: The sci-fi version of NoSleep.shortscarystories : The shorter version of NoSleep. Stories in less than 275 words.creepy : All things creepy - pics, stories, videos.creepypasta : A sub dedicated to the Creepypasta culture.Glitch_in_the_Matrix : Stories about stuff that you can't explain. Things that appear out of nowhere, or where they shouldn't be. Assuming out world is a matrix simulation, these phenomena are called glitches.LetsNotMeet : True accounts of people experiencing something terrifying - stalkers, strange noises etc.UnresolvedMysteries : self-explanatoryVI. Missed out on the news?worldnews : For all news except USnews: For all news (primarily US-centric)VII. For gamersgaming : The umbrella sub.A list of all gaming-related subreddits: Top Ten Video Game SubredditsVIII. For audiophilesI would recommend only two:/r/music : The mother reddit for all things music. Fridays are for in-depth discussions, Saturdays for fresh music.ListenToThis : For music recommendations.If you really want to get in-depth, a really comprehensive list of genre and interest based sub-reddits has been compiled by /r/music can be found here: musicsubreddits.IX. For comic loverscomics : For all web + print comics. Comics usually are strips posted by users or the artists themselves.comicbooks : Only for print. Interesting scenes, tid-bits, piece of history from the 2 major publication houses.manga : For all things manga.Webcomics : Only for webcomics.X. For the librocubicularistsbooks : The umbrella reddit. A wonderful sub with book-discussions, AMAs by popular authors, recommendations etc.A list of related sub-reddits here: relatedsubreddits - booksFor specific books and/or series.asoiaf : A Song of Ice and FireHunger GamesThe HobbitLord Of The RingsTheDarkTowerharrypotterThe Kingkiller ChronicleTheMortalInstrumentsXI. For the lovers of the visual mediummovies : For all stuff movies - trailers, discussions, articles, fan artstelevision : For all stuff TV.The top bar of the sub-reddit also lists specific sub-reddits for specific TV series sorted by genre.The Reddit Cinema Arts Feed : Feed curated using content from 26 movie related subreddits. Worth bookmarkingFor specific movies and TV seriesGame of ThronesTrueDetectiveTheWalkingDeadStar WarsArrested Developmenthow i met your motherBig Bang TheoryFamily GuyBreaking BadGothamHannibalHomelandHouse of CardsOrange is the New BlackDoctor WhoSupernaturalXII. For geeksTechnology : 5mn+ subscribers. A brilliant sub for all things tech.geek : Not a very social placeReddit Fantasy : For the fantasy genreMinecraft : duh!wowthissubexists : A sub-reddit discovery sub-reddit. People post about obscure subs that exist and might be of use to others.XIII. For the shutterbugsPhotography : The umbrella sub.I Took a Picture (ITAP) : People share personal clicks and others give feedback for appreciation and improvement.Photo Critique : Similar to ITAP.photomarket : For people to sell and buy photos.A list of related subreddits: metareddit - PhotographyXIV. For budding writerswriting : Discusses everything related to writing - techniques, advice, news etc. Has a weekly critique thread where people post their snippets for a good critique.worldbuilding : For people wanting to get into Fantasy writing. Focuses on developing the ability to conceptualize, create and develop fantasy worlds and back-stories before writing the actual thingScreenwriting : For budding screenwritersshutupandwrite : A self-help club where people push themselves and others to get thinking done and start writing.A list of all writing-related sub-reddits is compiled by the folks at WritingHub and is on their sidebar.XV. Reading/r/respectthreads - For anyone who loves comics, video games, anime, and manga (mostly).The people over at /r/respectthreads do exhaustive compilations (with proof) of the powers and feats of characters from different mediums. And I am serious when I say exhaustive.So, if you are new to comics (say) and want to how powerful or impressive a character is, head over there.E.g. Sentry respect thread, Dr. Strange respect thread, Green Lantern (Alan Scott) respect thread/r/tldr - A daily summary of the top posts on Reddit./r/hardscience - For the academically inclined, a collection of actual scientific papers, not pop-culture science./r/100yearsago - Catch up on history by reading what happened today, 100 years ago.XVI. Learning/r/learnuselesstalents - Things they don't teach you in school (or anywhere for that matter). Impress people by learning utterly useless stuff./r/UniversityofReddit - A group of learning enthusiasts who like to create and attend informal courses (the inspiration for my blog UoQ).XVII. Listening/r/treemusic - A never-ending playlist for when you are high.The sub-reddit player: radd.it!XVIII. Watching/r/mealtimevideos - Interesting videos for when you are eating. Not too short, not too long./r/EducativeVideos - Learn while you watch./r/ArtisanVideos - Watch the masters of various arts at work./r/fullmoviesonyoutube - Need I say more?/r/fullcartoonsonyoutube - Like above, but for cartoons.XIX. Related to Reddit/r/OutOfTheLoop - Do you ever feel left out on some hot or trending topic? Too afraid to ask people in case you come off as stupid? Worry not; get updated on anything you have been missing out on./r/wowthissubexists - A sort of meta sub to discover obscure subreddits on interesting, weird, and seemingly insignificant topics./r/subredditoftheday - Similar to WTSE, SROTD nominates one official sub-reddit each day. Kind of similar to the Quoran of the Day blog here on Quora./r/SubredditDrama - All the high-school type drama that goes on on Reddit, in one place. They have popcorn too.XX. Light reads/r/DogShowerThoughts - What is your dog thinking? Akin to the /r/showerthoughts sub (which has recently become full of inane and duplicate "thoughts"), but from a fresh perspective./r/explainlikeimcalvin - For parents with highly inquisitive kids./r/AnimalsBeingBros - To all bros on Quora. And all animals too./r/chemicalreactiongifs - Watch fascinating gifs of chemical reactions without risking burning down the lab./r/PerfectTiming - Every photographer's deepest desire is to click the perfectly-timed picture. Here, you can view everyone's lucky stroke.C. Youtube ChannelsHere's a list of 86 channels you should subscribe to, sorted according to interests.Index:Serious learning (including official college courses and other MOOCs)Science and mathematicsNatureSpaceHistoryTechnologyLiteratureReal newsVaried interests (Channels that create content spread over multiple topics)Niche interests (Arts, Finance, Philosophy, Travel, Food, Magic, Farming)Fun while learning (Videos that are informative as well as fun to watch)A. Serious learningA.1. College coursesYale Courses - The official channel of Yale offers full length lectures on various topics, by some of the world's leading and most-respected experts.The lectures are beautifully arranged and sorted as classes.To start, you can check out the series on Financial markets by Robert J. Shiller - a 2013 Nobel prize winner in Economics for his work on "empirical analysis of asset prices".MIT OpenCourseWare - Similar to Yale Courses, here's the official channel of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.GreshamCollege - A collection of full video lectures and some interesting shorts by Gresham College, uploaded so that everyone can learn for free.A.2. Other official coursesKhan Academy - The official channel of the first true online educator, Salman Khan, that started off as simple videos for his niece.(*Subject-wise assorted playlists*)A.3. Everything elseBIO - A collection of biographies of some of the most famous people from all spheres of life.(*Sorted playlists - Olympic medalists, Oscar winners, actors, politicians, athletes et al*)DOCUMENTARY TUBE - A collection of full-length documentaries.Big Think - showcasing content that is actually relevant, analyzing the same, and featuring some of the most well-known thinkers of our time - Bill Nye, Neil DeGrasse Tyson, Stephen Fry.B. Science and MathematicsApplied Science - Focusing more on the practical application of science rather than the theoretical, Applied Science does some really quirky videos like building an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) or the electron microscope image of a vinyl LP.Minute Physics - Explaining some basic concepts as well as some of the most FAQs related to science with the help of hand drawn animation, in videos of less than 4-5 mins. Perfect for the less patient ones.They also provide some definitive Quora-type answers. For example, this video that proves that running in the rain is better than walking if you can find a shelter before the rain stops. Else, both are the same.SciShow - Keeping you abreast of what is happening in Science, SciShow does a good job of combining news, theories, and random facts.Naked Science - Don't go by the name; it is a perfectly SFW channel. It is named so because it tries to unravel some of the mysteries and secrets of science.ASAP Science - Similar to Minute Physics in almost all respects. The only difference being that their horizon is broader and includes biology, philosophy, neurology and other fields.MinuteEarth - Part of the same family as MinutePhysics, MinuteEarth does a similar style of videos, but this time focusing on everything related to nature - biology, ecology, genetics etc.Sixty Symbols - A collection of random, fun videos about mostly Physics and Astronomy.StarTalk Radio - Neil deGrasse Tyson talks about everything science.Veritasium - A play on the word, Veritaserum (or the Truth Serum) from the Harry Potter series, Veritasium tries to bring the truth and dispel myths about science in the public.For example, the infamous myth that no person can stay in a perfect Anechoic chamber for more than 45 minutes, was disproved, when the creator Derek Muller stayed in one himself for more than an hour.NumberphileVideos about numbers - it's that simple.Reactions - The best Chemistry channel out there, bringing to you the chemical reactions behind some of the daily phenomenon you encounter, be it your morning coffee, or your dog sniffing another's butt.(*I especially love their Superhero series*)C. NatureAnimal PlanetBBC EarthNatGeoWildDiscoveryThe 4 biggest nature channels on TV offer some interesting content for nature lovers.This Place - "This place" is a veiled reference to the fact that we have only one planet. The channel tried to bring to notice some of the biggest issues with nature - viz-a-viz ecological preservation, and ties it to some of the basic theories of psychology and game theory.D. SpaceNASA - Stay updated on the latest events in Space exploration. And also on what is going behind the curtains with this playlist, updated weekly to offer a glimpse of life at NASA.(*This Week @NASA*)Scientific American Space Lab - Offering videos from the Space section of one of the most popular Science magazines.(Recommended: The *It Happened In Space* playlist.)VideoFromSpace - Space.com's Youtube channel. Get a glimpse of life in space, especially from their videos featuring astronaut, Chris Hadfield.(*Astronauts, Cosmonauts, and Taikonauts*)E. HistoryIt's History - (Already featured on the blog)With an aim to cover every major event in recent human history - from the Industrial Revolution, to the numerous wars fought, the channel is a perfect one-lecture crash course for each topic.The Great War - A brilliant channel where the host, Indiana Neidell, aka Indy, aims to cover the entire World War 1 in real-time, with a lag of 100 years.It is a very ambitious project that will take 4 years to complete (2014-18).'The Great War' shows you the history of the First World War in the four years from 1914 to 1918, exactly 100 years ago. Our host Indy takes you back week by week and shows you what was going on in the past. Learn more about the Allies and the Central Powers, emperors, Winston Churchill, Wilhelm II, soldiers, battles and of the life aside the battlefield. Subscribe to our channel to watch a new video every Monday & Thursday!Using a combination of an impressive narrative voice, actual pictures and footage from the war, maps, sketches, and an apt setting for discussing a 100-year old war, Indy manages to present one of the biggest events in human history in a lucid and engaging manner.(I highly recommend saving the official playlist that is updated regularly.*THIS WEEK 100 YEARS AGO - The Great War*)HISTORY - The official channel of the History (US TV network).Smithsonian - The official channel of the Smithsonian group of museums.F. TechnologyCodebabes - While the premise of the channel (women slowly taking off their clothes as the video tutorial progresses) is sexist and promotes the objectification of women (and is inspired from Naked News), the content however is really good, especially for beginners.Eli, the Computer Guy - For the ones who would love to get started with everything computers (Linux, basics of networking including DNS, TCP/IP, VoIP, basic Windows troubleshooting etc)LinusTechTips - Working for a Canadian software/hardware store as a product reviewer, Linus Sebastian soon started his own channel, which now has over 1.8 million subscribers.He reviews most of the incoming tech products, from gaming consoles, to unmanned drones.Also, check out his story on How I Became.G. LiteratureThe Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows - The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows is a website that creates new words; especially tailored to oddly-specific human emotions and experiences. Now they convert the same into beautiful videos.Just for starters,ambedon. a kind of melancholic trance in which you become completely absorbed in vivid sensory details—raindrops skittering down a window, tall trees leaning in the wind, clouds of cream swirling in your coffee—briefly soaking in the experience of being alive, an act that is done purely for its own sake.SpokenVerse - Some of the most important and influential poems of all time, narrated by creator Tom O'Bedlam.(*All of them wonderfully sorted by author*)wordsoftheworld -Ever wondered where a particular word originated? Not anymore.H. Real newsPulitzer Center - The official channel of the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, the channel features stories from journalists around the world. Stories that need to be heard.Start with their featured stories collection.Test Tube News - News that actually matters, but is not TRP-worthy enough for channelsVICE -VICE specializes in exploring uncomfortable truths and going to places we don't belong. Herein you will find people talking frankly about their hatred and love for various things, general heresy, the only culture, travel and news documentaries you'll want to watch, tons of exclusive new stuff, and probably not a lot of cats.I. Across varied topicsTed Ed(uation) - The TED Ed channel focuses on disseminating knowledge across a wide variety of interest fields (superheroes, climate change, decoding the human mind, governments and politics, language, mathematics, writing etc.).(Check out their *curated playlists here.*)TEDx Talks - TED Talks are great. But there are a lot of underappreciated ones, that take place during those independently organized events (called TEDx) that go unnoticed.That is until now. The TEDx Talks channel brings you all such talks from all over the world.CrashCourse - Already featured on the blog twice (here and here), CrashCourse is a channel run by the Green brothers - John and Hank. John Green (author) is the reknowned author of multiple best-sellers including Looking for Alaska and The fault in our stars.It is the single best resource on Youtube for learning anything from World History, to US Politics, from Ecology to Astronomy.Start here with this fantastic series by Phil Plait, aka The Bad Astronomer.(Full playlist: *Astronomy - Crash Course*)In a Nutshell – Kurzgesagt - (Already featured on the blog)This isn't exactly a course, but more like a meta course, where you get an erratic Professor who rambles on about dark matter and energy one day and insists on debating the age old question of "are we alone" the next.The best part about Kurzgesagt's videos is that they are beautifully animated. Using both Adobe Illustrator and After Effects, they come up with some stunning visuals which obviously takes a lot of time and effort, one of the primary reasons they only upload 1 or 2 videos per month.Start right here with the first (of two) videos on the Fermi paradox.VSauce - A what-if (XKCD) style collection of videos that seek to answer some of the most common hypothetical questions asked by people.CGP Grey - Educational videos spanning politics, British history, economics and geography.(*Sorted playlists*)#Education - An auto-generated Youtube channel featuring educational content from all the educational channels.Tell me why - Why does stuff happen the way it does? Know through this series of animated shorts.J. Niche InterestsJ.1. ArtsBFI (British Film Institute) - The official Youtube channel of British Film Institute, who maintain the world's largest film archive.J.2. FinanceeHow Finance - Sort of like the ELI5 version of the most common questions people have wrt Finance. eHow Finance does short videos trying to explain the myriad, basic concepts of stock markets, trading, insurance, personal finance etc.J.3. Philosophy, spirituality, metaphysicsRichard Dawkins Foundation for Reason & Science - The official channel of the foundation of the same name by Mr Dawkings. They have videos, interview clips, debates etc of Dawkins and a bunch of his contemporaries on the subject of God, the Universe, human consciousness and so forth.QualiaSoup - Animated videos to help facilitate discussions regarding phislosophy, theism vs atheism, and the science of morality.Spirit Science - Focusing on the spiritual side of the human world.J.4. TraveltravelfilmarchiveThe Travel Film Archive is a collection of travelogues and educational and industrial films -- many of them in color - that show the world the way it was between 1900 and 1970. Our holdings include archives of the renowned travel filmmakers Burton Holmes, Andre de la Varre, and James A. FitzPatrick, as well as footage shot by many other intinerant cameramen.J.5. Culinary ArtsFood Wishes - From Allrecipes.com and FoodWishes.com, the channel features 100s of recipes to help you get started on cooking.(*All recipes sorted by cuisine and occasion*)J.6. MagicDisturb Reality - Learn a few basic magic tricks to amaze your friendsJ.7. Lifehacksexpertvillage - Learn some of the most basic life skills.J.8. FarmingHow Farms Work - Farming is a profession slowly losing its charm. But if you aspire to have one, and have no idea where to start, this channel is for you.K. Fun while learningWatchMojo.com - Uploading 4-6 videos every day, WM is one of the best channels on YT if you simply want to relax and also learn something at the same time.They have a top 10 list on almost every topic - but majorly focusing on movies, music, TV shows, books, and comics.list25 - Same as WM, but with 25 items per list, and a little Buzzfeed styled content.Vi Hart - Vi Hart is a scribbling, fast-talking, restless piece of soul. Her videos are fast-paced, quirky, and at the same time informative. Don't believe me? Check her making hexaflexagons.Mental Floss - Official channel of MentalFloss.com, the channel is perfect for a laid back evening.Smarter Everyday - 140 videos, covering a wide variety of topics, uncovering some of the obscure aspects of science, religion, tradition, nature etc. Learn something new everyday for the next 4 months.Stuff You Should Know - HowStuffWorks - Know the logic that will help you make better informed decisions.TheBackyardScientist - Learn stuff by doing.Hybrid LibrarianIt's Okay To Be SmartLife Noggin3 channels to help you satisfy your daily need of information trivia.D. Other websitesLiterature and readingLetters of Note : Collecting letters, postcards, and all things not found in books by some of the most influential people in the world.Archive.org : Providing free and open access to countless books, websites, songs, movies, and almost everything digital.Project Gutenberg : Thousands of free e-books.Brain Pickings : The best review/recommendation blog for your daily reading needs.Futility Closet : A collection of all oddities in literature and art.CliffsNotes : Helping you understand the plot, the conventions, the themes, the motifs, and character motivations from books.MOOCs: Helping you learn from the comfort of your roomKhan AcademyCourseraedXUdemyiversityUdacityFutureLearnMIT Open CourseWareOpen Learning at HarvardOpen Yale CoursesCMU - Open Learning InitiativeNPTELLearningDuolingo : A new languageCodeacademy : CodingChesscademy : Playing chessJustin Guitar : Playing the guitarLizard Point: GeographyTED : Great talks on various subjectsLifehacker : Tips and tricks for everyday lifeAddictiveTips : Tips and tricks for the techiesInstructables : Make it yourselfTop Documentary Films : Hundreds of free documentariesAlso, Documentary HavenMultiple StackExchange forums (depending on interest)The complete list can be found here: http://stackexchange.com/sites#Multiple subreddits (again, depending on interest)Sub-reddit starter packBooster packOthersSnopes.com : Debunking myths. One at a time.TV Tropes : Breaking down the conventions used in all forms of art.Atlas Obscura : Exploring the unknowns of the world.Listverse : Lists, lists, and more lists.Neatorama : The alternative 'front page of the internet' - curating the most interesting things from the web.The Needle Drop : Music reviewsThe Art Of Manliness : Helping you become the perfect "man".Blogs for MBA aspirants (in the domains of Finance, Marketing, Economics, Leadership, and Entrepreneurship)Deepak Mehta (दीपक मेहता)'s answer to Which are the must read sites and blogs for an MBA student specifically for, e.g., finance, marketing, startups, technology, et cetera?E. Blogs for MBA studentsI. FinanceProf. Jayanth R. Varma's Financial Markets Blog: Prof Jayant Verma is a Professor of Finance (mainly Financial markets) at IIMA. He is one of the most impressive teachers I have ever met. He was one of the first members of SEBI and is on the board of multiple big companies including Infosys and Axis Bank. His blog, which has been up since 2005, is a brilliant resource on understanding the nuances of the financial markets.Dealbook (NYT): Dealbook is the news aggregator section of NYTimes to keep you updated on the current state of affairs of the Fin industry.Mergers & Inquisitions: Everything you need to know about every aspect of the Financial world - from big investment banks to boutique firms, from Private Equity to Hedge Funds and AM/WM firms.Investment Banking Blog: The holy mecca for preparation of i-Banking interviews, the IB Blog offers everything from bootcamps and interview prep courses (paid) to free resources like basic interview questions, overview of the industry etc.Wall Street Oasis: Similar to #2 above, but with more functionality to read the best articles of the month/week/day etc.FT Alphaville: Another news aggregator that will make sure you do not have any time left in your day (courtesy it's exhaustive coverage of current affairs)II. EntrepreneurshipEntrepreneur: Your companion on the entrepreneurial journey. The site will keep you updated with the start-up world, help you work on various aspects of your professional self, and also provide the much needed pep-talk when you are feeling down/exhausted/defeated.AVC: The chronicles of Fred Wilson ( a Venture Capitalist for the past 30 years) with some incredible credentials to his name (including investments in Twitter, Tumble, Zynga, Foursuare etc). AVC is probably the most widely-read VC blog in the world.III. MarketingMad Over Marketing: MoM is a fun blog. They capture everything from brand wars on twitter, to collection of some of the best and most important marketing campaigns. The blog is a very easy read and will help you broaden your horizon when it comes to thinking of how you can ante up your marketing/advertising game.Duct Tape Marketing: Duct Tape Marketing focuses on small businesses and startups. They take into account that small businesses do not have the funds that large corporations do. So their marketing tactics need to be tailored to their financial capacity.aimClear: aimClear wants to be the single resource when it comes to your personal as well as company brand by using every possible tool in the marketer's kitty - from social media to SEO, from conclaves to data management using basic tools like Excel.Bufferapp social: Bufferapp is an exhaustive resource to help you manage, grow, and track your social media persona.HubSpot Blog: A collection of 3 secondary blogs - focusing on sales, marketing, and your agency. This trio will help you streamline your sales activity, boost your pre-sales capabilities, help you traverse the maze of sales-killer questions like, "This is too costly", and also help you manage your time and productivity in a better manner.Marketing Land: The Dealbook of marketing, ML is the one-stop solution for your marketing trends news requirement.Startup Marketing | Ryan Gum: Ryan Gum is a growth hacker who helps create marketing plans for startups and small businesses starting from creating your initial pitch, attracting your first customer, and an exhaustive list of Startup Marketing Resources.The SumAll Blog: The SumAll blog is like the child of Buzzfeed and Medium (and not in a negative sense). They post content which is useful and is also written in a fun manner. The articles are often crisp and under a 5-min read.IV. EconomicsFreakonomics: The uthors of the best-selling economics-infused-with-pop-culture book have more to say and share than the 2 books. The blog is usually a collection of podcasts that aim to explore the "hidden side of economics" and highlight outliers, which although rare, are extremely critical.Why Nations Fail: On the same line as Freakonomics, the blog by Daren Acemoglu is a follow-up on his book of the same name and explores similar obscure events that shaped the rise and fall of nations and civilizations.Economixcomix: The companion blog for the graphic novel of the same name by Michael Goodwin, Economixcomix explains the basic tenets of Economics in a simple way, along with illustrations to make understanding easier.The Grumpy Economist: The perennial pessimist, the one who finds faults in everything, the dad who bores his kid during dinner with his constant rants and criticisms, John Cochrane provides an unabashed, and hard-hitting critique that exposes the not-so-sunny side of the world economy.Investing and Economics Blog: The Curios Cat blogs is for us. The laymen. The dabblers. It focuses heaving on personal finance, economics, financial literacy, tax planning, credit management et al; stuff that affects the majority of the populace on a regular basis.The Upshot: The NYT economics companion to its financial section, Dealbook, The Upshot is all you need to read to be perfectly updated of what is happening, why it is happening, what would be the consequences, and what could have been done better.Economist's View: A collection of self-posts and the hottest posts from other economics blogs.The Money Illusion: TMI focuses on the money and capital markets and provides wonderful commentary on financial crises, international economics, foreign reserve dynamics, monetary and fiscal policies, labor markets etc.V. LeadershipGuy Kawasaki: Guy is one of the most well known figures in Silicon Valley, and among the first "tech evangelist".All Things Workplace: As the name suggests, this is a blog for managers, bosses, and professionals and aims to cover all aspects of workplace management including effective communication, employee engagement, conflict management, incorporating cultural diversity and differences, various facets of leadership, boosting creativity, and so on.Seth's Blog: Seth is a funny guy. The funniest of all in this list. Although he calls his blog a marketing blog, it's more generic in nature and oft has funny quips and clever observations interspersed with longform articles.Lean In: Everyone knows the book by Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook. The blog aims to continue the story and encourage and empower women to face challenges, voice their opinions, and grow themselves in the workplace.Switch & Shift: S&S aims at helping business transition from the traditional workplace model to the current, more information driven, globally-diverse-yet-connected workplace.Hot Momma's Project: Don't go by the sexist-sounding name, HMP is sort of a companion to LeanIn and strives to help women claim their rightful place in the corporate world.Culture University: In a globally inter-connected world, understanding, accepting, and imbibing cultural diversity is an important trait for organizations to sustain themselves and grow.Big Think: Having Bill Nye, TheScienceGuy, on board is a big achievement for Big Think which aims to be an idea hub, an "Youtube for ideas" as its founders put it.VI. OthersBob Sutton: Bob, a Professor of Management Science at Stanford, writes on everything including, but not limited to, workplace culture, book reviews, team management, employee management etc.Harvard Business Review: HBR is the most popular published management magazine that covers almost everything relevant to an MBA degree. If there has to be a starting point for an MBA student/aspirant, this is it.F. Various interestsDetailed posts to help you with the resources and recommendations to start learning new things. All posts first appeared on UoQGetting Started#1: Finance#2: Economics#3: Marketing#4: Philosophy#5: Game DevelopmentResources#1: 2 free courses on MS Excel (Basics, Macros)#2: For MBA aspirants#3: Best Youtube channels for learning#4: Everything on startups and entrepreneurship#5: The Android Classroom#6: A few more educational Youtube channels#7: Indian podcasts#8: 200+ Programming/Computer Science MOOCsInformal Courses#1: The Great War - Indiana Neidell#2: Crash Course - World History - John Green#3: Crash Course - Astronomy - Phil Plait (The Bad Astronomer)#4: In a nutshell - Kurzgesagt#5: The basics of animation - Ted-ed#6: Crash Course - Ecology - Hank Green#7: Managing your money - An introductory guide to Personal FinanceG. Short StoriesBelow is the list of 72 wonderful short stories that can be found online for free. (Click on the title to go to the story page.)So can you take a couple of days off from your busy schedule?Science fiction#1: All you zombies - Robert A. Heinlein (4.5 stars)Probably the most convoluted and complex of all time travel stories, All you zombies is a masterpiece that has been lauded for its originality and the sheer mind boggling complexity of its plot.#2: The last question - Isaac Asimov (5 stars)The best work of the best sci-fi writer that ever lived.The last question was asked for the first time, half in jest, on May 21, 2061, at a time when humanity first stepped into the light. The question came about as a result of a five dollar bet over highballsAsimov takes one simple, fundamental question and weaves a story around it - as story spanning billions of years, the vastness of the universe and the hyperspace. The narrative is captivating, enchanting and fast paced. There is a continued sense of awe throughout as the story nears completion. And then, in a single closing statement, Asimov pulls offs a stunner.*Since "The last question" is rated 5 stars, no other story will be.#3: A sound of thunder - Ray Bradbury (3.5 stars)2055. Time machines. Safaris to the past - humans going back millions of years to hunt exotic animals including dinosaurs. Every moment is carefully planned to avoid making even the slightest change to the future. Or is it?Butterfly effect!#4: They are made out of meat - Terry Bisson (3.5 stars)We are not alone. But we might never know that. And there's a reason why.#5: 2BR02B - Kurt Vonnegut (4 stars)The story of a utopia. Of mankind's most lusted after ambitions come true. And mankind's most dreaded horrors too. A painter, a father, a doctor, triplets, a woman with a strange job, drupelets and the Happy Hooligan.Vonnegut's dark "paradise" leaves much to be desired and pondered and answered.#6: The Nothing Equation - Tom Godwin (4 stars)The space ships were miracles of power and precision; the men who manned them, rich in endurance and courage. Every detail had been checked and double checked; every detail except—THE NOTHING EQUATION.An observation bubble at the edge of our galaxy. One man to oversee it surrounded by vast legions of nothingness. The first commits suicide, the second goes insane. Now there is a third.#7: I have no mouth, and I must scream - Harlan Ellison (4.5 stars)What begins off as another post-apocalyptic world story, where a sentient, all-powerful machine has annihilated humanity, gradually builds up to be a terrifying, what-if tale. 5 survivors of the end of humanity must endure against an immensely powerful and vengeful machine. And there's no way out. There is just the 5 of them and an eternity of pain and torture.#8: As long as you wish - John O'Keefe (3 stars)A coin with a paradoxical statement on both sides: THE STATEMENT ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THIS COIN IS FALSE.A Professor of Philosophy.A strange discovery.A hidden message.#9: No moving parts - Murray F. Yaco (3.5 stars)The story of a time far ahead in the future where everything works perfectly. Human intervention is no longer needed to maintain or fix things. But everything's changing now.That light will be flashing with more and more frequency in the months to come. But not just to signal trouble in space. If I were a superstitious man, I’d think that the age of the perfect machine is about to be superseded by the age of the perfect failure—mechanical failures that can’t be explained on any level.I really believe, childishly, that the mechanics and motions of the galaxy may turn themselves upside down just to snap man out of his apathy and give him some work to do.”#10: The Veldt - Ray Bradbury (3.5 stars)A wonderful story of a utopia. Of a happy family. Of a time when the human civilization has advanced so much that everything you want is done by machines at the slightest thought. A story that explores the question of "How far can you go mechanizing things before you are redundant?"#11: The nine billion names of God - Arthur C. Clarke (3 stars)Lamas at a monastery have taken up an ambitious project - to list down all the 9 billion names of God. And they believe that this is what humanity was made to do. And once the 9 billionth name is listed, our purpose would be fulfilled.But what happens after that? If we have no more use for God, what happens to us? Will everything end? Or is it just the religious fantasy of a bunch of devout fanatics?#12: There will come soft rains - Ray Bradbury (3 stars)A mechanized house. A pre-planned schedule. Machines running around frantically, executing every job. But where are the masters?Bradbury's story is more than what it seems - a bleak commentary on the horrors of nuclear wars and their aftermath.#13: The star - Arthur C Clarke (3.5 stars)AD MAIOREM DEI GLORIAM - For the greater glory of GodA scientific voyage to the remnants of a supernova discover one lonely planet encircling the white dwarf. They stumble upon the carefully and intentionally preserved remains of a civilization - advanced, intelligent and in full bloom of its youth - wiped away by the same sun that gave them life.The team makes some calculations to estimate the date of the supernova explosion (it would have been visible on earth) and come across a startling revelation.#14: Harrison Bergeron - Kurt Vonnegut (3.5 stars)THE YEAR WAS 2081, and everybody was finally equal. They weren't only equal before God and the law. They were equal every which way. Nobody was smarter than anybody else. Nobody was better looking than anybody else. Nobody was stronger or quicker than anybody else.A few years into the future, everyone is equal. Now there are only two ways to achieve that - either uplift and empower everyone to the same level, or drag down everyone else to a lowest common ground. It's not surprising what the human race chose.#15: I don't know, Timmy, being God is a big responsibility - Sam Hughes (3 stars)Tim and Diane (and their team) have successfully built the first quantum computer - a device with infinite processing power and storage capacity. Diane programs a simulation of the Big Bang and creates a model of our universe to study. As she approaches the current day, she makes a startling discovery.#16: The coming of the Ice - Green Peyton (4 stars)Is love something entirely of the flesh, something created by an ironic God merely to propagate His race? Or can there be love without emotion, love without passion—love between two cold intellects?A doctor in the 20th century, has finally solved the age-old problem of immortality. Our hero volunteers to be the first to undergo the procedure. However, immortality comes at a price - emotions. Every emotion, starting from love to hate, fear to rage, joy to sorrow, slowly deserts you, until you are nothing more than an empty shell, a walking automaton, devoid of the joy and beauty in everything.Is the price worth paying?#17: The cold equations - Tom Goodwin (3 stars)What will you do when the only option is to kill someone? (No, this is not a case study on morality) But truly, the only option is to kill. There is no margin for error, no probability, however infinitesimal, that there could be an alternate recourse.Fantasy#1: A very old man with enormous wings - Gabriel Garcia Marquez (3 stars)A normal family with a normal backyard. An unexpected visitor. Is it a bird? Is it a moth? Is it a fairy?#2: Snow, Glass, Apples - Neil Gaiman (3.5 stars)In a retelling of one of the most loved fairy tales of all times, Neil Gaiman provides a starkly different viewpoint on the events that transpire and the conditions that lead to them.#3: Nicholas was - Neil Gaiman (3 stars)A short story, short enough to be reproduced here in its entirety.Nicholas Was...older than sin, and his beard could grow no whiter. He wanted to die.The dwarfish natives of the Arctic caverns did not speak his language, but conversed in their own, twittering tongue, conducted incomprehensible rituals, when they were not actually working in the factories.Once every year they forced him, sobbing and protesting, into Endless Night. During the journey he would stand near every child in the world, leave one of the dwarves' invisible gifts by its bedside. The children slept, frozen into time.He envied Prometheus and Loki, Sisyphus and Judas. His punishment was harsher.Ho.Ho.Ho.Life and Philosophy#1: Signs and symbols - Vladimir Nabokov (3.5 stars)An old couple. A sickly child in the hospital. Referential mania. 3 calls from a wrong number.#2: Lorry Raja - Madhuri Vijay (4 stars)The story of a poor, wretched family, working in the iron mines, told through the eyes of the 2nd son, Lorry Raja is sure to stir up a lot of emotions in the reader. The plot is simple, the characters simpler still. And yet, the feeling it evokes isn't some thing that can be explained easily.#3: The necklace - Guy de Maupassant (4.5 stars)“Of all the words of mice and men, the saddest are, "It might have been.” ― Kurt VonnegutA simple couple. A simple life. A wife that yearns for a more exciting life. A party invitation. A borrowed necklace. A wonderful night. A life changed forever. "The necklace" is one of the best stories of love, support, yearnings, strength and regrets. The ending leaves one with an entangle of emotions, most significant of which is a sense of unfairness.#4: Silver Water - Amy Bloom (3 stars)Told from the first person perspective of Violet, Silver Water is a tale of her elder, mentally unstable sister Rose. The story weaves through a, though lightly comic at times, gritty and realistic narrative of having to deal with and adjusting with a family member suffering from acute Schizophrenia.#5: If you were a dinosaur, my love - Rachel Swirsky (3.5 stars)The first person narrative of a woman who wishes her fiancée was a dinosaur and then weaves a fictional world around it - a world of dinosaur operas and weddings. A tale that will leave you chuckling, pondering and going back to re-read the story.#6: The Egg - Andy Weir (4 stars)You were on your way home when you died. It was a card accident. Nothing particularly remarkable, but fatal nonetheless.So begins a tale that spans religion, belief, life, death, afterlife, and reincarnation. Taking a leaf out of Asimov's book, The Egg builds up to a wonderful climax. And delivers.#7: Three questions - Leo Tolstoy (4 stars)In this story, Tolstoy addresses 3 fundamental questions, which since then have been passed down as life lessons and parables.#8: And all the earth a grave - C.C. MacApp (3 stars)There's nothing wrong with dying—it just hasn't ever had the proper sales pitch!You can sell everything if only you know how to. Even death. A brilliant satire on the current media industry and the wave of consumerism that has engulfed the world.#9: The snows of Kilimanjaro - Ernest Hemingway (3.5 stars)A writer. A festering wound. A re-living of regrets, of opportunities passed up, of chances not taken. The slow approach of death, like the night, creeping and inevitable interspersed with a melange of memories, good and bad.#10: To build a fire - Jack London (4 stars)A man and a dog hiking through the snow covered trails of the Yukon in Canada on a day that they shouldn't be. It is "too cold to be travelling along" but the man persists. To defeat the cold, he would need to start a fire. A fire that would be the difference between life and death.#11: The curious case of Benjamin Buttons - F Scott Fitzgerald (4 stars)We have all seen the box office hit starring Brad Pitt in the titular role but there is an eerily, haunting quality to Fitzgerald's writing that makes the experience even more wonderful. The story of a man who starts off as a old man when born and slowly ages backward, turning into a middle aged man, a teenager, a kid, an infant and finally an embryo is fascinating. It is a concept that has always had people wonder and Scott does a great deal of justice to it.#12: The last leaf - O Henry (4 stars)A woman, dying of pneumonia pegs her life to the last leaves on an ivy vine. Bereft of all hope, she plans to take her final breath as the last leaf falls. But will it? Will she?A story about hope. About struggles and finding the strength inside. A story of finding something to live for. We have been told numerous times that appearances can be deceptive. Nothing reinforces the notion more than this masterpiece by O' Henry.#13: An occurrence at Owl Creek bridge - Ambrose Bierce (3.5 stars)The scene opens with a condemned man being hanged on the bridge. Like everyone else on a death sentence, his whole life flashes in front of him. His only wish is to somehow escape the hanging, fall into the river and swim away to safety and his family. That is when the rope snaps.#14: The hunger artist - Franz Kafka (3.5 stars)The story of a man with an unusual occupation - a hunger artist. Someone who fasts for days on end to amuse the world and its spectators. The story is a clever satire on the world where the talented yet trivialized people spend their entire lives in search for a fragment of glory, a single word of appreciation, a small part of the acknowledgment they truly deserve.#15: The one who walks away from Omelas - Ursula K LeGuin (3.5 stars)A city that is the perfect description of a middle-age utopia with its beautiful people, its skilled artists, its bright festivals, its everlasting intellectual orgy of joy. A terrible secret revealed. A compromise that had to be struck. A price that had to be paid.#16: The School - Donald Barthelme (3 stars)30 orange trees planet by 30 kids of a class all dead. Soon followed by the snakes. And the herbs. And the fishes. Death creeps nearer each day. But everything is not as dreaded as you think. There is still hope somewhere out there. Or is it?#17: The yellow wallpaper - Charlotte Perkins Gilman (4 stars)A husband and wife move to a mansion temporarily, something that is grand but suspiciously cheap. The wife believes she is sick and has an eerie feeling about their new home. The husband, however, doesn't. And then there's the room and it's yellow, shabby wallpaper. There is something definitely wrong with it.#18: Hills like white elephants - Ernest Hemingway (4 stars)A couple waiting for a train on a railway station have some beer and a rather intriguing conversation which leaves the reader puzzled and pondering.#19: Flowers for Algernon - Daniel Keyes (4.5 stars)“I don’t know what’s worse: to not know what you are and be happy, or to become what you’ve always wanted to be, and feel alone.”Rarely does a book stir up so many emotions in the reader. Flowers for Algernon is one such. The story is about simple and kind man, Charlie Gordon, with a below average IQ of 65, who undergoes an experimental procedure to triple his intelligence. Told in a narrative, progress report style (Charlie was required to compile a daily diary to monitor his progress), the prose develops in tandem with Charlie's intelligence - starting off as the scribbling of a kid, laced with spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors, and evolving into the publication-worthy musings over Plato's allegory of the cave.Flowers for Algernon is a commentary on human condition, on our schadenfreud-ian tendencies, on the treatment meted out to the mentally challenged, and one man's journey of finding something he never had, and then living through the horror of losing it all over again.#20: Shooting an elephant - George Orwell (3 stars)If you are the conqueror, the master, the dictator, are you really in control? Or are you just a face, just a puppet being manipulated by millions of invisible strings? The strings of the will of the people you oppress?#21: Clean well-lighted place - Ernest Hemingway (4 stars)There is something simple and yet enthralling about Hemingway's words. There's a beauty in those plain sentences. You don't need to exert any efforts. You don't need to read the story. The story reads you. It hooks itself to you and then starts to devour you, but in a pleasant way. And, in a short time, you are completely engulfed. You are now the story.#22: Bullet in the brain - Tobias Wolff (3 stars)A bullet to the brain is surely one of the quickest ways to die. Or is it? To the shot, does the last few milliseconds feel like an eternity?#23: The bet - Anton Chekhov (3.5 stars)A somber gathering of gentlemen soon turns into a passionate discussion about the morality of the death sentence. The ones who advocated it said it was more merciful than life imprisonment - cleaner and quicker. The ones against brought God into the midst of things and stated that the State does not have the right to take someone's life when it itself cannot create life.A young banker agrees with the latter and boldly claims that he would take life imprisonment over death. The host, a rich and pompous banker, bets 2 million in exchange for the young guy living in solitary confinement for 15 years.This was on Nov 14, 1870. Today is Nov 14, 1885.#24: The dream of a ridiculous man - Fyodor Dostoevsky (4 stars)Dreams, as we all know, are very queer things: some parts are presented with appalling vividness, with details worked up with the elaborate finish of jewellery, while others one gallops through, as it were, without noticing them at all, as, for instance, through space and time.Yes they are. In a dream, you can live an eternity but wake up none the older for it. In a dream, you can achieve everything you have ever wanted, every aspired for, ever lusted after, but wake up none the richer for it.Our hero had had such a dream. And he was ridiculed for it. Mocked. Derided. Pronounced senile. Yes, you can call him a madman. But aren't we all?#25: The Happy Prince - Oscar Wilde (4.5 stars)It's astounding, the power of words. How they can sway us, infuriate us, flame our desires, preserve our hopes.This short story by the master is a perfect testament of the power of words in the hands of the wordsmith. A story that was part of the school curriculum, at least in India, and one I revisited after years.In a few thousand words, it encompasses a love story, a tale of sorrow, and a satire on human condition. In a few thousand words, it stirs up emotions of love, joy, sorrow, pain and contempt. In a few thousand words, it is as much the cold winds of the winter, as it is the warmth of the sun on a spring afternoon.#26: Happiness - Guy de Maupassant (3.5 stars)Happiness is relative. And a lot more simpler than it is made out to be.#27: The Sugargun Fairy - Kuzhali Manikavel (3 stars)"Because everyone must keep a box of things they don't understand and can't throw away"A story that is as simple as the daily ramblings of a teenager, and yet brooding and sinister at the same time. One about the fleeting passage of time, and yet the inevitable existence and decay of things.#28: A little cloud - James Joyce (3.5 stars)One of the most wonderful feelings in the world is catching up with an old friend. We might not have a time machine (yet), but an evening of smoky conversations and reminiscence with old pals is good enough. There's anticipation, carefree laughter, a hint of nostalgic fondness, and just the tiniest sliver of jealousy. Especially if the other friend has a life worth being envious of.#29: Across the bridge - Graham Greene (3 stars)Life's a curious case. In the end, does money matter? Or influence? Can one final act of kindness undo (at least in part) a life brimming with sin, theft, lies, and debauchery? What is the source of happiness? Of contentment?In this fast-paced story about a millionaire fraudster evading the law in a quiet, shabby town of Mexico, Graham Greene hopes to find the answer. At least to some of the questions.Horror/Thriller#1: The lottery - Shirley Jackson (4 stars)A village. 300 people. A charged morning. A lottery. A winner. A twist.#2: A face in the dark - Ruskin Bond (3.5 stars)From Mr. Bond, comes another story set in the backdrop of the hills and valleys of Shimla. The story of a boarding school and its brave headmaster. A story that brings out all of your primal fears. A story with the basic elements of horror - the dark of the night, the eeriness of the howling winds, a strange sighting and a twist ending.#3: In the penal colony - Franz Kafka (4 stars)In a fast-paced story that slowly reveals, in the true sense of an actual horror movie, its various twists and turns and its arsenal of fear, Kafka manages to scare the reader and at the same time fill them with a certain amount of sympathy for the devil and bewilderment at the actual happenings in the story.A traveler is invited to be the witness to a sentencing - a seemingly, outdated custom that tortures the guilty for hours before killing them. He must pass a judgement on it. What would it be?#4: Man From the South - Roald Dahl (4 stars)"A fine evening," he said. "They are all evenings fine here in Jamaica."In this brilliantly crafted tale of a bet between an old man and a young one, things suddenly take a turn for the grim. The pacing of the story is fantastic and keeps you hooked till the end. And the ending - another twist in the devil's tale.#5: The tell-tale heart - Edgar Allan Poe (4 stars)From the master of mystery, comes a tale worthy of his praise. The first person confession of a madman who murdered an old man and then describes it to the reader in vivid detail to prove his sanity. The story is eerie - you have the constant feeling of being watched because of the 'unreliable narrative' and the fact that the lunatic addresses the audience directly.#6: A good man is hard to find - Flannery O'Connor (3 stars)A normal family. Mother, father, kids, grandmother. A routine family vacation. A little detour to find something exciting. An accident and a deadly encounter.#7: The face on the wall - E. V. Lucas (3.5 stars)A group of people discussing the supernatural. An outsider with a real narrative. Three extraordinary things about the story.#8: The open window - Hector Hugh Munro (Saki) (3 stars)A man with a nervous condition visits an old lady on the behest of his sister to calm his nerves. While waiting for her, he engages in conversation with her niece and tale goes grim.#9: The most dangerous game - Richard Connell (4 stars)A celebrated hunter and a published author is thrown overboard a ship on a dark night. With every ounce of energy in his body, he manages to swim to safety and arrives on an island, uninhabited by humans except for a game hunter and his looming man-servant.Discussion over dinner soon converges to the one common topic - hunting. And how, for someone who has hunted all his life, most game is boring and no longer a thrill. That is when the hunter reveals a chilling truth - the discovery of an entirely new game that promises to break the monotony of the 'cunning hunter vs the dumb prey' routine.#10: Where are you going, where have you been? - Joyce Carol Oates (4.5 stars)A story that leaves you perplexed and befuddled. One where you are not sure what the story really was about?Over the years, many people have attempted many interpretations of Oates' masterpiece, but every alternative eventually leaves out something. This could be a story told from a delusional victim's standpoint about the advances of her predator. Or it could be an allegorical tale about the corruption of young people by satanic cults. Or it could be on the broader theme of giving in to sins.I don't know. Let me, if you do.Comedy#1: The secret life of Walter Mitty - James Thurber (3 stars)Made into a motion picture starring Ben Stiller, The secret life of Walter Mitty is a comical narrative of a man who's blurred the lines between reality day-dreaming. Weaving through multiple episodes of real life and fantasy, it is a wonderfully paced story that will leave you chuckling at the end.#2: Cookies - Douglas Adams (3.5 stars)A train journey. 2 strangers. And a packet of cookies.#3: The nose - Nikolai Gogol (3.5 stars)A barber wakes up one day and finds a nose in his roll. Another gentleman wakes up and finds his nose gone.However absurd, or improbable, this may seem, it does happen. (Or does it?). Gogol again displays a knack for weaving stories out of the pure bizarre and sprinkle it with his signature flavor of comedy.Romance#1: About love - Anton Chekhov (4 stars)What is love? Is it rational? Can it be defined scientifically or diagnosed medically? Why do people fall in love? Why, sometimes, do they fall for someone who is their exact opposite? What is it about love that leaves even the strongest of people completely hapless?Is it fine to love someone who is already with another person? Is it fine to profess your love to them knowing well that it could disrupt their perfectly peaceful existence?All these and a multitude of other questions are answered in this beautifully crafted tale by the master himself.#2: A girl I knew - JD Salinger (4 stars)I saw a girl standing on it, completely submerged in the pool of autumn twilight. She wasn't doing a thing that I could see, except standing there leaning on the balcony railing, holding the universe together. The way the profile of her face and body refracted in the soupy twilight made me feel a little drunk.A story that is not as much about love as it is about losing it. The story of aman who flunks college and is sent to Europe to master his trade, is advised against socializing much and falling in love, but who inadvertently manages to do just the opposite. A classic love story of romance, of the first jitters of love, of moving away, of writing letters. A wonderful love piece with a few splotches of some grime here and there.#3: Selkie stories are for losers - Sofia Samatar (3.5 stars)A weird tale of love and loss. With just a pinch of folklore and fantasy. While you are jumping from one narrative to another, you feel like being shaken intensely without being allowed the time to understand what exactly is going on. But once the dust settles, you can see the whole picture.#4: The eyes have it - Ruskin Bond (4 stars)A blind man on a train journey meets a female companion. During their 3 hour conversation, he doesn't let her know that he lacks sight. And then her station arrives and she leaves. (Oh the simplicity of it!)#5: The water that falls on you from nowhere - John Chu (3.5 stars)In the near future water falls from the sky whenever someone lies (either a mist or a torrential flood depending on the intensity of the lie). This makes life difficult for Matt as he maneuvers the marriage question with his lover and how best to “come out” to his traditional Chinese parents.The story of Matt and Gus, a same-sex couple who truly love each other, but do not know it yet is one that upholds the roots of traditional story-telling. There is no embellishments, no forced sub-plots. Everything leads to the next thing in a way that is simple, yet beautiful. The premise of the story is new and straightforward, but the narrative, due to the way it is seamlessly weaved together, lingers with you like the misty air on a December evening.#6: The silence here owns everything - Kirsten Clodfelter (2.5 stars)The perfect companion piece to the previous story by John Chu. It's a story of two girls - Natalie and Kendra. Friends on the surface. Lovers and probable soulmates deep beneath.Throughout the narrative, you can pick up subtle hints that Nat is in love with Kendra, but somehow, every opportunity where she could express it eludes her. The story ends abruptly, as if a teenage girl one day, simply forgot to take out her diary and pen her memoirs. It leaves you with a certain sense of absence, and yet you can feel that it's the ending you really wanted.#7: On seeing the 100% perfect girl one beautiful April morning - Haruki Murakami (3 stars)What do you do when you chance upon your 100% perfect girl? What do you say? Haruki Murakami comes up with the perfect story for such a rare happenstance.#8: A rose for Miss Emily - William Faulkner (4.5 stars)Faces are treacherous things. Behind the serene expressions that people carry lie complex machinations that no human technology or intuition can completely comprehend.And so is love. Love drives us to do great things. It goads us to reach out, extend our arms, and push ourselves to achieve the impossible. But it also pushes us over the cliff once in a while - over the boundaries of sanity, of happiness, of self-preservation.Crime#1: Lamb to the slaughter - Roald Dahl (3 stars)A perfectly happy couple. An expecting mother. A confession. A leg of lamb. And an intricately covered up murder.H. 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1. The pilot who got stuck outside the aircraft at 17,000 ft​This is one of the most fascinating flying stories of all time. I am going to explain this incident by combining, editing and modifying the text from various online sources. I will also be using the screenshots from National Geographic's "Air Crash Investigation."British Airways Flight 5390 left Birmingham Airport at 7.20am on a fine morning in 1990, heading for Malaga in Spain. At the controls were Captain Tim Lancaster, 42, and his co-pilot, 39-year-old Alastair Atchison, both experienced flyers, and their take-off was routine.Co-pilot Atchison handled a routine take-off, and relinquished control to Lancaster as the plane established itself in its climb. Both pilots subsequently released their shoulder harnesses, while Lancaster loosened his lap belt as well.About 15 minutes into the flight, the cabin crew had begun to prepare for meal service. The plane had climbed to 17,300 feet (5,270 m) over Didcot, Oxfordshire. Suddenly, there was a loud bang, and the fuselage quickly filled with condensation. The left windscreen, on the captain's side of the cockpit, had separated from the forward fuselage. Lancaster was jerked out of his seat by the rushing air and forced head first out of the cockpit, his knees snagging onto the flight controls. This left him with his whole upper torso out of the aircraft, and only his legs inside. The door to the flight deck was blown out onto the radio and navigation console, blocking the throttle control which caused the plane to continue gaining speed as they descended, while papers and other debris in the passenger cabin began blowing towards the cockpit.On the flight deck at the time, flight attendant Nigel Ogden quickly latched his hands onto the captain's belt. Susan Price and another flight attendant began to reassure passengers, secure loose objects, and take up emergency positions. Meanwhile, Lancaster was being battered and frozen in the 550+ KMH wind, and was losing consciousness due to the thin air.​Atchison began an emergency descent, re-engaged the temporarily disabled autopilot, and broadcast a distress call. Due to rushing air on the flight deck, he was unable to hear the response from air traffic control. The difficulty in establishing two-way communication led to a delay in British Airways being informed of the emergency and consequently delayed the implementation of the British Airways Emergency Procedure Information Centre plan.Ogden, still latched onto Lancaster, had begun to suffer from frostbite, bruising and exhaustion. He was relieved by the remaining two flight attendants. By this time Lancaster had already shifted an additional six to eight inches out the window. From the flight deck, the flight and cabin crew were able to view his head and torso through the left direct vision window. Lancaster's face was continuously hitting the direct vision window; when cabin crew saw this and noticed that Lancaster's eyes were opened but not blinking despite the force against the window, they assumed that Lancaster was dead. Atchison ordered the cabin crew to not release Lancaster's body despite the assumption of his death because he knew that releasing the body might cause it to fly into the left engine and cause an engine fire or failure which would cause further problems for Atchison in an already highly stressful environment.​Atchison eventually received clearance from air traffic control to land at Southampton, while the flight attendants managed in extreme conditions to free Lancaster's ankles from the flight controls and hold on to him for the remainder of the flight. By 07:55 the aircraft had landed safely on Runway 02 at Southampton. Passengers immediately disembarked from the front and rear stairs, and emergency crews retrieved Lancaster.The captains body had suffered tremendous physical trauma, getting sucked out of the cockpit and getting pinned down by 600 kmph winds on the cockpit window at -17 degree Celsius. He would have also suffered oxygen deprevition for more than 22 minutes.Despite the trauma captain Lancaster suffered, there is a small twist to his story. He somehow survived this horrific ordeal with two bone fractures, bruising ,shock frostbite and a broken finger.There were no casualties on this flight.Less than five months after the accident Lancaster was working again. He later retired from British Airways when he reached the company's mandatory retirement age of 55 at the time. In 2005 Lancaster was reported flying for EasyJet.​Actual photo of the WindshieldBy flying alone, battling 600+KMPH of winds at -17 degree Celsius and oxygen deprivation, Co-Pilot Alastair Atchison's achievement in saving this plane is truly outstanding.First Officer Alastair Stuart Atchison and cabin crew member Susan Gibbins were awarded the Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air award in recognition of their extraordinary flying under extreme conditions.Accident investigators later discovered that when the windscreen had been refitted to the plane the night before, the wrong bolts had been used to secure it; they were little more than half a millimeter too small, and had failed under intense air pressure. Surprisingly the old bolts were also incorrect ones; the engineer, working under pressure and without reference to manuals, had simply replaced the old bolts with new ones on a like-for-like basis.As a result of the incident, windscreens on British Airways planes are now secured by bolts on the inside of the plane, rather than the outside, putting them under even less pressure.It is highly recommended that you watch the documentary "Aircrash Investigation : Ripped out of the cockpit"Sources:1. Wikipedia: British Airways Flight 53902. June 10, 1990: Miracle of BA Flight 5390 as captain is sucked out of the cockpit – and survives2. Ghost Plane!​SituationA Helios Airways Boeing 737 is circling the city of Athens for more than two hours in a holding pattern. There is no communications from the plane even after multiple attempts. The Greek air force sends two of its fighter jets to investigate the situation. One of them is in a shooting position behind the 737 while the other one is trying to visually access the situation. The fighter pilot can see passengers on their seats but none of them are moving or reacting to the presence of a fighter jet. There is one non responsive person on the pilots seats slumped over the controls.​Then the fighter pilot radios that there is one person moving in the cockpit! But this person is not communicating with the fighter pilot.​Sounds like a movie?This true story is as suspenseful as a good thriller movie. I strongly suggest that you watch this episode of Air Crash Investigation. It is highly dramatized and made nearly like a movie itself.Air Crash Investigation - Ghost Plane - Helios Flight 5223. AirCraft roof ripped off​\\​Aloha Airlines Flight 243 was a scheduled Aloha Airlines flight between Hilo and Honolulu in Hawaii. On April 28, 1988, a Boeing 737-297 serving the flight suffered extensive damage after an explosive decompression in flight. Earlier, in the first incident, we saw the captain enduring a huge physical stress, in this case, the passengers are sitting on an airplane seat with no roof.I suggest you to watch "Air Crash Investigation: Hanging by a thread":Per Page on youtube.com:The flight departed Hilo at 13:25 HST on 28 April 1988 with six crew members and 89 passengers, bound for Honolulu. No unusual occurrences were noticed during the pre-departure inspection of the aircraft. The aircraft had previously completed 3 round-trip flights from Honolulu to Hilo, Maui, and Kauai that day, all uneventful. Meteorological conditions were checked but no advisories for weather phenomenon occurred along the air route, per Airman’s meteorological information (AIRMET) or significant meteorological information (SIGMET). The captain was 44-year-old Robert Schornstheimer. He was an experienced pilot with 8,500 flight hours; 6,700 of those were in Boeing 737s. The first officer was 36-year-old Madeline "Mimi" Tompkins. She also had significant experience flying 737s, having logged 3,500 of her total 8,000 flight hours in them.No unusual occurrences were reported during the take-off and ascent. Around 13:48, as the aircraft reached its normal flight altitude of 24,000 feet (7,300 m) about 23 nautical miles (43 km) south-southeast of Kahului, Maui, a small section on the left side of the roof ruptured with a "whooshing" sound. The captain felt the aircraft roll left and right, and the controls went loose. The first officer noticed pieces of grey insulation floating over the cabin. The door to the cockpit was gone so the captain could look behind him and see blue sky. The resulting explosive decompression tore off a large section of the roof, consisting of the entire top half of the aircraft skin extending from just behind the cockpit to the fore-wing area.​First officer Madeline "Mimi" Tompkins was flying the plane at the time of the incident. After discovering the damage, the captain took over and steered the plane to the closest airport, on Maui island. Thirteen minutes later, the crew performed an emergency landing on Kahului Airport's Runway 2. Upon landing, the crew deployed the aircraft's emergency evacuation slides and evacuated passengers from the aircraft quickly. Tompkins assisted passengers down the evacuation all, 65 people were reported injured, eight seriously. At the time, Maui had no plan for a disaster of this type. The injured were taken to the hospital by the tour vans from Akamai Tours (now defunct) driven by office personnel and mechanics, since the island only had a couple of ambulances. Air traffic control radioed Akamai and requested as many of their 15-passenger vans as they could spare to go to the airport (three miles away) to transport the injured. Two of the Akamai drivers were former medics and established a triage on the runway. The aircraft was a write-off.58 year old Flight Attendant Clarabelle Lansing was the only fatality; she was swept overboard while standing near the fifth row seats. Despite an extensive search her body was never found. She was a veteran flight attendant of 37 years at the time of the accident.​Real photo of the planeSource: Wikipedia Aloha Airlines Flight 2434. Strange Lights around the plane + all four engines fail​British Airways Flight 9, was a scheduled flight from London Heathrow to Auckland, with stops in Bombay, Madras, Kuala Lumpur, Perth, and Melbourne. It is a Boeing 747 Jumbo Jet with 263 people on board.​The plane was flying above Indian ocean near Java at night. After few hours, strange bright lights started appearing all around the aircraft. Despite the weather radar showing clear skies, the crew switched on engine anti-ice and the passenger seat belt signs as a precaution.I strongly suggest to watch this dramatized documentary " Aircrash Investigation: Falling from the sky" here --> youtube.com.This incident is better watched than read. Even a book was written about this incident named All Four Engines Have Failed: The True and Triumphant Story of Flight BA 009 and the Jakarta Incident: Betty TootellBut if you choose to read then continue (otherwise skip to the next incident):As the flight progressed, smoke began to accumulate in the passenger cabin of the aircraft; it was first assumed to be cigarette smoke. However, it soon began to grow thicker and had an ominous odour of sulphur. Passengers who had a view out the aircraft windows noted that the engines were unusually bright, with light shining forward through the fan blades and producing a stroboscopic effect.At approximately 13:42 UTC (20:42 Jakarta time), the number four Rolls-Royce RB211 engine began surging and soon flamed out. The flight crew immediately performed the engine shutdown drill, quickly cutting off fuel supply and arming the fire extinguishers. Less than a minute later, at 13:43 UTC (20:43 Jakarta time), engine two surged and flamed out. Within seconds, and almost simultaneously, engines one and three flamed out, prompting the flight engineer to exclaim, "I don't believe it — all four engines have failed!"Without engine thrust, a 747-200 has a glide ratio of approximately 15:1, meaning it can glide forward 15 kilometres for every kilometre it drops. The flight crew quickly determined that the aircraft was capable of gliding for 23 minutes and covering 91 nautical miles (169 km) from its flight level of 37,000 feet (11,000 m). At 13:44 UTC (20:44 Jakarta time), Greaves declared an emergency to the local air traffic control authority, stating that all four engines had failed. However, Jakarta Area Control misunderstood the message, interpreting the call as meaning that only engine number four had shut down. It was only after a nearby Garuda Indonesia flight relayed the message to Air Traffic Control that it was correctly understood. Despite the crew "squawking" the emergency transponder setting of 7700, the 747 could not be located by Air Traffic Control on their radar screens.Many passengers, fearing for their lives, wrote notes to relatives. One such passenger was Charles Capewell, who scrawled "Ma. In trouble. Plane going down. Will do best for boys. We love you. Sorry. Pa XXX" on the cover of his ticket wallet.Owing to the high Indonesian mountains on the south coast of the island of Java, an altitude of at least 11,500 feet (3,500 m) was required to cross the coast safely. The crew decided that if the aircraft was unable to maintain altitude by the time they reached 12,000 feet (3,700 m) they would turn back out to sea and attempt to ditch into the Indian Ocean. The crew began engine restart drills, despite being well outside the recommended maximum engine in-flight start envelope altitude of 28,000 feet (8,500 m). The restart attempts failed.Despite the lack of time, Captain Moody made an announcement to the passengers that has been described as "a masterpiece of understatement":"Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. We have a small problem. All four engines have stopped. We are doing our damnedest to get them going again. I trust you are not in too much distress."​Without the engines noise, the planes was totally silent and the lights in the cabin went out!As pressure within the cabin fell, oxygen masks dropped from the ceiling – an automatic emergency measure to make up for the lack of air.Without the engines, most of electronic things will stop working including the public addressing system.Lead Flight attendant came to the the cabin with a megaphone and announced:"Can you hear me. There is a small problem with our public addressing system. Place your mask over your mouth and nose and breath normally"​On the flight deck, however, Greaves's mask was broken; the delivery tube had detached from the rest of the mask. Moody swiftly decided to descend at 1,800 m per minute to an altitude where there was enough pressure in the outside atmosphere to breathe almost normally.​At 13,500 feet (4,100 m), the crew was approaching the altitude at which they would have to turn over the ocean and attempt a risky ditching. Although there were guidelines for the water landing procedure, no one had ever tried it in a Boeing 747, nor has anyone since. As they performed the engine restart procedure, engine number four finally started, and at 13:56 UTC (20:56 Jakarta time), Moody used its power to reduce the rate of descent. Shortly thereafter, engine three restarted, allowing him to climb slowly. Shortly after that, engines one and two successfully restarted as well. The crew subsequently requested and expedited an increase in altitude to clear the high mountains of Indonesia.As the aircraft approached its target altitude, the strange lights on the windscreen returned. Moody throttled back; however, engine number two surged again and was shut down. The crew immediately descended and held 12,000 feet (3,700 m).As Flight 9 approached Jakarta, the crew found it difficult to see anything through the windscreen, and made the approach almost entirely on instruments, despite reports of good visibility. The crew decided to fly the Instrument Landing System (ILS); however, the vertical guidance system was inoperative, so they were forced to fly with only the lateral guidance as the first officer monitored the airport's Distance Measuring Equipment (DME). He then called out how high they should be at each DME step along the final approach to the runway, creating a virtual glide slope for them to follow. It was, in Moody's words, "a bit like negotiating one's way up a badger's arse." Although the runway lights could be made out through a small strip of the windscreen, the landing lights on the aircraft seemed to be inoperable. After landing, the flight crew found it impossible to taxi, due to glare from apron floodlights which made the already sandblasted windscreen opaque.They had landed the jumbo jet blind as their windscreen had nearly became opaque due to scratches caused by the strange lights!The crew received various awards, including the Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air and medals from the British Air Line Pilots Association. Following the accident, the crew and passengers formed the Galunggung Gliding Club as a means to keep in contact. G-BDXH's engineless flight entered the Guinness Book of Records as the longest glide in a non-purpose-built aircraft (this record was later broken by Air Canada Flight 143 and Air Transat Flight 236).One of the passengers, Betty Tootell, wrote a book about the accident, All Four Engines Have Failed. She managed to trace some 200 of the 247 passengers on the flight, and went on to marry a fellow passenger, James Ferguson, who had been seated in the row in front of her. She notes: "The 28th December 2006 marks the start of our 14th year of honeymoon, and on the 24th June 2007 many passengers and crew will no doubt gather to celebrate the 25th anniversary of our mid-air adventure."​Post-flight investigation revealed that this flights problems had been caused by flying through a cloud of volcanic ash from the eruption of Mount Galunggung. Because the ash cloud was dry, it did not appear on the weather radar, which was designed to detect the moisture in clouds. The cloud sandblasted the windscreen and landing light covers and clogged the engines. As the ash entered the engines, it melted in the combustion chambers and adhered to the inside of the power-plant. As the engine cooled from inactivity, and as the aircraft descended out of the ash cloud, the molten ash solidified and enough of it broke off for air to again flow smoothly through the engine, allowing a successful restart. The engines had enough electrical power to restart because one generator and the on-board batteries were still operating; electrical power was required for ignition of the engines.The strange lights were initially called St Elmo's fire, but later it was found that the glow experienced was from the impact of ash particles on the leading edges of the aircraft, similar to that seen by operators of sandblasting equipment.5. Gimli Glider - Ran Out of FuelOn July 23, 1983, Captain Robert Pearson, 48, and First Officer Maurice Quintal are at the controls of a brand new Air Canada's Boeing 767.At 41,000 feet (12 497 m) over Red Lake, Ontario, the cockpit warning system chimed four times and indicated a fuel pressure problem on the left side. Thinking the fuel pump had failed the pilots turned it off; the tanks are above the engines so gravity will take over and feed the engines. The computer said that there was still plenty of fuel, but this was based on the wrong calculations. A few moments later a second fuel pressure alarm sounded, and the pilots decided to divert to Winnipeg. Within seconds the left engine failed and preparations were made for a one-engine landing.While they attempted to restart the engine and communicate with controllers in Winnipeg for an emergency landing, the warning system sounded again, this time with a long "bong". The sound was the "all engines out" sound, an event that was never simulated during training. Seconds later the right side engine stopped and the 767 lost all power leaving the cockpit suddenly silent and allowing the cockpit voice recorder to easily pick out the words "Oh, f%$#!".The 767 is based on a "glass cockpit" concept in which mechanical instruments are replaced with display screen monitors. The jet engines also delivered electrical power to the aircraft, so most of the instrumentation suddenly went dead. One of the lost instruments was the vertical-rate indicator, which would let the pilots know how fast they were sinking and therefore how far they could glide.The engines also supplied power to the hydraulic systems, without which a plane the size of the 767 could not be controlled.However, Boeing actually planned for this possible failure and included a device known as a ram air turbine that automatically popped open on the side of the plane, using some of the plane's residual velocity to spin a propeller-driven generator and provide enough power to the hydraulics to make it controllable.​RAM Air TurbineWith nothing in the emergency guide on flying the aircraft with both engines out, Pearson glided the plane at 220 knots (407 km/h), his best guess as to the optimum airspeed. Copilot Maurice Quintal began making calculations to see if they would reach Winnipeg. He used the altitude from one of the mechanical backup instruments, while the distance travelled was supplied by the air traffic controllers in Winnipeg, who measured the distance the plane's echo moved on their radar screens. The controllers and Quintal both calculated that Flight 143 would not make Winnipeg, as the plane had lost 5,000 ft in 10 nautical miles (1.5 km in 19 km) giving a glide ratio of approximately 12:1.Stationed at the former Royal Canadian Air Force Base, Quintal selected Gimli to be the attempted place of landing. Since his time in the service, Quintal did not know the Gimli airport had become a drag racing ground. Also not knowing one of its parallel runways was now being used for auto racing. To further complicate the situation, there were many cars, campers and families close to the former runway as it was "Family Day" for the Winnipeg Sports Car Club.As they approached Quintal did a power-off "gravity drop" of the main landing gear, but the nose wheel, despite being built to open by swinging backwards with the force of the wind, would not lock. The ever-reducing speed of the plane also reduced the effectiveness of The "RAT" (Ram Air Turbine, a propeller driven hydraulic pump tucked under the belly of the 767. The RAT can supply just enough hydraulic pressure to move the control surfaces and enable a dead-stick landing) and the plane became increasingly difficult to control. As they grew nearer it became apparent that they were too high, and Pearson executed a manoeuvre known as a "forward slip" to increase their drag and reduce their altitude. This gave passengers on one side of the aircraft a view of the ground while passengers on the other side of the plane seen blue skies. With the reduction of speed and altitude the 767 silently leveled off and the main gear touched down. Pearson "stood on the brakes" the instant the plane touched the runway, blowing out several of the plane's tires.Two kids were cycling at the end of the runway. They looked back and saw a big jet approaching them. The terrified kids tried to outrun the plane.​The plane came to a stop at the end of the runway in a nose-down position due to the unlocked nose gear, only a few hundred feet from spectators of Family Day and the kids at the end of the runway.None of the 61 passengers were hurt during the landing, the only injuries that resulted from the landing of Flight 143 came from passengers exiting the rear emergency slide, a near vertical angle because of the nose down position of the plane. A minor fire in the nose area was quickly put out by course workers, who rushed over with fire extinguishers.​Real photoWithin two days the aircraft was repaired and flown out of Gimli, after approximately one million dollars worth of repairs, Aircraft #604 the Boeing 767 known as "The Gimli Glider", is to this day still in the Air Canada fleet.Note: The mechanics sent from Winnipeg Airport to repair the aircraft, also ran out of fuel in their van on their way to Gimli.​Why this plane crashed?At the time of the incident, Canada was converting to the metric system. As part of this process, the new 767s being acquired by Air Canada were the first to be calibrated for metric units (litres and kilograms) instead of customary units (gallons and pounds). All other aircraft were still operating with Imperial units (gallons and pounds). The pilots miscalculated the fuel required for the trip in pounds instead of kilograms.Instead of 22,300 kg of fuel, they had 22,300 pounds on board — 10,100 kg, about half the amount required to reach their destination. This simple problem with the units had caused this crash.Sources:- Gimli Community Web, Gimli GliderIf you would like to watch it, then search for "Air Crash Investigation: Gimli Glider"6) Kids fly a commercial jet​Aeroflot Flight 593, an A310 was en route from Sheremetyevo International Airport to Hong Kong Kai Tak International Airport with 75 occupants aboard, of whom 63 were passengers. Most of the passengers were businessmen from Hong Kong and Taiwan who were looking for economic opportunities in Russia.The relief pilot, Yaroslav Kudrinsky, was taking his two children on their first international flight, and they were brought to the cockpit while he was on duty. Aeroflot allowed families of pilots to travel at a discounted rate once per year. Five people were in the cockpit: Kudrinsky, copilot Igor Piskaryov, Kudrinsky's son Eldar , his daughter Yana, and another pilot, V. Makarov, who was flying as a passenger.With the autopilot active, Kudrinsky, against regulations, let the children sit at the controls. First his daughter Yana took the pilot's left front seat. Kudrinsky adjusted the autopilot's heading to give her the impression that she was turning the plane, though she actually had no control of the aircraft. Shortly thereafter Eldar occupied the pilot's seat. Unlike his sister, Eldar applied enough force to the control column to contradict the autopilot for 30 seconds. This caused the flight computer to switch the plane's ailerons to manual control while maintaining control over the other flight systems. A silent indicator light came on to alert the pilots to this partial disengagement. The pilots, who had previously flown Russian-designed planes which had audible warning signals, apparently failed to notice it.The first to notice a problem was Eldar, who observed that the plane was banking right. Shortly after, the flight path indicator changed to show the new flight path of the aircraft as it turned. Since the turn was continuous, the resulting predicted flight path drawn on screen was a 180-degree turn. This indication is similar to the indications shown when in a holding pattern, where a 180-degree turn is intentional to remain in one place. This confused the pilots for nine seconds. During this confusion, the plane banked past a 45-degree angle (steeper than it was designed for). This increased the g-force on the pilots and crew, making it impossible for them to regain control. After the plane banked to 90 degrees, the remaining functions of the autopilot tried to correct its plummeting altitude by putting the plane in an almost vertical ascent, nearly stalling the plane. The co-pilot and Eldar managed to get the plane into a nosedive, which reduced the g-forces and enabled the captain to take the controls. Though he and his co-pilot did regain control and level out the wings, their altitude by then was too low to recover, and the plane crashed at high vertical speed, estimated at 70 m/s (14,000 ft/min). All 75 aboard were killed.The aircraft crashed with its landing gear up, and all passengers had been prepared for an emergency, as they were strapped into their seats. No distress calls were made prior to the crash. Despite the struggles of both pilots to save the aircraft, it was later concluded that if they had just let go of the control column, the autopilot would have automatically taken action to prevent stalling, thus avoiding the accident.The wreckage was located on a remote hillside approximately 20 kilometres (12 mi) east of Mezhdurechensk, Kemerovo Oblast, Russia; the flight data recorders were found on the second day of searching.If you would like to watch it, then search for "Air Crash Investigation: Kids in the cockpit"Source: Aeroflot Flight 593I will add more details and more incidents soon.7. TACA Flight 110 [Remarkable landing]8. Hudson River Ditching9. Air Transat flight 236 [Flying with empty fuel tank]10. Malaysian Airlines MH370 (But I have only theories and assumptions, so I am going to leave it.)by - Kshitij SalgunanPS:- Due to readers demand for explanation of the Ghost plane story, I have written a fully fledged answer here : What happened to Helios flight 522-the ghost plane?

46 Famous Movie Scenes before and after Special EffectsBack in the day, filmmakers used matte paintings, miniature models and trick photography to achieve impossible looking cinematic effects. Today, Hollywood has nearly perfected the art and application of computer-generated imagery (CGI) in movies and TV shows. In fact, most film scenes that you think are filmed in spectacular locations are actually CGI composites shot in a studio. Here’s a list of 46 before-and-after CGI images that’ll leave you amazed.The AvengersMarvel's The Avengers (classified under the name Marvel Avengers Assemble in the United Kingdom and Ireland), or simply The Avengers, is a 2012 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics superhero team of the same name, produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It is the sixth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The film was written and directed by Joss Whedon and features an ensemble cast that includes Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, and Jeremy Renner as the titular Avengers team, alongside Tom Hiddleston, Clark Gregg, Cobie Smulders, Stellan Skarsgård, and Samuel L. Jackson. In the film, Nick Fury, director of the peacekeeping organization S.H.I.E.L.D., recruits Tony Stark, Captain America, the Hulk, and Thor to form a team that must stop Thor's brother Loki from subjugating Earth.The film's development began when Marvel Studios received a loan from Merrill Lynch in April 2005. After the success of the film Iron Man in May 2008, Marvel announced that The Avengers would be released in July 2011. With the signing of Johansson in March 2009, the film was pushed back for a 2012 release. Whedon was brought on board in April 2010 and rewrote the original screenplay by Zak Penn. Production began in April 2011 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, before moving to Cleveland, Ohio, in August and New York City in September. The film was converted to 3D in post-production.AvatarAvatar, marketed as James Cameron's Avatar, is a 2009 American epic science fiction film directed, written, produced, and co-edited by James Cameron, and starring Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Stephen Lang, Michelle Rodriguez, and Sigourney Weaver. The film is set in the mid-22nd century, when humans are colonizing Pandora, a lush habitable moon of a gas giant in the Alpha Centauri star system, in order to mine the mineral unobtanium, a room-temperature superconductor. The expansion of the mining colony threatens the continued existence of a local tribe of Na'vi – a humanoid species indigenous to Pandora. The film's title refers to a genetically engineered Na'vi body with the mind of a remotely located human that is used to interact with the natives of Pandora.Development of Avatar began in 1994, when Cameron wrote an 80-page treatment for the film. Filming was supposed to take place after the completion of Cameron's 1997 film Titanic, for a planned release in 1999, but, according to Cameron, the necessary technology was not yet available to achieve his vision of the film. Work on the language of the film's extraterrestrial beings began in 2005, and Cameron began developing the screenplay and fictional universe in early 2006. Avatar was officially budgeted at $237 million. Other estimates put the cost between $280 million and $310 million for production and at $150 million for promotion.[19][20][21] The film made extensive use of new motion capture filming techniques, and was released for traditional viewing, 3D viewing (using the RealD 3D, Dolby 3D, XpanD 3D, and IMAX 3D formats), and for "4D" experiences in select South Korean theaters. The stereoscopic filmmaking was touted as a breakthrough in cinematic technology.Alice in WonderlandAlice in Wonderland is a 2010 American fantasy adventure film directed by Tim Burton from a screenplay written by Linda Woolverton. The film stars Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter, Crispin Glover, Matt Lucas and Mia Wasikowska, and features the voices of Alan Rickman, Stephen Fry, Michael Sheen, and Timothy Spall. Based on Lewis Carroll's fantasy novels, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass, the film tells the story of a nineteen-year-old Alice Kingsleigh, who is told that she can restore the White Queen to her throne, with the help of the Mad Hatter. She is the only one who can slay the Jabberwock, a dragon-like creature that is controlled by the Red Queen and terrorizes Underland's inhabitants.The film was produced by Walt Disney Pictures and shot in the United Kingdom and the United States. The film premiered in London at the Odeon Leicester Square on February 25, 2010, and was released in Australia on March 4, 2010, and the following day in the United Kingdom and the United States through the Disney Digital 3D, RealD 3D, and IMAX 3D formats as well as in conventional theaters. It is also the second-highest-grossing film of 2010.Boardwalk EmpireBoardwalk Empire is an American period crime drama television series created by Terence Winter and broadcast on premium cable channel HBO. The series is set in Atlantic City, New Jersey, during the Prohibition era and stars Steve Buscemi as Nucky Thompson. Winter, a Primetime Emmy Award-winning screenwriter and producer, created the show, inspired by the book Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times, and Corruption of Atlantic City by Nelson Johnson about historical criminal kingpin Enoch L. Johnson.The pilot episode was directed by Martin Scorsese and produced at a cost of $18 million. On September 1, 2009, HBO picked up the series for an additional 11 episodes. The series premiered on September 19, 2010, and completed its five-season run on October 26, 2014.Captain AmericaCaptain America is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by cartoonists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in Captain America Comics #1 (cover dated March 1941) from Timely Comics, a predecessor of Marvel Comics. Captain America was designed as a patriotic supersoldier who often fought the Axis powers of World War II and was Timely Comics' most popular character during the wartime period. The popularity of superheroes waned following the war and the Captain America comic book was discontinued in 1950, with a short-lived revival in 1953. Since Marvel Comics revived the character in 1964, Captain America has remained in publication.The character wears a costume bearing an American flag motif, and he utilizes a nearly indestructible shield which he throws as a projectile. Captain America is the alter ego of Steve Rogers, a frail young man enhanced to the peak of human perfection by an experimental serum to aid the United States government's efforts in World War II. Near the end of the war, he was trapped in ice and survived in suspended animation until he was revived in the present day. Although Captain America often struggles to maintain his ideals as a man out of his time with its modern realities, he remains a highly respected figure in his community which includes becoming the long-time leader of the Avengers.Deadly HoneymoonA wealthy couple take a honeymoon cruise in Tahiti, but the husband disappears without trace. The captain asks an FBI agent on holiday to investigate, believing he may have been murdered. Suspicion falls on his wife, who may have objected to his infidelities, but also a trio of Hungarian gamblers with shady secrets.District 9District 9 is a 2009 science fiction action horror film directed by Neill Blomkamp, written by Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell, and produced by Peter Jackson and Carolynne Cunningham. It is a co-production of New Zealand, the United States, and South Africa. The film stars Sharlto Copley, Jason Cope, and David James, and was adapted from Blomkamp's 2006 short film Alive in Joburg.The film is partially presented in a found footage format by featuring fictional interviews, news footage, and video from surveillance cameras. The story, which explores themes of humanity, xenophobia, and social segregation, begins in an alternate 1982, when an alien ship appears over Johannesburg, South Africa. When a population of sick and malnourished insect-like aliens is found aboard the ship, the South African government confines them to an internment camp called District 9. Years later, during the government's relocation of the aliens to another camp, one of the confined aliens named Christopher Johnson tries to escape with his son and return home, crossing paths with a bureaucrat named Wikus van der Merwe. The title and premise of District 9 were inspired by events in District Six, Cape Town, during the apartheid era.Game of ThronesGame of Thrones is an American fantasy drama television series created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss. It is an adaptation of A Song of Ice and Fire, George R. R. Martin's series of fantasy novels, the first of which is A Game of Thrones. It is filmed in Belfast and elsewhere in the United Kingdom, Canada, Croatia, Iceland, Malta, Morocco, Spain, and the United States. The series premiered on HBO in the United States on April 17, 2011, and its seventh season ended on August 27, 2017. The series will conclude with its eighth season premiering in 2019.Set on the fictional continents of Westeros and Essos, Game of Thrones has several plot lines and a large ensemble cast but centers on three primary story arcs. The first story arc centers on the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms and follows a web of alliances and conflicts among the dynastic noble families either vying to claim the throne or fighting for independence from the throne. The second story arc focuses on the last descendant of the realm's deposed ruling dynasty, exiled and plotting a return to the throne. The third story arc centers on the longstanding brotherhood charged with defending the realm against the ancient threats of the fierce peoples and legendary creatures that lie far north, and an impending winter that threatens the realm.GravityGravity is a 2013 science fiction thriller film directed, co-written, co-edited, and produced by Alfonso Cuarón. It stars Sandra Bullock and George Clooney as American astronauts who are stranded in space after the mid-orbit destruction of their space shuttle, and their subsequent attempt to return to Earth.Cuarón wrote the screenplay with his son Jonás and attempted to develop the film at Universal Pictures. Later, the distribution rights were acquired by Warner Bros. Pictures. David Heyman, who previously worked with Cuarón on Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004), produced the film with him. Gravity was produced entirely in the United Kingdom, where British visual effects company Framestore spent more than three years creating most of the film's visual effects, which make up over 80 of its 91 minutes.Grey’s AnatomyGrey's Anatomy is an American medical drama television series that premiered on March 27, 2005, on American Broadcasting Company (ABC) as a mid-season replacement. The fictional series focuses on the lives of surgical interns, residents, and attending physicians, as they develop into seasoned doctors while trying to maintain personal lives and relationships. The title is a play on Gray's Anatomy, a classic human anatomy textbook first published in 1858 in London and written by Henry Gray. Shonda Rhimes developed the pilot and continues to write for the series; she is also one of the executive producers, along with Betsy Beers, Mark Gordon, Krista Vernoff, Rob Corn, Mark Wilding, and Allan Heinberg. Although the series is set in Seattle (at the fictional Seattle Grace, later known as the Grey-Sloan Memorial Hospital), it is filmed primarily in Los Angeles, California.The series was designed to be racially diverse and used color-blind casting. It revolves around the title character, Dr. Meredith Grey, played by Ellen Pompeo, first featured as an intern. The original cast consisted of nine star-billed actors: Pompeo, Sandra Oh, Katherine Heigl, Justin Chambers, T. R. Knight, Chandra Wilson, James Pickens Jr., Isaiah Washington and Patrick Dempsey. The cast has undergone major changes through the series' run, with many members leaving and being replaced by others. In its fourteenth season, the show had a large ensemble of fourteen actors, including four characters from the original cast (Meredith Grey, Alex Karev, Miranda Bailey, and Richard Webber).The HobbitThe Hobbit is a film series consisting of three high fantasy adventure films directed by Peter Jackson. They are based on the 1937 novel The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien, with large portions of the trilogy inspired by the appendices to The Return of the King, which expand on the story told in The Hobbit, as well as new material and characters written especially for the films. Together they act as a prequel to Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy. The films are subtitled An Unexpected Journey (2012), The Desolation of Smaug (2013), and The Battle of the Five Armies (2014).The screenplay was written by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Jackson, and Guillermo del Toro, who was originally chosen to direct before his departure from the project. The films take place in the fictional world of Middle-earth sixty years before the beginning of The Lord of the Rings, and follow hobbit Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman), who is convinced by the wizard Gandalf the Grey (Ian McKellen) to accompany thirteen dwarves, led by Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage), on a quest to reclaim the Lonely Mountain from the dragon Smaug (voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch). The films also expand upon certain elements from the novel and other source material, such as Gandalf's investigation at Dol Guldur, and the pursuit of Azog and Bolg, who seek vengeance against Thorin and his ancestors.The Hunger GamesThe Hunger Games is a trilogy of young adult dystopian novels written by American novelist Suzanne Collins. The series is set in The Hunger Games universe, and follows young characters Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark.The novels in the trilogy are titled The Hunger Games (2008), Catching Fire (2009), and Mockingjay (2010). The novels have all been developed into films starring Jennifer Lawrence, with the film adaptation of Mockingjay split into two parts. The first two books in the series were both New York Times best sellers, and Mockingjay topped all US bestseller lists upon its release. By the time the film adaptation of The Hunger Games was released in 2012, the publisher had reported over 26 million Hunger Games trilogy books in print, including movie tie-in books.Iron ManIron Man is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby. The character made his first appearance in Tales of Suspense #39 (cover dated March 1963).A wealthy American business magnate, playboy, and ingenious scientist, Anthony Edward "Tony" Stark suffers a severe chest injury during a kidnapping. When his captors attempt to force him to build a weapon of mass destruction, he instead creates a powered suit of armor to save his life and escape captivity. Later, Stark develops his suit, adding weapons and other technological devices he designed through his company, Stark Industries. He uses the suit and successive versions to protect the world as Iron Man. Although at first concealing his true identity, Stark eventually declared that he was, in fact, Iron Man in a public announcement.Life of PiLife of Pi is a Canadian fantasy adventure novel by Yann Martel published in 2001. The protagonist is Piscine Molitor "Pi" Patel, an Indian boy from Pondicherry who explores issues of spirituality and practicality from an early age. He survives 227 days after a shipwreck while stranded on a lifeboat in the Pacific Ocean with a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker.The novel has sold more than ten million copies worldwide. It was rejected by at least five London publishing houses before being accepted by Knopf Canada, which published it in September 2001. The UK edition won the Man Booker Prize for Fiction the following year. It was also chosen for CBC Radio's Canada Reads 2003, where it was championed by author Nancy Lee.Man of SteelMan of Steel is a 2013 superhero film based on the DC Comics character Superman. It is a British-American venture produced by Legendary Pictures, DC Entertainment, Syncopy Inc., and Cruel and Unusual Films, and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is the first installment in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU). The film is directed by Zack Snyder written by David S. Goyer, and stars Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, Kevin Costner, Diane Lane, Laurence Fishburne, Antje Traue, Ayelet Zurer, Christopher Meloni, and Russell Crowe. Man of Steel is a reboot of the Superman film series that retells the character's origin story. In the film, Clark Kent learns that he is a superpowered alien from the planet Krypton and assumes the role of mankind's protector as Superman, but finds himself having to prevent General Zod from destroying humanity.Development began in 2008, when Warner Bros. took pitches from comic book writers, screenwriters, and directors, opting to reboot the franchise. In 2009, a court ruling resulted in Jerry Siegel's family recapturing the rights to Superman's origins and Siegel's copyright. The decision stated that Warner Bros. did not owe the families additional royalties from previous films, but if they did not begin production on a Superman film by 2011, then the Shuster and Siegel estates would be able to sue for lost revenue on an unproduced film. Producer Christopher Nolan pitched Goyer's idea after story discussion on The Dark Knight Rises, and Snyder was hired as the film's director in October 2010. Principal photography began in August 2011 in West Chicago, Illinois, before moving to Vancouver and Plano, Illinois.Oz the Great and PowerfulOz the Great and Powerful is a 2013 American fantasy adventure film directed by Sam Raimi and produced by Joe Roth, from a screenplay written by David Lindsay-Abaire and Mitchell Kapner. The film stars James Franco, Michelle Williams, Rachel Weisz and Mila Kunis, with Zach Braff, Bill Cobbs, Joey King, and Tony Cox in supporting roles. Based on L. Frank Baum's Oz novels and set 20 years before the events of the original novel, Oz the Great and Powerful is a spiritual prequel to the 1939 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film, The Wizard of Oz. The film tells the story of Oscar Diggs, a deceptive magician who arrives in the Land of Oz and encounters three witches: Theodora, Evanora, and Glinda. Oscar is then enlisted to restore order in Oz, while struggling to resolve conflicts with the witches and himself.Kapner began developing an origin story for the Wizard of Oz after a lifelong interest of wanting to create one for the character. Walt Disney Pictures commissioned the film's production in 2009, with Joe Roth as producer and Grant Curtis, Joshua Donen, Philip Steuer, and Palak Patel serving as executive producers. Raimi was hired to direct the following year. After Robert Downey Jr. and Johnny Depp declined the titular role, Franco was cast in February 2011, with principal photography commencing five months later. Danny Elfman composed the film's score.Pirates of the CaribbeanPirates of the Caribbean is a Disney media franchise encompassing numerous theme park attractions, a series of films, and spin-off novels, as well as a number of related video games and other media publications. The franchise originated with the Pirates of the Caribbean theme ride attraction, which opened at Disneyland in 1967 and was one of the last Disney theme park attractions overseen by Walt Disney. Disney based the ride on pirate legends and folklore. As of October 2016, Pirates of the Caribbean attractions can be found at five Disney theme parks. Their related films have grossed over US$ 3.7 billion worldwide as of January 2015,[1] putting the film franchise 11th in the list of all-time highest grossing franchises and film series.Rise of the Planet of the ApesRise of the Planet of the Apes is a 2011 American science fiction film directed by Rupert Wyatt and starring James Franco, Freida Pinto, John Lithgow, Brian Cox, Tom Felton, David Oyelowo, and Andy Serkis. Written by Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver, it is 20th Century Fox's reboot of the Planet of the Apes series, intended to act as an origin story for a new series of films. Its premise is similar to the fourth film in the original series, Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972), but it is not a direct remake of that film.Rise of the Planet of the Apes was released on August 5, 2011, to critical and commercial success. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. It was also nominated for five Saturn Awards including Best Director for Wyatt and Best Writing for Jaffa and Silver, winning Best Science Fiction Film, Best Supporting Actor for Serkis and Best Special Effects. Serkis's performance as Caesar was widely acclaimed, earning him many nominations from associations which do not usually recognize performance capture as traditional acting. A sequel to the film, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, was released on July 11, 2014, and a third film, War for the Planet of the Apes, was released on July 14, 2017.The Dark Knight RisesThe Dark Knight Rises is a 2012 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan, who co-wrote the screenplay with his brother Jonathan Nolan, and the story with David S. Goyer.[5] Featuring the DC Comics character Batman, the film is the final installment in Nolan's The Dark Knight Trilogy, and the sequel to The Dark Knight (2008). Christian Bale reprises the lead role of Bruce Wayne/Batman, with a returning cast of allies: Michael Caine as Alfred Pennyworth, Gary Oldman as James Gordon, and Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox. The film introduces Selina Kyle (Anne Hathaway) and Bane (Tom Hardy). Eight years after the events of The Dark Knight, merciless revolutionary Bane forces an older Bruce Wayne to resume his role as Batman and save Gotham City from nuclear destruction.Christopher Nolan was hesitant about returning to the series for a second time, but agreed after developing a story with his brother and Goyer that he felt would conclude the series on a satisfactory note. Nolan drew inspiration from Bane's comic book debut in the 1993 "Knightfall" storyline, the 1986 series The Dark Knight Returns, and the 1999 storyline "No Man's Land". Filming took place from May to November 2011 in locations including Jodhpur, London, Nottingham, Glasgow, Los Angeles, New York City, Newark, and Pittsburgh. Nolan used IMAX 70 mm film cameras for much of the filming, including the first six minutes of the film, to optimize the quality of the picture. A vehicle variation of the Batplane and Batcopter termed the "Bat", an underground prison set, and a new Batcave set were created specifically for the film. As with The Dark Knight, viral marketing campaigns began early during production. When filming concluded, Warner Bros. refocused its campaign: developing promotional websites, releasing the first six minutes of the film, screening theatrical trailers, and sending out information regarding the film's plot.The Dark KnightThe Dark Knight is a 2008 superhero film directed, produced, and co-written by Christopher Nolan. Featuring the DC Comics character Batman, the film is the second part of Nolan's The Dark Knight Trilogy and a sequel to 2005's Batman Begins, starring an ensemble cast including Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Heath Ledger, Gary Oldman, Aaron Eckhart, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Morgan Freeman. In the film, Bruce Wayne / Batman (Bale), Police Lieutenant James Gordon (Oldman) and District Attorney Harvey Dent (Eckhart) form an alliance to dismantle organized crime in Gotham City, but are menaced by a criminal mastermind known as the Joker (Ledger) who seeks to undermine Batman's influence and create chaos.Nolan's inspiration for the film was the Joker's comic book debut in 1940, the 1988 graphic novel The Killing Joke, and the 1996 series The Long Halloween, which retold Two-Face's origin. The "Dark Knight" nickname was first applied to Batman in Batman #1 (1940), in a story written by Bill Finger.[4][5] The Dark Knight was filmed primarily in Chicago, as well as in several other locations in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Hong Kong. Nolan used IMAX 70 mm film cameras to film some sequences, including the Joker's first appearance in the film. Warner Bros. initially created a viral marketing campaign for The Dark Knight, developing promotional websites and trailers highlighting screenshots of Ledger as the Joker. Ledger died on January 22, 2008, some months after the completed filming and six months before the film's release from a toxic combination of prescription drugs, leading to intense attention from the press and movie-going public.The Great GatsbyThe Great Gatsby is a 2013 romance drama film based on F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 novel of the same name. The film was co-written and directed by Baz Luhrmann and stars Leonardo DiCaprio as the eponymous Jay Gatsby, with Tobey Maguire, Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton, Isla Fisher and Elizabeth Debicki. Production began in 2011 and took place in Australia, with a $190 million budget. The film follows the life and times of millionaire Jay Gatsby and his neighbor Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire), who recounts his encounter with Gatsby at the height of the Roaring Twenties in New York state.The film polarized critics, receiving both praise and criticism for its acting performances, soundtrack, visual style, and direction. Audiences responded more positively and Fitzgerald's granddaughter praised the film, stating "Scott would have been proud." As of 2017, it is Luhrmann's highest-grossing film, grossing over $353 million worldwide. At the 86th Academy Awards, the film won in both of its nominated categories: Best Production Design and Best Costume Design.The MatrixThe Matrix is a 1999 science fiction action film written and directed by The Wachowskis (credited as The Wachowski Brothers) and starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, and Joe Pantoliano. It depicts a dystopian future in which reality as perceived by most humans is actually a simulated reality called "the Matrix", created by sentient machines to subdue the human population, while their bodies' heat and electrical activity are used as an energy source. Cybercriminal and computer programmer Neo learns this truth and is drawn into a rebellion against the machines, which involves other people who have been freed from the "dream world."The Matrix is known for popularizing a visual effect known as "bullet time", in which the heightened perception of certain characters is represented by allowing the action within a shot to progress in slow-motion while the camera's viewpoint appears to move through the scene at normal speed. The film is an example of the cyberpunk subgenre. It contains numerous references to philosophical and religious ideas, and prominently pays homage to works such as Plato's Allegory of the Cave, Jean Baudrillard's Simulacra and Simulation and Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. The Wachowskis' approach to action scenes drew upon their admiration for Japanese animation[8] and martial arts films, and the film's use of fight choreographers and wire fu techniques from Hong Kong action cinema influenced subsequent Hollywood action film productions.The Secret in Their EyesSecret in Their Eyes is a 2015 American psychological thriller film written and directed by Billy Ray and a remake of the 2009 Argentine film of the same name, both based on the novel La pregunta de sus ojos by author Eduardo Sacheri. The film stars Chiwetel Ejiofor, Nicole Kidman, Julia Roberts, Dean Norris, and Michael Kelly.The film was released by STXfilms on November 20, 2015. It received mixed reception from critics, who praised its performances but compared it unfavourably to the original.The Walking DeadThe Wolf of Wall StreetThe Wolf of Wall Street is a 2013 American biographical black comedy[3] directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Terence Winter, based on the memoir of the same name by Jordan Belfort. It recounts Belfort's perspective on his career as a stockbroker in New York City and how his firm Stratton Oakmont engaged in rampant corruption and fraud on Wall Street that ultimately led to his downfall. Leonardo DiCaprio (who was also a producer) stars as Belfort, with Jonah Hill as his business partner and friend Donnie Azoff, Margot Robbie as his wife Naomi Lapaglia and Kyle Chandler as Patrick Denham, the FBI agent who tries to bring him down. Matthew McConaughey, Rob Reiner, Jon Favreau, Joanna Lumley and Jean Dujardin also star. The film marks the director's fifth collaboration with DiCaprio, after Gangs of New York (2002), The Aviator (2004), The Departed (2006) and Shutter Island (2010), as well as his second collaboration with Winter after the television series Boardwalk Empire (2010–14).TransformersTransformers is a series of American science fiction fantasy action films based on the toys created by Hasbro and Tomy. Michael Bay has directed the first five films: Transformers (2007), Revenge of the Fallen (2009), Dark of the Moon (2011), Age of Extinction (2014) and The Last Knight (2017). A spin-off entitled Bumblebee: The Movie, directed by Travis Knight and produced by Michael Bay, is scheduled for December 21, 2018. The series has been distributed by Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks.The live-action film series has received mixed reception, with criticism of the plots, sophomoric humor, overuse of product placements and the lengths of the films, but praise of the visual effects, action sequences and music. It is the 11th-highest-grossing film series, with a total of $4.3 billion; two films in the series have individually grossed over $1 billion.The Twilight Saga: Breaking DawnThe Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 (commonly referred to as Breaking Dawn: Part 1) is a 2011 American romantic fantasy film directed by Bill Condon and based on the novel Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer. The first part of a two-part film forms the fourth and penultimate installment in The Twilight Saga film series, and is the beginning of the 2012 film Breaking Dawn: Part 2. All three main cast members, Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, and Taylor Lautner, reprised their roles.Wyck Godfrey and Karen Rosenfelt served as producers of the film, along with the author of the series, Stephenie Meyer; the screenplay was written by Melissa Rosenberg, the screenwriter of the first three entries. It was released in theaters on November 18, 2011, and released to DVD on February 11, 2012 in the United States. The film grossed over $712 million worldwide. Though the film gained predominantly negative critical reviews, it was a box office hit.300300 is a 2006 American epic war film based on the 1998 comic series 300 by Frank Miller and Lynn Varley. Both are fictionalized retellings of the Battle of Thermopylae within the Persian Wars. The film was directed by Zack Snyder, while Miller served as executive producer and consultant. It was filmed mostly with a super-imposition chroma key technique, to help replicate the imagery of the original comic book.The plot revolves around King Leonidas (Gerard Butler), who leads 300 Spartans into battle against the Persian "god-King" Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro) and his invading army of more than 300,000 soldiers. As the battle rages, Queen Gorgo (Lena Headey) attempts to rally support in Sparta for her husband. The story is framed by a voice-over narrative by the Spartan soldier Dilios (David Wenham). Through this narrative technique, various fantastical creatures are introduced, placing 300 within the genre of historical fantasy.Sources: 46 Famous Movie Scenes Before And After Special Effects