On 9/11/2001, I was remote enough from the tragedies that I managed to hold together pretty well, until that night, when my son, who was 3, asked me to read him this book. I recently noticed that the cover has been redesigned.
Powerful, painful essay. Worth revisiting. In the picture, he departs from this earth like an arrow. Although he has not chosen his fate, he appears to have, in his last instants of life, embraced it. If he were not falling, he might very well be flying. He appears relaxed, hurtling through the air. He appears…
On October 2001, this thoughtful article appeared in the journal First Monday. This is a fascinating glimpse of the world before YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, before most people carried around digital cameras, when the home pages of Fox and CNN advised readers to turn on their TV sets for the latest news. Just as the assassination…
My working theory: the @sramsay departure is a Jimmy Kimmel prank.
RT @nowviskie: @tcarmody @amandafrench @JenHoward @kfitz @rgfeal Hey, Tim. @sramsay is sharing today’s last sequence here. http://t.co/YTjs…
@nowviskie I feel strangely culpable, since the last @sramsay tweet emphathized with my tears over “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.”
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…
Humanities professors from the University of Virginia describe their frustrating attempts to give away their innovative textual study tool via Apple’s App Store. The reason the App Review Team gave (again and again) was that our app was “simply” or “just a book” (their words), and that it therefore had to be formatted in Apple’s…
Thanks for the suggestion, Nicole. The 4th Estate Project’s study of 2012 election-year coverage found that major U.S. newspapers and TV news programs featured up to seven times as many quotes from men as women. Men’s voices were dominant even in stories on abortion, birth control, Planned Parenthood, and women’s rights. The 2013 Status of…
“Daddy, I’m sick of your tears.” –my 11yo, after I misted up reading from Church’s 1897 “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus” editorial. Update, Sep 10: In the past few years, as my kids have become active in the arts, I have developed a habit of tearing up during their performances. I will silently…
My geekling is enthusiastically hurling herself around the living room as the Enterprise bridge rocks back and forth… #TOS #StarTrek
As a fan of Colossal Cave Adventure, I’m curious to know whether there’s an active volcano in this cave. Or at least a gold nugget room. Jonathan Sims catches up with me. Between us and the sunlit passage ahead stands a stalagmite that in profile resembles the paw of a dog. “The Hand of God…
In the corner of the Seton Hill University Bookstore sit a few short aisles stacked with textbooks. Most of the Sullivan Hall store is devoted to apparel, school supplies and gifts. A few shelves are stocked with personal care items, while a multi-tiered Boots cosmetics display and a collection of Crabtree & Evelyn lotions earn…
My wife & daughter are in the kitchen, yelling & crying in fake Italian accents. (Practicing their toy shop tantrum scene from Pinocchio.)
@penguins season tickets! @stagerightgbg is raffling off $25 chances on 2 season tickets worth $4000. #pittsburgh #hockey Who’s interested?
Yes, the Spartans’ one-word response to Philip’s threats was both laconic and bold. Yes, I chortled while making a *hilarious* graphic of the word “If,” set in Laconic, bold type. No, a joke that depends on knowledge of Ancient Greece and Macedonia and modern typography really isn’t all that funny. In 346 B.C, Philip sent…
As a high school student, I wrote a fan letter to AC Crispin, in which I critiqued her capitalization. (She gave me the address of her editor, Ann O’Malley, who agreed to critique a few sample chapters of my in-progress novel.) Crispin wrote several early Star Trek novels, as well as the novelization of the…
Snickering over Monday’s quiz question about the Rosenthal rule. (Paraphrased: Reporters who BLEEP elephants can’t cover the circus.)
“Daddy, THAT gum costs. $1.59. If you buy THIS gum for me, you’ll save 30c!” “I know how we can save $1.59!” “You’re mean.” “No, I’m cheap.”