Theory Trading Cards

This set of 21 Theory Trading Cards, published by AltaMira Press, is based upon the online trading cards which have been so popular at David Gauntletts website www.theory.org.uk. Being actual cards, these are two-sided and contain more information; and whereas the online cards were only an official set of 12, for the published version, 21 new…

Why NORAD Tracks Santa

The call had come in on one of the top secret lines inside CONAD that only rang in the case of a crisis. Grabbing the phone, Shoup must have expected the worst. Instead, a tiny voice asked, “Is this Santa Claus?” “Dads pretty annoyed,” said Terri Van Keuren, Shoups daughter, recalling the legend of that…

Who is the more dramatic — my extroverted tween or my philosophical teen?

Stoked from a morning show-choir performance and an afternoon rehearsal, Carolyn is lumbering around the kitchen floor, belting “I WANT A HIPPOPOTAMUS FOR CHRISTMAS!!!” Peter, his nose in a book, expresses a stoic disapproval. “Peter, you never ask for anything,” says my wife, raising her voice over Carolyn’s singing. “If you could have anything, regardless…

Modern Masterpieces of Comedic Genius: The Art of the Humorous Amazon Review, Part Deux

I love me a good Amazon mock review. Here are several. From scientific miracles to literary criticism, by way of bodily functions and failures of common sense. Many moons ago, I wrote about the art of the humorous Amazon review as a modern masterpiece of parodic genius, embodying Arthur Koestler’s seminal “bisociation” theory of how…

‘Because’ has become a preposition, because grammar

The construction is more versatile than “because+noun” suggests. Prepositional because can be yoked to verbs (Can’t talk now because cooking), adjectives (making up examples because lazy), interjections (Because yay!), and maybe adverbs too, though in strings like Because honestly., the adverb is functioning more as an exclamation. The resulting phrases are all similarly succinct and…

xkcd: Headlines

It: nailed. xkcd: Headlines. Similar:Doctor Bashir, I Presume #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch (Season 5, Episode 16) Smarmy hologram des…Had a great time with AmLit students at the August Wilson block partyShakespeare did not leave his wife Anne in Stratford, letter fragment suggestsPater Noster Passenger ElevatorsNotes on Teaching August Wilson's Pittsburgh CycleAP wins reinstatement to White House…

My geekling is not just pretending to be Spock…

…she’s pretending to be “Spock in a Tree on Omicron Ceti III.” Similar:Doctor Bashir, I Presume #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch (Season 5, Episode 16) Smarmy hologram des…Pater Noster Passenger ElevatorsBy Inferno's Light #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch (Season 5, Episode 15) Dominion / Cardassian edg…In Purgatory's Shadow #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch (Season 5, Episode 14) Garak answers a coded…

Thou shalt not commit logical fallacies

  Thou shalt not commit logical fallacies poster. Similar:Doctor Bashir, I Presume #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch (Season 5, Episode 16) Smarmy hologram des…Pater Noster Passenger ElevatorsNotes on Teaching August Wilson's Pittsburgh CycleMy crowd simulation handles 2000 capsule NPCs at 130fps. I’m really pushing my coding skil…The Dog and the Oyster (Aesop Fable)MLA Citations: Your attention to…

I feel juvenile enough today that this headline made me snicker.

Similar:Doctor Bashir, I Presume #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch (Season 5, Episode 16) Smarmy hologram des…Pater Noster Passenger ElevatorsAP wins reinstatement to White House events after judge rules government can’t bar its jou…My crowd simulation handles 2000 capsule NPCs at 130fps. I’m really pushing my coding skil…MLA Citations: Your attention to detail establishes your credibilityMore than a…

Telekinetic Coffee Shop Surprise

Blogworthy promo for a movie I have no desire to see. Telekinetic Coffee Shop Surprise – YouTube. Similar:Doctor Bashir, I Presume #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch (Season 5, Episode 16) Smarmy hologram des…Pater Noster Passenger ElevatorsBy Inferno's Light #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch (Season 5, Episode 15) Dominion / Cardassian edg…In Purgatory's Shadow #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch (Season 5, Episode…

I Hate Your Blog

I hate your blog. Your recipe for vegan eggnog is stupid. I hissed and I booed it, and then eschewed it, never made it once. Yes, your blog roll is a confederacy of dunces. It abuts less interesting links in your posts. Hamsters that dance! I’m not engrossed. I’m not opposed to your collection of…

Snarky Error Message Comments on “the transience of linked information in the internet age”

Arent you glad you didnt cite to this webpage in the Supreme Court Reporter at Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association, 131 S.Ct. 2729, 2749 n.14 2011. If you had, like Justice Alito did, the original content would have long since disappeared and someone else might have come along and purchased the domain in order to…

Dress Rehearsal for “My Son Pinocchio”

My wife, daughter, and I waiting to start the dress rehearsal of Stage Right’s My Son Pinocchio, which opens tonight. Similar:Doctor Bashir, I Presume #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch (Season 5, Episode 16) Smarmy hologram des…Had a great time with AmLit students at the August Wilson block partyShakespeare did not leave his wife Anne in Stratford, letter…

Roadside Sobriety Test Gone Wild

Similar:Doctor Bashir, I Presume #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch (Season 5, Episode 16) Smarmy hologram des…Had a great time with AmLit students at the August Wilson block partyShakespeare did not leave his wife Anne in Stratford, letter fragment suggestsPater Noster Passenger ElevatorsNotes on Teaching August Wilson's Pittsburgh CycleAP wins reinstatement to White House events after judge rules…

Jimmy Kimmel Reveals “Worst Twerk Fail EVER – Girl Catches Fire” Prank

Brilliant. The combination of a looks-too-good-to-be-true video, the patina of respectability that comes when a TV talking head introduces the clip, and the internet as a means for spreading links illustrates just how easy it is to fool lots of people — including professionals who should know better. I did show the original video to…