Showing results by narrator "Jason Zenobia" in All Categories

According to Steven Pinker in his new book, Enlightenment Now, the best time is precisely now. The only thing holding us back is waking up to it. Lest we forget, we are the lucky 8 billion who have been favored to be born human. We are, in sum, winners in the Darwinian lottery of life. This audiobook provides an illustrated glimpse into Pinker's idea that things have gotten better on planet Earth. Also provides new insights into a concept called "The Meta-Person Project".

One of the most significant discoveries of modern science is that the world we perceive around us is not as it appears. Rather, neuroscience, evolutionary biology, and quantum physics have demonstrated that our day-to-day reality is a relative construct, built upon a scaffolding of information bits that betray their real origin and causation.

More than 30 years ago - in 1977, to be exact - I co-authored a book called Work and Struggle: The Painter as Witness. Its subject was one aspect of the academic painting of the late 19th and very early 20th century - art which dealt not with the comfortable lives of the rich but with all the social problems of the time. There were over 200 illustrations, most of them drawn from publications issued in conjunction with the official Salons of the period, but when we searched for these, they were largely missing.

We all have friends like that, who promise, and fantasize, and disappoint, then somehow contrive to charm us all over again. In the history of Western art, Leonardo da Vinci is the supreme example of this personality-type, the great non-deliverer. It’s interesting to speculate why his legend remains so powerful. Perhaps, most of all, it is because of his restless curiosity about so many aspects of nature, recorded in notebooks that place him well in advance of his time.

"The Queen: Art and Image", now on view at the National Portrait Gallery in London, makes a lot of claims for itself. The blurb on the gallery web-site tells one that by “exploring the startling range of artistic creativity that the Queen has inspired, the exhibition also reveals the radical changes in portraiture and profound developments since the 1950s.” It goes on to list some of the supposedly distinguished painters and photographers who have, during her long reign, produced likenesses of Elizabeth II.

The creation of a masterpiece needs more than simply determination on the part of a single individual - though this, of course, is a myth that has continuously gained in strength since the time of Michelangelo. As Michelangelo himself well knew, masterpieces grow from a will to see them made on the part of patrons, who often play nearly as important a part in the process as the man who holds the brush or wields the chisel. The Sistine ceiling would never have come into existence had it not been for Pope Julius II.

"Citizens and Kings", the new blockbuster show at the Royal Academy in London, contains an almost overwhelming number of celebrated paintings and sculptures, even if one or two of them, such as Jacques-Louis David’s Marat Assassiné, turn out to be studio versions rather than the real thing. The show aims to trace the shift in attitudes towards the human personality that was set in motion by the American and French Revolutions and the wars associated with these great political and social upheavals.

The immense and very sudden success of contemporary Chinese art in Western markets is a phenomenon that Western critics are still struggling to assess. Many link it, not unreasonably, to the economic resurgence of China during the past decade and a half. This resurgence should not have been unexpected. Up to and perhaps including the period of the Ming emperors, China represented as much as 25% of the whole world economy.

The term avant-garde continues to be used, in my opinion with far too much frequency, in discussions of contemporary art. It derives, of course, from military terminology, and implies that the art to which it is applied is somehow ahead of the game. It’s worth taking a look at how this assumption works in practice. Essentially, Western and now world art has witnessed the emergence of a series of avant-gardes since just before the third quarter of the 19th century.

Did you know that Oscar Wilde was said to have had a photographic memory? Or that his father was eye surgeon to none other than Queen Victoria herself? How did his homosexuality come to the attention of the police? And why was a glass barrier erected in front of his tomb? In this fascinating audiobook, Jason Zenobia talks us through over 100 facts about the poet, playwright and popular society figure.

Do you know the difference between a spiderweb and a cobweb? What are the two sections of a spider's body called? Which spider holds the record for the largest leg span? And which species wears the drained corpses of its victims on its back? In this fascinating audiobook, narrator Jason Zenobia answers all these questions and more as he talks us through over 100 facts about our eight-legged friends.

Which do you think is greater: the combined weight of all the insects in the world or all the humans? How many flowers does it take to provide the pollen for a pound of honey? What is the most venomous insect in the world? And how many dust mites are there inside your mattress right now? In this fascinating audiobook, narrator Jason Zenobia answers all of these questions and more as he talks us through over 100 amazing facts about insects and arthropods, looking in detail into their incredible world.

How long do you think the courtship dance between two seahorses can take? Which fish is thought to be responsible for the tales of giant sea serpents? How long is a large shark's gestation period? And when is a beaver a fish? In this fascinating audiobook, narrator Jason Zenobia talks us through over 100 amazing facts about fish...so if you're ready to find out which fish the Romans used as a recreational drug and in which American states it is illegal to get a fish drunk, this is the perfect audiobook for you!

This audiobook describes what life was like for the Vikings, with an in-depth account of all aspects of the people at the time and how they lived their daily lives. Narrator Jason Zenobia talks us through plenty of amazing facts about Viking voyages, invasions, ships and religion, including fascinating information about gods such as Odin, Thor and Loki.

Do you know the main difference between the diet of a Tudor nobleman and that of a peasant? What was it that changed Henry VIII from an active and pleasant young man into a vastly overweight tyrant? What did a gong farmer do? And what was the purpose of a whipping boy? In this excellent audiobook, narrator Jason Zenobia answers all these questions and more as he talks us through over 100 amazing facts about the Tudors.

Did you know that an albatross can fly 15 million miles in a single lifetime? Or that flamingos can eat only when their heads are upside down? Narrator Jason Zenobia takes us on a captivating trip through the life of the bird as we learn fascinating facts about subjects as diverse as mythical birds, parrots, seabirds and much more. So if you want to know the collective noun for thrushes or how deep a penguin can dive, then this is the perfect audiobook for you.

Rome is the capital and largest city of Italy and of the Lazio region. It's the famed city of the Roman Empire, the Seven Hills, La Dolce Vita (sweet life), the Vatican City, and Three Coins in the Fountain. Rome, as a millennium-long center of power, culture and religion, having been the center of one of the globe's greatest civilizations ever, has exerted a huge influence over the world in its 2,500 years of existence.

Germany has historically been and still is politically, economically, and culturally influential and the largest EU member state by population and economic output. Known around the world for German engineering as well as world-leading banking and insurance companies, it is equally admired by visitors for its old-world charm and Gemütlichkeit (cosiness). Discard any perceptions of Germany as simply homogeneous, and a country of surprising regional diversity awaits.

Do you know which species of dinosaur was named after Hogwarts? Which were the largest and the smallest dinosaurs? How can you tell the difference between a brontosaurus and an Apatosaurus? Narrator Jason Zenobia answers all these questions and more as he talks us through over 100 amazing facts about dinosaurs. All manner of subjects are covered, such as unusual dinosaurs, physiology, behaviours and more.

Are you the world's biggest cat lover? Or are you thinking about getting a pet cat and want to know more about what to expect? In this excellent audiobook, narrator Jason Zenobia talks us through over 100 facts about our favourite feline friends. Visiting subjects such as their behaviour, biology, why they are so great and much more, this is the perfect addition to anyone's audiobook collection.